Opinions on Boss Katana?

rrhoads17

Inspired
I picked one up over the weekend and I am pretty impressed. The cleans sound great, the crunch, lead and Brown have a good Marshally vibe to them and the effects actually sound good.
 
Nothing in common with FAS - not the same ballpark - but these are fun for kicks at a low price BTW. Tried one in a music store just before this covid shit and found it funny. Anyway give me a guitar and something to process sound of it and I will get my kicks.
 
If you're looking for a non-tube amp option, check out the Quilters. Much better sound and quality IMO than the Boss Katanas and Cubes.
 
I had a 100W head version for a while. Thought it was a great sounding amp, especially for $300. Couldn't justify owning it - because I couldn't justify playing it - since I already owned a bunch of Fractal stuff.
 
I know of someone on the forum here that uses two Katana's with his AFX III. He's gigging like 5 nights a weeks with them.
 
You get a lot for your money with a Katana.. add the "sneaky pete" amps and spend some time with the editor.. I have the 100W 112 combo and its a decent platform and very flexible.. FX loop, aux in.. It can sound as good as the time you spend editing on it., and for the money i can't think of anything better. is it fractal?.. nope, not close.. but that comparison is just silly.
 
A bit late to this party. I've owned the Mk1 100w 2x12 version and I still think it is a remarkably good amp, depending on what you are playing. I bought mine in 2018 and have gigged quite a bit with it in a variety of venues. I was using this in an 80s metal type band and was able to dial in some fairly George Lynch approved tones. It honestly sounded every bit as good as the the 5150 2x12 combo the other guitarist was using. In fact, he strongly considered dumbing his amp to get a Katana. No shit.

Anyway, I'm currently sussing out using the Katana with my FM3 for situations where I need serious volume.
 
I have the MK50II. I didn't buy it to replace anything. I have an FM3 and an FM9. I bought it because the II model has an input for a modeler. Pretty cool, sounds good. So in a pinch there it is! I use my Yamaha DXR10's mainly. Well worth the small price tag.
 
I have a Katana MKII head and I can say that it is great! I have a small pedalboard with the GAFC footswitch, my wireless, a tuner, looper and a drop pedal. These were a few pedals that I had left and put them to good use. I went in a bit deeper to change things up through the Tone Studio app and that made a huge difference. The second variation of some of the amps sound great. Running it into a Bogner Cube with a Marshall UK V30 and it rocks! I run mine to FOH by running the stereo expand switch on (this disbles the direct cab modelling) and taking that output to a TC IR pedal which has a bunch of the York Audio IRs in it. Sounds amazing to FOH.

Love my Axe III and FM3 but this is a nice cheap setup to bring with me anywhere as well.
 
I bring one to practice when I dont need my full rig and It does the trick despite what some say, my bass player thought it was a sweet tube amp hahaha
Haha. I've had the same thing happen. Someone asked me if it was all tube. I played a gig once with another band and when I was doing sound check the guitarist for the other band (who had a top notch Mesa rig) sort of stared dumbfounded. He came up afterwards and was like I can't believe you are getting that tone out of that Boss amp.

I really liked it for parties and seedier venues. I actually keep it around just for that. I figure any time where my gear might get trashed/banged around/beer spilled on, I'm bringing this thing.
 
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