I'm considering the Katana 100 which has the 0.5w option, but I always liked Fractal modelling. What would be a good and affordable setup that would work with low volumes? You can get the Katana for $350 and may be all most bedroom people need probably
I can’t recommend using any guitar amp like that, because there’s a big difference in intended use and the design of an inexpensive digital amp, and an active studio monitor or a true FRFR or high-end stage monitor.
Amps like the Katana, are designed to work with just their speaker. The maker can fine tune the sound of the amp to fit and counter flaws in its speaker’s sound, and for $350 odds are good the speaker is just so-so. We adjust our presets to fit into that sound. Switching to a different speaker, cabinet or power amp will change how the preset sounds.
Adjusting the sound of a preset to what we like when listening at low volume only compounds the problem once you get the system attached to a rig running at real volume, whether the rig is a solid state amp and good speakers, an FRFR rig, FOH, or a recording console. Once the volume rises our internal listening curve will change. The Wiki’s
Connections and levels page is chock full of useful information about this.
I recommend spending the $350 on good headphones if you need a quiet space, then learn to flatten their curve. Turn them up to a comfortably loud volume, and adjustments you make will have a better chance of passing your scrutiny once you run them into something bigger and louder.
An alternative is to periodically schedule a “loud day” and wait until then to adjust the sound, then adjust the frequency response of whatever you normally listen through to compensate for the reduced everyday volume, just remember to flatten that component’s EQ when you turn it up. The sound you get is directly tied to every component in the amplification chain, and one bad piece can ruin what you hear. “It’s complicated.”