Headrush 112 or Boss Katana Mk ll 50 watt

[danyeo]

I don't have the Katana, but I have the Boss Nextone Special, again with the better speaker and cabinet than the other Nextones, and I absolutely love it. As you, I tried various FRFR solutions (Headrush, Line 6, Friedman) and couldn't find anything I really enjoyed until I tried what I have now. As a side bonus, I have an amp too, which I can use as-is if I ever get the urge to play with pedals.

Have you tried 4CM with your Nextone? Boss covers the basics in the Katana, the FM3 offers a lot more with effects.

 

[skolacki]

I know a guy in his late 20’s that wants to learn how to play. Do you guys think the Katana would be a good recommendation for a beginner? I’m lending him a cheapo Epi dot and a little Fender Champ with digital front end. Both of which I inherited from an old buddy that thought guitar would be easy.

 

[toesalad]

Have you tried 4CM with your Nextone? Boss covers the basics in the Katana, the FM3 offers a lot more with effects.

Yes, I have. I even also devised a 5CM so I can route the line out from the Nextone back into the FM3 for recording and/or headphone use through the FM3. Ultimately I didn’t keep it up long term for a number if reasons:

• I do not like the recorded tones from the Nextone USB interface nor the line out. The (unchangable) cab sim sounds nothing like the actual speaker.
• As with recording, the headphone out doesn’t sound as good either.
• I find myself preferring the simplicity of one cable direct to the FX return. Especially considering that I have to setup/teardown weekly for a local jam session.
• I also don’t like tying up all my ports - it makes it less easy to incorporate other gear into the routing.

I find myself tempted by the extra routing capabilities of the FM9… if it ever becomes available :-/

 

[humpfrey]

Thinking of buying one of these for my FM3...those are around my budget at this time. Anyone have insights on these items?

i have a pair of headrush frfr108 for the rehearsal room and 2 112 to take with me for gigging. amazing sound and pressure . a very good priced item also.

 

[TheloniusJ]

Pertinent update: I just discovered this week that the FM3 to Katana 100 (2x12) is a very solid option for any loud, live-in-the-room band situation.

I've done a number of rehearsals with a new band using 2 x HR 108s. The tone was super solid, but it really just was not coming through in the mix. I played with a number of different cab options, tried different amps, and did a bit of 1K input boosting in the amp, but was really just getting lost in the mix.

Last night I tried my Katana out and it was a huge difference. It just punched. The drummer was like, wow, I can hear you now.

To be fair, I'm not super happy with the overall tone and need to do a bunch of tweaking, but it a way more convincing amp in the room experience.

For the set-up I created a version of the preset I've been using. I moved the cab block to the end of the chain and created a fork to a new lane just before the cab block, put a PEQ in place (not doing anything with it right now) then to Out 2. This allows me to push Output 2 to the Katana with no cab sim and keep my Output 1 to FOH with cab sim. Output two is going directly into the FX return on the Katana (this is Mk1 so no power amp input), so I'm bypassing all the effects and preamp. I may play with global EQ a bit to tweak.

One thing I realized I'm going to want to play with is the speaker impedance curve to work better with the Katana. Of course this is going to impact my FOH feed, so I'll have to mess with cabs to find one that plays well with whatever impedance curve I choose.

 

[Stratman68]

Yes, you can bypass the pre, but you still get the power amp modeling and cabinet of the Katana. If you are happy with that sound, then that is fine, but if you want to use a cabinet and/or power amp model from the FM3, then this would be a less than ideal setup because you can’t bypass those in the Katana.

I have Yamaha DXR10's but I also have the Katana mkII 50. My FM3 and FM9 sound fine thru the Katana. What I like about it i it is also an actual amp.

 

[alexoz]

Pertinent update: I just discovered this week that the FM3 to Katana 100 (2x12) is a very solid option for any loud, live-in-the-room band situation.

I've done a number of rehearsals with a new band using 2 x HR 108s. The tone was super solid, but it really just was not coming through in the mix. I played with a number of different cab options, tried different amps, and did a bit of 1K input boosting in the amp, but was really just getting lost in the mix.

Last night I tried my Katana out and it was a huge difference. It just punched. The drummer was like, wow, I can hear you now.

To be fair, I'm not super happy with the overall tone and need to do a bunch of tweaking, but it a way more convincing amp in the room experience.

For the set-up I created a version of the preset I've been using. I moved the cab block to the end of the chain and created a fork to a new lane just before the cab block, put a PEQ in place (not doing anything with it right now) then to Out 2. This allows me to push Output 2 to the Katana with no cab sim and keep my Output 1 to FOH with cab sim. Output two is going directly into the FX return on the Katana (this is Mk1 so no power amp input), so I'm bypassing all the effects and preamp. I may play with global EQ a bit to tweak.

One thing I realized I'm going to want to play with is the speaker impedance curve to work better with the Katana. Of course this is going to impact my FOH feed, so I'll have to mess with cabs to find one that plays well with whatever impedance curve I choose.

Hey mate, I found your post interesting as I'm trying to connect my MK1 and my FM3. Could you please let me know how I should connect it?? Cheers Alex

 

[TheloniusJ]

Hey mate, I found your post interesting as I'm trying to connect my MK1 and my FM3. Could you please let me know how I should connect it?? Cheers Alex

It's not super complicated. I basically just run the FM3 Out 2 directly into the FX return of the Katana (see picture).


I'm using a TRS cable, but not sure that is necessary. As mentioned the patch I have built out splits the signal right before the outputs. I run to Out1 with a cab block, but Out2 goes straight out. I have a PEQ in the chain but haven't done much with it.

A couple of regarding set-up:

• In the Katana make sure whatever bank you are using has the FX loop after everything. I think you have to do this in the Boss Tone Studio. Unless you want to do something like use Katana FX (which I would not recommend).
• I've played around using different amp models in the Katana and it doesn't seem to matter, though there may be some settings which will impact this. Basically I think the Katana power section has a single color no matter what else is set.
• In the amp block of the FM3, I'd recommend setting the SS PWR Amp + Cab in the Output Mode section. This is the recommended setting from the manual for using a solid state power with traditional guitar cab.
• Play around with different Speaker Impedance curves in the FM3 amp block. I think the 2x12 Recto seemed to work the best for me.
• You'll likely want to play with PEQing to get the sound you want. I found the Katana speakers to be slightly darker and definitely mid-heavy (honky sounding) so you'll want to dial that to your liking with EQ.

I should also disclose that since posting that, I tried this same set up with a Seymour Duncan PowerStage into a 4x12 and got much better results so am going with that now, but the Katana option is definitely workable.

 

[alexoz]

It's not super complicated. I basically just run the FM3 Out 2 directly into the FX return of the Katana (see picture).

View attachment 107084
I'm using a TRS cable, but not sure that is necessary. As mentioned the patch I have built out splits the signal right before the outputs. I run to Out1 with a cab block, but Out2 goes straight out. I have a PEQ in the chain but haven't done much with it.

A couple of regarding set-up:

• In the Katana make sure whatever bank you are using has the FX loop after everything. I think you have to do this in the Boss Tone Studio. Unless you want to do something like use Katana FX (which I would not recommend).
• I've played around using different amp models in the Katana and it doesn't seem to matter, though there may be some settings which will impact this. Basically I think the Katana power section has a single color no matter what else is set.
• In the amp block of the FM3, I'd recommend setting the SS PWR Amp + Cab in the Output Mode section. This is the recommended setting from the manual for using a solid state power with traditional guitar cab.
• Play around with different Speaker Impedance curves in the FM3 amp block. I think the 2x12 Recto seemed to work the best for me.
• You'll likely want to play with PEQing to get the sound you want. I found the Katana speakers to be slightly darker and definitely mid-heavy (honky sounding) so you'll want to dial that to your liking with EQ.

I should also disclose that since posting that, I tried this same set up with a Seymour Duncan PowerStage into a 4x12 and got much better results so am going with that now, but the Katana option is definitely workable.

thanks so much for taking the time to reply! excellent information! Cheers Alex

 

[Andy Eagle]

If you can wait and save up for something better I would, these are both pretty bad . You didn't buy a Fractal to sound like an arsenal of Peavey Bandits and Marshall MGs. You wouldn't buy a Soldano SLO and a budget cab and expect it to sound good. FRFR solutions struggle even at the high end to actually deliver a comparable performance to real amps.

 

[alexoz]

If you can wait and save up for something better I would, these are both pretty bad . You didn't buy a Fractal to sound like an arsenal of Peavey Bandits and Marshall MGs. You wouldn't buy a Soldano SLO and a budget cab and expect it to sound good. FRFR solutions struggle even at the high end to actually deliver a comparable performance to real amps.

yea not a tone snob here mate, and it's not matter of money, I could buy any rig. It's just the practically of a combo that already sounds amazing. I gig with the Katana in big venues I want to hook up the FM3 for more options. The Katana is also backup. Here how they sound