As a long-standing Long & McQuade customer, them making reviews like this was long-overdue. I also remember having received assistance from Justin at the Bloor store. I regularly watch Andertons reviews to get informed about what to buy or not, but they're from the UK. So finally having our own Canadian equivalent is great! Best wishes to L&M.
It's like you were born to make reviews. I subscribed just from watching this. I just purchased the Boss Katana-GO and needed some basic reviews. Boy, I'm glad I came across this!
Great review! Enjoy Andertons but think you’re actually better in explaining! Am a L&M Bloor customer and will say hello next time! I toyed with various small desk amps for late night practice and mobility for cottage season when I can’t use my Fender Blues jr. They sounded ok but not super. This review made me order the Go through your online store. It sounds amazing and makes me wanna play all the time. I also plugged it into the aux of an older Bose bluetooth speaker and it still sounds ok, and better than many of the desk amps. Such value for money!! As a late beginner I love the session feature, that is not discussed in this review. The AB function allows you to select and put song fragments from youtube or library on repeat so can practise endlessly - amazing! All features are cool but in the end it’s all about the sound and that is just great. Now I want a large Katana’s too. And better headphones! Two questions: Any tips for smaller speakers with an aux? How do I connect it to my Focusrite? I know it connects directly into the laptop but if I want to use it into the DAW and record with instruments, isn’t working through the interface easier? Not sure how that works. Thanks!
I got one. Can’t stress too strongly how good this thing is. The fact that it’s a fully functional interface is amazing. Remember this means it not only sends your guitar to a DAW but also acts as the output headphone amplifier for the DAW as well. Honestly, it’s a bargain at twice the price. Kudos to Boss for this one.
Thanks! Truthfully it was longer than we anticipated as well. But there was just so much to go over and explain, and we didn't even get to demo lots of the presets and effects, touch the Session or Librarian tabs of the app, or explore what's available on Tone Exchange. This video could have been 2 hours long if we wanted!
Without a doubt the most concise, cogent reviewer of anything musical. I subscribed after watching the Les Paul comparison video and then watched this video next. Both reviews explained these things in simple understandable detail unrivaled by any other analyses. The Katana Go was something of a mystery until I watched this.
Awesome product demo! One thing I miss though is the session feature since this practicing with backing tracks is pretty common. Could you do an extensive demo of that too?
Thanks for the detailed review. I was waiting for you to show how you can stream audio / video on the app and practice. After this review, I think I'm going to buy one for practice, when I don't want to hooked up my Fractal FM9. .
The short demo jamming at the beginning sounds great! Is that original or something out there I haven't heard? I put on a drum track and tried doing it a bit myself. Love the feel of it!
I'm selling my NUEX mighty plug and getting this ASAP! Perfect companion to my Katana amp. When Justin (?) said that it'll share patches with the amp I was sold. When he said it's also an interface I pee'd a bit. Can't find a price anywhere tho
A metronome seems reasonable and easy to implement with a firmware update. Very easy to set with the +/- wheel. But the inclusion of a drum machine (at this price point) might be a bit much to ask for because that means it would need to have internal storage for samples. Being able to stream drum beats or backing tracks to the unit (not stored on the unit itself, from RU-vid, Spotify, etc.) is the next best thing. You can also check out the "Session" tab in the app, where you can load in audio or video to play along with.
@longandmcquade Thanks for the in depth review. When do you expect pre-orders to ship to customers? I ordered... but just want to know, am I looking at a month or so of waiting, or closer to a week? Thank You
We now have over a thousand of these things on order! We're still waiting on our first shipment, as Boss has experienced shipment delays. We should receive the first 200 of our order by next week, and another 200 or so a few weeks after that. However, there are already enough customers putting theirs on hold to speak for our first shipment, so we'd really recommend you place your order online or give your local store a call to put your name on one. You'll get an email or a phone call when it ships out or when it arrives and ready for pickup from the store.
F&*k the neighbors and family is part of real Rock&Roll! Seriously though, I just ordered one and can't wait. If it's actually the guts of a full Katana amp shrunk down to a Mustang Micro form factor, it's revolutionary. It would basically be a tiny travel amp that could transform into any sized amp depending on the power speaker used, and would replace a Katana and Spark Go as well.
It's certainly feasible, although perhaps not ideal. You can pair up the FS-1-WL wireless footswitch with the Katana:GO. Set up your banks and patches so that your banks are the songs in your setlist, and each A/B/C patch are clean/crunch/lead, or verse/chorus/solo, or however you see fit. Then the three footswitches on the FS-1-WL would be mapped to the A/B/C buttons on the unit, and flip banks on the Katana:GO itself between songs. It can be done, but the physicality and connections would be your limiting factors. How would the sound engineer feel about all the guitar sound coming from a light-duty 1/8" headphone output? How would you feel knowing that your control of patches is connected only via Bluetooth which historically isn't 100% reliable and can drop connection at any time? And the tweakability while playing live is essentially non-existent. If you need just a bit more or less of whatever in your tone, it's not as if you're going to whip out your phone in the middle of a song to adjust things on the fly.
That's fine, the app integration isn't for everyone. You certainly get the most out of this unit by tinkering around with the app and building your own custom patches, but you absolutely don't need to! You could just use the presets built into the unit, toggle between them and play using the sounds they give you. No phone, no app, no tweaking, just plug in your headphones and play!
Sounds awesome for such a little guy that you can take and plug in anywhere... however did you hear that for some reason these have been DISCONTINUED?? Wondering if this is a similar issue that Fractal had with their FM9 with chip shortages... ??
Sounds like just a rumour to us. It's still an active product in our system. We've already sold nearly 600 of them in 2 months and have almost 500 more on order. We don't think this is going away any time soon.
Fascinating device, but the Boss ecosystem gets expensive quickly- add the EV1-WL expression pedal and FS-1-WL 3-button footswitch (FS-1-WL), and you're at $600 CAD plus tax. At that price point, you have other options...
Record a loop to your phone and then play it back to this device, but first you need a foot switch for recording it and some app in your phone that loops that loop you recorded.
Because of the inherent latency in Bluetooth audio transmission. Boss could have used a low-latency codec within the device, but there would be no way to ensure that users pair low-latency compatible Bluetooth headphones with it. Hearing your guitar that is delayed or out of sync with your playing due to Bluetooth transmission wouldn't be a good playing experience, if not completely impossible. Going with wired headphones is the best and easiest way to guarantee that everything will be in-sync, compatible and an enjoyable experience for the user. You can check out our selection of wired headphones here: www.long-mcquade.com/departments/43/Pro-Audio-Recording/Headphones.htm?StockFilter=0&subIDs%5B%5D=486&subIDs%5B%5D=483&subIDs%5B%5D=484&subIDs%5B%5D=485&FilterCost=0&PriceRangeFilters%5B%5D=
I just bought a Katana 50 MK II from my local L&M about a month ago and I would have ordered one of these immediately today but you are already OUT OF STOCK!!! Oh well... I'm in no rush. LOL
@@longandmcquade Good to know! I will keep checking the website and when I see them in stock, I'll grab one, maybe get one for a friend at the same time seeing as it has a bass setting! 👍
@@barcham Awesome. Take some time to get familiar with your new Katana MKII, build some patches and upload them, then by the time the GO is available in-store or online you'll be ready to load it up with all your own sounds.
@@longandmcquade My Katana is amazing! It is a huge change from the Vypyr VIP1 that I was using previously. My only regret was that I bought a Mk II EX, and thinking more about it now, I should have gotten the 100 instead of the 50 for the little difference in price. Not a big deal though, the 50 is still an amazing amp! Eventually I will get an Artist series anyway. 😁
Feels pretty rugged to us. It's still a fully plastic housing so it's not likely to survive being stepped on or anything, but under typical use conditions it's sturdy enough to last.
While the effects within the Katana lineup state what specific pedals they emulate (OVERDRIVE = Boss OD-1, T-SCREAM = Ibanez TS-808, etc) their amp models don't explicitly state what amps they're modeled after. The Katana amp models are just labeled as Acoustic, Clean, Crunch, Lead, Brown, each with a variation. We can only make assumptions or educated guesses as to which amps were used for each Katana amp model.
Can I connect Boss Katana Go with a Mac computer over bluetooth, playing along backing tracks on iTunes or any digital audio workstations on the computer? If not, how could one do jamming over a music track with this gadget?
Yes that should work, however the Katana GO app only works with mobile devices, not desktop computers. You can connect any device to it via Bluetooth to stream audio (even your Mac) but to make changes to the tone, you'd have to pair it with your iPhone. It would probably be easier to just have it paired with your iPhone and stream music from your iPhone to the Katana GO and use the app from the same device, instead of introducing a 3rd device into the equation.
We could, but there isn't a whole lot to go over to warrant a full video. You plug it in via USB-C to whatever device you have, using whatever recording software you have. Being USB class compliant, it should just show up as your recording input device and then hit record. Do you have any specific questions you'd like answered regarding how to record with it?
@@xBlitzerx No, similar to the inclusion of other brands' pedals (11:21), they're not trying to pigeonhole users into using their stuff. Use whatever DAW or app you want, no proprietary BOSS software needed.
Can anybody recommend a decent pair of headphones to use with this? I can’t find a single video that discusses this. Have contacted Boss, but have received no reply.
Expensive? For all that you get? You get 10 amps, 65 effects, a headphone amp and a recording interface for $169CAD. A single one of those effects, like the TS-808 Tube Screamer (11:12) would run you $250CAD.
What if you don't have a headphone jack on your amp? What if your amp doesn't have 10 different amp models and 65 different effects built in? What if you don't have an amp at all? What if you want to travel and have something small and light to bring with you?
How do you use it via usb in your DAW? When I connect mine with my laptop, and I go in preferences in Reason, I can select the Katana go as audio interface but after that, when I choose the input for an audio track, nothing appears. On the boss support page there is no audio driver for katana go. Only for al the other Katana products.
No driver is needed for the Katana GO since it is USB class-compliant. If it's showing up as an audio interface in preferences, then the Katana GO is being recognized. Have you tried both a mono audio track and a stereo audio track?
@@longandmcquade Many thanks bro. This the main deal breaker for me between Katana and the NUX. The NUX does have but Katana seems to have bettee tones as most reviews say.
Hmmm...wonder what would happen if I plugged it into my android phone...hmmmmmmmmm... If this thing + my phone could be a mobile "recording ideas" guitar notepad type of set up, I'd buy one in the blink of an eye.
What if you don't have a Katana combo amp? Or headphone jack on your amp at all? What if your amp doesn't have 10 different amp models and 65 different effects built in? What if you don't have an amp at all? What if you want to travel and have something small and light to bring with you?
@@longandmcquade Okay, I formulated the question too broadly. Let me rephrase it: when I want to use headphones, is there a difference in sound quality between Katana combo amp and Katana Go? I never plug headphones into my Katana. I just don't like the sound.
@@twelthstring If you don't like the sound from headphones coming out of your Katana amp, the first thing we'd ask is what kind of headphones you are using. Are they high-quality studio headphones from a pro audio company like AKG, Shure, Sennheiser, etc? Or are you using consumer-level headphones that you'd usually just listen to music on? Those kinds of headphones usually boost bass and treble so they sound more exciting and "hi-fi" for music, but those are the exact opposite frequencies that guitar tone lives in, which is the midrange. The studio headphones that we sell aim to be as flat and neutral as possible, without overhyping the bottom or top ends, and retaining your midrange. Our follow-up question would be are your headphones closed-back or open-back. Closed-back seals in the sound, which is best for tracking because there's no bleed, but since you'd be recording all DI, you could use open-back. Open-back headphones sound much more natural, are lighter-weight and more comfortable to wear for long periods. It doesn't block sound as much (in or out) so you get a bit of environmental noise from your surroundings which is more natural sounding. It sounds more like the amp is in the room as opposed to sealed around your head. If you've tried that with your Katana amp, then we would suggest trying the Katana:GO, because perhaps that Stage Feel function is what you're looking for. It emulates the sound and feel of your guitar amp being played in a room or on stage. Again the unnatural sound of the amp being blasted directly into your ears might be what you don't like about the sound. The Katana:GO and Stage Feel through high-quality open-back studio headphones might be the solution for you.
Great review! Enjoy Andertons but think you’re actually better in explaining! Am a L&M Bloor customer and will say hello next time! I toyed with various small desk amps for late night practice and mobility for cottage season when I can’t use my Fender Blues jr. They sounded ok but not super. This review made me order the Go through your online store. It sounds amazing and makes me wanna play all the time. I also plugged it into the aux of an older Bose bluetooth speaker and it still sounds ok, and better than many of the desk amps. Such value for money!! As a late beginner I love the session feature, that is not discussed in this review. The AB function allows you to select and put song fragments from youtube or library on repeat so can practise endlessly - amazing! All features are cool but in the end it’s all about the sound and that is just great. Now I want a large Katana’s too. And better headphones! Any tips for smaller speakers with an aux?
It's certainly feasible although perhaps not ideal. You can pair up the FS-1-WL wireless footswitch with the Katana:GO. Set up your banks and patches so that your banks are the songs in your setlist, and each A/B/C patch are clean/crunch/lead, or verse/chorus/solo, or however you see fit. Then the three footswitches on the FS-1-WL would be mapped to the A/B/C buttons on the unit, and flip banks on the Katana:GO itself between songs. It can be done, but the physicality and connections would be your limiting factors. How would the sound engineer feel about all the guitar sound coming from a light-duty 1/8" headphone output? How would you feel knowing that your control of patches is connected only via Bluetooth which historically isn't 100% reliable and can drop connection at any time? And the tweakability while playing live is essentially non-existent. If you need just a bit more or less of whatever in your tone, it's not as if you're going to whip out your phone in the middle of a song to adjust things on the fly.
Both are $169CAD. Fender Mustang Micro gives you 12 amps and 12 effects. Katana:GO gives you 10 amps and 65 effects. But it's not just the number of amps and effects that puts the Katana:GO over the edge, it's the features available on the physical buttons and the expandability/functionality with wireless footswitches and controllers. The bank and channel layout with the A/B/C memories buttons makes it way easier to switch to different patches on the fly, whereas the Mustang Micro only has the +/- buttons to scroll through different amps and effects from the unit itself. You're not really going to adjust that while playing, but with the Katana:GO you can easily set up the banks as songs and the A/B/C memories for clean/crunch/lead or verse/chorus/solo, with a myriad of different effects being turned on or off with each and it's only a single button push away.
Yes, technically, but further context is needed. We've sold over 600 of the "original" Katana GO model, let's call it mk1. Roland had an issue sourcing parts for the Katana GO to keep up with the production demand from a manufacturing standpoint, so they have to make some design changes to utilize the new parts. We have over 600 more already on order. The "new" version, let's call it mk2, will replace the mk1 and fulfill all outstanding orders. It's not discontinued in our system. You can still order one, and you will receive a mk2 when they are manufactured and available.
![A Katana In Your Pocket?!? BOSS KATANA:GO [Product Demo]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
