I've been playing guitar for about 55 yrs and I'm a tube amp bloke, but I like the sound of this amp. This guys a real nice lad, and a very good guitarist.
Acoustic is not an emulator it’s an amp, for use with acoustic guitars. The usb is also a DAW interface giving you an emulated output in the same way as the line out. I use the line out straight to the desk live as the master vol does not affect this so I can have whatever volume I want on stage without annoying the sound engineer
I have a strat and was thinking of spending nearly twice as much to get a Fender Deluxe Reverb, but now I'm DEFINITELY getting this ! The clean tone is incredible, plus the sheer amount of Boss pedals inside make it an unbeatable deal !
The Katana "mini" is such an incredible amp for it s size. I ve ran every type of pedal through the mini and it handles them all!! I also own all 3 of the "original" 100 watt Katana s amps. My fav is the 100 watt Katana head.
I m not surprised you like the mini Kat better. It s a "magical" 1x4, 7 watt amp. And only 99 dollars!!! I love the Katana Mini and "technically" its my fav of the Katana series. For playing out purposes the 100 watt Head n 100 watt combo are my favs. I have the new Air Katana coming in the first week of June. I m hoping, sound wise, it ll surpass the Mini as a great bedroom amp.
magnusus66 The Mini's preamp is a smaller version of their Waza head units from what I've heard. If they did the Mini's layout in an affordable 50 to 80 watt amp, it'd be a wrap for me.
Many including myself that own the Katana amp found that cranking the Master volume to 10 and using the Channels volume for the overall level makes these amps really shine!
That's actually really interesting. Because I have found the opposite. I usually get the best result when I crank the channel volume and then use the master volume to get the output level needed.
I own a Katana Artist and it is the best solid state amp I´ve ever played. I am a lousy intermediate player by the way, but I don´t need tubes anymore. In combination with a Line6 Helix this little puppy will create every guitar sound you´ve ever heard. Even the Helix preamps sound great through the Katana powerstage and speaker. Thanx to Bea for saving me from spending money on things I don´t need!
Jan Brenner had a question if you don’t mind? Do you the ga-fc footswitch with the katana? I was curious how to access all eight tone setting banks by footswitch. Was about to buy one and having eight storage settings would be awesome on stage. Thank you!!
I love this amp. saw this video and had to buy it. sold my Roland Jc 120 to get it and it BLOWS the JC 120 away. got rid of a bunch of stomp boxes too.
This is probably a better commerical than Boss` own, considering twice the amount of subs and already twice the views. Looking forward to follow you in 2018, Rabea!
The Katana's half and half: analog preamps and power amp with DSP effects. The DSP also acts as a sort of feedback/tuning mechanism to manipulate the analog section's characteristics.
I have purchased two of these amps and both came damaged in shipping. The build quality of the cabinets is absolutely horrible. It's a shame because they are great sounding amps but I would not buy another one until they improve the cabinet. Chipboard should not be used in guitar amplifiers that are designed to be played in a live setting. Just my two cents.
modeling amps sound worse than analog amps except for those really expensive ones. worse@@shawnpatrick1877 when I called a music store they recommended crap modeling amps and I told them I don't deal with shit. who needs all those settings . I guess there good for people who don't want to deal with pedals. the regular katana to me sounds like crap. what you hear on youtube does not sound the same as in person.
Got mine yesterday. Been playing with it nonstop. Blown away by the speaker and FX versatility. I recommend the FS-6 and GA-FC pedals with it. All that control at my feet. The only con I have is that there is no onboard tuner. Which you kind of expect considering everything else that comes with it. I run the TU-3 with it and problem solved. If you’re looking for an amp to include in your home studio this is the amp. The manipulation is unreal. I have band rehearsal soon. I play live with the Orange 120h SS stack and a pedal board. I’ll be testing this as a live setup during rehearsal. I’ll update with my opinion. I’m already certain volume will not be a problem.
Thanks for the info. The Artist is worth every penny. From your living room to wherever you want to play, it's got everything in it. Best money I've ever spent, along with my PRS Dustie Waring, awesome!
Excellent demo Rabea. You are a very, very talented guitarist with stacks of natural expression and a fantastic rhythmic approach to your playing. I really enjoyed this demo as you really put this amp through its paces. I've got this model and I love it. I wish I could push it to get it to sound the way you are able to. I guess loads of talent has a lot to do with that though. Thanks for the video.
The guys who disliked this video are the same ones who can never be satisfied. This video review was awesome! You played some killer licks and you were very thorough. Oh, and I already bought the amp yesterday 😁
Smart man. I keep things forever after selling a lot of good gears years ago, but why keep it if you’re not using it and you’re loving the Katana cuz it gives you everything you need. I’ve been debating selling some Orange and Fenders but if I do I’ll just by another 100 watt Katana ( Artist or MK II ) and run it through the stereo expand feature which is probably going to sound better than most any other expensive amp will.
I have three Katanas, the mini which blows away any small battery practice warmup amp. The Katana Head and a 1 X 12 Mesa open back cabinet which is a tone giant. Lastly a 1 X 12 100 Watt Katana combo. Again I will match this with anything especially with the third software update. I can Marshall, Dumble, Boogie and just about any Fender amp. Masterful job Boss. Price is great and you get so much. Although you don’t need any pedals I use a Friedman BE with a clean setting. This gives me a 1/2, 50 or 100 watt Friedman amp. I’ve nearly scratched the surface with deep editing. Additionally there are lots of setup demos on RU-vid. From what I hear these are flying off the shelves in Europe. Cheers and good jamming to all.
Thanks Rabea, this in my eyes is the best demonstration of the Boss KATANA Artist Amp I have seen on RU-vid... I am definitely purchasing one of these.🤘🏻
You are the most underrated guitarist out there. You can just tell that you understand what you're doing on the guitar. Your theory knowledge is insane. Well done.
Totally awesome amp! Great demo... nice guitar work, enjoyed it! YES, my Boss Katana Artist amp is ordered! For those of you replying about your tube amp sounding better... I've used Marshall's all my life for live shows but have done whole albums with processors tweaked to sound great and had people say "they love the beautiful tube tone" when they were listening to a Digitech Genesis 1! First of all the sound is in your hands. You can tweak anything and make it sound good if you play good in the first place. The whole premise of what Boss has created here is for people looking at the future of integrated amps, effects, switching systems... This is great technology that many guitar players are ready for...
Glad I waited! Was considering the 100 1x12 or a Blackstar HT 40 MkII... this and a GA FC footswitch will cover all the ground I need from jamming at home to playing in a band. The new additions and features on this amp are awesome. Can’t wait to play one live.
Holy cow! Not a single drip or murkiness and you can still differentiate each string note even when the gain is maxed! F-ing great job done to the amp, great playing too Rabea!
Ordered one of these today after watching many reviews and sound demos. Super excited .. When I hear the thick high gain it reminds me of the tones I love from Alice in Chains' Facelift which says a lot about the quality of the modeling and the Waza speaker
This amp out of the gate is $599 US. Not unreasonable at all, but would have liked it $500, the price of the old 2x12" model. Not sure it should have nearly doubled in price from to old 1x12".
The tone weenies might pick it apart but the amp objectively sounds great. I moved to it from a respectable tube amp just to try it and it still leaves me smiling as it does when a piece of gear just nails it for you. Didn't even see this video before buying it, however, Bea's affinity for it acts only as an affirmation of a good purchase. Get one.
I am so glad Boss came to you guys for this. I bought the Katana 50wt mostly because of your review of it. So happy things like this are coming your way. Keep up the awesome work.
Your stool you are sitting on has a nice rip in the front. It’s the color of your skin tone. I kept thinking your fly was down! Keep up the amazing playing Bea.
Hello Rabea, new subscriber here, I just purchased this amp, it was delivered yesterday late and I'm excited to get it all hooked up. Thank you for the detailed run down on this amp, it makes life a lot easier for a total rookie like myself. Great review, thank you! I'll be watching your videos. Take care.
Great video, Bea! If anything, this video is very convincing. Was pondering the idea of the Katana Head with a separate cab, but this sounds very good, indeed!
Thank you Rabea for this great review. I just bought this amp yesterday and I learned a bunch of things from you that I will be using. I always enjoy listening to your playing! Win, win! No doubt you were meant to be a guitar player!!!
One thing i would love to see from the katana series is an xlr direct out with some sort of cab sim situation. This would be a killer tool for a musician that plays in venues (churches especially) that need a good direct signal. just a thought
I think it is line level, not mic level, which is why it is 1/4" instead of XLR. So it can still go to almost any board out there. And it is supposed to emulate a mic'ed cabinet on the live setting, and the recording setting is more of a pure DI, and it can blend the two as well.
I do agree it is overpriced, but it's just one of those things for me I got to have :). Just like anything you collect or for me it's heritage. Being Japanese I'm being into ESP for many reasons so all 7 of my guitars are ESP, but there are really no Japanese brand of amps. Now you can say what you want about Roland/BOSS pedals everyone has their own taste, but I've always enjoyed the products. I own the Katana mini, Katana 100 2x12, and quite a few pedals with nothing, but happiness :). I guess just ignore all my rambling and just read, "I'm really into BOSS" lol
This really does make the Katana seem like a viable gigging proposition. I'm thinking this will go really well in stereo as a wet/dry effects and solo boost addition to my Series One 45. All that dodgy bass response from the original Katanas seems to be gone.
Excellent review/demo. I’m really considering this amp as my main workhorse. I’ve been using tube amps for years, but the cost and maintenance has become a hassle. I want to use my own pedal board with this because I have specific effects I use (oil can delay, through zero flanger, EHX Attack Decay, etc) and they are routed a certain way. So does this amp take pedals well when used in conjunction with the download effects?
Thanks! Ultimately I have to get my ass down to a music store and try it out. If it didn’t take pedals well, then that would have been a deal breaker unfortunately.
Hey Rabea, fantastic playing (as usual) mate! Your video and the demo of this amp by Peach Guitars made me order this exact amp the other day. I get it tomorrow and can’t wait! I played the regular Katana 100 at a local guitar shop and was pretty stunned, but this amp is gonna be next level goodness. Thanks for posting this!
Awesome video mate, both this one and the one with Air, hope you're well, cheers for the shout out on Saturday, it's been a while, can't wait for your next release!
Love to hear your thoughts on how it feeds back. I’ve used the 100 watt head for a while now. Feedback is a little weird to me. I love the amp for a lot of reasons. Does sound great.
Excellent review! Pretty great to see the person reviewing the gear get so caught up in it. That, if anything convinces me. Great amp... Great playing. Pleasure watching you. Cheers
I haven't seen a ton of your videos yet, but what I have seen so far I really like. Your demos are great. You seem to be able to get the best out of the gear you are trying out. For instance in this video you demonstrate the ability to play well in a variety of styles that help reveal a channel/effects best qualities. Keep it up, I love it.
Great demo, and playing very impressive too. What I am hearing is a transistor preamp characteristics, though. i.e. This is not a valve amplifier, which is why everything sounds kind of 'soapy', like through a woolen blanket. Sorry, I'm sold on all valve amps. ever since my dad had built me my 1st 20W all valve. The functionality and your playing are bang on. Don't get me wrong
Rabea you make everything sound awesome. Come to andertons on saturday and give me a run down on the kraken im looking to purchase. 😉 keep up the good work man. Loving your sound!
Today, I just picked up a Katana 50w Combo (I know this is the "artist" model - just sayin) - I went and ordered largely from watching Bea's videos - Hear that Roland Co? Directly based on Rabea "likes it" and the sounds are phenomenal.....
Sure. The Katana 100 is notorious for having a harsh high end that is difficult to dial out, the controls are on the top of the amp which I don't care for and it doesn't have extension cabinet outs which limits the flexibility of the amp.
Dammit, Bea! I just wanted to watch this video and head off to bed, but no, you got me all inspired and I am going to grab my guitar instead....good thing there is a good coffee shop on the way to work tomorrow haha! Nice demo, brother \m/
Holly shit!! Best review ever with out say that hes a Awesome guitar player. Boss is killing the league now with these stuff. Now Im going to grap my guitar. He inspire me.
I don't need a Katana. I have a Valveking MKII and a 6505+ which covers everything for me. .........But I still want one. XD EDIT: Bought the Katana and flipped the two Peaveys. Zero regrets, believe it or not.
You sir, are leading the revolution that is killing tradition. Maybe, after all this time, tubes can be a thing of the past. This is just the beginning. Rock on.
