Boss Katana vs Tube Amps - 3 Examples Why It's Not Worth Buying A Tube Amp 

Can we just appreciate for a moment how amazing it is that we can get content of this quality on our favourite subjects at our fingertips? It's just nuts. I remember sitting in the school library, sharing a copy of Guitarist in my lunch breaks in the hope of seeing a short paragraph on whatever I was interested in that month.

Yes, Boss made a winner with the Katana line up. I bought my 14yr old son a Katana 100 after many many hours of research. He has been playing everyday and just loves it. The sounds and tones he gets with it are amazing. So when I got a bass for xmas from my wife I went and got a Katana 60 bass amp now my son and I jam and can compliment our tones with such ease.

Not only was that informative, it was a real treat to just listen to Paul and the tones!

I do truly appreciate this demo. I was a Marshal user in the 80's during my traveling days. My method for lead and rhythm tones was my volume knob. And us old guys knew how to do that. The Matchless is impeccable for what it does. No argument there. But now in my 60's, I travel (shorter distances) with a BOSS KATANA 100 combo 1st gen and I love it! And so did the engineer on my last gig who knows mics and guitars. I have the larger pedal for program changes, hence the 100W version. I actually see no need for swapping up to the latest version at all. I can carry my whole rig with the guitar on my shoulder, pedal board in one hand and the amp in the other hand. I've had Boogie's and Fenders, but this little amp is my forever friend, and for all the reasons that you two understand as well. Thank you again!

Great work! I appreciate your time and effort. I listened to this video in the car cranked up! I couldn’t hear a discernible difference to justify spending the extra $ for the tube amps. Boss are killing it!

Very nice indeed. I bought the Artist MKII Combo a week ago and I feel like I finally have an amp that can do virtually anything and do it well. This comparison helps prove it.

Without the visual support by the changing amp pics I actually would not even notice the swap. Excellent. This way I can keep my valve amp and no need to go digital. Cheers lads, fab video in content and making. Best from Munich

I have to admit, there's a lot of love out there for the Katana head. It's all singing, all dancing and through a decent cab, sounds brilliant. It certainly holds up well against its valve cousins, especially with some gain dialled in.

Ancient guitarist here. I'm a trained Silicon Valley printed circuit designer. I saw John Entwistle playing in a smaller club in California a while back. He and the rest of the band were using line 6 amps. As the show wore on those circuit boards got hot and all you could hear was very loud distortion! So I know the traces on those board are very thin. I wonder how long the Katana would hold up under the strain on a gig? I have had a lot of amps and nothing can compete with my 50 watt Fender Bassman. Point to point wired with no effects on board. Mine was modified with a mid-range control and a line out in the back. It's a separate head so not too heavy! Then you can put what ever pedal you want in front of it and not have to worry about the amp. This was a good show. Really liked the comparison and some good playing! Thanks. FF

I have a katana and love it. It's the most versatile amp I've ever owned. When you get into the software the amp is even more amazing.

Nice one chaps. Not only can you play B7 without checking where your fingers are, but you combine your expertise in all things amping with consummate skill in communicating the art of music simply, such that even this guitar midget can understand. I not only learn every time I tune in, but enjoy the experience. I like the new look too. Keep it coming. BTW I train people to build nuclear subs. 25K people trained so know what good looks like.

With a slight scoop of those mid/highs, I honestly don’t think we’d hear any difference at all from the Katana. Such a great value, versatile, just sounds good. Awesome purchase for anyone looking for quality:price ratio

As a beginner guitar player, I have certainly learned there is a lot of marketing hype with guitar equipment.

After considering my options, I am definitely getting a tube amp (a 20W valve Marshall amp to be specific). superior feel and tone imo

Your many videos on the Boss Katana line inspired me to take a chance on it after needing to buy a practice amp for the first time in many years. I have been absolutely blown away by what solid state amps (especially practice amp priced ones) can do these days. I cannot believe the sound and versatility of these things, especially for the cost. Thirteen year old bedroom guitarist me back in the day would have absolutely lost his mind with something like this. Anyways, thanks for all of the awesome videos and the fantastic tones pack(s) you have available on Boss Tone Exchange. Hope you all keep doing what you do for a long time to come yet.

Have to say that this channel has become my gold standard for guitar tone here on RU-vid. Great job!

this has just shown me how much of a sleeper amp the jcm900 is =) good stuff

I've seen a handful of videos like this; they do a convincing job of showing how modeler amps can sound great on a recording. I gig every weekend in an original alternative act and maybe it's just young guitarists that can't dial their amps in but everytime I see someone playing through a modeling amp or DI set up; it just always sounds thin and quiet.

I suppose there will always be a debate regarding Tube amps vs. Solid state, but after playing for almost 50 years and have had great tube amps in both the past and present. the ease and simplicity of setting up my Katana MKII 100 watt combo and getting such a range of great tones makes it my preferred choice. I love my old Classic 30 and my Budda SD18, but if I didn't have either of these great amps, I would be perfectly fine with my Katana...it would do everything I'd need in a club gig or jam somewhere. The cost, weight and overall value of these Katanas would be my first choice if I had to replace everything I own and start over again. Great clip as usual, guys...thanks!

I'm looking into buying the Katana 100, and honestly I loved the tones! I feel like it has a bit more bite to it, which I really like! And since I'm probably going to turn off the effects and draw the distortion from pedals it's great! Plus it has an attenuator (which is great for both bedroom and gigs), and an FX loop

Traded in my MarshallJCM900 two years ago for a Katana 100W. From a sonic standpoint, it does literally everything I need it to do in the rooms where I play, with the music I play, and get this, it only takes ONE person to get it out of the truck and up to the stage! I can just pick it up and carry it, no hand truck, no grunts trying to get it back into the truck. So also from a purely utilitarian standpoint, this is one of the best decisions I've made in a long time. I absolutely love my Katana.

Because of your Video i just bought a Katana head 100 mk3 with a 212 Marshall speaker and i absolutely love it. Thanks for that 👍🏻

Great job fellas! Katana 50 is my backup amp for live gigs. #1 is Fender Tonemaster Deluxe.

Ive had my share of tube amps, and owned the BOSS katana, and honestly, the katana was surprisingly good, but doesn’t replace a good tube amp on many levels.

Honestly, I was an analog and tube purist for YEARS. But these days, I use a mix of analog and digital pedals through my BossIR200 and FRFR Laney Speaker. Couldn't be happier. If it sounds great, it is great.

Fab channel for guitar heads. Using Katana 100mk2 as it saves carting around a heavy Mesa amp and a bucket load of pedals. To my ears the valves and pedals are best, as for the audience they wouldn't have a clue when the volume goes up

Awesome comparison. Really loved the playing too. Thanks for doing this. It's amazing how good the Katana sounds and the price.

Hands down, great content again! I have Katana 100 Head MKII (using it through 2x12 V30) and Marshall JVM 215c. I really like both units and playing them in my flat in bedroom levels. I must say that both amps are performing truly amazing in low volumes, but the feeling of amps are still quite different. The effects, different amp models, bunch of Boss quality pedals on board are hard to beat on Katana. If I have had a gig, I would take it everywhere with me, and wouldn‘t really need my pedalboard if I had the controller under my feet. On the other hand there’s JVM, around the notes you play makes the air move in a completely different way, makes you hear all nuances and rich harmonics under your finger tips and answers your style in a unique way. I play electric guitar for over 17 years and I know what my ears want to hear. Having both is really fun! The only problem I had with my Katana is that it doesn’t really take my Strat well - on high gain settings - and creates some fizzy noises. With my other guitars -HBs - it sounds extremely competitive.

Nice! Yep,we have several tube amps,including a 1966 Bassman head,and they all sound great but we keep a Katana lined in/mic'd up and ready to go. We can duplicate just about any amp via Katana. Salute the Katana Mk II👍

The Katana replaced all of my tube amps about 3 years ago. It has been as good and in many cases better while being lighter and much less expensive.

Very cool comparison. I use a Boss Mk2 100. I play mostly Fusion Rock stuff and the Katana sounds great for that. It's the Swiss army knife of amps. I have been using some of your patches. They are great as a starting point for tweaking other tones and sound great on there own as well . Thanks for the video.

First off, Thanks for this. It's fortunate for me (everyone?) to have such a resource. There's a sweet spot for every amp. Matchless sounds ok, not a bad sound. Not a sound that draws me in though. The Marshall sounded like it was waiting for you to really "USE" it's offerings. The katana sounds like a pedal. My experience has been that when a player/amp interaction is called upon, a real transformer and power section is second to none other. Pre amp tones are simple I'd say. When tone doesn't matter as much, the Katana would probably do. There's an interaction however, the Katana simply can't provide. Oh, and the Marshall was far and away the best for me. Especially the clean tones! Cheers guys and thanks again.

I've used the Katana Artist II combo for recording and found it excellent. If you want to avoid putting pedals in the chain you can easily voice and modify your sound from the amp which can then be mic'd or plugged direct into an interface. The connectivity of the Katana makes it easy to add or just demo parts. I use the same amp live, mic'd through a PA, and am more than happy with it. When the Roland Jazz Chorus came out it was adopted by many pro users without being especially praised, though it's considered a classic. Maybe the Katana will go the same way. It's unusual in combining versatlity and quality of sound with an intuitive design.

Fascinating comparison. Another feather in the Katana's cap that nobody ever seems to mention is the fact that, being solid state, they are not susceptible to variations in mains power supply in the way their valve cousins are. They sound as good whatever the venue, which can't be said for a valve amp.

These demonstrations for me show how incredibly good value the Katana series is. When the differences are that small in a real mix situation I would be questioning why I'd spend thousands on an amp that doesn't sound that much "better". Boss have built a modern classic here.

This speaks volumes to the importance of the speakers, so much that the amp matters less than the speakers/mic positions. Glen Fricker is right!

That Matchless head has amazing tone. However, the Katana’s tone was not all that different. I’m happy to have the 100 Mk II combo amp due to space constraints. It’s an excellent combo, in my opinion.

Yay, finally a proper testing procedure! Thanks guys, this is one of the few a/b shootouts that is actual useful. My Kat100mkii holds pride of place in my studio and gigs.

A cranked matchless is a VERY unique beast to play. Im using badcats myself these days and the tone and feel these amps deliver is worth the money OVER TIME. yeah expensive but SO nice to play and use year after year.

@ 8.29 The Matchless triggered an intense melancholic emotion in me. And that happened on a JBL Go. Tried it with a quality headset and it was even more clear. I have always bought my equipment based on that. I would ask an established musician to play, and I would just listen to the amp with my eyes closed. Great playing by the way.

Another awesome video. I am just a hobbyist and use a boss katana artist mkii. I have been considering a small tube amp but was concerned about the volume. After this video I think I have decided that’s something I do not need to bother with. Thank you!

Fabulous demo, awesome playing! From where I'm sitting, behind a 2 year old Macbook Air, through decent quality headphones, when the amps switch, no difference, nada. I expect the live room experience would reveal differences. Reminds me of debates over shades of paint colour, the viewing angle and lighting in a room can vastly overwhelms any subtle differences you'd see on a paint sample card, or the subjective mind's eye. Actually astonishing to hear how close a call it is between the amps, considering the circuitry and cost differentials. So well done, thank you!

For me tone amps are superior because in person you can’t just feel/hear the difference they make. RU-vid videos make them sound the same but there’s just something different about a legit tube amp that’s so sweet, that said the Katana still sounds incredible! And price wise it’s definitely the better deal, but for me Tube is the way to go

Recently got a Katana Artist MK II Head & Waza Cabinet & BOSS GA-FC EX Pedal bundle for $1K. Great bang for the buck

Great video as all your other videos! Katana is totally worth it considering the price. Matchless was best for clean, JCM probably has a tiny edge in the chug stuff, but Katana sound barely any different and this is before adding effects at all. Thanks for your video.

Watched this a second time on the reference headphones to make sure my ears weren't deceiving me. I think Katana is going to be my next purchase!

The Marshall sounded better to me on the clean tones, but as you said, the price... I thought the difference was negligible throughout the more driven parts.

The Marshall sounded the best to my ears while listening in headphones. In general I preferred the Matchless and the Marshall overall when looking away then watching back. As you say though, for the money it’s really close.

After owning the Artist combo for about a year, I jumped at the chance to get the head when it came out. The Artist is great, but is still limited by being a 1x12. Great for grab and go needs, but my preference has always been to have a head and a 212 or 412 cab. I tried the regular mkii head and it sounds great but I prefer front facing controls and a "pro" look to my amp and the 100w head feels a little small sitting on top of a 4x12. Plus the new dedicated solo boost delay for the Artist models is what i have been waiting for! Bottom line is that Katanas sound great, but there is something about the sound and look of the Katana Artist head cranking away sweet tones through my 412 cab that is simply awesome. BTW I credit all my awesome tones to this channel - thank you so much for all the great content.

I’ve gotta say, I watch a lot of guitar channels on RU-vid but these lads ability to capture amazing tones blows all the others out of the water!! Definitely the guys to listen too, Especially when it comes to recording guitar advice. Great work lads.

It's impressive how much the Japanese have been producing high-quality goods for many years and have literally changed my life. Whether it's hi-fi equipment or everything related to guitars Japanese products have followed me since my childhood. One of my very first real amplifiers was actually the Roland micro cube which I still remember. It was an amplifier that I took absolutely everywhere and sounded so good for its size and price. I briefly switched to Line 6 with the excellent Line 6 Spider Valve 112 MK1 and today I use the Boss Katana MK2. Even with cars, I prefer Toyota and Lexus. I'm not ready to switch to other brands other than Japanese ones, the only exception being Fender. I love playing on a Stratocaster and Telecaster with Noiseless pickups that I installed on them, but that's really the only exception for me.

I've had Matchless, Bogner, Marshall, Fender, Top Hat, Doctor Z, PRS and many other amps. It's hard to believe a BOSS amp can compete with tube amps, but this video is pretty convincing.

I’ve had the katana. It sounds harsh and metallic. Not like my tube amps which are full and luscious.

The heavier gain stuff minimized the nuances of the amps. However, that edge of breakup tone revealed a lot. All 3 sounded amazing in that context. But honestly, the Marshall won that. I own a Katana MK2 50. Love it.

This, or the axe or the helix or some other excellent modelling systems.... they are just amazing. I have lived with modelled guitar tone for some time now and don't think twice... it delivers exactly what and when I want and is inspiring.

Agree with all key points - katana is immense sounding. A few bits for me, remember second hand market for JCM900 is very reasonable by comparison. The clean 900 sound was pure Slash by the way! My worry with digital gear is firstly how durable it is - IE if it fell off a wagon would it be ok? Pretty sure the Marshall and Matchless would be, and if it wasn’t ok could it be repaired easily? Again, old valve amps are very serviceable whereas digital stuff is more consumable (if it breaks you’re more likely to just need to throw it away and buy another as the repair would cost more than a new amp). Also big issue with digital gear is the obsolescence risk aka new iPhone syndrome- in two years there will be a new Katana which will plummet the current versions value and eventually have compatibility issues with the various software editors. Whereas a good valve amp will always be a good valve amp and hold its value accordingly. Biggest take away for me is that no way is that matchless worth 3.5 grand! 😂 Not meaning to be negative at all btw, just some thoughts that came to my mind. Great content, keep it coming.

Just proves how much technology has evolved. Great video Rats🤟🤟

The main difference is that if something goes wrong with your tube amp, you can usually get a local tech to fix is easily. If something goes wrong with your digital amp and its out of warranty the solution is to buy a new board, which is not cheap... Personally, I just don't find digital amps to be responsive enough, and they sound very different in the room when you're standing beside it then they do in a close mic'd 1" away from the speaker, which isn't my favourite way to mic an up amp either, but to each their own.

The Katana sounds great and it is a handy tool to use but I will always love my Marshalls as well. ✌🏻

Great video. Truly. I can tell you my experience. I bought the Katana Artist combo in November, used it for a week, and put it into the spare bedroom and pulled back out my Laney Class A tube amp and separate effects. For an "audiophile" sound (I know it's not the right term) the Katana simply doesn't cut it. The Katana does a 1,000 things good but nothing exceptionally well.

What a great comparison. The differences are almost negligible, and most listeners would never know the difference for sure. On a side note - I'd love to see a short video on how to play the clean riff. You use it all the time in your demos, and it sounds great, and I'm never entirely sure how you're playing it. :D

They all sounded great to my ears. I own a DSL40 and Cavin V3 w/2x12 cab, but my Katana Artist is the amp I play out with these days. Great tool for a cover band and easy on this old man's back :)

The only track where I really felt a difference (and Marshall was the fullest and more pleasing for me) was the clean one. Really eye opening!

I've been using a Katana Artist for several years now and unless it fails I'm unlikely to need another amp. Fantastic amp especially considering the price.

BOSS always has and continues to innovate. Nothing against the other incredible amps, but for most average players it's excellent to know that BOSS is there for you and always has been.

The playing is beautiful, could have just listened and watched longer, the Katana really held its ground so well, the other 2 are expected to sound good and they do. Thank you for the great video!

Only discovered your channel a couple of weeks ago and I have to say Paul's guitaring is fantastic and the content of the videos is really helpful and well explained.

First off, I always love your playing! I'm feeling better about buying my Katana 12 X 100 combo amp. For the price against the big boys, it sits really well. Thanks, guys. 👍

Great video. Katana is a useful tool and I enjoy mine. The tube amps are in another league though.

My only issue with the katana is a friend had one which broke, no one could fix it so it had to go on ebay for £50 spares etc, where as a valve amp generally can be repaired.

I have some great valve amps, however I often use my Katana Artist for convenience. It's a great amp.

Katana is just an incredible goal for Boss and nobody could tell differently. STILL Matchless has an opening on the mid-hi frequencies very difficult to achieve but, as you say, probably it is possible to fix better with a little EQing and using the different voicing on the Katana; anyway, is it true to say that digital amps are really sneakin'up fast the place of Valve amps. And, in my opinion, if I had to choose who to entrust my sound, easily Roland-Boss would receive my praise. I'm an old user of 90's Peavey transistor amps and probably time has come to change my stereo rig...❤️❤️❤️

I spent more re tubing my bassbreaker than I did on the katana brand new..pretty amazing

I like your test method - a lot! Not a huge difference between them. Probably goes to show that the player matters as much as anything along with the speakers. And with the Katana, no expensive tube changes - any time.

Interesting. My issue with testing amps with loops or samples is that the responsiveness of the amp may change the way that you play, as opposed to just being a post-production effect...

Great demo. For the money without much if any loss in sound quality, the Katana is the winner for me.

Very nice review. The idea of laying down a loop then playing it back through each head was an excellent way of eliminating the human variables. I agree- the Katana sounded great in its own right. But factoring in the price difference is indeed a “ no brainer.” Add that the Katana’s MIDI capabilities and you need look nowhere else.

On the clean comparisons at the end, you sold me on the JCM 900! Wow, it sounds so sweet. The Matchless sounds great as well. The Katana? Uhh…. Well… Another thing to consider, besides face value, is cost over time and asset value. Try selling your $600 Katana head in 4 years. I couldn’t sell my Katana mkI for half of what I bought it for after having it for 2 years. So I just gave it to a friend. If you have a Matchless or JCM 900 and you sell it, it will be like you never paid for it and you should be able to make money off of the resell. I’ve made about 30% on all my sells of Fender and Marshall tube amps, which means I got paid for playing them, some for 20 years. Oh, and to the point, they sound way better than any Katana. But digital technology is catching up.

I’ve had two Katana amps. I liked them at first but I never could get them to sound like a Fender Deluxe Reverb. If you want a really good solid state amp get a Quilter.

This shows that an amp is just an amp, I just love to here this guy play! I am working on all the riffs he used in this video!

I have to appreciate how they took an A power chord and turned it into the most banging song I've ever heard 😂

I've been wanting a Marshall for decades. Midlife crisis and all, but ... dang you guys are making this hard.

the question is. when the Katana dies, will you be able to fix it?

As a player, small differences in tone can be a big deal. But, as a listener, small differences in tone in a Mix are often inaudible, and even big differences are meaningless unless they ruin the desired result. I can't remember the last time I heard a Mix that I thought was ruined by the guitar tone. Weird guitar tones often sound fine in a Mix. The guitar speakers/cab makes a much bigger difference than the Amp in my experience, and this also holds true in the Modelling world, provided the High Cut frequency Response emulates a real speaker. I'd like to see a comparison of the same Head played through different Cabs. I think that's where your money has way more value.

I would love a follow up video where he plays a similar thing but now live with each amp so we can hear if there's anything extra that comes from the amp's live tone to the player. What I'm trying to ask in the worst way possible is, how do these amps really feel?

I raise my hat to all analogue vs digital test makers and opinionnaries for providing and experiencing juicy differences coming through a sweet thick wall of sugar cookie pie RU-vid digital treatment! Keep it up folks!

Besides showing me a solid state amp used effectively in the studio, thank you for making me aware of how good modern Matchless amps sound. I just figured they were ok compared to the Sampson Perotta originals. Holy smokes, that one sounded fantastic. If I had to tour with a Katana, I am confident I would get good sounds in the PA but the feel would be different and none of the people who hire me would let that logo on state with them. I'd have to disguise it. Luckily I have a lot of fantastic tube amps already.

I like both SS and tube amps and will just add that when a tube amp breaks your local amp tech will have no problem getting it up and running again. When your Katana stops working it's going to be a lot more expensive to fix and in a lot of cases once it's over 10 years old you'll be unlikely to get the parts to fix it at all.

Keep up the good work of driving the tube amp market into collectors status. I'll be buying up every classic tube amp I can find because long term, they will out perform all these China solid states both in sonic sweetness and monetary value. All these amp wannabe simulators are convenient yes and they are sounding pretty close to the real thing but in the end it's how it hits your ears. There is a reason they are chasing that "tube warmth, sponge like feel and a tone that blooms.

I have a Marshall DSL40C that I have been using as my main amp for a few years. I also had a Fender Mustang LT25 that I used for practice because the Marshall is too loud for the home. Last August a friend asked if I would help out with his band. I did not want to lug my Marshall over to his house every week for practice as it's fairly heavy. the Mustang was not loud enough to keep up with the keyboard, drums, bass, and other guitar. I bought a Katana 50 MKII to use for band practice. I was totally blown away by how quickly I could get a great tone from the Katana. I used the Tone Studio software on my laptop to create 4 presets. I have my clean tone, my main rhythm tone, my lead tone, and then a edge of breakup tone with a rotary effect that I use for some old Cream songs (Badge). The 50 watt Katana is very easy to carry and is more than loud enough for what I am doing. I would even be comfortable gigging with this amp in smaller venues.

In my house the Katana range (I've tried a few) hum and buzz so loud as to be unusable. My Marshall, Vox and Princeton are silent. I've tried mains filters, and even got an electrician in, but it seems the Katanas are just very sensitive to mains-borne interference.

The edge of breakup really showed how much better a real tube amp is compared to digital.

As much as I love the Katana, I can feel a bit less harmonics and complexity from it. Either way, it keeps being really cost-effective.

Great video as always. Such a lovely playing and sounds, great comparison and worth conclusion. Thank you so much!

Nice!! but still the Matchless had the 3D thing going, that the Katana lacked.

I was iffy about my Katana 100 MKII but then I read about the “turn the master volume all the way up” truck and since then I can’t believe how great this thing sounds. You can use the foot switch for clean, edge of breakup and lead tones and go with no other pedals if you like. I wish they made a 30 watt version with a 10 inch speaker that weighed about 18 pounds but that’s just because I’m an old man with a bad back!

Great comparison - very well conceived, explained, executed, and documented. There's one thing you've left out of the equation is /amp feel/. The subjective experience of the guitarist playing through each individual amplifier. This is of course not the only important factor, and for some guitarists, it may not be important at all. For others, including myself, it's one of the most important factors (second only to tone).

I don't understand why people are talking about modeling amps in the comments. The Katana is not a modeling amp, as Boss keeps pointing out. The amp generates its sounds analog, only the FX section is digital. So there is no question of a modeling amp when we talk about the amp sound of the Katana. By the way, I think this video is very well done. Paul simply knows what he's talking about and I really like the Studio Rats channel. Musical greetings from Germany Mic

Katana sounds phenomenal up against the matchless and Marshall when factor in the price. Great review guys 👍 Would be good to see line 6 catalyst or the Fender GTX against the katana in a future video

The Marshall has a bit of a growl that the Boss doesn't but wow, impressive how well it hold up.