@@bardock11 thats the thing, I hate fifa ive lost many relationships with fifa, when i play the game i am more annoyed at it than anything else, yet i buy it every year, its like crack....
@@DrewKane I agree and disagree the Katana can change wattage and you can hook it up to the computer and have access to a lot of pedals. If you want simple that sounds good the Champion 50XL is not a bad choice either. Both are good but I think the Katana was for me because you can change the wattage and I got a friend that knows a lot about computers and helped me dial in all the tones I like.
Tom Godwin haha, me too 😂 and what do you think of those tones ? I have a small Vox Night Train 2watts into 1 great cabinet, and my dream amp VOX AC15HW1, both giving my prefered tones. For curiosity I should try that Boss Katana to make my mind, RU-vid vids show great tone from it, but here with a mic' in the room I don't like it. My 1st amp was a Mustang 20, no great tones until I changed the speaker, nevertheless does not compare to my Vox tones.
One problem with amps that have an overload of FX, options etc. is that young players can spend too much time fiddling and messing - just like with keyboards that have a zillion rhythm and keyboard types as standard. The Blackstar sounds excellent, but for me it's the Fender 20 that wins out. It's less complex, has a good but not overblown range of options and FX and sounds good. Justin was also right about the bass response of the Fender having more fullness. I have had the Fender for some time now and love it. Purely as a personal preference, I prefer amps where all the controls face forwards rather than being on top.
Most of those who play guitar don't have much money and that was my case for many years so my advice would be to all those young (or not so young) who start playing guitar to start modeling on computer You will always have a lot of snobs to tell you that you have to buy a tube amp etc. but the reality is that computer simulators work very well nowadays, it's not like when I started playing guitar more than 10 years ago I take for example Bias FX from Positiv Grid that I use regularly For the equivalent of 200 $ (depending on the software you take it varies) you have access to all pedals you may need and all amps including the same guitar simulator which allows you to play even with a cheap guitar It's even suitable for beginners because even if you don't know how to use this kind of software most of them offer ready-made presets according to the music you are interested in playing And don't listen to the snobes in music, the important thing is that your audience connects to what you do and that you have fun, the rest is irrelevant
That Blackstar ID core sounds so much better than the Fender for similar money it is amazing. Well worth the extra £20 on the cost. Yes, the Fender had more bass but it was also very muddy for the treble side of things. Of course the Katana sounds better than the others but you would expect that for it having a 12 inch speaker.
@@tarunkumaar625 I prefer the Blackstar vs. Fender in this 8" speaker size...but I prefer the Fender Champ 40 to the mid sized Blackstar; though I use my own pedals and preamps so that probably has a lot to do with it. I have noticed the Power Amp section of the Blackstar's have a much more vibrant volume response at lower wattages.
I bought my Katana 100 not too long ago. It wasn't that much more than the 50, plus it has a larger magnet on the speaker that really separates it tonally from the 50. Plus, it allows you to use the looper switch pedal. And you can always switch to the 5W channel and keep the Gain down for your neighbors' sake... or not. ;-) ROFL
@@anders2772 I cant think of the name of the mesa boogie amp that I played today at the store but it sounded so good. It was $1850 white and you can change the wattage and it sounds so good with out pedals. I have to stay in my lane I guess if I start saving now they will no longer make them and they will have a new one for $2800
I have the Blackstar ID:Core 20 in my office and two Katana 50s in my music room. I also have a Yamaha THR10 in the livingroom (wife approved) and a Vox Mini 5 Rhythm. The most important piece is my Chocolate Labrador dog 🐾. She sings along to the tunes she likes. 😀
How to buy a beginner guitar amp. Step 1. Buy a Boss Katana or a Yamaha THR10. Hell, even a used DigiTech GSP1101 or an Eleven Rack can be found for about $200.
I bought the Fender Champion after giving it a go at a local guitar shop. It sounds great and is a lot of bang for your buck. I use it as a living room/practice amp. Gets loud enough for a jam with another guitarist and bassist and could even be used on a coffee shop gig. The amp models sound really good, and the effects get the point across well enough.
Im curious why the Fender Champion 50XL wasnt included in this lineup. Happened to have just watched the shootout from last year where Pete and Rabea both said that bang for buck tone they would take the XL over the Katana. Have opinions changed since then?
This is a poor review of the fender champion 20. There are lots of great sounds you can get with that..... The metal gain amp voicing is pretty loud....i guess you guys haven't use that product. There's reverb with delay, etc etc... Such a great little thing
Nobody: Me: My advice for buying any guitar amp, first or not, is to understand the amp is as much an instrument as the guitar. Know the different types and how they sound like (start with the basic "families", Fender, Marshall and Vox, and understand how and why they are different). Spend as much, if not more, money/attention/effort in your amp as you do on your guitar.
Sometimes it's more than budget it's about circumstance. I downgraded from a Fender Bassman Reissue (70 watts tube) to Fender Champion 20 which is perfect for at home playing. I don't gig or play with anyone else and have young kids and need lower Volume. I stayed away from the Mustangs and the Boss Katana because obselence. It's only 5 years and those amps won't work with your PC or Cell Phone. The Champion wont have that problem. Boss had better effects but Fender has the better clean sound. I keep it on the Blackpanel Green (Deluxe voice) and use slapback delay, spring reverb, or Tremolo based on the song. Sounds great with my Gretsch hollowbody.
When Justin pointed out all the nice guitars, Lee has on the wall. It is a adult way to say, can I play with you toys. Plus I like Lee's expressions like what guitars.
I own a Boss Katana Mk II and from my point of view it might be a bit overwealming with all the Options and Settings on this Amp for a complete Beginner. I see myself as a intermediate beginner and i only scratched the edges of options of it.
The funny thing with these small practice amplifiers, in my opinion, is that they tend combine too much power with too small speakers, which still puzzles me. Basically 1W is more than enough for home use, maybe even too much if you combine it with a reasonably big speaker cabinet like a 2x12. Meaning why not reduce the power to 1W/0.5W/0.1W and scale up the cabinet to at least a 1x12? But I suppose the simple answer, as usual, is the manufacturing price of the speakers and the bigger cabinet.
Two answers . The real small amps ( oversimplified) are using full range speakers such as in boom boxes , with the electronics programed to emulate traditional guitar voiced speakers . If they're being used as actual portable amps , size does matter .
Big fan of the Katana, and ahve recommended it to a few people, though I tend to suggest the 100 is a much better choice than the 50 for not a whole lot more money
Where can I buy one of those stools that you are all sitting on? I'm looking for a solid stool with a back (I've got back issues) and the stools you are sitting on look like good, quality stools. I see them in all of your videos...
Justin always just amazes me with his playing. I know this is about amps but I love his lessons and listening to him play. I will receive a 20 watt Marshall tomorrow so excited to watch this. For home practice/play only. My first tube amp!!!
I feel like if you are going to go out and buy a budget amp, I think it'd be worth saving up a little extra and getting the Boss Katana. Sounds great for the price!
I only started playing guitar this year, and I'm on my third amp already! I started with a Roland Micro Cube, then I got a Line 6 Spider V 30, then ended up with a Fender Bassbreaker 007 with Vox StompLab llG. I have nothing against the Spider V, it was a great amp for the money, I just wanted valves to go with my Strat. I kept the Roland as well, it's a cracking little amp, and I like that it can be used with AA batteries. Btw, I keep hearing good things about the Katana, and I liked it in this review, it's what I'd have bought first if I'd seen it reviewed before splashing the cash.
@@krisberntzen I agree. I just tapped the subscription tab to quickly find a video that had dropped the same day (something from Robert Baker I think) and spotted "5 seconds ago", saw that it was from Andertons and thought "damn, never been this early for a video before"
BOSS Katana 50 is the best non-tube amp value by a long shot. If you spend the money for this amp, whether for beginners or just a practice amp, you won't regret it.
Craig M The Katana is an amp that can take you from learning to play on to your first gig and becoming a regularly gigging guitarist. Back in 1997 I bought my first practice amp, then a couple of bigger amps that still didn’t work for gigging until finally getting a Marshall half stack. The Katana is the one amp you’ll ever need. Sure you may graduate to a tube amp one day, but the Katana works great live.
"Conclusion: There is no right and there is no wrong. Just do what you wanna do. If you wanna spend all your money on the best guitar you can get, then get a cheap amplifier, you can make great noises. If you wanna spend all your money on an expensive amplifier and a cheap guitar, you can make great noises." - Lee Anderton, 2016 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Xu_plv2CTEM.html
Thank you for the insight, very useful! I have a beginner's question. I'm a bit confused about how much power (watts) one actually needs if they want to use their amps not just at home but also at smaller gigs (like in a bar, small stage, etc.) It would be logical to think that the bigger the hall you perform in, the more watts you need. However, to my recollection, the amplified sound the audience hears almost never actually comes from the speakers of your amp. Instead, the stage will have their own power amplifier system with speakers and the musician's amp is just micophoned up or connected to the mixing console with an equivalent method. Since the microphone is placed directly in front of the guitar amp's speaker, does it even matter if it is a 5 or a 50 watt amplifier? What am I missing here? Thanks in advance.
I have a IRig micro amp, a ID Core 20 V2, an Orange Crush 12 and a Roland Cube 10GX for practice amps. I think a six inch speaker like the Crush 12 has hits the sweet spot for playing at bedroom levels, it also is all analog with great pick dynamics like my tube amps. My Epiphone LP Special with P-90's sounds great with it.
I'm in an apartment and only play for myself right now so I actually picked up the Katana Mini. Not something you could ever play out with, but it does great for what it is! Also it's nice to be able to practice in another room without having to unplug, lug, and replug.
Hi guys. I'm wondering: could you please clarify dimensions of these amps (including weight too) - especially Boss Katana 50 and Blackstar IDCore20? The Boss Katana 50 is the only one from that cheaper range which I've played with myself, and I couldn't find the measurements/weight. I'm blind, so if this was displayed in your video without you mentioning it, I wouldn't be able to make use of that. Also, when you demo the amps, could you please make sure to describe knob/settings layout in detail (eg top panel from left to right etc)? I'm a casual home player and have been looking into amps, as I used to have a Roland MicroCube, but wasn't happy with it.
But is it really that much better than a Katana? I think the Katana sounds almost as good while being louder and more versatile. You can gig with he Katana, try a bunch of pedals, record... The THR10 has it's place but it's more geared towards experienced musicions who wan't great sounds in an inoffensive design.
So people always talk about 8” speakers in small amps and 12” speakers in the nicer amps. Seems like no one uses 10” speakers really. I have a Vox Cambridge 30 with 2 10” Celestion speakers in it, and it’s awesome
One thing they didn't mention is Zoom G3n also has headphone socket, so when you are learning looping you can mess up privately without having to plug into an amp. If you use its looper and drum then you loose a couple of effects, but can still record clean backing (or whatever amp setting you like) and then feed effects prior to looper, all with one unit. Also, built in tuner. Can turn off drum once loop established, plenty on RU-vid on how to set this up.
I'm gonna repeat what everyone's saying in the comments. Buy the katana. Any beginners watching this thing, you'll thanks us later. This is THE best entry level solid state Amp money can buy.
It’s the same old story!!! You get what you pay for. Unfortunately a single eight inch (8”) speaker has absolutely nothing on a single 12” speaker. And let’s be honest here. A majority of people are NOT in a position to buy a terrible practice amp and also have the funds to buy a good Gigging amp. In the real world you need something that can do it all. So myself, I would just bite the bullet and buy the “Katana 100w” and go from there, as it has and does it all. Anyway, just my thoughts! 🤷🏻♂️🎸🤘🏻
Back then in 2019 , the 10W "starter pack " amps sold used for next to nothing , not uncommon for friends to give them away . Nowadays , GC has them listed at +/- $100 .
a proper amp ..none of that solid state.you can have 1001 tones but if all of them tones are not the best..its basically a keyboard..a piano player may well get a keyboard but he certainly wont be selling his piano to get one..marshall dsl1..its £220 and thats dirt cheap..a gig amp can be £1000..but if you want to waste £150 on a bag a shit..go ahead..i look at guitars like this..a martin for £650..thats cheap.martin say a piece of wood will act like a tree for 20 years.some are £15000..so 650 is cheap..so when you buy the disposable £200 harley benton..you will see why..the neck moves..the woods new and a shit grade and you would struggle to get £50..buy once.buy quality
For me with my budget it has to be the fender, I thought I would have chosen the black star but I like the simplicity of the fender mixed with the sweet tone and it's just for home use really. Thanx guys I'm looking for an amp this helped.
The orange micro terror with a ppc108 is good for a beginner?? Here the boss katana is out of stock, and there is only katana mini :(( Im a bedroom player, the mini or the micro + ppc?
Why does the katana have a 0.5 watt mode? You can just turn it down on 50 watt mode. It's not like it's a valve amplifier where it sounds better cranked up 😳
Im a beginner and i just went ahead and got the Boss Katana 2 50 watt. ($229) All the things on it are a bit overwhelming but i figured i really wont have to buy another amp as i advance so its worth it.
I think it comes down to preference... I personally liked the sounds of the blackstar. I mean you probably can mimic them with the eq settings in katana but still would i really want to pay double the price rn to get that when i can have what i like personally. In the end right now all that matters is getting something that you want to hear not the world. Coz you're the one who has to practice everyday and having something you like to hear goes a long way in keeping you motivated.
After years and years of trying different gear for home use i have come to the conclusion that the best setup for home is a multi FX processor through an active full range speaker. I get better results from that than a "real" guitar practice amp.
I bought the fender champ 20 as my first amp. Make no mistakes it is a loud little amp I rarely cranked her over 3. Dirty channel just didn’t give me the sound I wanted. Clean channels has great classic fender sound.
Comparing the Boss Katana 50 with these other amps is not too fair. To be in the same tier of the Katana, the choice from fender should be the Champion 40 (at least) instead of the 20.
DVMark Jazz amp, 400 euros, best amp of my life. Solid state but very warm. Super efficient EQ, great reverb, and light as a feather. I've stopped looking for amps since I got it. Of course it has no distortion, but takes any pedal like a king. Might buy a second one to get the good stereo sound.
Looks like hes taken a g shape, moved the middle and index fingers down a string each, and just moved it about, either muting the open strings or just playing em. Cant give you the name tho sorry
The Marshall MG FX amps are pretty nice for starter amps I think... similar to what Captain said about the Fender, more straight forward , with knobs that are more like akin to analog controls of older tech....but allows you to save a preset for each "channel".... to recall that sound later on.... Another I looked into and really thought sounded great, was the Blackstar ID:30TVP... I ended up with the Marshall MG30CFX to start out, as the Blackstar was a good bit more expensive at that time/place. I didn't like the sound of Fender Champion amps for some reason... My thoughts would be to get something fairly small and inexpensive, like what comes in a starter package, or similar.... and then if interest develops into a genuine passion, then save for a nice second amp like a Katana, or something similar with 10-12" speaker... I'm really still enjoying the Marshall, especially with the addition of the footswitch, and now looking into what will be the next steps of our journey....
Been at it since about seventy six. Got about fifteen K of guitars alone, but still really enjoyed this. Stick at it, save yer money, trade wisely and you’ll soon get some great gear.
Here are my thoughts: 1. The speakers should be 10" or 12" speakers rated 95Db or higher. 2. Speaker placement relative to a listener or microphone changes the sound. The speakers and speaker placement is by far the most important part of your sound. 3. If you like the sound of a cranked tube amp, get a low watt tube amp and crank it up. The higher wattage on a tube amp was meant to get a cleaner sound on a higher volume. 4. If you want a clean sound, use a solid state amp because they will stay clean at any volume. 5. If you want a distorted sound and a solid state/computer amp, do not use the distorted sound of the amp unless it mimics a distortion pedal. Generally solid state amp owners don't like the sound of the distortion that has come with their amps. Use a distortion pedal or fuzz pedal instead. This might be changing as new models are constantly being made. 6. Don't try to copy somebody's sound because the sound chain is far to complicated for that. Learn to play because Jimmy Page played led Zeppelin songs using a Telecaster through a sound board and a Gibson through a Marshall and fans still can't tell the difference. 7. You can plug a guitar into a bass amp, but not a bass into a guitar amp because it will eventually destroy the speakers.
That Fender Champion is actually a delightful Amp. My daughter had one that I loved playing clean with my hollow body Gretsch 5420t at low to moderate volume. I was very sad to see it go when she moved out (and of course I was even more sad to see her go as well).
I agree that small amps has come along way since I guess 1993. The state of art was for Marshall the valvestate and my choice was the 8100 100 watt top with a 1960 cab. The idea was not change to much and with a 1960 well the only thing would be the upgrade in amp heads besides transport. Sadly I thought that I am not into lots of different effects so got a Digitech rp 1 multi effect board which I forever tried to dial in the tones I liked. A bit awakening was youtube my first setup to see that the tone really was in the 8100.
Anders Jørgensen the 8100 was my first serious amp and it worked really well. Tried the Boss GT3 multi effects back then but they just weren’t good sounding and user friendly the way they are today. The 8100 with a Blues Driver as a solo boost got me through hundreds of gigs.
I'm not sure what's the name for it but he's ascending on a major scale starting from the root chord to the sub-dominant chord. A lot of songs used that progression in pop music.
Thanks for this series; my niece has currently got the bug to learn guitar she's 10 and I said I'd get her guitar and amp; my question on this choice of amps would be would the extra weight of lugging the katana to friends houses etc put her off wanting to play? My shortlist was already the Katana 50 or B* ID20 and either a Jackson Minion Dinky or a Squier Bullet. Pete and Justin instantly seemed to have more fun with those two amps. Decisions decisions arghhhh!
Basil BeDemented Katana is light and it’s so easy to dial in - you can do as much or as little as you want - either just picking a channel with the dial or downloading sound packs and pedal setups online. The 0.5w inside practice setting or 50w power jump are super useful. Then it’s an easy resell if she falls away from guitar.
Basil BeDemented I played a Squier Bullet Tele recently and was really surprised by how good it was OOTB; decent setup and shockingly playable neck. Not a fan of the factory-installed strings though, would definitely replace them, but everything else was quite good for the price. Best wishes to your niece-if I had a time machine I’d start as a kid instead of waiting!
