They're PUSHING Boss Katana Gen 3 - What's All the Fuss About? 

That Pushed setting - sounds great to me?

My amp is a tube amp that mimics a solid state amp, expensive rig but it’s worth it to have that crispy solid state tone.

If I was just starting out I'd be 100% all in on the Katana.

So pretty and sparkly without hurting my ears, I absolutely love it!

This version sounds way better than the previous Katanas to my ears !

For £289 these are ridiculously good. HX Stomp is £700 now and you still need to buy a powered cab or power amp and speaker on top of that.

Live gigs are great with these as a pedal platform...and the line out into the P.A. works amazing.

Great player, lots of videos, apparently never sleeps. Thanks John for the content.

The airstep kat solves the footswitch issue, its awesome!! And that is the sweetest stratocaster i think ive seen and heard ever😎

"I will be involved, if I don't say the wrong things" Cordy saying the wrong things is the funniest thing though 😂

Once again I am reminded why you are one of my favourite guitarists John. Beautiful tones, beautiful playing.

I've have gone back to katana, been using a fender deville 212 for 6 months, and although it has not let me down I cannot get the versatile sounds I need for all the recording and live gigs I do. Katana and the gafc has all the options I need, plus it's insane value.

5:41 haha that was almost the good old guitar pro jingle when starting up

Obviously it’s not going to replace my tube amps for playing most of the time, but I absolutely love having a Katana head for practicing at lower volumes or with headphones, or especially while traveling. It’s the best portable practice amp I’ve ever had (blows away my Spark and Yamaha THR), with tons of great sounding effects and built in practice speaker, but yet still packs 100w if I ever want to plug it into a full sized cabinet and play really loud. It’s incredibly versatile and useful.

I use my amp as a pedal platform so only really need usually a clean setting.

Tone and a price a normal human being can afford...YES!!! They are great!!!😁😎

You pay more and you get more. That’s the way it is. Always. That’s not anything to dislike Boss for. It’s business. It’s how you promote your goods to try to get folks to buy based on what is important to them.

For me, the artist is what im getting. The variation clean sounds luscious, and the different modes, along with the waza speakers.

Great time to pick up a mk1 100 or 100 Head ( one on eBay v reasonable with postage .. not mine 😆 ) then , the 50 is more a high priced entry level amp , but one most of us would have been amazed with 25 years ago , line 6 spider anyone? ... Ive used my mk1 100 combo since its launch for countless gigs and its all good ( for what it is ) , use it now straight into normal channel as pedal platform , fed up with valve amps letting me down so went with this , Mk1 100 combo is fine , not amazing but its fine for he price / weight / reliability / sound . Most seem to try it in shop , not like it , and move on , it does take a bit of eq tweaking to get best but at gig volume with a tube screamer / overdrive in front of it , it does the job in a band mix , enough for me 😊

Honestly, I watched the Andertons reveal and didn't hear much to get excited about. The new "Pushed" setting is convenient, but I checked straight after and seemed to be able to get near-enough the same tones already on my Katana Mk. II with a bit of playing about between clean and crunch and a bit of EQ. I use my Mk. II combo these days as a really convenient studio amp to record demos without annoying the neighbours, but I really should give it a live outing again. Generally, for live playing, I've switched to a Laney Cub-Super 12 - it's plenty loud enough for anywhere I play and a really nice little combo. Even at my middling level of playing ability (I'm a singer/songwriter) I was struck by the difference in "feel" that came with switching to a valve amp. Which is all a long-winded way of saying I can't see me ditching my Mk. II in favour of a Gen 3, because there's just not enough of a gain to warrant it, for me at least.

The 50 combo SHOULD have a line out. Simple.

Katana...the most sold amp in the last few years based on sales from a number of retailers, Andertons, Sweetwater, Guitar Center......and they keep upping their game !

Still exploring (and hugely enjoying) my MkII 100, so to be honest I'm not in a market for a newer one anytime soon but I'm always interested in what I'd be missing with newer models. Thanks for bucking the trend (a little) with this quick review. Look forward to seeing what you make of the head version.

The pedal is why I bought the Gen 3 50 ex. You can fead the board for front of house and have your stage volume, plus you have blue tooth so you can control the amp with your iPhone. The ex has a new speaker and of course the pushed setting which adds a very useful palette of tones. Over all this is a great sounding , light- weight package with all the boss pedal goodness built-in when you use the GA-FC foot switcher. After great in the studio and great in the club.

"Will be involved if I don't say the wrong things". Very telling.

I bought the Mk2 50 EX a couple years ago because it can use the footswitch so there's no reason why the Mk3 50 couldn't have the same extra features. The stock Katana is overly bright to my ear, but now that I've adjusted the flobal EQ it's fine. Katanas have so much tonal flexibility with the editor, you can tweak it to sound just about however you want.

Buy a Mk2 with the price drops to come, use the editor, get katana librarian, buy the airstep pedal to control the settings. I dont think the new features are worth an upgrade or whatever the extra price will be.

Watched a repair video on these and they're essentially disposable e-waste. Very difficult to repair, or even find the problem.

The Katanas are great amps and are an insane value. For solid state, I’ll stick with my quilters.

Regarding guitar cabs: Jim Lill showed the "quality" of the cab has virtually no measurable effect on the sound, but the size and the portion of the back that's open (or not) does. The speakers are really what matters. More cab volume per speaker surface area increases bass, and the back panel of any cheap closed back cab can be altered to affect the bass response. Harley Benton makes perfectly good, unloaded or loaded speaker cabs very cheap. A 2x12 would expand the potential speaker choices with a 100W head a lot. I'd strongly consider a Pre Rola-doped 100W Weber Ceramic 1230-55 (w/cloth surround) for its deep, sweet & clear freq response, along with any number of 75Hz cone options. The G212Plus Vertical Unloaded cab has three removable back panels. You'd have a very nice versatile 2x12 for ~$500. The 1230-55 will give it stronger/deeper bass. I'd put it on top because it has more 4kHz+ than most guitar speakers, and you won't hear that detail if it's on the bottom. You might also save some on shipping if you order the other speaker from Thomann.

Nice one.. I’m into it. Interested in the pushed thing and other tweaks mentioned about a more tubey ampy in the roomy thing… I’ve gigged my M2 100w 212 a few times with a pedal board and the GAFC with expression pedals attached and it was great IMO. I got pushed by using the clean (variation ) and just having the gain knob up around 1 o’clock - then either played gentle or dug in. The drive pedals and effects all sounded great to me. NB I am quite deaf. 👂🏻 ❌ Might have a go on the 100 212 or possibly the artist.. which I never tried before . Nice.

absolutely love your style...shades of E.J. chords. I'm usiing a Katana 100 MkII combo in a worship team setting and it's definitely all I need for that environment. Great video, great amp, great playing. Thanks for sharing.

If we really look, each amplifier has its own charm. No review will give an answer as to whether the amplifier is suitable for one or all types of music until you try it yourself. Everything else is marketing and how to sell. But your style of playing and review gives for me something I think is very close to my way of listening and trying. So thank you.

the best thing about gen 3 is that you can get really good deals on mk2 right now.

My main amp is a Fender Hot rod 112. I have a boss katana 100 version 2 as a backup. I think the katana sounds great it actually sounds better to me than the tonemaster versions Fender has been putting out. You totally get that amp in the room feel with the 100 watt version. I play clean only and I would only upgrade if the clean sounds better than the version 2.

Well that is a nicelooking guitar

The Katana's sound terrific and when you add the low price point that makes them even more desirable. We live in a great time for gear, you can literally go in to a music store and drop $1000 dollars and walk out with a quality guitar and amp.

Bit of a joke that you have to buy the bluetooth adapter separately.

I still have the old MK1 that I feel is the best bang for the $$$ I have ever spent on gear. Just a versatile tool. I'm tempted, but would really love me that power amp update on a smaller unit

The Airstep Kat works like the gx footswitch. It’s what completes the 50

I have a 100 mkII. Love that Pushed sound, but surely that could be created on a MkII by twiddling in tone studio?

Have pre-ordered an Katana gen 3 100 artist from Sweetwater. Will sell my gen 2 100 artist when it gets here. The gen 2 has served me well, but looking forward to bluetooth in the gen3. Yes, you have to play in the app to get the tones you want, but I have always been able to get something close to what I want. Biggest advantage is that I don’t have to drag a pedal board with me.

Pedal into amp = 'Pushed" so let's not get too excited

To me, the biggest disappointment is that, once again, it appears that tone patches are not downward compatible. If you bought the Katana Mk1 (i.e.original) or MK2 version you’ve been abandoned by Boss. All the Gen 3 patches developed by Boss is unusable by the customer base that have supported the product line for years.

I'm willing to be it sounds the same as the mk ii

It's a real pity that the KATANA HEAD doesn't do STEREO SPEAKER OUT. I would love to have ONE head and connect two cabs in stereo. I know there is a "STEREO EXPAND" feature, but you have to purchase a 2ND KATANA head for that. Too bad!

The problem with Boss equipment is lack of improvements to the existing models after what seems like a very short time. I bought one of the first revisions only to have minimal updates afterwards.

A bit of a missed opportunity. I do like my Katana 50 but it's valves that put the smile on my face.

Katana Artist is supposed to have a better speaker - have you tried one of those?

Nice guitar❤🎉

It surprises me that the better tones are achieved via the editor. You'd think BOSS would enlist some artists to work with them on the presets, so the out-of-the-box sounds are as good as they could be. Then again, I suppose it only has four voices, so it's a compromise as to what gets loaded in them for production.

Based on the Katana Gen 3 features chart you showed us, it may be very difficult for potential buyers for consumers to make a clear choice on which model could potentially make them happy. Simply stated, Dear Boss, not knowing which amp to buy is a HUGE turn-off. I don't need 100 watts, but I expect all the bells and whistles available to work. There are hardware limitations at various price points that just don't add up.

I see them as a value product, you get lots for little $. Tune them to what you like, many pedals to play with, great for new players and people wanting to try out the array of effects with a decent sound. I watched the Andertons MkII vs Gen3 (does these mean it went directly from Gen 0.1 to Gen3, ehm...lol), I could not hear a difference. I ran the sounds thru my pc spectrum analyzer, and saw virtually zero difference in tone. The updated features seamed to for the most part be available thru different means before, the new PUSH sound would likely be emulated very easily. If I was buying new, I would do it, but do not see a need for replacement if already owned.

Great review! Thank you sir! 🤙🏼

Time to compare to the Mark 2!

Just bought this 2days ago…and i love it…🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼the pushed amazing😂

Man your solos are so sweet

I’ve had this MKII for five years? I’ve bought effects that cost more than the Katana. Great amp. The Slow Gear effect that’s in the Katana would cost you about $400 for the pedal.

I already have 2 gen 2 artists..they’re acting as the stereo l/r wets for my w/d/w setup. As for the center…I thought about getting a gen 3 artist when they hit in a month but I just got a Blackstar Amped 3 and am running that into my 2x12…I really think it sounds and feels more tube like ( and also just freaking GOOD) and better than the katana.

I would love to see Boss make a katana or similar amp with tubes on the input side only

I have the Katana 100w 1x12. I only really use it on the clean setting. I get drive from my board or the in built effects. It’s great for home practice and gigs - very loud! Nothing in the mk 3 is making me want to upgrade. But if I didn’t have the mk 2 I’d be checking it out. Offers a lot for the money imho.

enjoyed your play❤

I played the GEN three the date came out and I think it would benefit with two speakers in stereo mode like black star

It sounds pretty darned good. I was in the market for a smallish living room amp about 6 months ago and went with the Class A tube Blackstar CV10 but had this ver 3 been available I likely would have purchased it instead. The CV10 is great but once you add some pedals and a mess of cables all over the place, the all in one solution becomes quite apppealing.

Lovely intro jam, nice and moody

For the money…pretty tough to beat.

Thanks for the review. I'd likely buy the head if Boss had a 1x12 Waza cab. The Artist combo is quite bulky for a SS amp. I'd love the Kat head for direct to PA applications, and then with a 1x12 cab when needed. The 2x12 Waza cab is too much of a good thing to haul around. Any good 1x12 non-Kat cabs that match well with the head?

What strat is that. Looks beautiful

I am very dissapointed that Boss have not added dotted eighth and other delay and tremolo tempo sync options. I feel like if they would add that one feature the effects section would be complete. Is there someway we can communicate that request to Boss? I may be wrong but it seems like something a firmware update could add.

I'm still very happy with my Katana Mk1. Boss should improve acoustic amp then I consider switching it in future.

I currently have a Boss Katana 50 Mark 2. Nice amp, with some good tones. But I am aware that it is also delicate and VERY hard to repair in the event that anything goes wrong. I know this because I've spoken to a technician who has really struggled to repair these. He told me they are very flimsily built. Maybe this is why Katanas are so cheap - they're designed to be 'expendable.' Hence, if I were to upgrade, it would NOT be to another Katana. I'd consider a Supro Delta King 12, or perhaps a Roland JC 40 instead. Thus my advice would be only to get a Katana if using it at home - but for any serious gigging, it's too delicate, not nearly robust enough. OK, the Supro or the JC might be a fair bit more expensive, but you get what you pay for. Or, in the case of the Katana, you don't get what you don't pay for...

Yeah, "What's all the Fuss about?" Peavey had been getting Great solid state sounds way before BOSS without needing Chorus to do it either and so have others. The Jazz Chorus amps DO still sound Fantastic though to this day. I'll give BOSS that wheere SS Amps are concerned.

I watched maybe 4 other reviews yesterday and they all made me think that there is some reasonable changes to the better on the sound which I don't really felt when watched your review.....really sounded skinny specially on the drives. The pushed channel still did sound good.

USB is big... hated that printer cable you had to find an attachment to make it USB...ugh.

These are some of the best selling products, but then again so is McDonalds

That "Bloom" switch. Take my money.

If you can get three really nice tones out of this it is worth the money (€335). As for digital sounding my answer is COSM 😅

I love my katana 100 mk2 yeah the bluetooth option is pretty great on the mk3 but i can live without it! I run my headrush fx MX5 thru the power in jack and im in heaven! unlimited tones and ir's and cabs as well as amps! I can always dial in a good rig! plus i have my blackstar HT drive pure valve overdrive running on the fx loop of my mx5 its the cherry on top!

I was wondering whether the gen 3 would be a good option to run the helix thru. What do you recommend for bedroom volume use, especially if you like a bit of gain? Are studio monitors the best option?

Well, that's a handy knife for unboxing.😂

Thinking of putting a greenback 12’’ into my 1x12 mk1 100 watt. Anyone had any experience with changing speakers in the katana

The pushed setting sounds awesome. I went tubes over katana a couple of years ago because the katana models aside from clean had a distinct chainsaw quality. These days would I want this as a quiet rig? Or ToneX into a fender Fr-10?

I am waiting for the Katana Artist Gen3. I was going to get a mark II but glad I waited. I am going to pair it with my Katana 100 combo which still works well. I am in Thailand and amps galvanise here whether you like it or not. So I am going with solid state for that reason. I just have my modded Laney IRT Studio that needs maintenance due to galvanisation but its over 10 years old now. I sold my Fender and Marshall amps. Me thinks after having an Axe Fx III for sometime that to make live sounds this dual amp combination will do what I want. If I find I can get all the sounds I want and use it through the DAW then maybe I dont need the Axe Fx III anymore as I use for studio only and mainly the J45 amp in it. I think once you find the sounds you like you dont need to keep searching or trying new pedals and amps. Bit like you have done with the Helix. 😄😄

I’m curious to know what you think of the Artist Combo, which comes with the upgraded Waze speaker.

Just sucks how you cant use the GA-FC EX with the katana 50. I know they're launching the 50EX soon but i'd rather just spend the money on the 100 watt unit. Great Review!

All Im saying is.... There is not enough here to warrant an upgrade from a Mk.2 Head. Dissapointed.

I have a mk 2 artist the pushed amp and blue tooth would make me want to up grade

I have a Katana 50 as well Has anybody changed out the stock speakers.

It sounds a bit thin here. I have the mk1 and it’s a good little clean amp with reverb. Light weight and cheap are its strengths.

All of the things that you mentioned that aren’t available on the 50 now were not available on the 50 before. In other words, that is nothing new. The fact that they are introducing a 50 EX allows people who want to get a 50 without stepping up to the hundred and paying more for the hundred to get some of those features. Whenever someone is looking for a katana, I have always recommended that they buy the hundred unless they can get along without those features. Honestly, the only letdown that I’ve seen in the new line is that one has to pay extra to get the Bluetooth expansion. Although Boss is touting this line as a huge improvement, I don’t see anyone rushing out to get rid of their old MK II and replace it with the new model. Other than the push and the extra cost of a Bluetooth, this is not a huge upgrade. There are plenty of things, including going to a different speaker that one could do to improve the katana in its current form that would cost, less money. As much as I wanted to see a full generation improvement, the push is minimal and most people are taking care of that with pedals anyway. This release reminds me of Apple and their fury of advertisements to convince you that the iPhone 16 is a giant leap from the iPhone 15, while I am still happy with my iPhone 13 Pro Max. There is no way that I am going to jump from the previous release of the katana into the GEN 3 for a push when all I really need to do is get a compressor.

I’m 70. Been playing electric guitar in bands over 50 years. Just want one tone only. Sex Pistols/Ramones power chords all the way.

Well that was quick! On the wee 50 I’d say pass, the ex maybe but the head is the obvious choice. I think the ability for Bluetooth editing and streaming is the real Gamechanger here. We have had it bodged together so far with a lot of 3rd party work involved. Stereo out is definitely long long overdue. I’m looking forward to seeing the head. Push sounded good but the clean and acoustics are always my go to amps with pedals carving the drive sounds, have you felt any improved dynamics in the cleaner side ? I know the 50 is not exactly the model for it. How long till you sell it then?

I have a Pocket GT and a Katana 50 Gen 2. I use the Pocket GT to dial in a sound a like on the headphones with the GT Tone Studio and then copy the settings to the Katana. Not sure if all the amp parameters are the same but it seems to work well. Unfortunately it has to be down manually as one cannot, I don’t think, transfer the information through the Tone Studio from the GT to the Katana. If anyone knows if it is possible please let me know. Thanks for all the reviews John.

Personally I'd look for a used MK2 100w.

Nah. Katana peaked with the Gen 2 Artist. Maybe they have some cool features for the Gen 3 Artist but I'm not holding my breath.

Why doesn't it have built in Bluetooth? And why do you have a propiety connection and it costs £50 for the adapter?? If they want to leave Bluetooth out to keep the price down then fair enough, but make the input USB so you can add your own adapter.

Sorry but having to pay extra for the Bluetooth adaptor is a greedy cash grab. It would also have been nice to include a little LED screen like on the Katana Go headphone amp. Silly me they'll include those with Gen 4! :(

Was that a sword you opened the box with?! 😁

The fact that musicians spend thousands of dollars to make instagram posts and tone chase in their bedroom while never practicing makes me laugh

I just want to know if its better through the speaker than the 50 mk2