I have had a Roland Microcube since around Y2K. I bought it not only to have a practice amp for the livingroom, but because... BATTERIES! I loooove being able to play it outside without an extension cord! But it isn't loud enough to play with a drummer. A couple years ago I came across a Cube20XL and bought it for $100. It doesn't do batteries, but it has more features and way the heck louder. It also has a power soak, even though that is still pretty durn loud. So I use them both now. I've never recorded with them, but I think I will since along with my pedal board, I've really dialed in some excellent tones. Roland does clean sounds so deliciously. Too bad their bumping into Boss has disrupted it a bit too much.
I just ordered one and should be here tomorrow. Sounds good to me. I'm getting back into playing after 10+ years. This amp looks perfect for someone who doesn't play in a band or live.
@GOOSE-1334 I really like it. It doesn't have as many presets as my old Line 6 Spider or a built-in tuner (which is something I really liked). I do think the Boss sounds much better than the Spider. The "power control" is great. Sounds the same at .5w as it does at 25 and 50w. It gets pretty loud and surprisingly doesn't break up as quickly as othet solid state amps I've used. Great Amp, great price $289 on Amazon.
Great video, thanks for the upload! I just bought the Katana Mk3 50 at Sweetwater Music for $269.99. I fell in love with my friends Boss Katana 100 that I tried out, but I didn't need that much power, so I bought the 50. This amp will be a huge upgrade to the Vox Mini-5 rythm that I had been practicing on for the past four years. Now I just have to figure everything out with this new amp I bought.
@@MrPolevaulter not really a fanboy myself of boss katana (I prefer tube amps) but I have tried them in the past and know the best tones come from tweaking in the Boss Tone Studio. Cheers
I'm a newbie and don't know what I'm doing. But I took my guitar to the music store, plugged it into a handful of the amps on display, and this made the cool noises I wanted it to make so I bought it. I had no idea there was hype about it. Just liked the sound and price
Unfortunately I got sucked into the hype and bought the second version of the 50 watt katana amp. I gave the amp and the speaker 30 hours of loud playing and the sound did not improve. And you said it right, the only thing I heard out of my amp was a sterile plasticky sound. And I couldn't get rid of it fast enough. Thank you so much for your thorough and honest review of this series amp, Elmo.
@@bestregardsband6912 yeah, maybe after the speaker was broken in and if you could get into the software you could make it sound good. But I don't have a computer so I don't have that capability.
Hello! did you find good alternatives to katana? I am planning to buy an amp for home practice, so i guess tube amps will be too loud (but if there are some good examples sounding well with low volume - please tell me).
I have a bunch of valve amps, Cornford Hurricane etc, and Roland Blues Cube Artist which is great but I regularly gig a Boss Katana 50 ex with a GA-FC footswitch. You really need to use editing software to get it to really shine. I use Juca Nery's Librarian app. It takes pedals fine. As a lightweight portable grab and go amp it is unbeatable. I also run the line out to FOH. I take a tuner, clean boost and a Sweet Honey overdrive as well as the GA-FC. I have a Mk 1 100 watt too as a back up. Started on playing valve amps in 1970.
Nothing wrong with honesty Elmo…solid review and that’s why I come here!! I’m sure Boss will sell them by the boat load..I have one..the older 100w MkII..play it at the 50w setting using the clean channel with boost, gain, and it’s perfect for my band practice amp..cuts through easy enough.. live situations it’s my 5150 Icon 40w and it brings more than enough to the band mix..reverb isn’t to my taste but I have my TCE Hall of Fame 2 for that fill!! Thanks again and nice day Elmo!!
I trust Elmo’s opinion over GuitarWorld, etc. any day. With that said, if ‘you’ liked the tones then it’s a great amp, for you. Some people hate vintage Marshall tones and like Diezel high-gain, and vice versa. There’s a reason there are so many choices. It’s great unbiased information for you to use to inform your buying decisions.
katana has become the iphone of guitar world. the new one comes out every few years or so with not a lot of update and people are hyped to get a new one.
To be fair, there really wasn't that much hype surrounding this amp aside from RUclips reviewers. If you read the comments on a lot of those review videos and the various forums discussing the Gen 3, most people were underwhelmed and disappointed with the "updates" Boss added to the Katana.
@@vmx23 what are you talking about? The first guy didn't say how often specifically, he wrote "every few years", which can be 3. Nobody forces you to change to new Katana, but it's the same with iphones, I don't see what is your point. When I heard the Katana face to face, I just couldn't listen to that speaker in it, the crunch sounds were really synthetic.
A box of plastic. I kind of agree. I used to have a Roland blues cube and to my ears the tones from it while not as versatile were much better. There was a definate fender tweed vibe there and amazing clarity. That's not to knock the katana. For the price it's amazing. It's great that new players in particular can get one of these and learn tones and settings
A fair review as always. I see many comments about not comparing it with a tube amp etc. That's Elmo's opinion and that's that. Nobody ever said anything about comparisons or price relativity. He says he didn't like it and he was kind enough to tell you what he did like subjectively. What's not to understand?
I have a Katana 100 mkii. Wasn't impressed in the shop but most people say you have to twiddle with Tone Studio. I thought it was better after twiddling, but after some time I've reverted to thinking it's average. I now use the clean setting with my drive pedals, which makes it sound better. I play low volume at home, and find the Spark Mini is more suitable for my needs. My old Yamaha THR 10C with the drive pedals sounds good too. So, whilst the Katana isn't bad, I agree the hype is overdone. I've lent my Cube 80GX to somebody and must get it back!
I’ve bought amps recommended on this channel that were sent back to the shop so I guess it’s down to your taste as Elmo has told us many times. I like Gen3. It’s great.
Interesting opinion, personally I don't own a Katana, but I've played lots of them in gigs and rehearsal studios, and I thought for the price they are really good, particularly the head. I have less experience with the combo version, but I suspect it isn't much different. The speaker can actually make a massive difference though, so there's that.
I've experienced the same thing in the store with the prior generations. It wasn't till I plugged into the 2*12 100 Watt combo that it opened up. It made a difference. The Artist series has a better speaker, a 'bloom' feature which resembles a mild treble boost and compressor which mimics a tube amp softening the initial attack, and some EQ tweaks. And yes, this is very much a 'your mileage will vary' amp. Try it before you buy it.
Just got to plug into the Artist Gen 3 combo. It's buzzy. Tried the MK II head into a 2*12 cab and everything smooths out dramatically. The takeaway is to get the head and a decent cab and speaker. It's definitely a price point thing. I thought about getting the Artist head, but it was way too much of a premium over the stock head and from what I can see, you can do everything from the editor.
I had to do some tweeking in the Boss Tone studio to get it to kick ass. I was successful. 1 . Adjust the tube screamer settings very little gain somewhat high output. For Either Brown or lead. 2. Add Graphic. EQ in chain drop frequencies a bit..around 250 hz and slight boost at 3k for a bit of sizzle. The lead channel is great for a mk2c+ Petruci vibe. Brown is more mod Marshall. At louder volumes I like the 50 watt setting. Mine is the 100 combo
I'm new to electric guitar and thus not wedded to the holy grail of tube sound. To me it sounded great for a practice amp. And I know from katana GO how powerful the BTS software can be. Great demo as always 🎸 🔥. I'll check out the top 10 list too.
I have numerous Roland/Boss products, including a Blue Cube Artist, purchased in 2015 and gigged a fair amount. I found it very usable, although it lacked some of the organic feel of the best tube amps I've owned. When the Katana came out, I tried one for a few days. I wasn't able to bond with the amp. If the BC lacks the organic quality of tubes, the Katana feels completely antiseptic. I also found the plethora of settings distracting.
Fair assessment for your tastes. I've just replaced a busted Fender Mustang with one of these and I like it a lot for home noodling. As others have said it really opens up with the Tone Studio software, a tweakers delight. Although I understand why some people don't want to add a PC or mobile app into the creative process. And asking extra for the bluetooth dongle is taking the mick IMO.
i bought an old ibanez roadstar and the seller convinced me to buy his roland cube 40xl for an additional 50$. i didnt know anything about it at the time and almost passed up on it. it took me all of 5 minutes to get some nice cleans dialed in and ive managed to get some good mids and high gain sounds as well. ive had the chance to mess around with a few katanas at this point including a 100w mkII and i really dont get the hype either. the cleans arent great and the more drive you try to get out of it, the more buzz/hiss you get (obviously) but at an exponential level and theres no payoff in tone lol. you can get a lot more out of it if youre willing to do everything through your computer but that seems like such a waste of time when the roland will get there at the twist of a couple knobs... everything you need is right there plans for an 80XL soon appreciate your videos man!
THANK YOU. Together with the reveal comments, I can see the actual unvarnished facts of the matter. While listening to this video, I was constantly on edge, waiting for the holy audio grail. It never struck me as a sound I needed to have.
Thanks for this video Elmo. I have tried my best to like the Katana over several years and owned about4 of them. Yep I always find them pants and take em back to the shop withing a few weeks. Thought it was just me not getting it but they are not my cup of tea and so glad to see I am not alone! Thanks for the warning shot! :) XXX
Ha, it's like you're in my head, I do exactly the same thing. And as soon as I get rid of one I decide I want another one, maybe a 50 after having the 100. And then I find I don't really play it so I get rid of it again and swear I'm out of the Katana universe forever. And so it goes on...!
@@littlespaceman lol you too! Im done with em for sure. No more! I either play small tube amps now or my Helix into a power cab. So so much better! :) XXX
@@jehannedarc1431 No more...except I bought a Boss Dual Bluetooth Adaptor at a really good price the other day, just in case I succumb again...😳 No, you're right, I must no do that, I must not! I generally play my Quad Cortex through either a Fender FR10 (I actually sold my Powercabs as soon as I tried the FR10, I thought it sounded so much more like a 'real' amp) or through some Yamaha HS3 monitors - the HS3's sound absolutely amazing. Or I have a Laney Supercub 12, a little valve amp which is fun. And if I just want a grab and go I have a Yamaha THR 30 MkII...
Good and honest review. Had to chuckle on the buzzy box of plastic. I don't play solid state amps anymore, but I had the Roland Cube too. It was pretty good, tbh. Other good ones (imo) are the Peavey Bandit and Studio Pro 112 (red stripe). You could change the speaker and it'd still be cheaper than the Katana. And MUCH better (again, imo).
I have a Peavy bandit that I spliced a 1/4 inch Jack into and plugged it into a 4x12 cab and it sounds great. Had it 35 years and still works same as ever.
Elmo, I have had the 50, 100 stock, 100 with the WAZA speaker and Artist. When it comes to Modelling amps, Speaker does have a lot to do with tone. I didn't like the 50 either. The 100 did fix the boxiness and reduced the 'modelled' overtones of the 50. But, it wasn't until I put the WAZA speaker (Boss version of a Greenback) that I actually liked the amp. MIND you, imho, you have to still set a Global High and low cut filter via the software. The Modelling engine produces some frequencies that don't work and play well with what amounts to be a flatish guitar speaker in the stock speaker, and a Greenback in the WAZA. But that combo gets expensive. I also really prefer front of amp controls. So I Sold the WAZA speaker and Katana 100 and bought a used Artist 100 Mark 2, for only a little more than a new Katana 50 mk2, and less than the Gen 3 go for now in the states. Is it the greatest amp ever? No. In fact, for some tones I prefer the Catalyst 100. But it's serviceable, giggable, and the Acoustic amp actually sounds good with my Fender Acoustasonic on some of the acoustic sets we do (talking cofee house, restaurant gigs, nothing special). It also works great as a power amp and CAB for my Friedman IR-D.
You’re such an awesome player! You’ve got the best personality for gear reviews also. Should do some more Cort guitars! I’ve been obsessed with some of their models
Thank you for your honest review. Like the Marmite, Boss Katana "love it or hate it". 🤣 I hat the chance of attentively listening to live. Most probably I'm going to sell a good deal fo my current gear and buy a Gen 3. Obviously it doesn't have the sex appeal of renowned tube amplifiers, I want to play with as much versatility and simplicity as possible and not worship fetishes.
For the younger players. This kind of Amp is a dream come true. A NOT lot of money. No need to buy expensive pedals. They can just plug it in to the PC. Do crazy stuff with the sound. Even up/download other players sounds.
Yep, easy to get caught up in the hype, respectable players saying they use them live and its their main amp (Marty Schwartz being one). Rob chapman saying its better than other amps that sound clearly better. Boss gotta be paying! Hence why this channel is the only genuine one i have found reviewing equipment! The rest seem to make out everything they review is excellent! Elmo gives a true opinion and will save us all money.
Wow...I did not realize that Roland and Boss had merged. I wondered what happend to the Cube line of Amps?? We learn someting new every day! The Roland line of amps had something for everyone and they were very user friendly! I had a Cube Micro and it was an amazing little amp. Another great video Elmo! Thanks :)
BOSS was an MEG effects group within Roland since 1973, I believe. It has since become Roland's guitar centric brand. It has always been a part of Roland. Hope that helps.
This is a very fair review and connects with other criticisms I've heard from other Katana owners. I think you really have to love the clean, brown, and now pushed channels. Forget the effects for a second, or the amount of tweakability with the software. If you just hear those channels as they are and they don't irk you, then it's the no brainer amp for you. You can dig into the EQ and tone shaping controls through the software, but that's only worth the time investment if you already like the stock tone of those channels. I tried but tonally it just wasn't for me. I would not say it's a bad product, people seem to parrot disdain for the Katana because of its ubiquity which is nonsense. It's affordable, gives you a ton of options, and is durable. But whether or not it sounds good to you or in your use case.. different story. Appreciate the review!
With third party softwares you can access plenty of more "hidden" channels. I can get nice full high gain sound with a stock Squier with single coils by shaping the tone with the amp.
@@veikkajoensuu yep, I tried the hidden channels as well but I think the same thing applies. If the general tone of the Katana sounds good or even just ok to your ear you can really dig into the software and customize to your liking. I see the value of the Katana for certain, just didn't get alone with the overall sound. Even with pedals.
I brought a MK2 after selling my spark, sounded so much better, it allowed me to experiment with effects and hone my sound, I now play through a Dsl 20 and a pedal board, the katana sticks around for a headphone platform. I'm buying a silver jubilee or engl fireball for not a lot more than a katana artist
Love your reviews, no bullshit. I have a Mk1 50, which I love for what it is, but it's not the same as my 30W valve amp. It lacks the "gut punch" you get from valves. It's a great prctice amp, but it's no match for valves on full angry. Keep those honest reviews coming, God knows, the internet needs it.
Interesting and honest appraisal, I’m old and have always liked valve amps. I have a JCM800 2203 head from 1981 and a Cornell Plexi 45/50 head which I use with old Marshall 4x12 cabs or a Zilla Super Fatboy in the house. These give me the breakup I like which I can boost with a Keeley Katana or roll back the volume for a clean (ish) sound. This gives me what I want, I have had a lot of transistor amps some old school namely a Peavey Bandit 65 and several Sessionettes which are OK but not much more. I had a Line 6 Flextone III which was horrible so I’m with you on this one it did sound plastic and fake to me. The crazy thing is I also follow Dave Simpson who like yourself is a phenomenal player but he only uses transistor amps and loves the Katanas but he uses the acoustic setting and gets his distortion from pedals has the strangest settings for EQ but it works for him and he sounds great with his set up. I guess it’s horses for courses but nothing smells as nice as a warm Marshall, I always give a good sniff my warm valves before I power off. I do have a Katana Mini but just use the clean sound when noodling in my wilderness cabin.
Good and honest, the man we need. 👍 I'd love a comparison to thenew Laney Lionheart Foundry, which pushed to the Katana price range as a no frills one amp two channels thing. How it stacks against katana, or mighty 15 from HB, or the other small tube amp from HB?
Decent honest review. They lack feel under the fingers. If it has to be digital and Roland then the Blues Cube series are much better. Probably based on the Technology of the old cube range!
Go watch Ola or Juca Neery's or Studio Rats or Sweetwater videos with Nick Bowcott Katana videos and you'll see its not the amp that is lacking , you need to spend more than an hour or two with the amp and to learn to use tone studio and make your own patches , i was underwhelmed at first too, then i connected tone studio and it changed everything, but each to their own , love your channel and your honesty even when we dont see ear to ear 🤘
No amount of tweaking can overcome the 50's tiny cabinet size and poor speaker. The 100 sounds fine, the 50 does not. In the room, it will never sound OK. Yes, you can put a mic in front of it like Studio Rats and make it seem OK but in the room it still sounds terrible.
@@iancurrie8844 honestly that hasnt been my experience at all and i bought my Boss Katana MKII 50w about three years back and love it so much i also bought the GT1 multi fx pedal as well (as it runs on 6AA batteries and can be taken anywhere in a backpack and is a truly versatile unit for $199) and also bought the Katana Go which i love and think its a shame they stopped making because the company manufacturing it for them could not keep up with the demand but if you dont like it thats cool, have you played it using headphones or running the amp through another cabinet? or in more than one room? in my experience all rooms reflect different and i find even some electrical outlets seem to effect the amp differently, in any event i feel everyone has different needs/wants and experiences and i try to keep an open mind, what 50w or even 40 or 20 watt room or practice amp do you prefer? maybe there is something out there that is better and i just havent heard it, i live in a very small town and we only have one mom and pop musical instrument shop and while its a great store they dont necessarily have a wide variety of gear to try out. but for the money spent i love all my Boss Katana products , and as far as the 50w version goes ive seen everyone from Ola to Rich Bischoff to personal friends of mine get great room tones with the 50w as i have YMMV , but again i'm open minded if i find another great practice amp in the right price range i'm game
@@iancurrie8844 Did you once plug a pair of headphones into the input jack in the back? because this amp yes even the 50w version kicks ass , i think what you dislike is the speaker, which i'll agree is not the best but the amp itself is, also did you ever connect it to a laptop/desktop and install Tone Studio? if not it would be like test driving a car and never taking it out of first gear , you have no idea of its true potential
The one thing I hated about my MK2 that made me sell it a month later was that it was so harsh and shrill sounding. I needed to turn down the treble a lot to make anything not harsh, and by then it would be too dark. This does seem a little better in that regard.
It's funny, I sold my Laney super cub 12 for a Katana 50 MK2 and couldn't be happier. Sounds great to me, and feels a lot simpler to get workable tones compared to other amps and pedal combinations.
Hi. I really like Your honesty reveiws and in this case I agree. I bought a 50 Watt and the first I did was to put in another speaker. A brittish H/H speaker and I put up the original speaker on the wall as a dekoration. It sounds much better but it´s still kind of a sterile sound and it´s uninspiring. Know I kept it as a backup if my tubeamps will break when we have a gig. Thanks for Your inspiring content😀👍
I agree with Elmo completely about the Katana and amps of it's genre. I am in my 70's. However, many months ago, a friend gave up forcing me to buy a Spark40. One day after his surrender, a brand new Spark40 was delivered to my door by Fedex. Truthfully, I use the Spark 98% of the time. Do I have great vintage amps? I am surrounded by them. But the Spark is next to my desk PC. It makes me want to play more. The Katana 50 does not inspire me. But, for kids or newbe's the Katana is a great worry free choice. -- Thanks Elmo.
Gosh - surprising conclusion and quite the opposite of my opinion (I have an artist combo mk1 which promptly resulted in my DSL20 (Creamback loaded) and tube 15 getting the boot as for me there really was no comparison then recently bought a mk2 50 as a very cheap second hand ultra portable practice amp, which I also like) but I guess we’re all different! Stellar playing as always my good man
Artist mk2 with the waza craft greenback speaker is a great amp imho! Ditched my blues junior and Marshall dsl40, get every tone I need from the knobs on th3 front. Check out Rob Chapmans videos on these!
You're on point with the 50 watt. I couldn't get a sound I liked to save my life, it is exactly what you said. Sounds like a box of plastic. HOWEVER. The Artist model, both head and combo are completely different animals. I have the head plugged into a 2x12 v30 cabinet and it sounds absolutely killer. But yeah the 50 and 100 watt combos, I'm not impressed with either. If anyone's looking for a small combo for close to the same price go for the Marshall DSL5CR. Those are incredible.
I bought the original Katana 50 new for 190€ after jumping on the hype train, after a couple of months i sold it, i really wanted to like it and loved the layout and easy of use but the sounds were a fizzy trebly wall to my ears, i kinda later regretted selling it cause later i found out that you had a para-EQ on the software which probably would have helped tame the Highs but out of the box it was very underwhelming, replaced it with a Yamaha THRX that sounded much better.
The cleans are flat and the drives are fizzy out of the box, so if you want a simple amp that sounds good with the dials at noon, then this isn't for you. Connect a laptop/phone to it and delve into the options and you can make it sound really good. Not everyone wants to do that, I get it.
@@breakfastbuddy5 They have all the help they need trying to make I/O solid state deliver like analog valves. It may happen one day in the distant future. A good tube amp can go from clean to break up by simply digging in or rolling up the guitar volume knob. Digital amps require presets and cannot sustain and sing like tube amps. Been playing for 40 years and have played solid states, hybrids, tube amps..... Every digital amp maker is trying to replicate the same thing and that is a good tube amp. Save your money, buy a good tube amp and a few quality pedals.
@@youropionmattersnot Tubes are too loud when you push them enough to get what you want out them. I just need an amp to play in a 18x14 living room in a house that is in the middle of a subdivision that several LEOs (not joking) also live in. Done drove down the tube road. Even the last micro amp I had with the built in attenuator dialed down to 1 watt was still plenty damn loud when FULLY driven on that one watt. I'm looking at things like the Katana so maybe I can download some "wall of maxed out Mesa/Marshalls" heavy sounds but at "small sleeping children just a literal walls thickness away" volumes while I jam along with songs on RUclips. My TV is my monitor, so I need "that sound" at around reasonable TV volumes. You ain't even coming close to accomplishing that with tubes, even with pedals lol. At that low of volume all you're really hearing is the pedal anyway, so you might as well just have solid state or digital.
Did you check the blind review by Andertons with Rob Chapman testing amps he choose the Vox VTX series or the new Boss Katana 3 , I think this is what Rob was saying with VOX it's a proper hybrid with the 12 x7 preamp tube you get more of a realistic tube like sound , however I wish Vox updated the VTX series with a better speaker upgraded USB c and the ability to connect to your PC with your recording software, when BOSS came out with 50 gen 3 with all the uproar and fanfare then you hear it umm something is missing still a great amp another great review love the tshirt of a fellow Canadian Devin Townsend 😊
@@atticushexcel9567 At the end of the day it's just a cheap amp built with plastic with a crappy cheap speaker and the cabinet is cheap particle board. Sound is subjective and if you like it who cares what other people think. Use it and enjoy it.
Don’t listen to what Rob Chapman is saying. Those guys popped like mushrooms in a forest as excellent sales people with crappy musical sense. Go and try product yourself and decide otherwise you end up spending unnecessary amounts of money just chasing the tone that you may not be able find. It is literally a rabbit hole for god sake
I've never got the hype with these amps either. I had the Katana Artist and didn't like it at all, couldn't gel with the core tones at all. If it works for you then great. I'm glad it isn't just my ears. I currently have one of the competitors and with its new update it's a solid amp. But the Katana is a jack of all .
@@Olican71well said and I think most people get that now seeing as that man has gone from the hottest thing in RUclips land to virtually no associations now. An Olympic band wagoner and nothing more.
Juca Nery says use the Global EQ and put a 5k cut on the highs, that'll make it sound better, and also adjust what cabinet settings you are using, that helps also.
I had a Katana 100 mk2 and was thoroughly disappointed with it. I fully agree with you. When played against my Harley Benton Tube 15, it’s no contest. The Tube 15 wins by a mile for me.
It looks like it hurts you so much to say bad things. It's ok Elmo. That's why we love you. You take a hit for the team when necessary. /hug :) I just don't think it's worth the price. As a beginner I NEED a single amp, at a good price, that can do a few things well. Quiet practice at home, slightly louder practice with a band, much louder at small gigs, somewhere in between to record. It doesn't need to be miraculous at anything but it can't be absolutely aweful at anything and this thing just seems to be too expensive relative to others that could fit the bill nicely. I wouldn't know a tube from a transistor if my life depended on it but I trust my ears, a dB meter and my wallet and this thing simiply doesn't thrill me. Thanks for all you do!
He has the master volume at full. The katana can go from insanely loud to barely hearable with minimal tone change if you dial back the master. The volume is definitely not the reason to pass this but if you don't like the tone then don't buy it.
I have a Katana 100 MK2 for home use. It’s spectacular. I had a 50 for about 24 hours and returned it. If you’re going to buy one get the 100. Just remember it’s an excellent modeling amp for home use and practice. It’s not a tube amp and will never sound as good. But it will sound great for home use, practice and experimentation with effects.
@atticushexcel9567 I believe your comment may have gotten deleted, but I can still read most of it through my notifications. The thing is my brother got me into guitar after he got into it very recently, he himself got the MK-II 50W since it was the most sold amp with good reviews on Thomann, and as for me after trying his amp and establishing a baseline as to what I'm looking for, I decided to go for the 100W model since it's more flexible and can do pedals and just slightly better... and it wasn't that much more expensive than the 50W. About a month or two after I got the MK-II, the Gen 3 got released, but neither me or my brother feel like we missed out because the Gen 3 ones are way more expensive than the prior MK-II that we'd never buy them in first place. We tested the MK-II 50W vs 100W side and side and there wasn't much difference, that I actually thought I could have saved money and gone with the 50W, but for future reference if or when I get better at guitar it's nice to have the extra features on the 100W.
@@Ben-ld1qi Yea, the 100 does have more features. One thing I needed but didnt have on the 50 was an effects loop for my looping pedal. I forgot that if I loop a clean track in the front it would be dirty and effected by the settings. For me I noticed a difference in tone. At GC it sounded good, but there was a crowd. Once I got it home it was ok but a bit boxy sounding. SO for those two reasons I returned it. The difference for me was big! I'm happy I went with the 100. I know some guys gig with them, but for people that want the tone of a pure tube amp, its not going to do that. Bottom line is this.....I get great tone at low volumes for home use. My Fender Deluxe Reverb....you gotta crank it and it will blow out the windows!
There are 3 separate EQs that can be used in any patch (and a noise gate). If you know what you are actually looking for, you can do things like dial out the plastic sound. Use the Tone Studio or download some great patches.
Elmo. I love the channel. But I truly don’t get your dislike of the Katana. You should get together with Paul from the Studio Rats and do a joint video with him dialing in a katana for you. It’d be great content!!
The Cube sounded alot better than the Boss Katana, I do not know what the fuzz around the Katanas is about neither. I would much rather choose a small / compact tube combo amp in the same size as the Katana or even smaller any day of the week and just bring a mini multieffect unit with a couple of good delays, screamer and distortion in it.
Well, bought a Katana Mk2 for 175 Euro and a Nux MG30 for 175 Euro. Use the poweramp in on the Katana only. Could not be happier. Am having all I need and want. Frankly, only like the Brown channel on the Katana. However, the MG-30 lets me tweak the sound better. The combo costs me 350 Euro’s. Cheaper than a Katana Mk3.
A week ago I sold my Orange Crush 20 which had a lovely, full sounding dirty channel but was a little bit muddy to me. After all that hype I've decided to get a Katana, partially because I wanted a 12" speaker (I was considering Crush 35, 60 was out of my budget). When I first turned it on I was shocked how shit it was, straight away I've reached out the shop if I could return that. I gave myself a weekend just to check the app, like everyone was advising. I got few presets like 5150 or Soldano from the High Gain Tones patch and I fell in love with the sound. Does it sound like a tube amp? Perhaps no. Does it sound good? To me, yes, but the stock sounds are crap as hell. Now, people saying I could get a Tube 15 or DSL5 for similar price, sure, but as a beginner who mostly plays on headphones with a 2 years old sleeping next room it's a no go.
An update on this one. After almost 3 weeks I have decided to return the Katana and ordered Orange Crush 35 and Vox VT40X and will pick between these two.
With the katana series you really have to hook it up to the software to unlock its potential. There's so much locked behind that wall. I havent tried the combos. The head version with some good speakers and some time dialing it in... I think its a very versatile practical practice amp.
There is truth in this. However, the issue with the 50 is that the cabinet is too small, and the speaker is not their best one. The 50 is designed down to a price point and due to the limitations of its physical design, will always sound boxy and plastic. The 100 sounds MUCH better due to its much larger cabinet and much better speaker.
It’s indistinguishable from the Mark 1. If anything, the cleans from the original sound much better than If they really wanted to make this one special, they would have added more practical features like a built-in tuner and a footswitch and last BUT certainly not least, give us the ability to model AT LEAST one of our own amps through it.
For home practice and recording plugins are the way to go. I have the free audio single neuron tube and it sounds great. I play it in reaper with a bit of processing . Couldn't be happier.
Thanks for the honest review, Elmo. I had a Cube years ago (that finally died) and did like that. Since then I have been pretty happy with the THR II for practice, but it was way overpriced. I think it sounds better than the Katana overall. It's tough, though. All of the practice amps lack something. I totally agree with the box of plastic characterization for this one.
I love boss petals, and the jazz chorus is a great amp. But, I have to agree. A 5 watt tube amp a ts n a reverb tank. That's all I need. N I prefer the blackstar fly over most amps 5 times the price
That's your conclusion, it's not a proof 😀 If anything, since there are far more video reviews that tend towards positive, and also in my opinion sound better, it could also be a faulty amp for all we know.
Yeah, on YT comparisons when compared to the Peavey VYPYR VIP or X's these Katana do (to me) sound "underwhelming"; an adjective which I have NEVER thought of about my Peavey VYPYR VIP3, ever. The Peavey sounds richer and more complex even in YT compressed audio if the amps are both recorded well and properly.
I have a couple of boss katana 50s they ,the boss katana is a decent all around amp, many many possible tones and effects plus you can down load the tone lab and get just about anything you want, ive used mine with a band its loud enough and if it isnt you can input it to the pa ,simple simple, I love mine and they are cheap around 300 new around 150 used ,anyway great video take care stay safe ,god bless
Very good, fun video! I don’t use effects or clean tones. I’m just interested in a Ramones or Sex Pistols sound. I’m sure the Katana is very capable is getting those tones at a very light weight!
As an owner of THR30ii, no matter how much I like it (the answer is "to the sky"), I only use clean and little crunchy, everything else are pedals. Also, bought it so I can use acoustic and bass channels. This seems like another swiss knife that I would never use 90% of features.
Vox Valvetronix is the way to go for this type of amp, sounds way more like a real amp vs the Katana's and the effects are very good. When I tried a Katana I was surprised how bad it sounded after hearing all the hype.
All the hype is in a BTS & patches thing. Out of the box it's nothing more than a mediocre practice/rehearsal amp. Diving in BTS not only thought me a lot about guitar sound (mainly about dialing pre-EQ & post-EQ to get sound in my head, helps me even with analog stuff now), but made my Artist MK2 sound & feel AMAZING. Not exaggerating here. I play Marshall DSL 100 & Dual rectifier 3-ch Multi-watt on "big" rehearsals & Katana on a smaller ones & it gets the job done on 120% (+ 20% for being able to EQ it much more precise than any tube amp out there so it sits in band context just where I need it to be)
Thats what i thouht from videos i have seen ..the mkii version sounds better to me. Tried the new one recently but only at low volume and wasnt impressed.
Thanx Elmo for your honest Review.I feel the same-Plastic!I´m wondering how so many Guys on YT could say that the Katana Series sounds amazing?Keep goin....
Kat Gen 3 still has the annoying fizziness of the V2! Can't use even bedroom volume speakers in my seniors residence so I bought the Katana GO headphone amp out of curiosity, and I only use the BOSS Clean amp and a few boost/fx. It's fun for practice and quick recording. Note that BOSS discontinued the GO due to chip shortages but is redesigning it for a different chip that's easier to supply (so they said in a release).
$300 for the gen 3 in the US...$60 for the bluetooth adapter the gen 3 katana 50 EX model is $350. I'm not a gigging or professional musician and I'm considering the artist 100 myself. I have a couple of tube amps already...55 watt and 15 watt. I don't have a katana, but have seen enough and heard enough to know you're not going to get a good sound without diving into the tone studio. I myself prefer playing clean with some reverb on my electrics, but mainly play acoustic guitars now. I'm trying to decide between the Katana artist 100, the Boss acoustic singer live or the Fishman loudbox Artist BT 120. I'm leaning towards the Fishman at $800. The reason I'm considering the katana is because it has an acoustic setting that is pretty decent and I can also use it with my electrics without the hassles that come with the tube amps.
I'd really like to know what you will think of the head. The whole Katana range, in my opinion, should be looked at as very practical gigging amps. Sadly, we should look at them as tools. And, it seems everything that Boss has added to this one, is from that point of view as well. It is a laptop with a power amp. It is made like one, too! When a component fails, you are going to through it out. But as long as it works, it sure does a lot...
Check out the 10 BEST practice amps ever: ruclips.net/video/giuHVTZvUgY/видео.htmlsi=YVyGGGaDZLZMEKgJ
At least you're honest, good channel !
I have had a Roland Microcube since around Y2K. I bought it not only to have a practice amp for the livingroom, but because... BATTERIES! I loooove being able to play it outside without an extension cord! But it isn't loud enough to play with a drummer. A couple years ago I came across a Cube20XL and bought it for $100. It doesn't do batteries, but it has more features and way the heck louder. It also has a power soak, even though that is still pretty durn loud. So I use them both now. I've never recorded with them, but I think I will since along with my pedal board, I've really dialed in some excellent tones. Roland does clean sounds so deliciously. Too bad their bumping into Boss has disrupted it a bit too much.
@@TheCSteve Cheers!
I just ordered one and should be here tomorrow. Sounds good to me. I'm getting back into playing after 10+ years. This amp looks perfect for someone who doesn't play in a band or live.
Well what's the update bro how is it
@GOOSE-1334 I really like it. It doesn't have as many presets as my old Line 6 Spider or a built-in tuner (which is something I really liked). I do think the Boss sounds much better than the Spider. The "power control" is great. Sounds the same at .5w as it does at 25 and 50w. It gets pretty loud and surprisingly doesn't break up as quickly as othet solid state amps I've used. Great Amp, great price
$289 on Amazon.
Thanks for your honesty, and yeah, you can hear the sounds well enough in the vid to back it up.
Great video, thanks for the upload! I just bought the Katana Mk3 50 at Sweetwater Music for $269.99. I fell in love with my friends Boss Katana 100 that I tried out, but I didn't need that much power, so I bought the 50. This amp will be a huge upgrade to the Vox Mini-5 rythm that I had been practicing on for the past four years. Now I just have to figure everything out with this new amp I bought.
From what I sat, it didn't sound so bad at all. And you can add a noise gate and fine-tune to taste through the software.
Fair enough.
@@MrPolevaulter not really a fanboy myself of boss katana (I prefer tube amps) but I have tried them in the past and know the best tones come from tweaking in the Boss Tone Studio. Cheers
I'm a newbie and don't know what I'm doing. But I took my guitar to the music store, plugged it into a handful of the amps on display, and this made the cool noises I wanted it to make so I bought it. I had no idea there was hype about it. Just liked the sound and price
Unfortunately I got sucked into the hype and bought the second version of the 50 watt katana amp. I gave the amp and the speaker 30 hours of loud playing and the sound did not improve. And you said it right, the only thing I heard out of my amp was a sterile plasticky sound. And I couldn't get rid of it fast enough. Thank you so much for your thorough and honest review of this series amp, Elmo.
Cheers!
I didn't like the Katana either.
@@bestregardsband6912 yeah, maybe after the speaker was broken in and if you could get into the software you could make it sound good. But I don't have a computer so I don't have that capability.
Hello! did you find good alternatives to katana? I am planning to buy an amp for home practice, so i guess tube amps will be too loud (but if there are some good examples sounding well with low volume - please tell me).
Spark better than katana
I have a bunch of valve amps, Cornford Hurricane etc, and Roland Blues Cube Artist which is great but I regularly gig a Boss Katana 50 ex with a GA-FC footswitch. You really need to use editing software to get it to really shine. I use Juca Nery's Librarian app. It takes pedals fine. As a lightweight portable grab and go amp it is unbeatable. I also run the line out to FOH. I take a tuner, clean boost and a Sweet Honey overdrive as well as the GA-FC. I have a Mk 1 100 watt too as a back up. Started on playing valve amps in 1970.
Nothing wrong with honesty Elmo…solid review and that’s why I come here!! I’m sure Boss will sell them by the boat load..I have one..the older 100w MkII..play it at the 50w setting using the clean channel with boost, gain, and it’s perfect for my band practice amp..cuts through easy enough.. live situations it’s my 5150 Icon 40w and it brings more than enough to the band mix..reverb isn’t to my taste but I have my TCE Hall of Fame 2 for that fill!! Thanks again and nice day Elmo!!
I trust Elmo’s opinion over GuitarWorld, etc. any day. With that said, if ‘you’ liked the tones then it’s a great amp, for you. Some people hate vintage Marshall tones and like Diezel high-gain, and vice versa. There’s a reason there are so many choices.
It’s great unbiased information for you to use to inform your buying decisions.
Cheers!
katana has become the iphone of guitar world. the new one comes out every few years or so with not a lot of update and people are hyped to get a new one.
Get your facts right noob. The katana was last revised three years ago. And nobody forced you to even change them everytime they revised it.
To be fair, there really wasn't that much hype surrounding this amp aside from RUclips reviewers. If you read the comments on a lot of those review videos and the various forums discussing the Gen 3, most people were underwhelmed and disappointed with the "updates" Boss added to the Katana.
@@vmx23 what are you talking about? The first guy didn't say how often specifically, he wrote "every few years", which can be 3. Nobody forces you to change to new Katana, but it's the same with iphones, I don't see what is your point. When I heard the Katana face to face, I just couldn't listen to that speaker in it, the crunch sounds were really synthetic.
@@computerman900 you should get your ears checked.
@@vmx23he’s absolutely right,out of the box it sounds like shit
A box of plastic. I kind of agree. I used to have a Roland blues cube and to my ears the tones from it while not as versatile were much better. There was a definate fender tweed vibe there and amazing clarity. That's not to knock the katana. For the price it's amazing. It's great that new players in particular can get one of these and learn tones and settings
I need to try a Blues Cube.
See if you can find one to check out that has been tweaked with the "Boss Tone Studio Software"
A fair review as always. I see many comments about not comparing it with a tube amp etc. That's Elmo's opinion and that's that. Nobody ever said anything about comparisons or price relativity. He says he didn't like it and he was kind enough to tell you what he did like subjectively. What's not to understand?
Thanks! Yeah, people can get really worked up over gear.
I have a Katana 100 mkii. Wasn't impressed in the shop but most people say you have to twiddle with Tone Studio. I thought it was better after twiddling, but after some time I've reverted to thinking it's average. I now use the clean setting with my drive pedals, which makes it sound better. I play low volume at home, and find the Spark Mini is more suitable for my needs. My old Yamaha THR 10C with the drive pedals sounds good too. So, whilst the Katana isn't bad, I agree the hype is overdone. I've lent my Cube 80GX to somebody and must get it back!
The Cube is better imo.
I’ve bought amps recommended on this channel that were sent back to the shop so I guess it’s down to your taste as Elmo has told us many times. I like Gen3. It’s great.
Absolutely. Tastes vary, and that's good.
Interesting opinion, personally I don't own a Katana, but I've played lots of them in gigs and rehearsal studios, and I thought for the price they are really good, particularly the head. I have less experience with the combo version, but I suspect it isn't much different. The speaker can actually make a massive difference though, so there's that.
I've experienced the same thing in the store with the prior generations. It wasn't till I plugged into the 2*12 100 Watt combo that it opened up. It made a difference. The Artist series has a better speaker, a 'bloom' feature which resembles a mild treble boost and compressor which mimics a tube amp softening the initial attack, and some EQ tweaks. And yes, this is very much a 'your mileage will vary' amp. Try it before you buy it.
Just got to plug into the Artist Gen 3 combo. It's buzzy. Tried the MK II head into a 2*12 cab and everything smooths out dramatically. The takeaway is to get the head and a decent cab and speaker. It's definitely a price point thing. I thought about getting the Artist head, but it was way too much of a premium over the stock head and from what I can see, you can do everything from the editor.
I have the Gen 3 100 watt version and I think it sounds great, but I had to do some minor tweaks in Tone Studio
Yeah I tweaked my 100 watt head and it totally rocks !
Its like a gt-1000 with a speaker added! Sounds great with you on guitar!
Thanks!
I had to do some tweeking in the Boss Tone studio to get it to kick ass. I was successful. 1 . Adjust the tube screamer settings very little gain somewhat high output. For Either Brown or lead.
2. Add Graphic. EQ in chain drop frequencies a bit..around 250 hz and slight boost at 3k for a bit of sizzle. The lead channel is great for a mk2c+ Petruci vibe. Brown is more mod Marshall. At louder volumes I like the 50 watt setting. Mine is the 100 combo
Love your honesty Tickle Me Elmo! I felt that way about the Fender Mustang.
I'm new to electric guitar and thus not wedded to the holy grail of tube sound.
To me it sounded great for a practice amp. And I know from katana GO how powerful the BTS software can be.
Great demo as always 🎸 🔥. I'll check out the top 10 list too.
Cheers!
I have numerous Roland/Boss products, including a Blue Cube Artist, purchased in 2015 and gigged a fair amount. I found it very usable, although it lacked some of the organic feel of the best tube amps I've owned. When the Katana came out, I tried one for a few days. I wasn't able to bond with the amp. If the BC lacks the organic quality of tubes, the Katana feels completely antiseptic. I also found the plethora of settings distracting.
Fair assessment for your tastes. I've just replaced a busted Fender Mustang with one of these and I like it a lot for home noodling. As others have said it really opens up with the Tone Studio software, a tweakers delight. Although I understand why some people don't want to add a PC or mobile app into the creative process. And asking extra for the bluetooth dongle is taking the mick IMO.
i bought an old ibanez roadstar and the seller convinced me to buy his roland cube 40xl for an additional 50$. i didnt know anything about it at the time and almost passed up on it. it took me all of 5 minutes to get some nice cleans dialed in and ive managed to get some good mids and high gain sounds as well. ive had the chance to mess around with a few katanas at this point including a 100w mkII and i really dont get the hype either. the cleans arent great and the more drive you try to get out of it, the more buzz/hiss you get (obviously) but at an exponential level and theres no payoff in tone lol. you can get a lot more out of it if youre willing to do everything through your computer but that seems like such a waste of time when the roland will get there at the twist of a couple knobs... everything you need is right there
plans for an 80XL soon
appreciate your videos man!
I like it for home use. Depends what you are looking for in an amp. Takes pedals well.
THANK YOU. Together with the reveal comments, I can see the actual unvarnished facts of the matter. While listening to this video, I was constantly on edge, waiting for the holy audio grail. It never struck me as a sound I needed to have.
I bought a simple amp from Roland, the Blues Cube and it sound great. Keep it simple.
Thanks for this video Elmo. I have tried my best to like the Katana over several years and owned about4 of them. Yep I always find them pants and take em back to the shop withing a few weeks. Thought it was just me not getting it but they are not my cup of tea and so glad to see I am not alone! Thanks for the warning shot! :) XXX
Ha, it's like you're in my head, I do exactly the same thing. And as soon as I get rid of one I decide I want another one, maybe a 50 after having the 100. And then I find I don't really play it so I get rid of it again and swear I'm out of the Katana universe forever. And so it goes on...!
@@littlespaceman lol you too! Im done with em for sure. No more! I either play small tube amps now or my Helix into a power cab. So so much better! :) XXX
@@jehannedarc1431 No more...except I bought a Boss Dual Bluetooth Adaptor at a really good price the other day, just in case I succumb again...😳 No, you're right, I must no do that, I must not!
I generally play my Quad Cortex through either a Fender FR10 (I actually sold my Powercabs as soon as I tried the FR10, I thought it sounded so much more like a 'real' amp) or through some Yamaha HS3 monitors - the HS3's sound absolutely amazing. Or I have a Laney Supercub 12, a little valve amp which is fun. And if I just want a grab and go I have a Yamaha THR 30 MkII...
Good and honest review. Had to chuckle on the buzzy box of plastic.
I don't play solid state amps anymore, but I had the Roland Cube too. It was pretty good, tbh.
Other good ones (imo) are the Peavey Bandit and Studio Pro 112 (red stripe). You could change the speaker and it'd still be cheaper than the Katana.
And MUCH better (again, imo).
I have a Peavy bandit that I spliced a 1/4 inch Jack into and plugged it into a 4x12 cab and it sounds great. Had it 35 years and still works same as ever.
Elmo, I have had the 50, 100 stock, 100 with the WAZA speaker and Artist. When it comes to Modelling amps, Speaker does have a lot to do with tone. I didn't like the 50 either. The 100 did fix the boxiness and reduced the 'modelled' overtones of the 50. But, it wasn't until I put the WAZA speaker (Boss version of a Greenback) that I actually liked the amp. MIND you, imho, you have to still set a Global High and low cut filter via the software. The Modelling engine produces some frequencies that don't work and play well with what amounts to be a flatish guitar speaker in the stock speaker, and a Greenback in the WAZA. But that combo gets expensive.
I also really prefer front of amp controls. So I Sold the WAZA speaker and Katana 100 and bought a used Artist 100 Mark 2, for only a little more than a new Katana 50 mk2, and less than the Gen 3 go for now in the states. Is it the greatest amp ever? No. In fact, for some tones I prefer the Catalyst 100. But it's serviceable, giggable, and the Acoustic amp actually sounds good with my Fender Acoustasonic on some of the acoustic sets we do (talking cofee house, restaurant gigs, nothing special). It also works great as a power amp and CAB for my Friedman IR-D.
Thanks for your honest opinion Elmo, too many youtubers just follow the money on gear, it's very refreshing.
You’re such an awesome player! You’ve got the best personality for gear reviews also.
Should do some more Cort guitars! I’ve been obsessed with some of their models
Thanks! I might do more Cort at some point.
Thank you for your honest review.
Like the Marmite, Boss Katana "love it or hate it". 🤣
I hat the chance of attentively listening to live. Most probably I'm going to sell a good deal fo my current gear and buy a Gen 3.
Obviously it doesn't have the sex appeal of renowned tube amplifiers, I want to play with as much versatility and simplicity as possible and not worship fetishes.
Respect Elmo for the honesty!
Good luck dealing with the Katana cult ;)
...but don't forget that there's also the tube cult 🤷♂️😂
Thanks! All sorts of cults around. Like the Marshall Code cult.
@MrPolevaulter Oh no, are the Marshall Code Cult still a thing? Haha
For the younger players. This kind of Amp is a dream come true. A NOT lot of money. No need to buy expensive pedals. They can just plug it in to the PC. Do crazy stuff with the sound.
Even up/download other players sounds.
Harsh review. But that's what we're here for. Also the awesome axemanship.
Cheers!
@@MrPolevaulter Absolutely unrelated question: How did you get this alias MrPolevaulter? I've never noticed this on YT before.
Yep, easy to get caught up in the hype, respectable players saying they use them live and its their main amp (Marty Schwartz being one). Rob chapman saying its better than other amps that sound clearly better. Boss gotta be paying! Hence why this channel is the only genuine one i have found reviewing equipment! The rest seem to make out everything they review is excellent! Elmo gives a true opinion and will save us all money.
I like my Katana Mk.2 100. We are all different.
I’m very different, i also really enjoy my mk2 100 im looking at adding the gen 3 head to my rig, mainly for the Bluetooth
@@PooNinjayou can just buy the Bluetooth midi adapter ir cos t like 50 bucks. It’s called widi usb or something like that.
Absolutely, and variety is good.
Thanks a lot for your honesty !!!
My pleasure.
Nice!! The sounds reminded me a lot of my Spider Jam from back in the day🎸
Wow...I did not realize that Roland and Boss had merged. I wondered what happend to the Cube line of Amps?? We learn someting new every day! The Roland line of amps had something for everyone and they were very user friendly! I had a Cube Micro and it was an amazing little amp. Another great video Elmo! Thanks :)
Actually Boss is a division of Roland. Cheers!
@@MrPolevaulter Ahhhhhh I see Thanks Mate :)
BOSS was an MEG effects group within Roland since 1973, I believe. It has since become Roland's guitar centric brand. It has always been a part of Roland. Hope that helps.
This is a very fair review and connects with other criticisms I've heard from other Katana owners. I think you really have to love the clean, brown, and now pushed channels. Forget the effects for a second, or the amount of tweakability with the software. If you just hear those channels as they are and they don't irk you, then it's the no brainer amp for you. You can dig into the EQ and tone shaping controls through the software, but that's only worth the time investment if you already like the stock tone of those channels. I tried but tonally it just wasn't for me. I would not say it's a bad product, people seem to parrot disdain for the Katana because of its ubiquity which is nonsense. It's affordable, gives you a ton of options, and is durable. But whether or not it sounds good to you or in your use case.. different story. Appreciate the review!
With third party softwares you can access plenty of more "hidden" channels. I can get nice full high gain sound with a stock Squier with single coils by shaping the tone with the amp.
@@veikkajoensuu yep, I tried the hidden channels as well but I think the same thing applies. If the general tone of the Katana sounds good or even just ok to your ear you can really dig into the software and customize to your liking. I see the value of the Katana for certain, just didn't get alone with the overall sound. Even with pedals.
I brought a MK2 after selling my spark, sounded so much better, it allowed me to experiment with effects and hone my sound, I now play through a Dsl 20 and a pedal board, the katana sticks around for a headphone platform. I'm buying a silver jubilee or engl fireball for not a lot more than a katana artist
Love your reviews, no bullshit. I have a Mk1 50, which I love for what it is, but it's not the same as my 30W valve amp. It lacks the "gut punch" you get from valves. It's a great prctice amp, but it's no match for valves on full angry. Keep those honest reviews coming, God knows, the internet needs it.
Thanks!
Interesting and honest appraisal, I’m old and have always liked valve amps. I have a JCM800 2203 head from 1981 and a Cornell Plexi 45/50 head which I use with old Marshall 4x12 cabs or a Zilla Super Fatboy in the house. These give me the breakup I like which I can boost with a Keeley Katana or roll back the volume for a clean (ish) sound. This gives me what I want, I have had a lot of transistor amps some old school namely a Peavey Bandit 65 and several Sessionettes which are OK but not much more. I had a Line 6 Flextone III which was horrible so I’m with you on this one it did sound plastic and fake to me. The crazy thing is I also follow Dave Simpson who like yourself is a phenomenal player but he only uses transistor amps and loves the Katanas but he uses the acoustic setting and gets his distortion from pedals has the strangest settings for EQ but it works for him and he sounds great with his set up. I guess it’s horses for courses but nothing smells as nice as a warm Marshall, I always give a good sniff my warm valves before I power off. I do have a Katana Mini but just use the clean sound when noodling in my wilderness cabin.
Good and honest, the man we need. 👍
I'd love a comparison to thenew Laney Lionheart Foundry, which pushed to the Katana price range as a no frills one amp two channels thing. How it stacks against katana, or mighty 15 from HB, or the other small tube amp from HB?
Thanks so much for this review. I honestly was wondering about the hype....
Decent honest review. They lack feel under the fingers. If it has to be digital and Roland then the Blues Cube series are much better. Probably based on the Technology of the old cube range!
I'm still yet to try a Blues Cube. I need to get around to it.
@@MrPolevaulterthe blues cube is Fantastic!! Hope you can try one
Go watch Ola or Juca Neery's or Studio Rats or Sweetwater videos with Nick Bowcott Katana videos and you'll see its not the amp that is lacking , you need to spend more than an hour or two with the amp and to learn to use tone studio and make your own patches , i was underwhelmed at first too, then i connected tone studio and it changed everything, but each to their own , love your channel and your honesty even when we dont see ear to ear 🤘
Fair enough.
No amount of tweaking can overcome the 50's tiny cabinet size and poor speaker. The 100 sounds fine, the 50 does not. In the room, it will never sound OK. Yes, you can put a mic in front of it like Studio Rats and make it seem OK but in the room it still sounds terrible.
@@iancurrie8844 honestly that hasnt been my experience at all and i bought my Boss Katana MKII 50w about three years back and love it so much i also bought the GT1 multi fx pedal as well (as it runs on 6AA batteries and can be taken anywhere in a backpack and is a truly versatile unit for $199) and also bought the Katana Go which i love and think its a shame they stopped making because the company manufacturing it for them could not keep up with the demand
but if you dont like it thats cool, have you played it using headphones or running the amp through another cabinet? or in more than one room? in my experience all rooms reflect different and i find even some electrical outlets seem to effect the amp differently,
in any event i feel everyone has different needs/wants and experiences and i try to keep an open mind, what 50w or even 40 or 20 watt room or practice amp do you prefer?
maybe there is something out there that is better and i just havent heard it, i live in a very small town and we only have one mom and pop musical instrument shop and while its a great store they dont necessarily have a wide variety of gear to try out. but for the money spent i love all my Boss Katana products , and as far as the 50w version goes ive seen everyone from Ola to Rich Bischoff to personal friends of mine get great room tones with the 50w as i have
YMMV , but again i'm open minded if i find another great practice amp in the right price range i'm game
@@iancurrie8844 Did you once plug a pair of headphones into the input jack in the back? because this amp yes even the 50w version kicks ass , i think what you dislike is the speaker, which i'll agree is not the best but the amp itself is, also did you ever connect it to a laptop/desktop and install Tone Studio? if not it would be like test driving a car and never taking it out of first gear , you have no idea of its true potential
The one thing I hated about my MK2 that made me sell it a month later was that it was so harsh and shrill sounding. I needed to turn down the treble a lot to make anything not harsh, and by then it would be too dark. This does seem a little better in that regard.
Same thing happened for me. I don’t regret selling mine
It's funny, I sold my Laney super cub 12 for a Katana 50 MK2 and couldn't be happier. Sounds great to me, and feels a lot simpler to get workable tones compared to other amps and pedal combinations.
Here in the US of A, the Boss Katana Generation 3 (yeah, that's what it's called) sells for $350.
Hi. I really like Your honesty reveiws and in this case I agree. I bought a 50 Watt and the first I did was to put in another speaker. A brittish H/H speaker and I put up the original speaker on the wall as a dekoration. It sounds much better but it´s still kind of a sterile sound and it´s uninspiring. Know I kept it as a backup if my tubeamps will break when we have a gig.
Thanks for Your inspiring content😀👍
Glad you liked it :)
I agree with Elmo completely about the Katana and amps of it's genre. I am in my 70's. However, many months ago, a friend gave up forcing me to buy a Spark40. One day after his surrender, a brand new Spark40 was delivered to my door by Fedex. Truthfully, I use the Spark 98% of the time. Do I have great vintage amps? I am surrounded by them. But the Spark is next to my desk PC. It makes me want to play more. The Katana 50 does not inspire me. But, for kids or newbe's the Katana is a great worry free choice. -- Thanks Elmo.
Gosh - surprising conclusion and quite the opposite of my opinion (I have an artist combo mk1 which promptly resulted in my DSL20 (Creamback loaded) and tube 15 getting the boot as for me there really was no comparison then recently bought a mk2 50 as a very cheap second hand ultra portable practice amp, which I also like) but I guess we’re all different! Stellar playing as always my good man
Cheers!
I have the little Marshall myself, but am giving serious thought to doing the artist also.. hmmm
@@rickwoods5313worth trying at least I’d say. Great value as a second hand purchase
Artist mk2 with the waza craft greenback speaker is a great amp imho! Ditched my blues junior and Marshall dsl40, get every tone I need from the knobs on th3 front. Check out Rob Chapmans videos on these!
tienes toda la razón Elmo!
Great review as always! I thank you for posting this.
And thank you :)
I've just bought the spark 2 50w and I love it
Hope you can try the Blues Cube amp. Is fantastic.
I tried the catalyst and katana and I found were like meh.
Blues Cube is legit
Should do that at some point. So much gear to try.
You're on point with the 50 watt. I couldn't get a sound I liked to save my life, it is exactly what you said. Sounds like a box of plastic. HOWEVER. The Artist model, both head and combo are completely different animals. I have the head plugged into a 2x12 v30 cabinet and it sounds absolutely killer. But yeah the 50 and 100 watt combos, I'm not impressed with either. If anyone's looking for a small combo for close to the same price go for the Marshall DSL5CR. Those are incredible.
I bought the original Katana 50 new for 190€ after jumping on the hype train, after a couple of months i sold it, i really wanted to like it and loved the layout and easy of use but the sounds were a fizzy trebly wall to my ears, i kinda later regretted selling it cause later i found out that you had a para-EQ on the software which probably would have helped tame the Highs but out of the box it was very underwhelming, replaced it with a Yamaha THRX that sounded much better.
The cleans are flat and the drives are fizzy out of the box, so if you want a simple amp that sounds good with the dials at noon, then this isn't for you. Connect a laptop/phone to it and delve into the options and you can make it sound really good. Not everyone wants to do that, I get it.
so Boss cant adjust their own amps , maybe they need your help
@@breakfastbuddy5 They have all the help they need trying to make I/O solid state deliver like analog valves. It may happen one day in the distant future. A good tube amp can go from clean to break up by simply digging in or rolling up the guitar volume knob. Digital amps require presets and cannot sustain and sing like tube amps. Been playing for 40 years and have played solid states, hybrids, tube amps..... Every digital amp maker is trying to replicate the same thing and that is a good tube amp. Save your money, buy a good tube amp and a few quality pedals.
@@youropionmattersnot Tubes are too loud when you push them enough to get what you want out them. I just need an amp to play in a 18x14 living room in a house that is in the middle of a subdivision that several LEOs (not joking) also live in. Done drove down the tube road. Even the last micro amp I had with the built in attenuator dialed down to 1 watt was still plenty damn loud when FULLY driven on that one watt.
I'm looking at things like the Katana so maybe I can download some "wall of maxed out Mesa/Marshalls" heavy sounds but at "small sleeping children just a literal walls thickness away" volumes while I jam along with songs on RUclips. My TV is my monitor, so I need "that sound" at around reasonable TV volumes.
You ain't even coming close to accomplishing that with tubes, even with pedals lol. At that low of volume all you're really hearing is the pedal anyway, so you might as well just have solid state or digital.
Did you check the blind review by Andertons with Rob Chapman testing amps he choose the Vox VTX series or the new Boss Katana 3 , I think this is what Rob was saying with VOX it's a proper hybrid with the 12 x7 preamp tube you get more of a realistic tube like sound , however I wish Vox updated the VTX series with a better speaker upgraded USB c and the ability to connect to your PC with your recording software, when BOSS came out with 50 gen 3 with all the uproar and fanfare then you hear it umm something is missing still a great amp another great review love the tshirt of a fellow Canadian Devin Townsend 😊
I did, yeah (after I filmed this). Devin is a seriously great musician and singer.
@@atticushexcel9567 At the end of the day it's just a cheap amp built with plastic with a crappy cheap speaker and the cabinet is cheap particle board. Sound is subjective and if you like it who cares what other people think. Use it and enjoy it.
Don’t listen to what Rob Chapman is saying. Those guys popped like mushrooms in a forest as excellent sales people with crappy musical sense. Go and try product yourself and decide otherwise you end up spending unnecessary amounts of money just chasing the tone that you may not be able find. It is literally a rabbit hole for god sake
I've never got the hype with these amps either. I had the Katana Artist and didn't like it at all, couldn't gel with the core tones at all. If it works for you then great. I'm glad it isn't just my ears. I currently have one of the competitors and with its new update it's a solid amp. But the Katana is a jack of all .
@@Olican71well said and I think most people get that now seeing as that man has gone from the hottest thing in RUclips land to virtually no associations now. An Olympic band wagoner and nothing more.
Elmo, like that Hevy Devy shirt!💯
🔥🎸🔥
👍
Juca Nery says use the Global EQ and put a 5k cut on the highs, that'll make it sound better, and also adjust what cabinet settings you are using, that helps also.
I had a Katana 100 mk2 and was thoroughly disappointed with it. I fully agree with you. When played against my Harley Benton Tube 15, it’s no contest. The Tube 15 wins by a mile for me.
Indeed.
Mostly playing rock&metal leads, I got the Marshall DSL1CR (1 w for apartment) after comparing with Katana side by side.
It looks like it hurts you so much to say bad things. It's ok Elmo. That's why we love you. You take a hit for the team when necessary. /hug :) I just don't think it's worth the price. As a beginner I NEED a single amp, at a good price, that can do a few things well. Quiet practice at home, slightly louder practice with a band, much louder at small gigs, somewhere in between to record.
It doesn't need to be miraculous at anything but it can't be absolutely aweful at anything and this thing just seems to be too expensive relative to others that could fit the bill nicely.
I wouldn't know a tube from a transistor if my life depended on it but I trust my ears, a dB meter and my wallet and this thing simiply doesn't thrill me. Thanks for all you do!
He has the master volume at full. The katana can go from insanely loud to barely hearable with minimal tone change if you dial back the master. The volume is definitely not the reason to pass this but if you don't like the tone then don't buy it.
And thank you!
Good review!
Especially, dialing through amp types and EQ with sound.
Yes, didn't impress me either, IHMO.
Cheers!
I have a Katana 100 MK2 for home use. It’s spectacular. I had a 50 for about 24 hours and returned it. If you’re going to buy one get the 100. Just remember it’s an excellent modeling amp for home use and practice. It’s not a tube amp and will never sound as good. But it will sound great for home use, practice and experimentation with effects.
it's exactly the same one i got. I'm just a beginner guitar player.
Great comment
Okay pal
@atticushexcel9567 I believe your comment may have gotten deleted, but I can still read most of it through my notifications. The thing is my brother got me into guitar after he got into it very recently, he himself got the MK-II 50W since it was the most sold amp with good reviews on Thomann, and as for me after trying his amp and establishing a baseline as to what I'm looking for, I decided to go for the 100W model since it's more flexible and can do pedals and just slightly better... and it wasn't that much more expensive than the 50W.
About a month or two after I got the MK-II, the Gen 3 got released, but neither me or my brother feel like we missed out because the Gen 3 ones are way more expensive than the prior MK-II that we'd never buy them in first place.
We tested the MK-II 50W vs 100W side and side and there wasn't much difference, that I actually thought I could have saved money and gone with the 50W, but for future reference if or when I get better at guitar it's nice to have the extra features on the 100W.
@@Ben-ld1qi Yea, the 100 does have more features. One thing I needed but didnt have on the 50 was an effects loop for my looping pedal. I forgot that if I loop a clean track in the front it would be dirty and effected by the settings. For me I noticed a difference in tone. At GC it sounded good, but there was a crowd. Once I got it home it was ok but a bit boxy sounding. SO for those two reasons I returned it. The difference for me was big! I'm happy I went with the 100. I know some guys gig with them, but for people that want the tone of a pure tube amp, its not going to do that. Bottom line is this.....I get great tone at low volumes for home use. My Fender Deluxe Reverb....you gotta crank it and it will blow out the windows!
There are 3 separate EQs that can be used in any patch (and a noise gate). If you know what you are actually looking for, you can do things like dial out the plastic sound. Use the Tone Studio or download some great patches.
Elmo. I love the channel. But I truly don’t get your dislike of the Katana.
You should get together with Paul from the Studio Rats and do a joint video with him dialing in a katana for you.
It’d be great content!!
The Cube sounded alot better than the Boss Katana, I do not know what the fuzz around the Katanas is about neither. I would much rather choose a small / compact tube combo amp in the same size as the Katana or even smaller any day of the week and just bring a mini multieffect unit with a couple of good delays, screamer and distortion in it.
Indeed.
The Spark Mini sounds much better to my ears!.. Thanks for the honest review.
best modeling tones for me will always be the Line 6 2x2 combo i had yrs ago. MONSTER TONE ... (even the lil Spider 1x12 combo i had once was killer)
Sounds great. Very popular amp.
Well, bought a Katana Mk2 for 175 Euro and a Nux MG30 for 175 Euro. Use the poweramp in on the Katana only. Could not be happier. Am having all I need and want. Frankly, only like the Brown channel on the Katana. However, the MG-30 lets me tweak the sound better. The combo costs me 350 Euro’s. Cheaper than a Katana Mk3.
Finally, an honest review!!!!
A week ago I sold my Orange Crush 20 which had a lovely, full sounding dirty channel but was a little bit muddy to me. After all that hype I've decided to get a Katana, partially because I wanted a 12" speaker (I was considering Crush 35, 60 was out of my budget). When I first turned it on I was shocked how shit it was, straight away I've reached out the shop if I could return that. I gave myself a weekend just to check the app, like everyone was advising. I got few presets like 5150 or Soldano from the High Gain Tones patch and I fell in love with the sound. Does it sound like a tube amp? Perhaps no. Does it sound good? To me, yes, but the stock sounds are crap as hell. Now, people saying I could get a Tube 15 or DSL5 for similar price, sure, but as a beginner who mostly plays on headphones with a 2 years old sleeping next room it's a no go.
An update on this one. After almost 3 weeks I have decided to return the Katana and ordered Orange Crush 35 and Vox VT40X and will pick between these two.
With the katana series you really have to hook it up to the software to unlock its potential. There's so much locked behind that wall. I havent tried the combos. The head version with some good speakers and some time dialing it in... I think its a very versatile practical practice amp.
There is truth in this. However, the issue with the 50 is that the cabinet is too small, and the speaker is not their best one. The 50 is designed down to a price point and due to the limitations of its physical design, will always sound boxy and plastic. The 100 sounds MUCH better due to its much larger cabinet and much better speaker.
I use the Katana 50 MK1 in all of my videos! So i can only recommend the whole series :D
Good video! :)
I have one of these in a closet somewhere. I honestly don't know how. It sounds so boxy. The 100 is fine but the 50 is a bag of suck.
@@iancurrie8844 If you look at my videos, sound is done by Katana mk1 50. Its my favorite amp.
I EQ Modified it via the Boss Tone Studio.
It’s indistinguishable from the Mark 1. If anything, the cleans from the original sound much better than If they really wanted to make this one special, they would have added more practical features like a built-in tuner and a footswitch and last BUT certainly not least, give us the ability to model AT LEAST one of our own amps through it.
For home practice and recording plugins are the way to go. I have the free audio single neuron tube and it sounds great. I play it in reaper with a bit of processing . Couldn't be happier.
Thanks for the honest review, Elmo. I had a Cube years ago (that finally died) and did like that. Since then I have been pretty happy with the THR II for practice, but it was way overpriced. I think it sounds better than the Katana overall. It's tough, though. All of the practice amps lack something. I totally agree with the box of plastic characterization for this one.
I love boss petals, and the jazz chorus is a great amp. But, I have to agree. A 5 watt tube amp a ts n a reverb tank. That's all I need. N I prefer the blackstar fly over most amps 5 times the price
"A buzzy box of plastic" Haha This proves alot of reviewers jazz up the amp tones in post. 😉 Thanks for the honest review Elmo. 👍
Cheers!
That's your conclusion, it's not a proof 😀
If anything, since there are far more video reviews that tend towards positive, and also in my opinion sound better, it could also be a faulty amp for all we know.
I have the Boss Katana MK2 50 and i love it. But this new model i am never tried it yet.
Yeah, on YT comparisons when compared to the Peavey VYPYR VIP or X's these Katana do (to me) sound "underwhelming"; an adjective which I have NEVER thought of about my Peavey VYPYR VIP3, ever. The Peavey sounds richer and more complex even in YT compressed audio if the amps are both recorded well and properly.
The gen 3 is RM1665 or about €326 in my country. Might get one.
If you do, please let me know what you think about it.
Peppa Pig intro at the 3:00 was awesome. I used to play it for my daughter when she was little :)
Going to wait for the 100w artist to come out with the bluetooth and pedal bundle.
Great T-shirt :)
I have a couple of boss katana 50s they ,the boss katana is a decent all around amp, many many possible tones and effects plus you can down load the tone lab and get just about anything you want, ive used mine with a band its loud enough and if it isnt you can input it to the pa ,simple simple, I love mine and they are cheap around 300 new around 150 used ,anyway great video take care stay safe ,god bless
Very good, fun video! I don’t use effects or clean tones. I’m just interested in a Ramones or Sex Pistols sound. I’m sure the Katana is very capable is getting those tones at a very light weight!
As an owner of THR30ii, no matter how much I like it (the answer is "to the sky"), I only use clean and little crunchy, everything else are pedals. Also, bought it so I can use acoustic and bass channels. This seems like another swiss knife that I would never use 90% of features.
Vox Valvetronix is the way to go for this type of amp, sounds way more like a real amp vs the Katana's and the effects are very good. When I tried a Katana I was surprised how bad it sounded after hearing all the hype.
All the hype is in a BTS & patches thing. Out of the box it's nothing more than a mediocre practice/rehearsal amp. Diving in BTS not only thought me a lot about guitar sound (mainly about dialing pre-EQ & post-EQ to get sound in my head, helps me even with analog stuff now), but made my Artist MK2 sound & feel AMAZING. Not exaggerating here. I play Marshall DSL 100 & Dual rectifier 3-ch Multi-watt on "big" rehearsals & Katana on a smaller ones & it gets the job done on 120% (+ 20% for being able to EQ it much more precise than any tube amp out there so it sits in band context just where I need it to be)
I tried one in my local music shop..and instantly knew I preferred my mk2
Thats what i thouht from videos i have seen ..the mkii version sounds better to me. Tried the new one recently but only at low volume and wasnt impressed.
Thanx Elmo for your honest Review.I feel the same-Plastic!I´m wondering how so many Guys on YT could say that the Katana Series sounds amazing?Keep goin....
I love how he speaks so dramatically about it in the beginning 😂
😊
Kat Gen 3 still has the annoying fizziness of the V2! Can't use even bedroom volume speakers in my seniors residence so I bought the Katana GO headphone amp out of curiosity, and I only use the BOSS Clean amp and a few boost/fx. It's fun for practice and quick recording. Note that BOSS discontinued the GO due to chip shortages but is redesigning it for a different chip that's easier to supply (so they said in a release).
$300 for the gen 3 in the US...$60 for the bluetooth adapter the gen 3 katana 50 EX model is $350. I'm not a gigging or professional musician and I'm considering the artist 100 myself. I have a couple of tube amps already...55 watt and 15 watt. I don't have a katana, but have seen enough and heard enough to know you're not going to get a good sound without diving into the tone studio. I myself prefer playing clean with some reverb on my electrics, but mainly play acoustic guitars now. I'm trying to decide between the Katana artist 100, the Boss acoustic singer live or the Fishman loudbox Artist BT 120. I'm leaning towards the Fishman at $800. The reason I'm considering the katana is because it has an acoustic setting that is pretty decent and I can also use it with my electrics without the hassles that come with the tube amps.
I'd really like to know what you will think of the head. The whole Katana range, in my opinion, should be looked at as very practical gigging amps. Sadly, we should look at them as tools. And, it seems everything that Boss has added to this one, is from that point of view as well. It is a laptop with a power amp. It is made like one, too! When a component fails, you are going to through it out. But as long as it works, it sure does a lot...
I do plan on trying some version of it.