Boss should have launched a katana version of the Roland micro cube. That was a great little amp, easy to carry, very friendly to the people who plays on the street, and good sounding. Katana’s users probed that they need an amp smaller but good sounding at the same time.
The reason my Spark40 is my go-to amp at home: It doesn't sound like a big amp. It doesn't sound like any amp. It sounds like a Hi-fi recording of an electric guitar thru whatever amp I want. I'm an old guitar player. I have a collection of great vintage amps. I would never use the Spark40 in a live situation that mattered. But at home I use it 95% of the time in the past year.
Cool upgrade to the Katana mini, but the Boss Dual Cube LX has fallen so low in price here in the UK (compared to its released) that Boss have two similar products at a smilar price point. Id probs go with a Boss Dual Cube as you get a bit more for your money.
The close mic sounds very flattering lol XD, but I appreciate you showing the room mic, because who even mics an amp like this - people use tiny amps for practice, not recording.
My favourite effect genuinely was synth. One of my favourite things to do is just sit around with dumb useless effects trying to make the most bonkers noise possible, and then trying to find a way to use them. A not-so-great synth effect is exactly my jam.
Having the original mini and love it, I have to agree with Andy on not having the USB interface ability to record directly , almost made it the perfect practice travel amp but maybe due to the extra cost decided not too include the USB feature , I love the knobs in the front also and it's 3 watts louder, will I go out and upgrade , um not sure , I would love the ability to record directly , maybe have to hook it to an interface , great review Andy ,
Andy thanks for the review, made my decision easy…no buy. I recently purchased a spark mini vai model, worst small amp purchase ever. This boss is sounds just like it. My “small” travel amp for me is the VOX mini go 10, has loop, drum pattern, effects and amp modelling. Cheers.
Glad I could help. I am also not a fan of the spark mini. That vox you mentioned is about €100 more than this katana mini x so not really a fair comparison but if it makes you happy then it is good!
I also have the Vox Mini 5 which is the Mini Go predecessor. It's bigger and it sounds really good, but no rechargeable battery and no Bluetooth. Also sounds bad the music through the aux in and headphones. This one offers all of that.
Nice little unit, but I think I'd still go for the Spark mini in this category. Loving my new Katana 50 Gen3 though 🤗 Just wish Boss would stick a tuner in the next fw update
My fav would be the trem effect along with some reverb, but I am really weirded out about the synth... confused about it to be honest. Do agree that an USB audio interface would be a real winner at this price point, that one missing thing made me wish list it vs pre-ordering it so I can look at other options
Cheaper than the Spark Mini, a bit bigger, but it would be cool to see this side by side with the mini which I think is incredible for its size. On another note, I think it is more than laughable that people compare practice amps to Katana 50's and other similar amps. Its a practice amp, apples and oranges people. If you are not sure then something like the Spark 2 definetly bridges the gap and covers you through a bigger range and comes with an insane amount of features for about 120 more.
Hypothetically, the "preamp" (i.e. digital modeling) of this amp would use a subset of the same algorithms that the Katana 50 uses. That it is mated with a weaker power amp and smaller speaker in a smaller enclosure does not make a comparison to a Katana 50 invalid; rather, said relationship makes such a comparison more illustrative of the effects of those differences. This is not like comparing a 5W tube amp with its 50W or 100W siblings, though people who are that interested in amps probably would either use more adjustable modeling or avoid modeling altogether (as I do).
I still have my original Roland Micro Cube - which has excellent amp models........ but I think I've found its successor; 10W trumps 2W - even though the 2W is sufficient for a singaround at the folk club!
@@TheGuitarGeek That synth effect should be erased, from existence - with prejuduce! I was thinking more of my thinbody archtop (single P90) with the Octave and lots of spring reverb - on the clean varient channel... I think that might work!
Muy práctico con el afinador (ojala lo tuviera también su hermano grande) y la batería recargable para llevar a clases o de viaje, Gracias por el video 😉😉
The Synth-effect reminds me of one of the effect in the Zoom 9000, I owned in the 90ies. I don't remember, what it was called, though. But I actively used it to annoy everyone around, of course.
They should have re-issue the first version of the Roland Micro Cube with USB and Bluetooth. What is your best value practice amp? Thanks for the review!
The synth seemed to produce a lot of noise. I would interested in hearing a simple melody to hear the extent to which notes would sound different. In place of the synth, I would be inclined to add a black, blank space in the panel.
The synth sound reminds me of my earthquaker bit commander, has an analog synth sounds really only good for monophonic stuff. On my earthquaker i can just turn the ocatve synth stuff off and get a really gnarly square wave fuzz sound. Not so much here though.
Andy, I have a Katana 100 mk2 that I use playing out and it's wonderful for a grab and go amp. This Mini-X is S**T and I won't even consider trading my Pos Grid for it, not even close. Cheers Mate!
lol this dropped today, the extra day I got the wife to agree to getting a living room amp. Now I don’t know if I should get this, full blown katana, orange rt or Yamaha thr. Would want it for the porch and living room
They should relabel the 'synth' as 'fart pedal'! 😉😄 A lot of the big sound from larger amps is the larger speaker 🤔 If one was to wire in a speaker break-out socket that cuts out the little speaker when you plug in a larger speaker, might make an interesting experiment.
In an age where even the smallest amps like the Positive Grid Go sound decently big, full and defined. Boss have brought us an amp that sounds small, boxy and fizzy at high gain. Somehow it sounds worse than the standard Katana mini!
@@TheGuitarGeek Well I’m entitled to my opinion 😊 I did watch the video of course, and nothing against your playing or recording! Other videos I’ve watched of this amp have the same problem so to me it’s just not a great amp, an amp that’s not for me!
I only watch videos like this to learn about the features/price of a guitar or piece of gear. I’ve found that a recorded sound demo playing through my phone speakers doesn’t really equate to what I’ll hear playing the thing live in my guitar shed. Appreciate the product info though.
I am very glad you understand. You are a serious reviewer. There is this trend nowadays to put rechargeable batteries everywhere but very few seem to care about if they are replaceable by the user or not, and consequently what is going to happen when the battery will be exhausted (because, you know, no batteries are eternal...).
A very impressive bit of kit - probably teamed up with an Ibanez AZES series guitar for stage 2 or 3 learners @ 30:04 how about ruclips.net/video/n4QSYx4wVQg/видео.html and baritones? It is a link to B52s Lock Robster Johnny Marr woulda luvd it? Flanger Chorus and Phaser sound great with not too much wah on the Phaser but ,as always?, present on the fades Which suggests: rather than design an effect for technical parameters why not design it for populist or popular performer parameters? It would seem to make sense as a new "trend" just means tweaking and twiddling presets and bingo! your favorite sound is achieved If that makes any sense at all
Not into the Swiss Army amplifiers at all. Not this one, or any other. Give me Vox, Orange, Roland, and maybe a couple of pedals. I understand that there is a market for these types of amplifiers; they are just not for me.
Yeah, I'm not into the Kia XCeed type cars at all. Give me a Porsche 911, a G Class and maybe a couple of motorcycles... I got a Kia tho... Hence I'm checking out this review.
@@zombiezilla I see you are a man of culture, a fellow Kia enthusiast 🧐 I have a tube amp, a pedalboard and more guitars than my wife thinks I need, but it's just too much hassle sometimes. These little things are so convenient when you just wanna plug and play. You just play more often when you have something small in your hand....that didn't come out right...
I’m always looking for the perfect practice amp. I have a tiny Laney Lunchbox size amp which is ok. My Katana Gen 3 Head is much better because I use my pedals with it. Kind of defeats the notion of small practice amp but you can turn the volume way down with the attenuator. I pretty much agree with everything you said but unfortunately that’s not the practice amp for me but I think a lot of people will find it useful 👆. 👍☮️🌞🎸🎵🩷
![[#2024MAMA] G-DRAGON - 무제(Untitled, 2014)+POWER+HOME SWEET HOME+뱅뱅뱅+FANTASTIC BABY | Mnet 241123 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ox29z5Nf1Uk/mqdefault.jpg)
Boss should have launched a katana version of the Roland micro cube. That was a great little amp, easy to carry, very friendly to the people who plays on the street, and good sounding. Katana’s users probed that they need an amp smaller but good sounding at the same time.
I have the Roland which is a nice little unit but I think I like this one better.
My favourite effect ... the smile it put on your face
what a way with words! 😀
It really is a joy to play.
I wasn't into it at all until you hit the Brown sound. Always enjoyable Andy. Thanks so much.
It was surprisingly good!
For me, the best effect was the T.Wah. Second is the delay/reverb. Great video Andy. It's on my Christmas list.
The synth is my favorite because it's so Intriguing. Good video as always.
it is kind of my favourite too...
Thank you for the Katana 50 comparison.
I know what I’m getting for Christmas. Great review, Andy. As always. 🎉❤
Great title Andy for the review!
Thank you 🙂
By far I was surprised how good the reverb on this little think sounds like. especially with the acoustic.
same!
"Sounds good, but a little thin" is a pretty good summary of this amp.
This is almost perfect. Definitely gotta put it on the X-mas GAS list...
I concur!
T Wah effect for me. I'm sure I could get a good Hendrix sound out of that mini-beast!
The bass demo soundet good in my ears with headphones.
The reason my Spark40 is my go-to amp at home: It doesn't sound like a big amp. It doesn't sound like any amp. It sounds like a Hi-fi recording of an electric guitar thru whatever amp I want. I'm an old guitar player. I have a collection of great vintage amps. I would never use the Spark40 in a live situation that mattered. But at home I use it 95% of the time in the past year.
Cool upgrade to the Katana mini, but the Boss Dual Cube LX has fallen so low in price here in the UK (compared to its released) that Boss have two similar products at a smilar price point.
Id probs go with a Boss Dual Cube as you get a bit more for your money.
The close mic sounds very flattering lol XD, but I appreciate you showing the room mic, because who even mics an amp like this - people use tiny amps for practice, not recording.
My favourite effect genuinely was synth. One of my favourite things to do is just sit around with dumb useless effects trying to make the most bonkers noise possible, and then trying to find a way to use them. A not-so-great synth effect is exactly my jam.
Having the original mini and love it, I have to agree with Andy on not having the USB interface ability to record directly , almost made it the perfect practice travel amp but maybe due to the extra cost decided not too include the USB feature , I love the knobs in the front also and it's 3 watts louder, will I go out and upgrade , um not sure , I would love the ability to record directly , maybe have to hook it to an interface , great review Andy ,
Andy thanks for the review, made my decision easy…no buy. I recently purchased a spark mini vai model, worst small amp purchase ever. This boss is sounds just like it. My “small” travel amp for me is the VOX mini go 10, has loop, drum pattern, effects and amp modelling. Cheers.
Glad I could help.
I am also not a fan of the spark mini. That vox you mentioned is about €100 more than this katana mini x so not really a fair comparison but if it makes you happy then it is good!
I also have the Vox Mini 5 which is the Mini Go predecessor. It's bigger and it sounds really good, but no rechargeable battery and no Bluetooth. Also sounds bad the music through the aux in and headphones. This one offers all of that.
I love playing my acoustics through my Katana 50 mk II.
That is soo good. I want one.
T-Wah definitely my fav fx , though like all practice amps small speaker = small sound
Synth on acoustic best effect because it was mad yet musical. 😊
Great review. How do you like the BStar St. James? I've been looking at the head for a 4/12 cab. I love my club40 mkii
Best effect if it can be called an effect is the accoustic setting. Could make the collection for that feature alone..👍🇦🇺
Nice little unit, but I think I'd still go for the Spark mini in this category. Loving my new Katana 50 Gen3 though 🤗 Just wish Boss would stick a tuner in the next fw update
My fav would be the trem effect along with some reverb, but I am really weirded out about the synth... confused about it to be honest. Do agree that an USB audio interface would be a real winner at this price point, that one missing thing made me wish list it vs pre-ordering it so I can look at other options
Cheaper than the Spark Mini, a bit bigger, but it would be cool to see this side by side with the mini which I think is incredible for its size.
On another note, I think it is more than laughable that people compare practice amps to Katana 50's and other similar amps. Its a practice amp, apples and oranges people.
If you are not sure then something like the Spark 2 definetly bridges the gap and covers you through a bigger range and comes with an insane amount of features for about 120 more.
Hypothetically, the "preamp" (i.e. digital modeling) of this amp would use a subset of the same algorithms that the Katana 50 uses. That it is mated with a weaker power amp and smaller speaker in a smaller enclosure does not make a comparison to a Katana 50 invalid; rather, said relationship makes such a comparison more illustrative of the effects of those differences. This is not like comparing a 5W tube amp with its 50W or 100W siblings, though people who are that interested in amps probably would either use more adjustable modeling or avoid modeling altogether (as I do).
Please put that against the Spark mini thank you
Love that hall reverb ❤
I still have my original Roland Micro Cube - which has excellent amp models........ but I think I've found its successor; 10W trumps 2W - even though the 2W is sufficient for a singaround at the folk club!
For the folk club, this would be great! Just remember to engage that synth ;-)
@@TheGuitarGeek That synth effect should be erased, from existence - with prejuduce! I was thinking more of my thinbody archtop (single P90) with the Octave and lots of spring reverb - on the clean varient channel... I think that might work!
looks like synth is giving some kind of rich sawtooth wave which is very usefull to run through other synthesizer filters and stuff
Id buy it if i wasnt too busy deciding whether to keep my Epiphone Blackback LP Custom or trade it in for the Epi purple burst LP Modern
There was no sword in that box?!😂 keep it up Andy
That Iceman! 🤤
I know…. Right!
Muy práctico con el afinador (ojala lo tuviera también su hermano grande) y la batería recargable para llevar a clases o de viaje, Gracias por el video 😉😉
Sí. ¡De nada!
The Synth-effect reminds me of one of the effect in the Zoom 9000, I owned in the 90ies. I don't remember, what it was called, though. But I actively used it to annoy everyone around, of course.
Good man.
I think that distortion or overdrive would be a good replacement for the synth or maybe "old fashioned" fuzz like a Big Muff. But that's just me.
I dug the reverb but yeah they really missed the boat by not putting in a usb audio interface.
I sounds nice when mic'd, room mic sounds average I'd say. I'll stick to my mk1 100w combo cheers.
25:52 This does not require even a moment's thought: a flanger should have been included before any kind of synth effect.
The Synth is the P.. off my parents' function.
PS: Thank you for being you. ^__^
Yes! I showed it my mum and she quite liked it but not for a long period of time.
They should have re-issue the first version of the Roland Micro Cube with USB and Bluetooth. What is your best value practice amp? Thanks for the review!
Yep sounded good as well
This one sounds like it’s rattling apart while it’s played
“What is next, is it loud?” 😂
nope, "does it make tea?"
The synth seemed to produce a lot of noise. I would interested in hearing a simple melody to hear the extent to which notes would sound different. In place of the synth, I would be inclined to add a black, blank space in the panel.
Clean it sounds like boxy in all its glory 🙂
We’ve got Emmanuel? Well I guess Christmas is coming. 😂😂😂😂😂
Clean sounds good. But the price point is a bit questionable.
The synth sound reminds me of my earthquaker bit commander, has an analog synth sounds really only good for monophonic stuff. On my earthquaker i can just turn the ocatve synth stuff off and get a really gnarly square wave fuzz sound. Not so much here though.
Those segmented effects controls look to be nicked from the old Roland Cube - hardly any adjustment
Andy, I have a Katana 100 mk2 that I use playing out and it's wonderful for a grab and go amp. This Mini-X is S**T and I won't even consider trading my Pos Grid for it, not even close. Cheers Mate!
I understand your thinking, but as someone who had played all the amps you’ve mentioned, this mini x is superb at its price point
I still think the Yamaha THRs set the bar for best sounding desktop amps.
Do the THRs still forget the loaded preset when a knob is adjusted after loading a preset?
@@Robstafarian I think I know what you are asking. When you change anything on a preset, you have to hit the save preset button to save the change.
Any opinion on how it compares to a Mooer Hornet?
Mooer Hornet has no portable power requirements unfortunately, 9v, USB in or batteries would make it a comparable contender
lol this dropped today, the extra day I got the wife to agree to getting a living room amp. Now I don’t know if I should get this, full blown katana, orange rt or Yamaha thr. Would want it for the porch and living room
If you can spend the money, consider that yamaha or a spark 2.
If around 150 is your top end, this will do great.
I’d buy the spark mini or spark go before I’d get that.
It`s the synth, because it helps to annoy your roomies even with a smal practice amp!
This is the dream!
They should relabel the 'synth' as 'fart pedal'! 😉😄
A lot of the big sound from larger amps is the larger speaker 🤔 If one was to wire in a speaker break-out socket that cuts out the little speaker when you plug in a larger speaker, might make an interesting experiment.
One might have already done that… video on the way!
@@TheGuitarGeek Cool 👍 will look forward to that with interest.
I have one,great Amp😊
Congrats on your real amp
I prefer the Spark Mini
Ok, the best effect was definitely the synth.
Glad you think so!
I've been looking for a practice amp, what do you recommend this or the Positive Grid?
Katana mini X or spark go? Definitely katana
Katana mini x or spark 2? Spark 2 but it’s twice the price of the katana
@@TheGuitarGeek Yeah I was talking about the Spark 40, thanks!
@@TheGuitarGeek I have the Katana Mini but I'm looking to upgrade!
What I think should be there is wireless.
adding wireless would make the cost prohibitive for sure.
Can it also be modded to add the external speaker out like you did with the original mini?
We are going to find out very soon!
@@TheGuitarGeek Awesome! Can't wait to see that video :)
In an age where even the smallest amps like the Positive Grid Go sound decently big, full and defined. Boss have brought us an amp that sounds small, boxy and fizzy at high gain. Somehow it sounds worse than the standard Katana mini!
You definitely didn’t watch the video
@@TheGuitarGeek Well I’m entitled to my opinion 😊 I did watch the video of course, and nothing against your playing or recording! Other videos I’ve watched of this amp have the same problem so to me it’s just not a great amp, an amp that’s not for me!
I also preferred the original in this video for basic electric sounds.
I only watch videos like this to learn about the features/price of a guitar or piece of gear. I’ve found that a recorded sound demo playing through my phone speakers doesn’t really equate to what I’ll hear playing the thing live in my guitar shed. Appreciate the product info though.
It does
@TheGuitarGeek
There's nothing weird about enjoying the feel and texture of a material. Not in my opinion anyway.
i knew i wasn't the only one!
How much in usd Andy and what size is the speaker? 🔈
Price - sweetwater.sjv.io/qznQ7b
Speaker is 5 inches.
Close mic sounds better.
Wait no Flanger????
It's got an arm flanger, you.pick it up and wave it up and down. It's also got rotary if.youre good at piruettes
@@mimetype Nope no flanger instead it's got a useless synth
Is the internal battery replaceable by the user?
If not, it's just another gadget that in a few years will probably go to the dustbin.
A very valid point. I will have a follow up coming with things like that
I am very glad you understand. You are a serious reviewer.
There is this trend nowadays to put rechargeable batteries everywhere but very few seem to care about if they are replaceable by the user or not, and consequently what is going to happen when the battery will be exhausted (because, you know, no batteries are eternal...).
Reverb was the best
A very impressive bit of kit - probably teamed up with an Ibanez AZES series guitar for stage 2 or 3 learners
@ 30:04 how about ruclips.net/video/n4QSYx4wVQg/видео.html and baritones? It is a link to B52s Lock Robster
Johnny Marr woulda luvd it?
Flanger Chorus and Phaser sound great with not too much wah on the Phaser but ,as always?, present on the fades
Which suggests: rather than design an effect for technical parameters why not design it for populist or popular performer parameters?
It would seem to make sense as a new "trend" just means tweaking and twiddling presets and bingo! your favorite sound is achieved
If that makes any sense at all
Synth? It sounds like a Stylophone! I'd rather have had a Synth Soft Pad effect!
I don´t know about this Strat. Sounds out of tune all the way. That Ibanez seems to be a better choice for that.
USB vintage? 👍🤣
I got my K v1 50 watt combo on fleebay for ………..£35. Total bargain.
Fixed delay. No thanks..
No Aux In, so cannot be used with my drum machines (e.g. Roland P-6); Or other processors (VE-22, etc.)
So for me, Deal Breaker!!!
it's about the FUNk
took me more time to get this than it should have...
TUNER????
Id rather have a blackstar debut 50r for a $110 usd more........
Should of put out a new katana go instead of this
Not into the Swiss Army amplifiers at all. Not this one, or any other. Give me Vox, Orange, Roland, and maybe a couple of pedals. I understand that there is a market for these types of amplifiers; they are just not for me.
Yeah, I'm not into the Kia XCeed type cars at all.
Give me a Porsche 911, a G Class and maybe a couple of motorcycles...
I got a Kia tho...
Hence I'm checking out this review.
I snort-laughed at this.
@@TheGuitarGeek I drive a Kia Soul but have a preponderance of instruments. A fellow has to have his priorities, eh, gentlemen? 😁
@@zombiezilla I see you are a man of culture, a fellow Kia enthusiast 🧐
I have a tube amp, a pedalboard and more guitars than my wife thinks I need, but it's just too much hassle sometimes.
These little things are so convenient when you just wanna plug and play. You just play more often when you have something small in your hand....that didn't come out right...
Typical boring redundancy from Boss ! But I’ll probably buy it 😂😂
That is one fugly strat
Great review on an expensive cheap sounding amp. Sounds so bad over the Tube…🇦🇺 🤮
I would be interested to know how much of the video you watched because apart from those initial sounds, it sounded pretty great.
tuneeeeeeeeeeeee
I’m always looking for the perfect practice amp. I have a tiny Laney Lunchbox size amp which is ok. My Katana Gen 3 Head is much better because I use my pedals with it. Kind of defeats the notion of small practice amp but you can turn the volume way down with the attenuator. I pretty much agree with everything you said but unfortunately that’s not the practice amp for me but I think a lot of people will find it useful 👆. 👍☮️🌞🎸🎵🩷