The Boss Katana was SHOCKING.

MY GEAR

WIN FREE GEAR:

00:00 Intro
01:45 Intrigue...
03:16 Finding a seller
04:09 The Trial
07:14 Conclusion

[tonefarer]

When the katana came out I remember being super skeptical due it being the "new" thing to hype. But after a friend and I walked into the local shop and plugged into one with zero expectations, we were both pretty blown away. Now it's one of my main amps that I use; super versatile and really easy to dial in a very usable tone no matter what you're after!

[ChuckSilva]

Thanks for this… I bought two katana MKII 100s (for stereo) about a year ago. I’m 65 years old -played professionally most my life right out of high school-including a couple tours with Bob James and Kirk Welham…bla bla bla lol… I’m just completely blown away by the boss katana. It is a modern masterpiece.

[TobyKBTY]

I have fond memories of my Katana. Pretty good tones, very customizable, light but loud, definitely got the job done. Was perfect for my apartment and light jamming sessions back in the day

I sold it and went back to big tube heads ever since moving back to my own house but I’d definitely own one again if circumstances called for it.

[Gkm]

Katana 50 MkII user here. Great jazz amp. I’ve set up a channel with the Clean amp type, with the tone controls essentially flat. Works great with my carved spruce top archtop. I’m using it with the AirStep KAT, and I’ve configured three separate Booster effects for it. One is treble boost, the other two clean boost. The effects are subtle, as I want them. Just a bit more single line definition on one, and actually a drop in treble to make the sound darker on another. And then of course the Solo function can be used to kick each of them up a notch. I run the Volume knob up about 75%; this makes the sound full and rich.

[bennorman]

My favorite Katana sound is a clean one with a touch of modulation, lots of reverb, and a bit of delay. Works really well with my jazzmaster’s rhythm circuit.

[billyslide]

I have two Katanas and owned three. I have a 50w and an Artist, both MKII. I sold my Artist MkI. I love these things and play them live often. I honestly don’t spend too much time on the Tone Studio, getting my desired tones almost always directly from the amp interface. I don’t have any external tone pedals (just a tuner, wireless and the Boss board). Parked a lot of amps and simplified my life with these. Great video

[AdamKhanMusic]

I bought mine in 2018 and still can't get over how awesome it is. They really nailed the feel of a tube amp

[jamesdunne]

I don't think you can beat them for the money they cost, and the number Boss have sold since they brought out this amp tells it's own story. They hit pay-dirt with this little masterpiece. I'm a fan!

[AutismRocksOfficial]

Highly recommend the Katana Head. If you don’t plug in a cab, it has a small speaker built in for practice that sound great at low volumes ✌️

[stanleyhache]

I purchased a Kantana 100MKII 2 weeks ago and it's one of my best buying decisions. The acoustic setting is warm and the sounds coming out of this amp are amazing and live up to the hype.

[spinnywise]

I'm listening to YouTube through my Boss Katana Air right now. I LOVE that I can just plug in and play along at any time just sittin' here at my desk. The built in effects are an excellent bonus. I love it so much that I just got the 100W HEAD to use on my 2x12! This should be fun :)

[crazydrummer]

I like that first lick you played. It was really smooth and relaxing. Like a lullaby, in a good way.

[anotherheadlessdemo]

I've been using a Katana 50 v1 for quite a while now (4-5 yrs maybe). It's plenty loud and takes pedals really well. I rarely use the drive settings (crunch, lead and brown) and have used numerous drive and distortion pedals to get that kind of sound. For an amp in that price range, it's the one to get, especially if you are on a budget.

[RileySullivan]

I bought a boss katana 50 mkii for practicing in my apartment. But the real selling point was the acoustic guitar amp mode. I needed an amp for my acoustic, and this thing sounds great for both acoustic and electric guitars.

[GraemeSPa]

I 've been playing guitar since I was 13. At 15 I was in a band and working clubs and all I wanted was a 100watt Marshall with two 4x12 cabinets - I ached for one - but the price - about 360 pounds then - was unreachable. Now I am 67, I can afford one, but wouldn't be able to carry it around and I'm not famous enough to have a roadie. I went through the Marshall combo experience - first the solid state, then the valves, but these could not be clean enough for some of the music I was playing - the answer was a Blackstar HT60 - which could go from acoustic glass clean to AC/DC - but - with two 12" speakers - was a bit hard on my hernia so it went and I played through the PA for a while. But I missed standing in front of an amp - so I bought a Katana 50 - best amp I've ever owned - all the tones I need, plus the programmability of it make it special. I had to modify the headphone socket to get a DI from it, but that little feller is a big beast in a tiny box and worth every penny paid for it.

[jeffleecust]

“I never “insert different play style here” but here goes” is the beauty of the Katana

[VictorianRecords]

As an old guy, I like the Katana because it is smaller, fairly light, and puts out a decent amount of power. Oddly, I rarely play it at home where a use lower wattage tube amps and a stupidly large array of pedals.

I've got the 50 watt model and I got it when they first came out. To me it's jack of all trades that I use if I play out or (more often) in church every week. I find it a bit sterile and I find the the effects sectiion a bit limiting. However, it does pack condiderable punch which makes it a great grab and go amp.

[dawsonfradin]

I remember when this came out. I was skeptical, especially because the only other amps like this at the time were like Line 6 Spiders (which we all remember those). Like they weren't bad amps, but they weren't made especially well. That was the, and still is, one of my top criteria for amps. The quality of construction and materials make a huge difference for me. The Katana proceeded to blow away my expectations.

[azmargossian]

awesome!
Since the Katana is entry/mid level priced AMP you should do a video of what guitar would go along well with it. Fairly priced but amazing sound!
Keep up the good work!

[elkcibdej]

I owned a katana for a minute. I was initially blown away by the versatility/features for the price, and at lower volumes, the stock tones didn’t sound too bad.

Over time though, I became frustrated with the (imo) flaws of this amp, namely the EQ. I found that if I set the EQ to eliminate harshness from the drive sounds, the cleans were dull and muddy. If I set up a brighter clean sound, the crunch/lead modes sounded shrill and unpleasant.

So, my experience with the amp added up to a bunch of fiddling with EQ knobs and messing with the tone studio to get the sounds I wanted.

This eventually got too frustrating, especially compared to the effortlessly good sounds I achieved plugging into my Bugera V22, or even my little 90s Fender frontman, let alone my more expensive Mesa Boogie.

YMMV, of course, and I don’t want to yuck anyone’s yum, but for my needs, the katana really didn’t cut it, which is a shame, because the built in effects, attenuator, size and weight were all major benefits.