If the Boss Katana was around in the 60's, it would be just about the only thing you ever heard recorded.

@illgottengains1314

9 ай бұрын

Likewise every modern valve amp

@volkanozkol5309

7 ай бұрын

Ironically, that Katana tries to model those 60's amp tones, and I don't recognise any modern band that record their album with Katana.

@dawnkeyy

6 ай бұрын

@@volkanozkol5309 Because most don't even use real amps to record.

@ROCKNROLLMODS

4 ай бұрын

It wouldn't for a few reasons. Amps needed to be LOUD. They didn't have much in the way of live sound reinforcement back then. Consequently, stage volumes were insane. No way a katana was loud enough. And just like nowadays, why record an imitation when there's no shortage of the real thing.

@papadavewatson

2 ай бұрын

What is it an imitation of?​@@ROCKNROLLMODS

Good on you JNC! I recommend Katanas to most guitarists looking for something that they can use for practice as well as gigging. No tubes to shake loose, no massive weight, built in BOSS effects and when you are playing a gig where people are talking, drinking, dancing and otherwise having fun, no one notices or cares about your vintage tube monster, or your vintage guitar for that matter, except for other guitarists, who are either super supportive or utter nobs.

@greevar

8 ай бұрын

It's great for what it can do, but it's not very repairable when it breaks. I'm a middle-aged guy giving off "old man" vibes, but I prefer analog hardware that is easy to fix with a cheap soldering iron and access to a RadioShack.

@ricardogomezvasquez3291

8 ай бұрын

Most of other guitarists are complete nobs 😢

@vmx23

8 ай бұрын

@@greevarmodern tube amps with their PCB assemblies aren’t very repairable either.

@acw2237

7 ай бұрын

I remember back in the 80s. All the arguments between tube and solid state. If you used solid state...You didn't have a real amp they said... LOL now they feel stupid, probably.

@thomastucker5686

7 ай бұрын

@@greevar we no longer have radio shack. It has been 6 or 7 years.

Just joined a pop punk band. My setup is incredibly humble, literally just a fender stratocaster and the katana 100w combo. Took to the first rehersal. Had it on the lead channel, no pedals or anything and they were all blown away by the sound. In a live situation nobody cares what gear you're using, just if it sounds good So I'm gonna gig this thing to death

@eduardolorandi3628

9 ай бұрын

Since when a fender and a 100w amp is a « humble » setup

@thomaspodmore7424

9 ай бұрын

Yeah a real humble set up would be a picture of a squire being played into a plastic cup....... Kids these days will never know the struggle

@robertstan2349

9 ай бұрын

no pedals? it is a pedal. that's all you ran was a fancy pedal 😋

@ellisscott9840

9 ай бұрын

@eduardolorandi3628 maybe humble was the wrong word. Simple definitely.

@godbyone

9 ай бұрын

Seems kind of want clean power. Use pedals for tone and color. More if a power amp

I used the Katana in a rehearsal space, in a loud rock band and pedal platform context, it sounded amazing, really clear, connected to a 2x12 and 50w mode. Nothing but good things to say about this amp.

@toolittle7204

9 ай бұрын

I think the only complaint anyone could justifiably have is the reverb and stock speaker, but both are easy workarounds. Very excited for the MkIII

I really only have one thing to say: more live band videos please! That was quite tasty! 🤘

@deanopie4390

9 ай бұрын

Yep .. replace the intro with these

@Jonathan-L

9 ай бұрын

Yeah, he's right up there with the best!

@guitarspeakpodcast1383

9 ай бұрын

Yeah it's cool hearing Jon wail over the same tunes many if us play on these gigs.

@stallionstudios

8 ай бұрын

Agreed!

I think the shocking thing for me with Katanas was hearing Buskers outside in New Orleans with them. I think they ALL had Katana 2x12s and sounded awesome. It made getting one really tempting.

@stallionstudios

8 ай бұрын

You live there? Wow that is amazing!

Great video. These Boss Katanas just work! They’re so capable and underrated for so many scenarios. The live music and intro sounded great, as well!

Now I FEEL stupid. I have had the MKII for about 3 weeks and had no idea that this fuckin thing has a built in speaker until i saw this video lol

“I’m a part owner of Boss” killed me. Lovely playing as always! The Katana has been great for practice and gigs. Loaned it to a friend for one of his gigs, and I’m not sure I’m getting it back….guess it’s time to grab a new one with the line out option!

@doc_matter

9 ай бұрын

I loved that jab about the Andertons controversy too haha It's so crucial people are transparent about what they are being sent or any affiliations they have to products

300 pound amp and you lifted it with ease. Impressive!

@rmp5s

8 ай бұрын

HA!

I was ready to send my Artist MkII back to Sweetwater because I wasn't sure I liked it. Then.....I gigged with it. I was shocked how well it performed live.

@tonybowen455

6 ай бұрын

Ah darn I wish I could gig. I sold my katana. Wasn't in love with the tone. If I did gig even just a bit I'd want that so I wouldn't have to worry about a more expensive amp.

@starmorpheus

3 ай бұрын

@@tonybowen455Did you use tone studio? The tones were just ‘okay’ to me before I hooked it up and messed with it. Sounds brilliant now.

I use a MK1 100 watt live for hundreds of gigs, never fails and sounds incredible. The tune stuff stays home

Been gigging with Katanas for several years and always enjoy the experience. No pedals other than the multi-button one for channel switching and effects. Super reliable amps that always deliver the goods.

Always blown away by your playing John.

I loved the little section you added on TrueFire courses worth exploring. I'm a rock guy who keeps trying to dip toes into the jazz and funk world and I've had TrueFire all access for years, but there's so. much content. Nice to have some recommendations, and may be worth exploring more in a standalone video!

I’ve been using my MKI head now for a few years, and it never misses a beat as far as gigging has been concerned. Takes pedals VERY well, alongside the awesome gain and effects, as well as the onboard acoustic preamp being actually really usable too. Pretty hard to ignore such a steal for the price point 😅

i've gigged with the katana head w/ foot switch for 7 years now, love it. i use the boss cab 2x12. one time i had to mic the little speaker for a gig, sound guy couldnt believe it.

The Katana head into a 2x12 cab is a fantastic sound. I leave it on the clean channel with the built in delay and reverb, and use my own OD pedals, and it sounds incredible. Love the handy built in practice speaker as well. Very portable and light.

Went to a street festival this weekend. There was a band with two guitarists, one had a katana combo and the other a Morgan combo. Both miked, the Katana sounded so much better. Big surprise to me…. Need to check these amps out!

"I am a part owner of boss" hahahaha

@rovidelarosa

9 ай бұрын

Might be true, you never know. If he owns even a single share of Roland, he is a part owner of Boss.

@eoinc4091

9 ай бұрын

You never know… KDH could be watching 😂

I have gigged with my 100 mk2. Set @ 50w. Use the channel switching for different sounds/effects. Use a separate Boss pedal to trigger the Solo function. Sounds great. Easy to carry. Dependable. Suits my needs at a very affordable price. It’s WAY more than a practice amp.

I gigged a Katana Artist for a few years. It's the only time I've bought an amp new from a shop. I used it with the five channel footswitch and it was brilliant. I only changed to a Headrush Gigboard so that I could have a recording/practise set up in my living room. The Katana was usually hidden away in a wardrobe. Great amps! Easily as good as the Fenders, H and K's , Orange, valve amps that I had previously.

@Optical_Ollusion

3 ай бұрын

Man I've got the Headrush MX5 and I was hoping for similarly usable tones but the Katana still blows it away!

Preordered my Katana Air before it was released and have worked and beaten it mercilessly and it just keeps coming back for more as well as sounding awesome. I just walk around the yard and jam; my neighbors hate it.

I have the Katana 50 Mk II combo and it works great for practicing at home in the 0.5 watt setting or the 25 wtt setting with the Master turned down to apartment level. Thanks for helping me not feel silly when I think about taking it out.

I bought a Katana for my grandson last Christmas for his first real amp. When it was delivered I tried it out (you know - to make sure it was working properly :) and was really surprised at just how good it sounded. My ToneMaster DR (at 3X the price) sounds better to my ears - but not that much that I couldn't live with the Katana and be happy. This is the golden age of gear! Also - I don't think I've seen you play a Tele - it was pretty bright!

A friend bought the combo with a cheap guitar and asked me to try it out. It just worked. Sounded great. Job done. All he has to do now is learn to play.

Especially the Katana Artist model, it’s so good. I played a TV thing one day and they had the back lined and man did it sound good.

I own it’s cousin. A Roland Blues Cube. Mines the Hot, EL84 Modded version. It’s a terrific 30W amp that’s loaded with enough power to floor a mule. It’s also wonderfully simply with one channel (with a boost and tone push button), three band EQ, reverb which really sweeps from classic to utterly luscious and a master. The power control is 0.5, 5, 15 & 30. I’ve never once missed my tube amp since getting it.

Cab is everything. I’m finding most amps sound good through a good cab, most sound bad through particleboard and cheap speakers (what most solid state amps have been packaged with).

I had a pickup changed for a Bare Knuckle recently and the shop let me try it out there before I took it home. The guy plugged me into an amp and I didn't even look at what it was. I played it and thought, that sounds amazing. Was not expecting to see it was a Katana given the negative snobbery I often hear towards it.

I use it in 100 watt mode through a 2x12 totally clean through an HX Effects. It’s brutally loud and sounds fantastic.

My first physical amp was a Katana 50 MKI and it was absolutely amazing, even though I've upgraded to a multifx, I still keep the Katana 50 just as an emergency amp. It really helped me gettin through lots of ruts, love it to bits.

I bought an IR-200 (should be similar models to the Katana) and am doing all kinds of ambient stuff with it and am really happy. The IRs influence the quality immensely, though. I have three presets for clean, crunch and lead and one for my bass. I love my tube stuff, but the IR-200 does a really good job for practicing and recording.

Great sounding little amp! Excellent video as well!

I’ve become a solo acoustic musician in the last few years but I used to play in band. My last band stayed together for 10 years but broke up in 19. We had a Hurricane last years that wiped out Fort Myers Florida last year where I was living at the time and all the sudden I had no gigs. So our old lead singer that had moved to Florida invited me up to Panama City Florida to do some gigs. He got me two acoustic gigs for that week and one band gig with his band. I had to travel 500 miles up North and had all my acoustic gear in my vehicle and my outboard electric gear. My vehicle was pretty Packed so I didn’t want to have my nice tube amps to be banging around back there. So I took my 1st generation 100 watt. Katana combo that I bought for $200 and a paired down pedal board .Man I was blown away with the sound I got out of that thing with my Gibson SG. The stage was so tiny I had to leave my Strat in the case. Had it set on the crunch channel edge of break up tone and at 100 watts. I was getting that cool feedback any time I wanted it that you are only supposed to be able to get with a tube amp. The whole band was happy with my sound .

John, you always speak the truth. I’ve always felt that the sound in any club is so sub-optimal that no one can ever hear the subtle (and expensive) harmonics of your precious tube amplifier. It’s for home, or the studio only, other than that, a clean solid state reliable amp to power a Helix is by FAR the better setup for gigs.

Jeez - that sounds fantastic live!

I used to look down on the Katana range. I thought it was mainstream because of the brand name and that there were better ways to waste your money. But after trying them I am converted. You get a lot of amp out of these and the quality is fantastic. They only have a few amp voices but then you can add their pedals in front and they combine very organically. It sounds great.

@castleanthrax1833

6 ай бұрын

It is mainstream. Why are you saying that like it's an insult?

@pepeowen

6 ай бұрын

@@castleanthrax1833it wasn’t meant as an insult. I meant they are popular and I attributed their popularity to the brand and little else. But again, I was mistaken. You can get amazing tones.

Awesome playing. More please 🙏

i live for the subtle jabs at the victory drama.....

I’ve had a MK2 100 Katana combo for a few years and it’s a awesome . I’ve also got the head and that’s awesome love the internal speaker for home use. Both take pedal board s brilliantly. I’ve also got both the Boss GA-FC & the newer Boss GA-FC EX Pedals that work amazingly well with all the Boss built in internal pedal effects 👍👌

Also don’t forget the stereo linking output on the 100 👍. Also, I think that going with a class a/b amp design (despite it being heavier, less efficient etc) was a good decision from Boss. Sounds so much better compared to all the class D modellers out there.

Awesome playing, in full control

seeing the amp played in a live setting was quite fun.

I use a katana mkii combo at 50w it sounds super great on stage. With the sneaky amps Clean Twin, it just became much more amazing.

I've used my Katana for years in the practice and gig realm. We played Pride Cymru back in 2019 and it really came through mic'd up in a festival setting. I had a lot of compliments about my tone. I don't know how they got this amp to react to the velocity of your playing like a tube amp but I'm here for it!

I have that same 100W head with a Mesa Boogie Lonestar cab. Plenty of power, and I run it without the internal effects off most of the time except the reverb. No reliability issues on stage.

Really nice playing !

I was in a situation where my mesa mark 4 blew a tube the night before a gig. I had bought the mark 1 katana head during the pandemic. Blew my mind at the gig how good it sounded. In my experience, it is all about the speaker cabinet you put it through. I have an avatar 2/12 with a v30 and g12 in it. Sounds perfect for the prog metal my band does. Super versatile, and I am not breaking my back, trying to lug a tube amplifier to a gig.

Oh, and those live clips sounds ace, tone and playing ofc.

Katana is an incredible tool, especially for the price. It is quite possibly the best bang for the buck money I have ever spent on gear. I have used it standup for gigs, ran it as a pedal platform for gigs, recorded direct, and as stage volume when gigging with modelers. No reliability issues after 4+ years. Boss knocked it out of the park on this one.

Bought one of these years ago and never looked back!!! Easy to carry to the studio and gigs! I can get any sound from it : )

You are an amazing musician!

As others have noted, John, your friend who had the "disappointing" experience with the combo Katana most probably was playing one of the regular Katana combos. The Katana-*Artist* Mk2 combo is a completely different animal, and features Boss' proprietary (and AMAZING) WAZA-craft G12W 12-inch speaker. It is a 100W power handling recreation of a classic Celestion Greenback. In all seriousness, the Katana-Artist Mk2 is basically is worth the price of admission for the speaker, alone. Yes, it is that good.

Just got a 50 MKII EX and it's all I expected and will ever need. I stowed my other amps so I'd not be distracted by them. Ridiculously great value to boot.

Great video! You should absolutely try the Roland Blues Cube series if you like the Katana. It is pricier than the Boss, but I find the Artist 1x12 to be astonishingly convincing for both practice and gigging. That said, the Katana does dominate the bang for the buck department. Really hard to beat.

@ianbarnes1406

9 ай бұрын

Absolutely. Bought a BCA to replace an old Hot Rod Deluxe and it sounds and feels great. Great pedal platform

@stallionstudios

8 ай бұрын

@@ianbarnes1406 interesting. My Deville is pissing me off. Fender is really crapping out on the quality of those circuit boards in the hot rod series. Its making me quite angry.

I'm just going to say it, it is a better all around solution than most anything out there. I started gigging with it pre-covid, people would look at it all perplexed, until they heard it. To this day, even compared to all the tube amp rigs I've had, I've had the most compliments from using the Katana live...go figure.

Dude. Your playing is insanely good. Glad to find your channel. Godbless!

A Katana Artist MkII is a great gigging amp and the best Katana combo amp to get. I love mine. It covers a lot of ground and sounds so good.

Just discovered your channel. Holy moley you are a great player. What a tasty opening jam.

Use a 100w MKII Katana Artist as a FR cabinet with Kemper floorboard. Works GREAT! Nice to know I got a back-up if things go south with floorboard. Few seconds can be back up and running.. Love your channel J... Great playing and LOVE the live feeds! Bless you and yours bro..

I've gigged a Katana 100 v1 combo since they first came out. I've enjoyed playing it as much, and felt as proud of my sound, as the Boogie F50 it replaced. I also play the Katana in 50w mode. If I'm playing a bigger gig, then either the line out or a mic in front deals with that. I don't really want more volume on the stage. My Katana works well at any volume, whether it be for home practice, rehearsal rooms, or large gigs, whereas the F50 was really only at its best at larger gigs where I could run the master a bit higher. From a practical viewpoint, the Katana is smaller and weighs about half of an F50. I look inside and marvel at how little there is in there, when compared to the mass of glowing hot glass and what appeared to be a hundred things waiting to go wrong in the F50. If the Katana failed I would just go and buy another one without worrying too much about the cost. While the Katana is definitely made cheaply and the controls are plastic and don't feel like they would stand much abuse, I bought a decent padded cover for it, I'm pretty careful with my gear, and touch wood everything works as well as the day I bought it. My Boogie on the other hand, despite its apparently solid construction and military-spec parts, had several things go wrong during its time with me and what I spent on F50 repairs far exceeded the cost of a new Katana. When I first got the Katana, I started off running pedals into it and through the loop because I had the gear and that's what I was comfortable with. Over the years though, I've done more and more in the amp, to the point where can now make one trip from the car into a venue, put the amp on it's compact stand, connect the GA-FC and an expression pedal, plug in my guitar, and be ready to go in a few minutes. The downside of this approach is that, when sounds are baked into presets, it's hard to tweak them at a gig, whereas if you just use the panel settings and get your sounds from pedals, the knobs do reflect what's actually going on so it's easy to just push up the mids a notch or pull back the reverb if the venue needs that. I've just bought an XSonic AirStep Kat, which allows you to control the Katana's settings from your phone. Obviously it's not the same as walking back to the amp and turning a physical knob, but it's better than booting up a laptop. Of all the amps I've owned, I've owned the Katana the longest. It's the only amp I've had that, if it were to fail, I'd run out and buy another one as quickly as possible.

I was having trouble with my Marshall 100w combo sounding different in different rooms. I got a 100w katana Mk2 used and a Harley Benton 212 cab with v30s. I also got the boss foot controller and spent no more than an hour in tone studio tweaking 3 channels. I’ve giggled it 3 times now and I’m so happy to have a consistent sounding “set and forget” rig

That live playing was great ❤

Dude, I had a Mesa Boogie triple rectifier for 20 years, recently got a BOSS Katana - LOVE IT.

Just did a first gig with a Katana mkll head i picked up used. Paired with a 50w anthem speaker in a closed back cab. Very happy with sounds... articulate, highly tweakable, optional foot switch adds a lot of flexibility for live use.

Wow killer tone, I find the key to the Katana is you need to spend time really tweaking the EQ, as an example the treble is so extreme on these amps and if not dialed out the Katana can sound nasty. After lots of tweaking I find it sits in an Band Mix brilliantly and are so much fun to play. Cheers for the great Video

99% of the audience would never be able to tell the difference in a live environment. Especially after your tone has gone through a big pedalboard, mixer, PA etc. By all means, keep the tube stuff for the studio and your own personal enjoyment at home - I certainly won't be selling my Orange Rocker any time soon.

@tres311

9 ай бұрын

99.999% that .001 would know only because they know what Boss Katana symbols are

@Dave-ug9bh

9 ай бұрын

And that 00.1% would know how great they are 😊

@K707OR30

9 ай бұрын

I love my tube amps, I have too many but they’re fun toys that I enjoy. I encourage anyone to play through whatever they want, I don’t think one thing is better than the next. What the reality is, is 99% of the audience just simply does not give a shit what you’re playing through at all. Tube, solid state, modeler, a toilet rigged up to be an amp and speaker. They don’t care. Most of this is just guitarists trying to impress other guitarists. Which is fine, I like nerding out on gear as much as the next guitarist. But if we’re being real, and I’m not trying to be demeaning at all, but the audience doesn’t care what our signal chains are and most don’t even think about it or have a baseline understanding of it beyond “guitar make noise.”

@gnrfront

9 ай бұрын

And that’s the problem, people like you care more about what the audience thinks than how you feel with your gear. I play a tube amp because I LOVE IT. In short, my question is: Will you notice the difference? Because the player is the only one using the amp. The audience isn’t using it.

@brendanpmaclean

9 ай бұрын

@@gnrfront I agree with you to a point, but there are, in my view, exceptions. I once played in a band where the other guitarist had an amazing sounding Vox tube amp. It really did sound great when he plugged his Tele in but only when he had it at or near full volume. There was no master volume and he didn’t use pedals. So we had this situation where the only way the whole band could sound balanced was when we played at ridiculous volume. That caused us all sorts of problems with PAs and sound engineers. All the time the other guy kept talking about his tone, and yeah it was amazing, but ultimately, in a live, semi-pro setting, totally impractical. He loved it, I loved it but you simply can’t play at full whack in a small venue. So yeah, absolutely, a good tube amp is a truly astonishing beast but, as a tool, it is often not appropriate and gear that gets emulates to the point that only purists are any the wiser comes into its own.

I enjoyed your video, John! Another great feature is that one 100w Mkii can control another Mkii for stereo “expand.”

Your guitar cuts through nicely!

The katana head is awesome. It's a perfect practice amp too because of the built in 5 inch speaker. I run the head into a DV Mark 2x8 guitar cab and the cleans are fantastic. It also has a cool smooth drive sound with the lead channel. I traded a Bugera Trirec for a MK2 head and it was a great decision. It's also really cool to use a boss gt1000 through it because it basically becomes a midi controller. If I didn't build guitar amps and pedals I would suggest everyone buy one.

The only "gig" I do is every other Thursday a local club has an open mic night. The owner doesn't care what you do, as long as it's entertaining and last up to 15 minutes or so. Most will karaoke, some do a stand up comedy bit or whatever they want. So I took my Line 6 Amplifi 150 with the Shortboard Mk II in with me and did a 3 song set. The nice thing about that amp is it's 100% controlled by a Bluetooth app and has all my backing tracks in it. Literally all I do is plug it in, wait for it to boot, select the song I want to play over and place the PA mic in front of it. Done. Just three 12 bar blues backing tracks and I sing/solo over them. It sounds great. No one gives a shit that it's digital, no tube driven tones or it's not a $10k Klon pedal or any of that crap we have convinced ourselves we have to have. When I am finished, I get a round of applause from the half dozen customers and the bartender gives me a free drink. Last Thursday four women got up and danced with the waitress. That's the best feedback you can get! lol. The owner is a cheap ass and makes me pay for all my other drinks, but oh well. It's a gig!

i like that it is light and it sounds fine to me

I've been gigging with the Katana Artist series for a few years now and it does a great job. I had the Artist series MKI and then upgraded to the MKII. I'm using the 1x12 combo and the speaker inside that cabinet is fantastic, way different than the stock speaker in the regular combo amps. I would suggest you get the GA-FC foot-controller and use some of the built-in effects. I think if you get more involved you will be using it more than you expect.

I've had it for more than two years and like other Boss things, I admit that I love it. They are products of the highest quality. I use this amp at maximum power, 100w and it sounds just as great.Everything on it sounds great, including the Booster. For the price I think there is no other like it.

Thank you for your ongoing truthfulness andintegrity in you reviews. I’m finding it very useful in making clear assessments on gear I could either obtain sometime in the near future, or side step an unnecessary purchase and the headache of selling on gear. The little innuendo drops are killer too… Oo yes missus 😘🤣🤪

There's a really sweet Boss Slow Gear effect in the mod effects section.

You sound fantastic!

Now I want the Amp Head version haha. Really enjoy your videos man.

My big surprise was how on a gig it sounds and responds so much better with the master at full and level set by the volume knob. More headroom and less compressed. I find most demos seem to be in studio or at home and sound DI. A good amp live is a 'touch' thing as well as a tone thing. For me I need to still have a little reserve of the 'point of the flame' with attack available.

Isn't it strange how much of a difference the court of public opinion makes on how we feel. We love handmade pedals in our bedrooms while our heroes are playing stock and mass produced gear that inspires us. That lie that investing more money means I'm more serious as a musician gets me every time.

Wow! I’ve been looking at going back to a head/cab and seriously considering this after watching this. Would love to see your board and a demo of it…..

i’ve gigged my katana artist v1 a handful of times, for metal and pop/rock gigs at least, it’s great. super versatile, love the tones you can get, just an all around versatile and great sounding amp. The waza speaker sounds great, but if I didn’t have that I’d probably be going for the katana head. wish mine had the power amp in!

I have a Boss Katana 100 head I pair with a 2X12 cab loaded with Celestion vintage 30's and the sound is great. It has become my primary gigging amp.

I recently acquired the Artist and I think it can do pretty much anything. With the GA-FC pedal and a few hours of messing around it’s amazing. The only way anyone would know it’s not a tube amp is if they look at it. At the price I paid it’s not even a question whether or not it’s the way to go. My PRS Silver Sky actually sounds better through the Artist than my old Mesa Boogie.

Amazing amps. I have a katana and a Nextone. Sold all my tube amps. Haven’t missed them ever.

I think that, as regards the Katana, it may be time to put aside the distinctions between cheap/expensive or pro/beginner or practice/giggable amps. I’ve gigged with the Katana in pubs, clubs, small theatres and festivals (usually mic’d through the PA). I have also used it to record guitar parts for an album, d.i.’d into an interface. I find it superb. The speaker in the Katana Artist MK 2 combo may well become an emulated speaker. Paul Drew of the Studio Rats has shown it’s possible with the Katana to imitate the tone of (eg) a Marshall 900 and a Matchless amp. Live, I generally try to get it sounding close to a vintage Tweed Deluxe on point of breakup and then plug in my pedalboard. I bought it initially on the recommendation of Tom Quale, who said he couldn’t distinguish between the Katana Artist and a tube amp.

I use the 50 Watt MKII for theater pit band gigs. I can use in ear monitors, go direct, and have zero stage volume, while getting great tones, and still being able to hear myself. Love that Amp. I have been considering getting the stack version, for the Hardcore band i play with.

I do the same kind of work, private parties, weddings and bars. I use the Boss Katana 100 combo for everything. I also have the 100 head that I use with a Mesa Boogie cabinet that has an EV 12 in it. The EV cab does sound better, but for convenience I use the combo.

Jeepers - Katana aside! That's some guitar playing.

Dude, your playing is great. I'm new here and I love your style of playing.

Katanas rule; I gig with 2-1x12 50w combos for a stereo rig, easy load in/out, and my other (black metal) band the guitarist uses the 100w head live and when we practice in home with e-kit thru monitors, he can just use the practice amp mode with the little in-head speaker and it's totally cromulent. Sounds awesome live even through his cheap 4x12

Just got into your channel JNC. Love your whole vibe !! Which looper do you use?

I’ve gigged a katana 100w combo for five years now. Still very happy with my tones. No issues with the amp.

The Katana rules! I have them in every room for back line in my rehearsal studios. They've changed a lot of minds in the last year. Starting with mine.

I have one on layaway and I’m about $100 away from partaking. This video made my mouth water!

I have the same Mk2 Head into a Blackstar 1x12 cab loaded with a Celestion GK100 something or other and... It's the best amp I have ever owned. (Marshall/Blackstar previously in recent years - and a lot of others since the late '60's!) Excellent video.

6:37 Thanks for being straight forward with us Captain Lee! 😂😂😂

I have one of those heads, the built in speaker is a great desktop/bedroom amp, plus a great little travel amp -- took that and a guitar on vacation with a decent set of headphones. Also a killer little backup amp, small enough to throw under the backseat of the van.

They're excellent gigging amps for the money. Gave the low end model to my nephew for his first amp, but almost kept it for myself- thing was full of good usable tones.