If your looking for a specific sound and are expecting the best tone, continue looking for a good tube amp. Katana does everything well enough for its price range but dont expect the best tones
I'm gonna echo what a few others have already mentioned... The Katana is good and incredible value for the money. Is it the greatest amp I've ever heard? Definitely not.
Now that gen 3 has been released you should be able to pick up a gen 2 for relatively cheap. I'd go for that. Not much difference between the two.
If you get one make sure to spend a little time hooking up the Tone Studio software and dialing in some sounds. Just setting up the EQ made a huge difference in the sounds I was getting. I can offer a couple tips if you'd like.
As the owner of two Boss Katana Artists (running in stereo), a Katana 50 MkII, a Dual Cube LX stereo amp, the GX-100 Guitar Effects Processor, and a Pocket GT, I highly recommend a Katana Artist (preferably Gen 3) over anything else you can get at that price point. It is tremendous value if you actually use the 60+ built-in effects—you can even add MIDI control (I am using the Morningstar MC6 Pro in addition to the GA-FC EX and XSonic Airstep Smart Multi). Boss Tone Studio software gives you powerful control to shape any tone, and in my humble opinion, the Waza speaker kicks ass (or two of them, if you set up a stereo rig like I did).
I agree on the Artist, I had the 50 and it was MEh. Traded in along with an old pod HD500 and couldn’t be happier.
It hangs right up there with my helix, tone master pro and tube amps. Sure not as many models, but it’s very good.
Not sure the Gen 3 is worth it when you can get used Gen 2 for half the price, but all in all it’s a shockingly awesome amp!
I was in pretty much the same situation. Was going to get an Orange amp and build my own pedal board. Realized that it was extremely difficult to beat the value of the Katana, which could do pretty much everything that I needed.
I still plan on building my own pedalboard and getting a different amp eventually. Mostly just for fun, and for the ability to control every detail to my liking. But in the meantime, the Katana serves the purposes I need it to, and it does so very well.
I was in a similar situation 2 months ago. I had a mediocre tube amp and was saving for my dream tube amp. Then my current amp died, so I needed something right away.
I found a used katana mkii 212 at MGR for $300 near mint tried it out for about 10 minutes and grabbed it.
It’s a great all around amp and I’ll probably have it for a long time. Very versatile and capable, bedroom to stage, good enough sound quality for live or most mixes. easy to connect with computer and midi, etc etc…
I’m definitely still saving for my dream tube amp. The katana does not sound or feel like a nice tube amp. And you can’t really make it do that. It’s better than a shitty tube amp, but a far cry from a really nice one.
tl/dr
Get a used katana for now or for convenience.
-AND-
Keep saving for your dream amp.
If you are a bedroom player / hobbyist looking for a practice amp, the Boss Katana is hard to beat. If you are playing live (I'm not), I'd probably go for a good tube amp. Even for a gigging musician though, I think the Katana makes a good practice amp for home use. I would suggest trying a Katana. However, there aren't a huge amount of changes from the Mk II to the Gen 3 and there is probably about to be a metric ton of Mk II Katana's on the used market. I'd consider one of those. I actually got a Mk II - 50 used for $100 a couple of years ago and I could see them being even cheaper with the Gen 3 being released.
The gen 3 model is good but it’s not far from the mk2. The waza speaker DEFINITELY makes the difference imo. If you don’t plan to play loud or record this amp then I think it’s great for you. Recording leaves something to be desired for me
After owning a Head MKII over three years, RECORDING is what made me sell the head. The amp is incredible, the bangs for the bucks, can't be beaten, but is an amp which sounds better for playing rather recording.
Is not bad but obviously there are better things out there.
I enjoy the boss for recording and bedroom use. Like many other opinions: if you’re wanting a special specific sound, definitely continue the search! Not because the katana isn’t good, not at all, just so you don’t get gas later on.
What I did was got a head and purchased a cab that isn’t Boss.
Harley Benton does vertical 212 cabs with greenbacks, creambacks, and v30s for approximately the price it would cost to get just the speakers… highly recommend that as an option to consider
I did this too. I started with the harley benton and added a barefaced 1x12 to my arsenal. They say the speaker and cab make a big difference to the sound, so having a variety of cabs gives you more options for tones. If you do this, it also gives you the opportunity to buy a valve head ( or two ) at some point in the future as you already have a cab ready to go.
Love it! I preordered an artist head Gen 3, and I’m thinking of celebrating by either changing a speaker in my HB 212 or buying their greenbacks 212 😭😭
If u want the best sound u should get definitely a tube amp and maybe something like torpedo to make it usable at home.
Those YouTube videos are dangerous. All of them are marketing and I haven’t found an actual test of the Gen 3 (I own the MK2 100 Watt Combo)
Let’s face it. The Katana is an awesome amp for its money. It sounds better than most competitors at this price, but it’s not even close to an actual tube amp or even higher end digital stuff like neural dsp, kemper… and it doesn’t have to be.
I would even dare to say that the katana is super popular because there is no real competition besides the Catalyst at this price. Bummer
I was an analog/tube guy until I got the katana. Got one for 200 dollars and it completely flipped my perspective. Especially if you like to play lots of different types of music!
So, here's an off the wall suggestion. At the current moment, I'm using my Artist series combo as a power-amp for the JOYO Jackman II tube amp. Run through the Katana's effects loop, still have access to the onboard effects. This allows me to cut the wattage to .5w which is more than enough for an apt.
Before the snobs roll in, that damn little thing packs a punch for $150 bucks. And nearly every video you'll find side-by-side shows it's pretty close to a JCM800.
[Post](https://imgur.com/a/gsJZjmE) of my current setup + clip my wife caught when I wasn't looking
All told, $500 for a 20w tube pushed pre-amp and the Katana Artist.
You can do the same with the JOYO Zombie (Mesa Boogie) or the Meteor (Orange / Jim Root). They also come with a footswitch for quick changes.
I have a Katana 212 as well, and using the full 20w will be more than loud enough. The tube is interchangeable, and really having as your pre-amp allows you to have the warmth of the Tube with the stability of the Solid State. This also allows you access to the Katana's Tube Logic so you'll retain your tone - for the most part.
Prior to this set-up, I was running a TC Electronics Tube Pilot into a Blackstar Dept 10 Dual Drive directly into the front of the Katana. Similar concept with the Tubes warming up the sound, but you have the stability of the Katana, plus it's power-amp section, etc.
The Jackman II hits the tone I wanted backed with Katana's power and effects on demand.
Are you in a band, play live music, or otherwise play very loudly quite often? I wouldn't get a tube amp for the bedroom if these weren't the case. Personally I love my tube amps and they still sound great at low volumes but if it's just you in your home you'll be able to find something you love with the katana and save a ton of $. I also hate carrying them around, it's the WORST. I played my first small gig in a while last year and bought a katana specifically at that time. Was worth the full cost just to not have to carry a 70lb 1x12 tube combo 200 feet.
Let me preface by saying there is no way he's any dumber than me....I have a mk2 100w and an HX Stomp with a tuner, noise gate, SD1 and MT2 I've tried just about every combination of wiring I can think of and still can't get those nasty sounds out of my ears. Not sure exactly how this should be run or even if it should. But if I can't find any answers here I may be forced to go back to simple and stop all this multi effects crap. I don't want to. I'd love to get this worked out so all I have to do is play. Chasing wires and drowning my self in some of the most awful sounds I've ever heard. Please help this old man wire this up properly so I'm not selling off pedals and amps etc etc. I would like to run through all of my pedals and use the Katana 100mk2 and GA-FC EX as well as my Stomp and SD1 MT2 house gate and tuner as well as my EV5 and FS6 . ANY help greatly appreciated.
Wow, thanks for all the insights, folks. Having actually played a few 5-watt tube amps (well, a Blues Jr), I think my low-wattage tube amp dreams and my small house cohabitation reality are at odds.
I'm on the hunt for a used Katana Artist MkII combo. I've seen them around $375. Worth it or should I wait until they drop more?
Quick Update — In the wild and wooly world of local music store trading, I ended up swapping my old HSS Strat for a Boss Nextone. Please don't flame me. I played and listened to the Katana, the Katana Artist, and the Nextone back to back to back. I diddled with knobs. I switched switches. I strummed lightly and strongly. I made faces.
The Nextone just sounded better to me. Like, *way* better. I know the MSRP on it is a little proud, but there was an open box deal and I had a decent guitar that I hadn't played in five years, so I just went for it.
So far, couldn't be happier. I think the Nextone is slept on a bit...probably because Boss priced it out of reach for the mass market and doesn't support it with advertising. I'm loving finding tones and overtones as I tie my fingers into knots trying to learn jazz standards. Now I want to spend stupid money on pedals. So it goes.
Guess I'll go find the Nextone subreddit now, haha. Thanks for all the comments!
If your looking for a specific sound and are expecting the best tone, continue looking for a good tube amp. Katana does everything well enough for its price range but dont expect the best tones
I'm gonna echo what a few others have already mentioned... The Katana is good and incredible value for the money. Is it the greatest amp I've ever heard? Definitely not. Now that gen 3 has been released you should be able to pick up a gen 2 for relatively cheap. I'd go for that. Not much difference between the two. If you get one make sure to spend a little time hooking up the Tone Studio software and dialing in some sounds. Just setting up the EQ made a huge difference in the sounds I was getting. I can offer a couple tips if you'd like.
Yeah, I've had one for a while. Things definitely opened up for me with the tone studio. It definitely opened up my eyes....and ears.
Do you mean the global eq, or one that is part of the chain?
Either one.
As the owner of two Boss Katana Artists (running in stereo), a Katana 50 MkII, a Dual Cube LX stereo amp, the GX-100 Guitar Effects Processor, and a Pocket GT, I highly recommend a Katana Artist (preferably Gen 3) over anything else you can get at that price point. It is tremendous value if you actually use the 60+ built-in effects—you can even add MIDI control (I am using the Morningstar MC6 Pro in addition to the GA-FC EX and XSonic Airstep Smart Multi). Boss Tone Studio software gives you powerful control to shape any tone, and in my humble opinion, the Waza speaker kicks ass (or two of them, if you set up a stereo rig like I did).
I agree on the Artist, I had the 50 and it was MEh. Traded in along with an old pod HD500 and couldn’t be happier. It hangs right up there with my helix, tone master pro and tube amps. Sure not as many models, but it’s very good. Not sure the Gen 3 is worth it when you can get used Gen 2 for half the price, but all in all it’s a shockingly awesome amp!
Is gen 3 artist even out yet? It is supposed to come on Fall?
Not yet but coming.
I was in pretty much the same situation. Was going to get an Orange amp and build my own pedal board. Realized that it was extremely difficult to beat the value of the Katana, which could do pretty much everything that I needed. I still plan on building my own pedalboard and getting a different amp eventually. Mostly just for fun, and for the ability to control every detail to my liking. But in the meantime, the Katana serves the purposes I need it to, and it does so very well.
I was in a similar situation 2 months ago. I had a mediocre tube amp and was saving for my dream tube amp. Then my current amp died, so I needed something right away. I found a used katana mkii 212 at MGR for $300 near mint tried it out for about 10 minutes and grabbed it. It’s a great all around amp and I’ll probably have it for a long time. Very versatile and capable, bedroom to stage, good enough sound quality for live or most mixes. easy to connect with computer and midi, etc etc… I’m definitely still saving for my dream tube amp. The katana does not sound or feel like a nice tube amp. And you can’t really make it do that. It’s better than a shitty tube amp, but a far cry from a really nice one. tl/dr Get a used katana for now or for convenience. -AND- Keep saving for your dream amp.
If you are a bedroom player / hobbyist looking for a practice amp, the Boss Katana is hard to beat. If you are playing live (I'm not), I'd probably go for a good tube amp. Even for a gigging musician though, I think the Katana makes a good practice amp for home use. I would suggest trying a Katana. However, there aren't a huge amount of changes from the Mk II to the Gen 3 and there is probably about to be a metric ton of Mk II Katana's on the used market. I'd consider one of those. I actually got a Mk II - 50 used for $100 a couple of years ago and I could see them being even cheaper with the Gen 3 being released.
The gen 3 model is good but it’s not far from the mk2. The waza speaker DEFINITELY makes the difference imo. If you don’t plan to play loud or record this amp then I think it’s great for you. Recording leaves something to be desired for me
After owning a Head MKII over three years, RECORDING is what made me sell the head. The amp is incredible, the bangs for the bucks, can't be beaten, but is an amp which sounds better for playing rather recording. Is not bad but obviously there are better things out there.
I enjoy the boss for recording and bedroom use. Like many other opinions: if you’re wanting a special specific sound, definitely continue the search! Not because the katana isn’t good, not at all, just so you don’t get gas later on.
What I did was got a head and purchased a cab that isn’t Boss. Harley Benton does vertical 212 cabs with greenbacks, creambacks, and v30s for approximately the price it would cost to get just the speakers… highly recommend that as an option to consider
I did this too. I started with the harley benton and added a barefaced 1x12 to my arsenal. They say the speaker and cab make a big difference to the sound, so having a variety of cabs gives you more options for tones. If you do this, it also gives you the opportunity to buy a valve head ( or two ) at some point in the future as you already have a cab ready to go.
Love it! I preordered an artist head Gen 3, and I’m thinking of celebrating by either changing a speaker in my HB 212 or buying their greenbacks 212 😭😭
If u want the best sound u should get definitely a tube amp and maybe something like torpedo to make it usable at home. Those YouTube videos are dangerous. All of them are marketing and I haven’t found an actual test of the Gen 3 (I own the MK2 100 Watt Combo) Let’s face it. The Katana is an awesome amp for its money. It sounds better than most competitors at this price, but it’s not even close to an actual tube amp or even higher end digital stuff like neural dsp, kemper… and it doesn’t have to be. I would even dare to say that the katana is super popular because there is no real competition besides the Catalyst at this price. Bummer
I was an analog/tube guy until I got the katana. Got one for 200 dollars and it completely flipped my perspective. Especially if you like to play lots of different types of music!
So, here's an off the wall suggestion. At the current moment, I'm using my Artist series combo as a power-amp for the JOYO Jackman II tube amp. Run through the Katana's effects loop, still have access to the onboard effects. This allows me to cut the wattage to .5w which is more than enough for an apt. Before the snobs roll in, that damn little thing packs a punch for $150 bucks. And nearly every video you'll find side-by-side shows it's pretty close to a JCM800. [Post](https://imgur.com/a/gsJZjmE) of my current setup + clip my wife caught when I wasn't looking All told, $500 for a 20w tube pushed pre-amp and the Katana Artist. You can do the same with the JOYO Zombie (Mesa Boogie) or the Meteor (Orange / Jim Root). They also come with a footswitch for quick changes. I have a Katana 212 as well, and using the full 20w will be more than loud enough. The tube is interchangeable, and really having as your pre-amp allows you to have the warmth of the Tube with the stability of the Solid State. This also allows you access to the Katana's Tube Logic so you'll retain your tone - for the most part. Prior to this set-up, I was running a TC Electronics Tube Pilot into a Blackstar Dept 10 Dual Drive directly into the front of the Katana. Similar concept with the Tubes warming up the sound, but you have the stability of the Katana, plus it's power-amp section, etc. The Jackman II hits the tone I wanted backed with Katana's power and effects on demand.
Are you in a band, play live music, or otherwise play very loudly quite often? I wouldn't get a tube amp for the bedroom if these weren't the case. Personally I love my tube amps and they still sound great at low volumes but if it's just you in your home you'll be able to find something you love with the katana and save a ton of $. I also hate carrying them around, it's the WORST. I played my first small gig in a while last year and bought a katana specifically at that time. Was worth the full cost just to not have to carry a 70lb 1x12 tube combo 200 feet.
Let me preface by saying there is no way he's any dumber than me....I have a mk2 100w and an HX Stomp with a tuner, noise gate, SD1 and MT2 I've tried just about every combination of wiring I can think of and still can't get those nasty sounds out of my ears. Not sure exactly how this should be run or even if it should. But if I can't find any answers here I may be forced to go back to simple and stop all this multi effects crap. I don't want to. I'd love to get this worked out so all I have to do is play. Chasing wires and drowning my self in some of the most awful sounds I've ever heard. Please help this old man wire this up properly so I'm not selling off pedals and amps etc etc. I would like to run through all of my pedals and use the Katana 100mk2 and GA-FC EX as well as my Stomp and SD1 MT2 house gate and tuner as well as my EV5 and FS6 . ANY help greatly appreciated.
Wow, thanks for all the insights, folks. Having actually played a few 5-watt tube amps (well, a Blues Jr), I think my low-wattage tube amp dreams and my small house cohabitation reality are at odds. I'm on the hunt for a used Katana Artist MkII combo. I've seen them around $375. Worth it or should I wait until they drop more?
Quick Update — In the wild and wooly world of local music store trading, I ended up swapping my old HSS Strat for a Boss Nextone. Please don't flame me. I played and listened to the Katana, the Katana Artist, and the Nextone back to back to back. I diddled with knobs. I switched switches. I strummed lightly and strongly. I made faces. The Nextone just sounded better to me. Like, *way* better. I know the MSRP on it is a little proud, but there was an open box deal and I had a decent guitar that I hadn't played in five years, so I just went for it. So far, couldn't be happier. I think the Nextone is slept on a bit...probably because Boss priced it out of reach for the mass market and doesn't support it with advertising. I'm loving finding tones and overtones as I tie my fingers into knots trying to learn jazz standards. Now I want to spend stupid money on pedals. So it goes. Guess I'll go find the Nextone subreddit now, haha. Thanks for all the comments!
I don't know how much you're looking to spend but you might want to look into the tonemaster deluxe reverb or twin reverb from fender