Is the Katana THAT good?? Best clips??

[napalmdeath]

Thinking of picking one up, probably the 100 watt head, since I have a 4x12. Thought the head would work well without the cab without the cab with internal speaker. I'd want the 100 for FX loop as well.

I've only really found one or two really decent clips on YouTube.. Anybody have links to the best ones out there?? Any thoughts on it, vs. running an RP1000 into the return of a 1x12 combo and it's onboard amps/cabs?

 

[oldmtlhed]

I'm in the same boat. All I have been doing the past six months is researching the Katana.
At first, I found it impossible to believe it was anything other than a new digital toy.
The pricetag would suggest it is not a serious piece of gear.

Then... all the reviews started coming in. Nothing but high praise for it.
Granted, many of the reviews say "it's great.... for the price". Which can mean lots of things.
Other people have said it won't replace their precious "boutique" tube amps, but it's very good.
Some players have said they gig with it, and leave their tube amps at home now.

I have not had the opportunity to try it. So I cannot give you my opinion of it.
In about 3 weeks from now, I will have the head. I will post my thoughts after I spend
a few days with it. On paper... it should do everything I want it to do. And more.

The best advice anyone will give you is: go test it out at your local music store.
If you have no "local music store"... then you are in the same boat I am in.
What are your reasons for wanting it? What are your expectations? What gear do you currently have?

For me, it's a no-brainer. I fully expect I will be overjoyed with it. It is a huge upgrade from
what I currently practice with. ( A very old Roland Cube-30 )
I mostly want the Katana for the features and versatility aspect. It will be a new experience for me
to set up 4 separate channels, and then switch them with the foot controller. I have been wanting
to do that for years, but never had the gear to do it.

Bottom line is: The Katana looks like a legit deal. For the features and functions alone.
The fact that it sounds good too... is icing on the cake.

 

[napalmdeath]

I'm in the same boat. All I have been doing the past six months is researching the Katana.
At first, I found it impossible to believe it was anything other than a new digital toy.
The pricetag would suggest it is not a serious piece of gear.

Then... all the reviews started coming in. Nothing but high praise for it.
Granted, many of the reviews say "it's great.... for the price". Which can mean lots of things.
Other people have said it won't replace their precious "boutique" tube amps, but it's very good.
Some players have said they gig with it, and leave their tube amps at home now.

I have not had the opportunity to try it. So I cannot give you my opinion of it.
In about 3 weeks from now, I will have the head. I will post my thoughts after I spend
a few days with it. On paper... it should do everything I want it to do. And more.

The best advice anyone will give you is: go test it out at your local music store.
If you have no "local music store"... then you are in the same boat I am in.
What are your reasons for wanting it? What are your expectations? What gear do you currently have?

For me, it's a no-brainer. I fully expect I will be overjoyed with it. It is a huge upgrade from
what I currently practice with. ( A very old Roland Cube-30 )
I mostly want the Katana for the features and versatility aspect. It will be a new experience for me
to set up 4 separate channels, and then switch them with the foot controller. I have been wanting
to do that for years, but never had the gear to do it.

Bottom line is: The Katana looks like a legit deal. For the features and functions alone.
The fact that it sounds good too... is icing on the cake.

Currently, I have nothing but a 4x12 cab. I sold my Marshall head & had to move. The cab is in storage, I'm kinda starting over. I can really only go at-home low volume.

I have an RP1000, and thought about keeping it & just buying a tube 1x12 combo with a good clean & FX loop and running in the return and using the RP solely for all tones - it's really a pretty killer piece of gear for the money, I've got killer patches. Like a Classic 30, or Fender Hot Rod for clean platform.

The other option was a used DSL40C, and speaker swap, and pedals, or RP1000 in 4CM . I've owned 2 of them, so I know them well - great combo.

Other was sell the RP1000, get Katana 100 head and use internal speaker and have the option of internal speaker and have the luxury of already having a 4x12 for when I can play louder down the road. Or get the Katana 100 combo, and still have ability to run into a cab at some point.

 

[Shask]

It is a great amp. Like others, I cant speak to say that it is the best thing ever, but I like playing it at home as much as I like playing Mesa, Peavey, Marshall, etc... tube heads. For jamming at home at similar volumes, it is excellent. I have not cranked it loud like gig volume, but I can see it not being as good at a $3000 tube amp cranked to the max, as far as that magical dynamic that happens at ear-destroying volumes.

As far as vs. a RP1000, I will say that the Katana sounds pretty good. I am not sure it would sound massively different than another good digital amp modeler, but the real difference is the dynamics. Where the Katana goes a step further is it has great dynamics that makes it fun to play. The dynamics are not worlds away from playing tube amps, at least at the home volumes I play at.

Once you hook it up to a computer, and dial in all your effects and EQs, and boosts and such, you can make it sound about like any way you want.

 

[Shask]

Oh, the weaknesses.... that internal speaker sucks. It is OK if you are just playing a clean tone with no bass at all, but a bass-heavy metal tone is not gonna happen. Also, the direct out sucks. It does not sound great compared to a full modeler.

 

[fearhk213]

I tried the combo recently and was extremely underwhelmed based on the reviews. I really wanted to like it too. The feel wasn't bad, but the tone just wasn't there for me at all. Do you have to download other models to get the goods?

 

[napalmdeath]

Do you have to download other models to get the goods?

Based on what I've read, no. But, it seems the EQ options really liven it up.

I've really leaned towards the head, since the biggest gripes I've found, had been the speakers in the combo. But then again, new speakers tend to be a little harsh in just about anything.

 

[godgrinder]

It's basically a Boss GT wrapped with an FET input stage and a power amp. The feel is good but after a while you might start to hear the "GT-ness" (which I suspect is the reason why many people sold it after initial raving reviews). Still very good for the price though, especially for rehearsals and gigs.

 

[jcj]

I tried a 50w combo based on all the positive feedback, and didn't bother grabbing one; head through a 4x12 may be a different story, but I don't have any use for another head.

 

[Ari]

It has been my main gigging rig since february when I can bring an amp. It doesn't sound like my kemper. It does sound loud and meaty. Ususally I get to mic it up and keep the volume low, feeding the mic'd tone to my in ears and PA. Very very enjoyable tones. The basic amp models are great. The clean is a jazz chorus. Takes pedals great also. The lead channel is definitely in Marshall zone, but you can download some of the hidden amps that do recto and thicker tones. I got many compliments over the last few months. Direct tone comparison-my Kemper wins. As a go-to amp, for 30 lbs with great effects and significant volume...its a no-brainer for me.

 

[Ari]

Oh, and for live use-go with the 100 watt, and use the 50 watt setting. And you must try to get that GA-FC pedal-it freaking rocks.

 

[errrrrl]

Currently, I have nothing but a 4x12 cab. I sold my Marshall head & had to move. The cab is in storage, I'm kinda starting over. I can really only go at-home low volume.

Really sorry to hear that brother, I hope things manage to turn around for you soon. As for the Katana, I did try one for shits and giggles once and it sounded ok to me for just about everything except metal stuff... I didn't care for it's distorted metal tones.

Not sure if it's the crack i'm smoking but to my ears the Peavey Vypyr rips the Katana a new one for metal tones (in the world of low cost modeling amps)... everything else I think the Katana might be better at doing... I like to mess around with all kinds of stuff but my primary sound is usually metal chuggery about 97% of the time spent playing guitar for the last 30 years. Pick wisely friend and best of luck!

 

[Shask]

Currently, I have nothing but a 4x12 cab. I sold my Marshall head & had to move. The cab is in storage, I'm kinda starting over. I can really only go at-home low volume.

Really sorry to hear that brother, I hope things manage to turn around for you soon. As for the Katana, I did try one for shits and giggles once and it sounded ok to me for just about everything except metal stuff... I didn't care for it's distorted metal tones.

Not sure if it's the crack i'm smoking but to my ears the Peavey Vypyr rips the Katana a new one for metal tones (in the world of low cost modeling amps)... everything else I think the Katana might be better at doing... I like to mess around with all kinds of stuff but my primary sound is usually metal chuggery about 97% of the time spent playing guitar for the last 30 years. Pick wisely friend and best of luck!

You definitely need to hook it up to the computer to really dial in heavy sounds. I thought it sounded pretty good as-is in the store, and good enough to buy. However, once I got it home and dialed in an OD boost before the amp, and a Parametric EQ afterwards, it came to life. The heavy sound I use normally is something in the neighborhood of the sound Death got on Human, and a Hatebreed type tone. Super heavy, tight, and chunky. Definitely not any less heavy than the Triple Rectifier I also use.

Use the Tubescreamer before the amp with gain on 0, level cranked, and a Parametric EQ after the amp with the lows cranked about +10db, and some mids scooped about -5db around 500hz to 800hz. I also like to dial back the ultra-high presence.

One of my favorite things about the Katana is how well is responds to boosts, either real, or built in. With a Tubescreamer it gets super tight and cutting, but with the Muff Pi, it gets super thick and doom metal sounding. With something like the built in Metal Zone or Rat, you can get more of that sludgy early 90's style Death Metal kind of somewhere in-between the first 2 tones I mentioned. It seems like the Boosts can really transform the overall tone and feel of the amp, despite using the same amp channel.

 

[indespise]

I'll have to second the nod towards the current gen vypyr amps. Those things have no business sounding that good for high gain extreme metal stuff at their price point.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

The 100w head has so many applications. Here's my day 1 videos with minimal tweaking- right out of the box and jammed it. I dig the tones and use it all the time. At bare minimum it is a late night heaphone amp & grab and go head...all the way to roaring stack with a 4x12.

Boss Katana Brown Channel
Gibson Les Paul Gothic Studio
Bare Knuckle Aftermath
Maxon 808x
TNL

-----------------------------------------------

Boss Katana Brown Channel
Peavey HP CT
Bare Knuckle Juggernaut
Two Notes Live Tang 57

-----------------------------------------------

Boss Katana Crunch Channel
Peavey HP
TNL

 

[oldmtlhed]

once I got it home and dialed in an OD boost before the amp, and a Parametric EQ afterwards, it came to life. The heavy sound I use normally is something in the neighborhood of the sound Death got on Human

That is exactly what I plan to do with mine, when I get it.
Maxon OD808 in front, and MXR 10-band EQ in the loop. ( Along with my TC Electronic g*Major )
I will have more effects than I will know what to do with.

If I can get anywhere near Chuck Schuldiner tone... i'll be super stoked.

 

[oldmtlhed]

The Subman chugs on the Katana head...

 

[SavageRiffer]

Look man, I'm going to tell you honestly. It's great for the price, but it's nowhere near the level of Fractal or Kemper and it won't replace a tube amp. I had one and really liked it for a while, but got bored with it because it doesn't feel right and there's only so much solid state amp my ears can take. The effects are a lot of fun to play with. That's just me. I'm sure some guys will have great use for it from gigging to studio, but there are big reasons why Friedmans, Bogners, etc. rule the amp world.

I mainly got it for practice, but didn't like practicing with it after a while because it felt like I had to readjust to the feel of tube amps after just 1 week. It sounded pretty good with my own cabs, but if you record it with a track done with a tube amp, the difference is significant. My biggest problem with it were the overdrives and fuzzes. I think the fuzz stomps kind of sucked. Only a couple of the overdrives were useable and satisfying for me. The rest of them were noisy and didn't help the feel for fluid soloing. Some of the effects sounded a bit redundant. A couple of the effects I was most looking forward to were for pitch shifting and octaves, but I didn't like how you had to control them from the panel. I wanted to get kind of an EH cathedral effect, but never could quite get anywhere near how the EH stuff sounds.

That's all I can really criticize about it as far as it relates to my experience with it and the usefulness it was for me. It's a really great value and very loud, so it offers a lot to people on a budget or who don't want to lug around expensive gear for small gigs.

 

[Mailman1971]

It's all relative. Same as buying cars. Tons of different models. Different accessories. But they all get us from 'A TO B' correct?
Why not all drive chevettes? Since none of us are NASCAR racers?
People buy what they want. Coming on like someone's mother 'your wasting your money Charles!!' Is just laughable.
If that was the case we would all be playing Hondo guitars thru Crate amps.
I think my hobby is cheap compared to my bud who is restoring a 68 Camaro.
Does he plan on racing it? No. Just reached a point in his life where he is doing what he wants.
Showed him this thread over a couple beers ago. He laughed and said 'tell that' guy to go fuck off'
So if someone thinks buying a piece of twenty five cents bubble gum is crazy.
Then they don't get it.

 

[Mailman1971]

And yes I own a Katana and love it.