Is the BOSS Katana Mini Guitar Amplifier Any Good? - My Review

[@intheblues]

Thanks for watching! Check out this amp using the links below. Thanks for all of the support. ►Sweetwater - imp.i114863.net/b3VWQx ►Sky Music - alnk.to/fHfXvcI ►Thomann - bit.ly/3F4sKAq (affiliate links)

[@kinglyoco]

A little trick. If you turn delay all the way up and set time to zero you got reverb, so, you got one more effect

[@ismafernandes693]

Sure! I have an Blackstar FLY 3 and it's the same :)

[@sohibconner6926]

im dissapointed i thought it had More effects and phone app..

[@jimmyover5558]

@@sohibconner6926 I believe that you're thinking of the boss katana air

[@eleven9286]

Sohib Conner Just run pedals into it. Pedals are portable as well ran on a 9v battery.

[@MtpJunksLive]

@@eleven9286 ye i get my super portable katana mini to practic @ home + whole pedalboard with effects what is 5 times bigger than this. Lol.

[@jeffleecust]

So I have a katana 50mk2 and my 10 y/o daughter wanted her own amp and guitar, this was my first choice based on my katana and now I find myself playing on this thing all the time. It’s so insane compared to other small amps.

[@kmdracer]

The Kat mini was my first Boss product. I do like it very much for a travel/practice amp when not home. It is very quiet, which may or may not be good for others. Cranked, you can talk (loudly) over it. My home amp is the Kat 100 watt 2x12 and I absolutely love it.

[@magneto7930]

Yes, the bad news is the lack of power supply, but it seems to be minor in the overall picture. It takes a 9v plug and most of us have those with our effects pedals so you should be good to go.

[@isaiahnewsome4846]

I already had one but this video made me sell mine and turn around and buy it back all in the same day. That’s how good they sound.

[@nicolamontoro]

It takes a standard 9 V power cord .you can use one of your stomp box power supply

[@davidmargaryan3809]

It doesn't come with one?

[@BAK87]

@@davidmargaryan3809 Nope

[@alanshadyvally]

Mine don't.

[@nicolamontoro]

@Tristan Wauters what does it take?

[@marvinmurakami8828]

Need to get one that supresses noise.

[@shfnderrock]

Great demo Shane, I have this little beast and it's the best $120 I've spent, so much fun and awesome tones. I find I can't stop playing when using it

[@SFBGuitar]

Channeling a little Knopfler there in that opening lead. \m/

[@intheblues]

+PixxyLixxx 😎👍 thanks man he’s one of my favourites! 😄

[@rajarahman2655]

Buy it for for what it is. SMALL, PORTABLE, USABLE POWER SUPPLY, table top friendly, can be hidden, functions provided are great. All the other brands, Yamaha, Blackstar, Marshall, have their own take on this type of mini amp. I, personally think it’s great. Think about it. It’s 06.30 hrs, wife, kids asleep, wanna strum a little before scoff, but can’t turn the big one on. Amp people, not the wife. Take the BC Rich downstairs, Boss in hand and lead. Table top Boss, plug and play. VERSATLITY. Volume set and crack on. I bought one Mini, power adapter, DENMARK STREET, and I LIKE IT. NO REGRETS.

[@russellbabbittmusic5518]

Nice amp, and nice licks. I was gonna buy one of these MOST likely before watching and hearing this, but after watching it, I'm all in. I am spending like 2/3 of my net worth on this amp, but I think it'll pay for itself shortly... Thanks. Excellent playing btw.

[@DEADMEDIC]

Shane a regular pedal power cable powers the amp. I use a one-spot to power mine

[@landonbailey]

Such a great little real amp. If I didn't already have one, this video would have Gassed me into getting one immediately! Great demo! 👍🎸😁

[@bassmana2z686]

Thanks for another great vid. That Katana amp is a big surprise. You really know how to make that Tele sing. Wonderful !!

[@TroyNaumu808]

I agree. The downside is no adapter comes with it. I also do not like the handle. Having a detachable strap for it would have been much better. It would of been nice if it had a 8 ohms speaker out like the Orange Crush Mini would be great to plug it into a extention cab. But those are little things. How it perfomes is the important thing and it sounds great. I power it with a power brick.

[@bruceanderson8720]

It sounds really good for what it is. I do appreciate you informing us that it doesn't come with a power supply. That's kind of a bummer.

[@landonbailey]

Bruce Anderson the one postive is that it's really good on battery life

[@Jaydenwybenga]

I've not changed my batteries yet and I use it heaps

[@brogoram]

it has a 9v jack input

[@chrisbee8009]

Boss are famous for it. Same with the ME 80 effects unit.. they take power but Cable/plug not included/extra cost.

[@kennethcarvalho3684]

A 9v supply will do ...guess you would be having a couple for your pedals

[@lukeevasonbarca]

Little tip if you're bummed about the power supply: you can use any 9V power supply online as long as its 500mA or more. Sounds counterintuitive but if it's less amps it'll get damaged but anymore and it only uses what it needs. As long as Voltage is the same, so you can pick one uo super cheap

[@jscott893]

*350mah. Literally printed on the back of the amp.

[@theguitarninja5861]

I'm going busking at manly tomorrow and I'm gonna use this amp. Hopefully make a couple bucks to buy this baby's big brother or maybe even a new six string

[@michaelross1339]

Own one. Killer little analog gem. Great with pedals. Absolute score. I own six amps, six Strats, etc. Good video.

[@thetacticalape8852]

I love the red stripe Peavey Bandit 112 in the background. Bought mine new back in 2000 and still able to give amazing tones.

[@jeffleecust]

I like cranking the level of the delay and just turning the time up to where it sounds like a pretty good reverb.

[@voiceofexperience]

The Mini doesn't just "sound like an amp": It sounds like a GREAT amp!

[@blkjakk]

I love this lil amp. I got rid of the Blackstar FLY 3. I bought the optional Roland power supply but haven’t needed it yet.

[@whynotme5926]

I have always liked boss and roland products.

[@cadenceangel]

Such a Killer amp!! I bought two of em!! There is a reverb setting>>with the "time" control off n the "level" all the way up, a player will get a very nice "room" reverb sound. Great video btw Shane!!

[@michaelross1339]

I love mine.

[@Zelomeisterdude]

Love your channel Shane. Just a suggestion (I've only seen this on one guitar channel) but I think it would be good for demos like this if you had a digital decibel reader so we can get an actual idea of how loud an amp is in the room you're playing in.

[@cugir321]

Add a switch jack in the back and you can run an external speaker....it will double the volume with a 8 ohm 8" speaker.

[@Jonathan-L]

Great review Shane. Awesome playing and nice to see you play from a different camera angle. I've actually got the Roland Cube Lite* myself, which is a close relative of the Boss Katana Mini. The Roland Cube Lite has been on the market for a couple or years, so the BKM wasn't an option for me when I got the RCL. Neither amp is perfect though, but here's my list of pros & cons for each: Boss Katana Mini Pros: Nicely priced, great tones, carry handle, tape-echo style delay, battery powered, great styling, rugged appearance, highly portable, knob position & layout is good. Boss Katana Mini Cons: No reverb or chorus (like the Roland Cube Lite). Roland Cube Lite Pros: Twin stereo speakers, good volume output, comes in 3 colours, great tones (just like the BKM voicing), has chorus & reverb. Roland Cube Lite Cons: More expensive than the Boss Katana Mini ($44 more than the BKM), doesn't run on batteries, sockets & rear panel labelling are hard to see, no carry handle (it would have looked ugly with one), cannot use chorus & reverb simultaneously. * Here's some links to some sound demos (recorded on a cheapie Huawei phone) of my son noodling around with his Les Paul 2015 LPM into the Roland Cube Lite: (a) 'JC Clean': goo.gl/7C46Ab (b) 'Crunch': goo.gl/VvybPX (c) 'Extreme' (hi-gain setting): goo.gl/a4za4h (Just click the small link "No Thanks, Continue To View" if you don't have a OneDrive account. Sorry for the background noise, the TV was on & the Roland Cube Lite was next to the TV) So, the winner is the BKM on price, looks, portability & overall suitability as a rock machine. If only Boss had incorporated independent reverb as well, however as the late great Danny Gatton once said, "if you turn your amp up loud enough, you don't need reverb". A tremelo would have been nice too, even if it made the unit an inch wider to accommodate the extra knobs for the additional effects I just mentioned. Both the Boss & the Roland amps are surprisingly good 'preamps' (ie, connect to a PA via the headphone/lineout), particularly as the voicings have both amp & cabinet tonal characteristics. Bottom line: If only the BKM had independent reverb & tremelo (like its big brother Katanas) & came with a power adapter, then this would be ideal.

[@markdakel9253]

I recently picked up the Vox MV 50 and now I’m going to head out and play the katana, I personally think the Tele sounded better in your demo. Love your videos. Excellent work

[@michaelross1339]

A power supply would raise the price, but still makes sense to include one. I have several, so wouldn't hve needed it, but not everyone has extra power supplies laying around. 1Spots are cheap and this little Boss analog gem is not pricey here in the U.S. Nice video

[@capitanvonchickenpants8492]

I've got one it's very harsh on the drives. the clean is ok you need to use your guitars tone controls to tame it

[@jessetate9701]

I got mine today I have a PRS SE McCarty 594 single cut! Can’t wait to test it out for my blues/rock tones and the 80s brown sound tone 😊

[@antonioalejandrohernandezp6727]

Sounds nice! Shane, we know that you need a BOSS Katana, the big one...and you know it too hahaha. Katana´s monday could be awesome. Thanks for the review, greetings from Spain.

[@levyschultz6589]

Slick, clean playing mate, love the blues/rock licks. I've always been a spyder line 6 fan, but the boss katana series is really growing on me. I want to hit up the MK II with my schecter hellraiser asap! thanks for the review.

[@Setright230]

This looks fantastic for when my ptsd from military, when cant sleep. Rather than my blues Jnr turned right down. Back this would be great i was told if you turn timing off and delay full you get reverb???? I’m in Australia its now 2018 hope i can find one love its analog warmer sound and can put a TB into it or Boss BD. Them i can play at 3 am in bed or take it to the park and play in the sound on a strat which love but also can throw on a Gibson LP standard you guys made me end up buying in Honey burst in Australia only Gibson I have but i do love it. I’m more blues classic rock so this be spot on. fender nut lol guitars and tube amps.

[@KevinMillard68]

great little amp i got one when they first came out and already have over 9 hours on the stock battereis that come with it and their still going also have it hooked into my mixer now as well works awesome sounds great

[@sirbaronvoncount4147]

Nice tweedy sound just before the brown. Nice. My main amp is a one watt Marshall thru a 12 inch speaker. I usually use the half power setting and get nice natural overdrive. I love small amps

[@lickmyfuckinnuts]

Can't believe that sounds as good as it does

[@tak-el-uc]

$5,000 custom shop relic guitar. $99 amp ;-)

[@DMSProduktions]

Yeah, WHO would pay $5K for a DAMAGED guitar!

[@amazingme1408]

exactly ruined it for me....PLEASE REVIEW THAT TELE WITH AN ACTUAL AMP

[@amazingme1408]

ME ITS AN INCREDIBLE GUITAR

[@DMSProduktions]

The guitar is not in question here. I'm sure he will when he gets around to it. Later in the week I'm guessing. Shane is pretty prolific.

[@tak-el-uc]

DMSProduktions Yep. Looking forward to the review. Not a relic fan in general but that Tele looks like a masterpiece as far as relics go. And lefty-s don't always get a lot to covet. Original comment was pointing out you don't often see and hear a guitar worth 50X the amp. Put your $$ into the guitar gone mad!

[@cugir321]

Ad a switch jack for an external speaker and it becomes a monster...more audible volume and clarity.

[@paramediccpo]

Keep it bro - I couldn’t give the studio prs back so it cost me 2000 pounds 🇬🇧 on hp- just paid it off this month - works 130 hours overtime last month but she’s worth it

[@intheblues]

Thanks dude. I really don't want to give the guitar back haha. I was never a fan of Relic guitars at all visually but man it sounds and feels amazing! Congrats on the PRS mate.

[@paramediccpo]

intheblues hit the nail on the head I played a relic yellow fender tile yesterday 4500 pound - it was the feel / texture of it in my hand - just felt so special and natural to hold - amazing

[@craiglarbes1546]

Great sounding little amp for quiet practice or travel. Much rather spend 99 US dollars on this than the 299 dollars on the Yamaha thr 10.

[@jamalabdul2009]

Not bad for a a small amp. The more important question is when are you going to buy that Tele? Hmmm??? 😂 Great video as always Shane!🎸🎸🤘🏽🤙🏾🤘🏽🤙🏾

[@intheblues]

Maybe soon 😳😀

[@Da_Porkchop_Xpress]

Hi Shane. If you dial the delay knob all the way down and the level knob all the way up..you get a reverb like sound. Its a brilliant unit

[@intheblues]

Thanks for the tip David! :-)

[@jrduarte99]

David Jay yeah, it's like setting a delay with no delay time.

[@nmonye01]

Shane is the man. Love your reviews

[@TheTruth70777]

Awesome! I have a situation. I would like to have a bedroom rig , thinking of a setup using a headphones if I need to be quiet and an amp if not so much. Can this amp be a good choice? and thinking also about using an Irig for the effects and everything else it can provide. Would you recommend anything else. Thank you so much!

[@sjb1957]

Blackstar Fly 3 might be better suited. It has line in and headphone/line out.

[@rabendranath]

That is one wicked sounding little amp man, great.

[@chriscarreno4930]

Sounds good!! Versatile!! Your face on the picture to click on is funny. It reminds me of George Costanza of Seinfeld, when his voice mail picks up and he's pretending... Where could he be??...... he's not home!!

[@abramhernandez1216]

Your sound setting kicks ass! Great review. I'm planning on traveling and hiding in my room without lifting my roof

[@sanjeevsyahoo7205]

Nice video mate!👍 How does the Katana Mini stack up against the Fender Champion 20 w?

[@portuguesebeer5069]

Giant small amp! Cheers from Portugal 🍺🤘

[@2lbs1lb]

Thank you for this review! We are in the market for a small practice amp and this was very helpful.

[@roblewis3147]

Hey, I just to bought this amp about a week ago, and mine did come with a power supply, it takes a modified Roland 9volt battery charger so I don't have to worry about batteries. Also this little Monster may be small but it has huge real amp sound. Probably because it IS in fact a real amp,just packed into a tiny size. In. Not like one of these novelty toy as amp's that you'd pay around the same price for, like the Marshall ms 2 or the orange crush Mini. No, this little Beast actually sounds and plays like it should, a small bedroom amp.l

[@undeadryder7969]

Does metal or rock music sound great on it? I'm thinking of buying this as a bigger and as a convenience when I go to other places

[@roblewis3147]

@@undeadryder7969 well dude, you asked the right guy about that because I'm a metal head myself, and got 3 settings,clean,crunch,which gives it a nice rock sound and brown, which is insanely good for metal, it also has delay and depending on the way you set your control knobs on this little beast, you can any kind of sound from a nice smooth blues riff to all out metal thrash. Hoped that helped. Cheers🍻

[@undeadryder7969]

@@roblewis3147 thx man, definitely gonna buy this

[@FretLevelMidnight]

This amp has reverb actually! You just have to put the Delay "Time" to zero, and the Delay "Level" at Max. I love this amp, it's not my Katana 50, but my 50 isn't battery powered, and weigh 3 pounds and it's not the size of a small child's lunch box. Cheap thrills!

[@chrisw5742]

Just took one of my Katana minis... Put it on clean channel with gain cranked. Tone knobs can be halfway or cranked... then ran my Behringer GDI21 pedal into it in Marshall mode. OMG it is way better with the pedal than the amps distortion. More midrangey Marshall kinda bark.

[@chrisw5742]

So I just ordered a 50w gen 3 that should be here on Tuesday....

[@iskanderboulila4453]

how about a comparison betwwen the katana and blackstar fly 3?

[@landonbailey]

boulila skander nobody would ever dare do that😆😉

[@iskanderboulila4453]

+lando27music do not underestimate it because when u run it with the additional cab on 6 watt it sound pretty decent :)

[@Mrpig-vw4fh]

I have both its better than the fly3 .

[@Felipe_Silvva]

@@Mrpig-vw4fh the Blackstar works well with pedals?

[@mars6433]

@5:03 Yeah, you spent some time with PIXXY !!! YES !!!

[@paul-u3q]

Not a toy like other mini or desktop amps , 7watts, it's a real amp in the same class as other small 10watt practice amps and more portable. Cheaper than vox slightly more than Fender, sounds better than both. If you're just starting and want advice this is the way to go. There's a reason you rarely see them 2nd hand.

[@mike7173]

Thanks for a great review. Nice playing & nice to actually hear tones thru a range. In many reviews they seem to focus on total distortion :) One question though...Does it sound as good straight from the amp? Meaning no mic'ing...Thanks

[@modestd287]

I'm studying to be a luthier and I need to get a mini amp to bringing to school from time to time because my main amp is too big to be carting around. From the bit of research I have done the Katana mini looks like the best buy but I am tempted by some of Blackstars amps. The only thing putting me off the Katana is that it doesn't look very sturdy and the switches look kinda cheap but I like how it sounds though. A Yamaha thr5 or 10 would be nice but they're a bit out of my price range at the moment

[@greatreset3]

He's doing the guitar face! 🎵🎸

[@doctorskull8197]

Nice demo! Great sounds! Does it have an external speaker jack?

[@johncollins5552]

Easy mod.

[@jafethuerta]

If only this thing would have an option to connect an additional cab like the Blackstar Fly3 would be great ! Anyway sounds good.

[@jscott893]

Still 5x louder than the blackstar with 2 speakers.

[@johncollins5552]

Buy 2 minis and use a stereo chorus pedal for 2 outs, awesome!

[@visualkeirockstar]

Just got one. I’m blown away. Sounds really good especially with emg pick ups.

[@TheBat_01]

How loud does it sound? How well does it sound on clean?

[@t-boog2173]

No power suppy? Really? Roland must have stock in Duracell!

[@storm3380]

Is it loud enough to entertain a small crowd at a park or party with friends outside?

[@johnnybgoode2333]

It does have reverb if you turn the delay time way down and the delay level all the way up.

[@ketch_up]

I'd be interested in how it sounds with the headphone out into a PA

[@peterdvideos]

Sounds incredible!

[@SUPER8_GUITAR]

Got one for the office.. its perfect

[@Kevin-nr9lj]

Sold. I am ordering one right now :D

[@kennethcarvalho3684]

Sounds amazing...better than the 10 w amp that I have...The symbol below the Boss logo??

[@budmcnelson]

Did you try it with any pedals? A couple of mini pedals could make for a fun portable jam rig.

[@boxcarstewart311]

The review was cool, but my thumbs up is meant for that sweet ass black denim jacket.

[@JuanGarcia-hr1wf]

Sounds nice but to not include power supply is disappointing and misstep on Roland

[@FretLevelMidnight]

It does come with 6 AA batteries at least.

[@Jaydenwybenga]

I never felt bothered by that cause I've got like 8 of them, I only got this solely to use on batteries anyway

[@biggils8894]

How long do the batteries last when on high gain high volume? Have a Thr10x and on high volume ur lucky if the damn thing works.

[@Jaydenwybenga]

Biggils the thr has a lot more going on then one of these and it shows on the battery life, I have both and this would last like 4 times longer

[@biggils8894]

Jayden Wybenga Yeah, the thr is going to cost me a fortune! Way more than it actually costs. Should've done my homework.

[@Eastcoastsurf48]

Hey Shane or anyone that owns this. I just picked one up and I'm getting a lot of buzz on crunch and brown channel is that normal?

[@georgeallison6228]

I figgured this booger would sound good man. Tech keeps getting better and better w time it seems ya know. We didn't have this stuff coming up. I've got the lil Orange Micro Crush runs off a 9 v battery...I swear when the battery starts to break up and die..I'm getting tube tone...LOL. Eeeeyyyyyy man...you didn't do no Van Halen...but I seen you almost go FULL duckface!!!! ;)

[@richreed2227]

Hi Shane, I love your reviews, but I have to ask on this review why did you run it thru a PA ? I mean those of us who will buy this won't have a Pa to use and why would we? if we wanted the big sound we would use our other gear, this amp is for bedroom or jamming with friends in a small venue? I see people do this allot and we don't hear the real sound, we here the huge 12 or 15" speakers in your PA. I'n not trying to be a smart ass so please don't take it that way, I do watch your reviews allot and really like them, but to use a Pa that we will never have gives us a false sense of how this will really sound.

[@hosnearabegum8404]

Can anyone please help me choose this or the orange crush 12 I am a beginner guitarist, in need of my first amp

[@qotda]

GOnna busk? Take this...

[@TheMichaelseymour]

geez ...you were really swinging and singing in your lead shane - nice.

[@Ash-gi2hz]

Is it loud enough

[@johnreece9774]

For some reason these really sound better running batteries. Roland/Boss/Korg really deliver for the $ Yamaha THR is a worthy comparison

[@DavidOnTheRoadGuitars]

Should I buy two for a stereo effect ? It sound great for someone like myself where I don't have tons of room for a huge amp

[@TMaddison]

Were you using a looper with the amp?

[@BoyAditya]

If possible, please compare with roland cube 😋

[@intheblues]

I'll see if they have some of those amps in stock later in the week. :-)

[@3cardmonty602]

Yes - I have a Roland Cube & id like to see a comparison.

[@peterschmidt9942]

Too hard to dial a decent tone on Cubes, unless you're in the 40W realm. Price and functionality I went the Vox mini. Easy and quick to dial tones. if smalls what you're after.

[@JamieClark]

Compare to cheapest Blues Cube as well...

[@joshfredr7846]

lefty like me great review.

[@Setright230]

Do u think better than black star mini as i love more blues classic rock this sounds better for my home late night or down the park in the sun playing??????

[@TheSwampLion]

I’m pretty interested in how pedals might sound through these.

[@blackdrop3844]

They should make one with detachable battery 🔋

[@onefatstratcat]

I have a Blackstar Fly that I love to death to noodle with around the house... my wife hates it :) Little amp seems nice.. I like the few extra options it has on it compared to my Fly. Rock on dude :)

[@ravneetsingh190]

Is it good to practice with a full band if required ?

[@davethepius]

This thing looks like a toy, but sounds like a real amp. Like it better than any of the amps in that battery-operated category. Far cry better than a Pignose.

[@3cardmonty602]

Shane - have you ever demo'd a Zoom G3x yet? I'd like to see your opinion on them.

[@melodramaticsinner]

What do you mean you cant play "brown sounds"? You see you can ;). Great amp and great review. Cheers!

[@intheblues]

haha I fudged my way through it. hehe. 😀

[@phallystorm]

Great Blues phrasing. Sounded very Allmanish with Warren.

[@intheblues]

Thanks dude! :-)

[@stevehogan8829]

Shane, compared to how you ususally sound this sounds a litttle shallow... Not hollow but just not as full. Maybe it's just because you're playing cleans but.... I don't know. ....I think you spoiled me playing the Bandit Red Stripe. i know it's a min but I'd still grab the Bandit. BTW, YOU sounded great as usual... Love your finger picking.

[@PelicanIslandLabs]

I love the Katana amps but think the clean tone is NOT volume mapped properly. i.e. the clean tone is way lower volume than the mid-high gain tones. It's a shame because it's a near perfect amp, otherwise.

[@darkmooned4373]

You think I can plug in two guitars into this amp

[@albertmarkethinkpr1325]

Could you also do a n indepth review of the Boss Dual Cube LX, since you are the most detailed youtuber at presenting amps? Thank you!

[@intheblues]

I'll see what I can do mate, thanks!

[@albertmarkethinkpr1325]

@@intheblues THANK YOU! \m/

[@shamitoson]

The mini katana or roland micro cube gx? Not considering effects since I have pedals.