Katana 100 Gen 3 Review | Don't Ditch Your Mk 2 Just Yet

[@Guitarnivore]

Buy the Katana Gen 3 here: www.zzounds.com/a--3988626/item--BOSKTN100V3

[@alexflores-gu8zf]

alex

[@ECO20222]

Now this is what I call an honest review from someone not trying to sell us the amp! Thanks ❤

[@RobertHopkinsArt]

Same here. MKII is just fine and no need to upgrade. My favorite engineer at Sweetwater advised me to stay where I'm at.

[@CanadianRockerGuy]

Yup, I'll be sticking with my Mk2 also

[@leoolivero963]

One of, if not the best & most practical review of the Gen 3's to date. Thanks for posting. I'll keep waiting for the new Artist due in August. Greetings from down under.

[@awittypilot8961]

I disagree....The bluetooth alone is worth a bajillion bucks. I gig my Artist and love it. Bluetooth makes it a HELL of a lot better to me.

[@lenni-hazels]

In most of the comparison videos i have found the gen 3 sounded more crisp in the mid-highs than the mk2, also the 100 sounded somehow more satisfying (slightly less boxy) than the 50. Since I didn't have a Boss Katana yet the choice was easy to go for the gen 3 100. It should arrive next week, yay!

[@Guitarnivore]

Good choice! The 100 has always sounded better in every version. Get to know the graphic and parametric EQ. That's where this amp can really shine!

[@lenni-hazels]

@@Guitarnivore Nice, so it wasn't just my imagination :-D Thanks for the advice as well. I'll love to go ham with tweaking once it arrives, but I have the feeling it will be more about testing out all the sounds than really needing to "tweak" it, if that makes sense.

[@joshwoj2784]

Thank you. Subscribed

[@Lauri_K]

The intro riff, goddamn! Love that riff! Reminds me of Down's "Temptation's Wings"

[@Guitarnivore]

YES! Very similar. I was thinking the same thing when I was playing around with it, but I couldn't remember the name of the song. It's hard to believe that album is almost 30 years old!

[@Lauri_K]

@@Guitarnivore Agreed :) The GEN 3 sounds more natural compared to the MK2. The Artist model especially.

[@Guitarnivore]

The Artist has the Waza speaker which always sounds better than the rest.

[@Lauri_K]

@@Guitarnivore yes, that's the only right one to be honest

[@IsaacLausell]

If they had only made the line out stereo so that you can monitor yourself on stage through the amp and send your stereo effects to the board. That alone for me would be worth the upgrade but here we are. I was told “ah but you can go stereo out of the headphones” which is true but then you can’t monitor yourself through the speaker. I think Boss continues some of these not so subtle inclinations. I personally like the Katana a lot but often I would just take the GT1000 core if there is an audio crew just so that I can go stereo. I don’t care either about not having full autonomy of the effects orde.

[@stahliwood8755]

I own a mk2 50w. I should have chosen 100. I bought the ME90 and the Bluetooth adapter. I think I'm good the tone studio with all the options of the ME90 I've got option paralysis

[@Guitarnivore]

The ME-90 is awesome. Plug it into the the power amp in of the Katana. Even at $300, the Katana makes for a great powered speaker if you don't feel like messing with the tone studio on the Katana. The only real advantage I see the Katana having is the parametric EQ, which I think Boss should have put on the ME-90, but even without, the ME-90 sounds fantastic...but yeah the option paralysis is real. I would buy an ME-90 over a Gen 3 and just plug it into my Katana, especially with the more options it has.

[@bretttrommler756]

One thing i found out last night about my 100 Mk2 head is that the only effect that the effect loop return can get in front of is the reverb. Im not a huge fane of the Katana preamp. I have several different preamp pedals that I use. My favorite is the Ampworx Dual Wreck cuz i can get a very good Dual Rectifier type tone out of it. I do like a lot of the effects available in the Katana (not crazy about most of the overdrive/distortions) and id love to just use those along with one of my preamps. Unfortunately if I plug my preamp into the return, the only effect I can get is the reverb. If I plug into the main input and use the clean channel then I get the effects but also have to go through the Katana preamp. Thing is, if you look at the supposed layout of the Katana in the manual, it shows the effects loop BEFORE all the internal effects, which is obviously not correct. Anyway, all of this to ask... is the effects loop set up the same way on the Gen 3 Katana as it is on the Mk2, i.e. the return can go in front of the reverb but nothing else. The frustrating part is... I only got my Mk2 a couple months ago. If I had known the Gen 3 was coming, I would have waited.

[@Guitarnivore]

At 4:04 you'll see it can only go pre or post foot volume or post reverb. So it can only go before the delay and reverb. You really aren't missing anything very significant from the Gen 3 unless you want bluetooth or stereo headphone output.

[@bretttrommler756]

@Guitarnivore well, BT would be nice but not enough to be worth swapping amps. I did try to return my Mk2 as soon as I heard about the Gen 3 but of course that's not allowed.

[@darrinthompson2514]

Same here as I bought mine in late April. I'm sticking with it because I love it and only play at home.

[@justmehere6094]

Considering I have a Mk2 Artist, and the only thing I would really gain is the 'Air' and pushed amp type, I'll be passing. Even if I sell and buy new, that is a substantial cash outlay for those 2 little feature adds. SPECIALLY since it pisses me off, that they don't offer a firmware upgrade providing the new stuff, granted accessible only from the App, and thus in presets). Line 6 didn't abandon Catalyst owners like that when the CX came out. They gave it all to existing owners via Firmware.

[@shanetaylor6823]

I was interested in the gen 3 possibly having the waza as speaker for them all. When the bought it out I thought I didn't need to upgrade from the mk2 after all the videos I've seen I'll probably upgrade to a waza cab mk2 for cheap Bluetooth honestly doesn't bother me that much sure it's useful and faster but not for a price difference of what it is.

[@TheCSteve]

I have the MK1 100 Artist .. What i learned from this that i just go back to oldskool amp. If nobody shares patches on the website and the company itself dicided to change the amp over time and not support the older ones and make the choiche that they are not compatible in tone studio then this amp is nothing special anymore. Then its just an amp with a decent sound. Its A great amp, but it could be better if they dont let the first buyers fall down after a short time, and try to change thier products over time because they pretend, this Amp gen 3 is better. Its probally the same thing if you open it up. TIP: If you want a better sound the change the speaker in a WAZA (the Artist has better speaker) or a Celestion or Jensen .. There are videos on it but i dont do that, but thats what makes the sound more full and pro .. Good start for starters this amp

[@Guitarnivore]

The Mk1 to the Gen 3 would be a good upgrade, but not from the Mk2. You can get a great sound without a speaker swap in the mk2 by learning how to use EQ, especially the Parametric EQ. The Waza speaker is a fantastic speaker though. I had a Mk2 Artist at one time and I should have kept it. Thanks for watching/commenting.

[@TheCSteve]

@@Guitarnivore not agree.. mk1 is just the same amp with some new software things like IR on line out .. but every daw had an IR loader at least Reaper has that.. I still like Marshall jcm800 or soldano more .. but thats the price tag. Not for a beginner.. i compared the sound line out vs microphone, with microphone is still better recording.

[@AlecBourneMidiMadScientist]

I dunno. The ability in gen3 to seperately save 3 drive pedals and 3 sets of knob settings is a proper Gamechanger, this has not been possible before, some people seem to not really understand this. The headphones out as well is quite different, the mkii up till now has been dual mono. Same sound in both headphones which doesn’t do the stereo delays justice, it isn’t a huge deal if you’re mostly only a mono player but I’d rather plunk down a bit extra if jumping in now. The 100 head gen3 would be my choice of the lot.

[@Guitarnivore]

"The ability in gen3 to separately save 3 drive pedals and 3 sets of knob settings" I'm not sure I follow what you mean by that?

[@AlecBourneMidiMadScientist]

@@Guitarnivore mkii. You can go and select a tubescreamer, rat, klon for example in 1 preset. The knobs of each pedal will remain identical, if they’re at noon, they’re at noon for all 3. Gen3, set each one how you want it in the same preset. Say you wanted a klon as a mild boost , and then as a cranked overdrive. Now you can do this easily.

[@Guitarnivore]

@@AlecBourneMidiMadScientist Like all of the settings within that boost/FX or just the level? Because if it's only the level knob, that works the same way in the MK2. You go to Effects and if you cycle through the green/red/yellow, you can choose your boosts/fx adjust the level and write.

[@Guitarnivore]

I think I may be mistaken on that. It seems like more of a preset level. But either way, how would you cycle through each one without physically pressing the button on the amp?

[@AlecBourneMidiMadScientist]

@@Guitarnivore all the settings within the boost section specifically. I am hoping you still have that gen3 and haven’t had to return it yet. I’ve been running the app for it in offline mode and it appears to me that gen3 now works in exactly the same way as your mod or fx or delay sections. You will notice in a comparison side by side. In gen3 you could set the cents drive to act like a boost with low drive, higher volume etc in green. Swap your selection to red and you can change it to a overdrive by upping the gain, and lowering the volume. In mk i, mk ii, all the airs, WAZA and Kat air. The drive section will save only set of parameters and all your red,yellow,green drives will retain the same parameters, ie, set everything in green to noon, everything in red and yellow are at noon and cannot be changed without affecting all 3 . This is being discussed in the katana go owners club on Facebook. BOSS support are looking at it to see about updating the mkii to work like the gen3 which would be fantastic. The only way presently to get this to work is to duplicate the entire patch editing the second drive parameter and switch presets, this would seriously eat up your slots. I have a method with midi to externally assign and save multiple knob positions using the midi patch app, it works ok,but it’s a fair bit of programming to send 4 knob positions at a time. Experimentally it works, but this would be complicated to share …

[@FSHB]

Hi Scott! Do you know it Gen 3 supports all the great MKII tone patches that you've created? I have a good deal to get a Gen 3 but I want to play with as many MKII tones I've found online.

[@Guitarnivore]

Yes, it is backwards compatible with Mk2 patches.

[@FSHB]

@@Guitarnivore Nice! Have you tried your old patches to see if they sound the same on gen3?

[@Guitarnivore]

@@FSHB They do sound slightly different, but not in a bad way. It sounds like they eq'd more bottom end in them.

[@FSHB]

@@Guitarnivore thanks! Your contribution is life saving ♥️

[@TypeoS]

My question , does the 100 watt version sound better than the 50, I already own a 50 watt mk2 since 2020 and like it but I would like to have the option of a effects loop now and then.

[@Guitarnivore]

The 100mk2 with it's bigger magnet has always sounded a little better than 50 mk2. I tried to doa comparison with them where you can hear the difference. It's not the best representation. kzbin.info/www/bejne/faS0lHiYms1pmLc The GUitar Geek did a comparison of the gen 3 here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZOcdoaYgtpmfdEsi=dfMIIhJ795SBqTMk&t=83

[@awittypilot8961]

Maybe I should qualify...if someone made a bluetooth to USB B I might not replace my MkII. There is a midi controller but I can't trust it on stage

[@Guitarnivore]

Depending on what kind of phone you have, the Katana Librarian app with a USB OTG adapter works great, but if BlueTooth is your main reason for switching, then nobody can argue with that. It is a great option despite the extra cost.

[@awittypilot8961]

@@Guitarnivore So many times I've needed a teak here and there on stage and no computer to hook up by wire. It's usually too much gain or volume differences patch to patch but you can't just turn it down. That takes all the other etting upside down too. It's so easy to get caught in the gain trap...it sounds 100 times different that in my music room at home. It's almost not worth setting up at home at all. Appreciate your vids...I'l learned a lot. The EQ setting alone were worth a million. Other than that...I don't fnd the phone to be worth much on set. An Ipad has the size but you really need a good tone studio in BOSS bluetooth to make it work on set. Thanks!

[@user-ht1uo1ln8m]

No. Keep your Mk 2. Good thing Guitar Center has a return policy

[@astewart9410]

I’ve solved it. I own a MkI, a MkII, and now a Gen 3. Why have only one? 😉

[@Guitarnivore]

I'm thinking I'll end up with one sooner or later...🤷‍♂

[@astewart9410]

@@Guitarnivore I got the Gen 3 100w head. The re-voicings on the amp types alone are worth it. On top of the usual (great) Katana features from previous Mks, they've added the new Pushed amp type, a Bloom control on the volume, a Contour on the EQ, and a Solo boost switch. I also love the Presence control and the 3 different cab resonance options (Vintage, Modern, and Deep). This one's a banger for sure. I just use the 5" reference speaker for home practice (I'm saving for the cab), and it's a thing of beauty already. Ha, I sound like I oughta work for Boss (I swear I don't, I'm just a fan). Cheers! :)

[@astewart9410]

@@Guitarnivore Oh yeah, and I'm not all that excited about the Bluetooth option, as I never connect to a PC - the amps are more than enough as they are and I'd rather play guitar than fiddle so much with micromanaging settings. Plus, the Bluetooth doesn't do headphones and that's what I'd want versus Tone Studio control. Real oversight there, IMHO.

[@livelypelts3325]

Who makes the Gen 3 speaker?

[@Guitarnivore]

I'm not trying to be a smartass, but it's likely the same that made the speaker for the mk2. It's an excellent speaker regardless.

[@Gk2003m]

About your title: The moment someone has to tell me they are being honest, a red flag goes up. Because if they need to alert me that they are being honest, it tends to indicate they are typically not.

[@Guitarnivore]

I get it. Honesty should be expected, but there are far too many big channel shills out there being paid big bucks from brands to do reviews. That's not me. I make no money for making this video besides the miniscule pennies from ads KZbin runs or if someone buys from my affiliate link, which is few and far between. Point taken and I'll definitely consider that in the future. I might even change it. Thanks.

[@Dajuro]

Great sound comparisons to make your point . . . o . . . wait.

[@Guitarnivore]

Other channels have already done the work a lot better than I could have. Andertons (kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIO3eIp6ncllb7csi=4liJMwOsuNJ2biif) and Juca Neary (kzbin.info/www/bejne/laiVp5Jvfp6lZ7ssi=63Kzjme_Mxu3waeE) did great comparisons.