Let's Talk Celestion... Is It worth Upgrading the Speaker on Your BOSS Katana?

[@andertons]

Who's ready for Round 2? Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Vs Celestion Speaker Shootout! 🤘 Watch Here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6LboquHr9aNgZI

[@VMV8622]

Hey guys! Just received my Katana mkii. Think I've watched that video a thousand times already 😂 with the katana's editor you can set the global EQ in the same frequency range as the Celestions. Pretty interesting results... No more harshness. 😁👍

[@xstevexxx]

Just watched this as I'm definitely contemplating the katana. Would be really interesting to see you swap the stock speaker for the WAZA siesker, to see how much difference that makes? 🤘🤘

[@robphillips8351]

Celestion has a more rounded top end, but the katana speaker after broken in aouds a ok. The cone is stiff literally compared to other speaker's.

[@andertons]

Hi all, Lee here. I just wanted to add that the differences through the mics are quite a bit more pronounced than they were in the room. So when we’re saying “hmmm, not much difference there”, and yet you hear a big difference in the video, that’s why! Well done to anyone that watches start to finish - it’s a long one! Took about 5-6 hours to film too 😬

[@uttherkunst3806]

The stock speaker sounds like a practice amp compared to the celestion V30. Far too bright and thin. The Neo celestion must be to somebody’s taste but it’s not to mine.

[@DeadlySpecies]

Watched it through, seems a creamback is a fair upgrade if you are gigging but in many of the gigs im using the line out and since i usually play small venues an upgrade didnt seem necessary to me ..funny though, my katana 100 is much heavier than my ac10

[@jeramym9506]

This is a GREAT informative video. And after so many shorter videos lately, the longer form was welcome.

[@mikehickey9540]

Great effort on this vid. I didn't hear any that would make me run out and upgrade right away. I would be more inclined to upgrade to the Katana Artist. A comparison with it's speaker would be interesting.

[@mrredritehand]

Thanks guys

[@Cougar139tweak]

Wife: What is this about? Me: Comparing different speakers.... Wife: My god...for an hour and a half?!? Shakes head walks off whatever....I learned stuff today

[@JulioJustiniano]

Im watching this 1AM in my balcony while the wife sleeps. At some point she'll walk to the living room, grill at me, and walk away.

[@stevepenn3406]

Just had the same response. 🙄

[@hogie1259]

Man, you all need some new wives.

[@ehonorio]

Wives run the same software! Only the hardware is different!!! :)

[@patrickbear6727]

Perfect. Safe to say she would prefer you watching the comparison than buying speakers to run your own test. “What is this about” vs “ what is this Anderton’s charge all about?”

[@patrickcarroll1754]

Does Lee realize how good of a host he is? I watch Andertons more than actual television.

[@30smsuperstrat]

Is there still television?😁

[@troopin]

its pretty good without rob shredding the same 10 licks 10,000 times a video and generally being an idiot

[@Cougar139tweak]

But....it's playing on my TV......

[@2beJT]

Seeing the production grow over time has been a real treat.

[@Sven-ola]

The Andertons is a great realityshow ! :) Love the Captain and Rob stuff the most, but lately really starting to like Rabea and Pete to :) The Blindfold stuff is my personal favorits, and this kind of was :)

[@TheElectricfishmusic]

I think Boss did a good job voicing their stock speaker with the amp, and I agree with your conclusion that in most cases I wouldn't bother changing the speaker. What I would like to hear now is the stock Katana speaker vs the Waza version.

[@danielhunter8008]

The waza craft seemed to lend itself better to heavier tones for my ears. I think standard speaker for blues and early rock, waza for early metal to glamrock or grunge, and a vintage 30 for the super heavy Saturated tones of metalcore or nu metal.

[@Hello_there_obi]

Did you watch the video? Even from a yt video and the fact we aren’t in the room, the difference was very noticeable!

[@mundane_in_the_membrane]

an hour and a half video from andertons? today's gonna be a good day

[@andertons]

A perfect finish to a Tuesday afternoon...

[@clintmapes8454]

Comparing speaker to speaker is something most of us guitar players just can't do money wise or time wise. Thank you for taking the time to do that. Very informative

[@rowheadrex]

When I suggested a speaker shoot out on Lee. He answered: that is too niche for us. I have been waiting for this video for more than a year! Thanks Andertons

[@wbfaulk]

niche

[@franckbernad3947]

@@wbfaulk niche = fringe.

[@theguitarclubonline]

The Katana is such an incredible amp!

[@orgasmicdave]

No it isn’t.

[@theguitarclubonline]

@@orgasmicdave Yet is tisnt

[@orgasmicdave]

@@theguitarclubonline great, glad we’re on the same page

[@EasyHeat]

Just got a 50. Mindblowing.

[@LunaticTheCat]

@@orgasmicdave You're nuts, of course it's an amazing amp. Anyone that says otherwise is just wrong.

[@eXtendedmusicHD]

Lord almighty, 1.5 hours of blessed guitar content. You love to see it♥️

[@andertons]

Perfect for a Tuesday afternoon! 😉

[@lespaulranger]

Love andertons for its honesty! I know stock being fine is not the greatest conclusion from a business standpoint, but appreciate the honesty! Great to hear honesty! Makes andertons a trusty resource.

[@billyruben6540]

Holy smokes, I can't believe I watched the whole thing. I'm with you guys, though. Katana sounds remarkable while clean. A distorted Celestion is like a nice, warm hug. But I would be totally satisfied with a stock Katana. What a great value.

[@Knarkfist]

I took my 50MKII to practice the other day, ran pedals thru it and it was great. Much easier than lugging around my twn reverb. I could totally picture gigging one of the larger versions but have total faith my 50mkii could get me thru a show in a pinch as last resort.

[@falcongunner33]

Biggest thing I learned is that while Boss doesn’t use a top top quality speaker, they certainly put a decent one that’s good for a lot of tones in their amps.

[@macherdrones]

BOSS uses flat response speaker, because that amp already produces ready to use sound, there is no need to cook further it with "guitar specific" speaker. The rule is simple what comes from valve amp goes to guitar cabinet, and then through the mic goes to mixer console and then to FRFR, what comes from digital stuff and should go directly to mixer console goes to it and then to FRFR speakers(full range flat response). Essentially this video shows that we should understand a difference between speakers that play music(stock one, those in your car, inside your tv or whatever) and speakers used to produce music(guitar speakers). Katana sound is already complete, so they use flat response wide range speaker, but you'll gonna feel sorry, if you try to play good old guitar amp through katana speaker, which does not affect sound frequencies greatly by itself.

[@garlowloke]

Yeah boss gets a lot of shit from the boutique crowd but they always made legit products. The katana series amps blew my mind as a guitar teacher, they can do pretty much anything a non-professional would need.

[@TheKnutselaar]

Андрей Дементьев good observation, thats why I don’t really get why a katana was used

[@falcongunner33]

@@TheKnutselaar pretty sure the point was to take a very versatile but affordable amp and see if it could be upgraded to sound more high end.

[@macherdrones]

@@falcongunner33 tractor wheels would not make your camry more hi-end, lol. But they managed to illustrate that the speakers could be very different, and for different purposes, and the fact that the EQ matters)

[@davidf2281]

It's just struck me how funny it is that the BBC or whoever can spend millions of pounds on an hour's worth of entertainment, but two blokes in a KZbin video can make something just as engrossing for -- I would confidently assume -- quite a lot less than that.

[@fergar0206]

I mean in terms of youtube videos this is really high production value. Recording equipment, multiple cameras, dedicated employees for filming and editing, lighting, and the actual music equipment itself (which they're only getting access to because they are a relatively high volume music store). What makes them entertaining is the personalities and the ideas behind the format but the money put behind it, which is not an insignificant amount, lets that come through unimpeded.

[@TheEchelon]

That's because you happened to like guitars and guitar related tech/gear. Producing something for a wide audience is a whole different ball game. Take Top Gear for instance, people who aren't necessarily car fanatics watch that as well.

[@piratewhoisquiet]

Just strikes me as funny most BBC shows have a budget probably pretty similar to the price of everything in the Anderton's video shooting studio

[@lambert1702]

One hundred percent of my entertainment video is youtube now. I never watch legacy TV.

[@damasterkarej]

@@fergar0206 yeah, editing costs, bút Rory is priceless :-)

[@rossettivictor]

You've just demonstrated how good the Katana speaker is. No upgrade needed. The rest can be achieved through EQ and cab sim with the BTS. Thank you guys, love watching your videos

[@WormholeNavigator]

What is a BTS

[@Jojopal333]

@@WormholeNavigator Boss Tone Studio

[@grotline]

The Katana has a speaker tweaked to sound good at low volume for home use, the Celestian speakers are much more focused sound in the mid range to be played loud and live

[@andrejgregoric1324]

it doubles as acoustic guitar too, so it needs to have higher and mora flat frequency range

[@kebbinator]

Studio use, too. In isolation the extended high end might sound ‘better’ in the Katana speaker, but in a mix that harsh top end would just be fighting the cymbals and vocals and would make the whole guitar tone sound shrill. I use V30s, Blues and Greenbacks almost every day in the studio and they tend to sound much brighter and more present than they do in this demo. Considering the Katana can do acoustic sounds, I assume the speaker is more full range than a typical guitar speaker so the amp tones might actually be filtered to accomodate for that. Either that or the tones were dialed in on the Katana speaker and were set dark to balance the high end of the Katana speaker.

[@BarrySW19]

I can't imagine many people are buying the 100w version for home use.

[@MrRafaztar]

@@BarrySW19 of course we are, because it has more features that the 50 and still has the .5 watts

[@olafburgermann806]

@@MrRafaztar Yep, and you only use the GA-FC footswitch with the 100, not the 50.

[@jaywhy91]

I have that exact amp and I prefer clean tones, so I'm thrilled by the results! I also really appreciate that they gave their honest opinions even though, as Lee acknowledged, it would be better for business if the Celestions were clear winners. I'm sure a reputation for being honest and unbiased is better for business in the long run

[@danielhunter8008]

Very true, but if you like to play heavy metal, you know that celestion is definitely the way to go

[@kernelxsanders]

@@danielhunter8008 The Celestion hype, particularly the V30 hype, is starting to die down. Finally, it's time to put that damn thing to rest lol. Personally, I've been digging the Reaper and the DV77 over most Celestion speakers.

[@danielhunter8008]

@@kernelxsanders honestly, any speaker that pushes more mid-range is better. The stock katana speakers come off scooped. Good for cleans and leads but they fall short when it comes to thick, saturated distortion.

[@mkrj2576]

@@danielhunter8008yeah. I have two Kats and they are a bit scooped like you said. But with the it’s Tone Studio’s global eq (which is easy to use, great, and set and forget) you can dial in plenty of mids. I find it much easier to get good mids from a scooped tone than starting with a mid heavy set up and going the other way. Much easier to eq out highs and lows and bump the mids and raise the volume than the other way around.

[@tadziksradzik2327]

The ultimate conclusion from this exercise is that Anderton's road-worn Strat sounds awesome!

[@ThePippin89]

I would say the ultimate conclusion is that Pete is an amazing guitarist! Haha

[@nadirsaleh7839]

Now I know why people love strats.😊👌

[@LeviBulger]

Sounds like a strat.

[@Charlie6969]

Here's a tip if you find your Katana to be really harsh sounding with the original speaker. Go into the Tone Studio. Set Cabinet resonance to "Vintage" Go to the EQ section, select GE-10, position: AMP OUT. 31 Hz: -12dB 2k Hz: -1dB 4k Hz: -3dB 8k Hz: -1,5dB 16k Hz: -12dB Turn on EQ and write to panel. If you have the 50, the you might want to play with the presence knob as well. This worked well for my 100 mkII, if this does not do it for you then a Vintage 30 sounds great in it.

[@tonym3675]

I absolutely Love what Lee and Pete do for us... the music and specifically the guitar players of All countries. This is a classic and prime example of what we all need, since most can't just go out and purchase every Amp head, cabinet, pedal and as shown here SPEAKERS! Thank you ,Thank You, thank you, from a friend from across the big pond here in America.

[@aladolfsenjustanoldguy2045]

Watching this, and seeing that your expectations that Celestion would be better, thus influencing us to buy may not have been convincing is refreshing. Your honest opinion is refreshing. Your credibility just went up 100 points.

[@TadSagendorf]

Great video guys! For those of us that have been buying gear for decades: Tweaking the gear we have is a fun pathway to keep things fresh!

[@andertons]

We're glad you enjoyed the video... Loads more amps to follow!

[@evrythingis1]

I love this type of content! This type of content can set you guys way apart from other music stores. Well done!

[@adamsteelproducer]

I made a whole series on this a few years ago, and it does make a huge difference!

[@PooNinja]

It’s cause the speaker actually moves the air! More cabs vs more heads... cabs give greater variety of flavor 🤘🏽

[@1980JPA]

Only watched 3/4 of the vid so far and I've learned that the Katana has a great speaker that doesn't really call for upgrade unless going for a specific speaker to work towards a specific sound that works with the player's specific genre. Great job Roland.

[@ashleyevans424]

Just got a Katana 100 combo. Haven’t finished the video yet but it already sounds great.

[@andertons]

Let us know if you decide to upgrade the speaker... 😉

[@travistoole]

I bought my Katana 100w combo(single speaker) back in February, This is amazing, but overwhelming for me at times.

[@travistoole]

Definitely buy the USB cable for it, so you can change the stuff to better suit your playing.

[@jeffleecust]

@@travistoole agreed on the usb cable but only once you are comfortable with the amp. I also got choice paralysis when I got my katana. I immediately jumped into the program on the computer and ended up trying out patches instead of playing. It has great stuff built in, once you have gotten it how you like it with the factory stuff, THEN jump on the computer and change the pedals and settings to make it even more of your personal Katana

[@randall4411]

I've had my Katana 100 for ten months and it keeps sounding better by itself . I'd just save your money for a botique amp .

[@mikereynolds8634]

For future reference after you unplug the amp, turn it on. Turning it on while unplugged will dissipate any energy still stored in the amp's circuits. This will work for all electronics that do not use capacitors. Warning... Some capacitors can store enough energy to kill you, even after many years.

[@jimmyjames7946]

Good advice 👍

[@christopherfelser]

Going into the studio to turn off my unplugged gear tonight.

[@jimmyjimmy951]

I have three Katanas including the Artist. This video has me keeping them all stock because if the boys at Anderson’s have to think this hard about the differences then I have no chance. Great video..👍🇦🇺

[@hawkeye2816]

As a Katana 100 owner, that harshness on the top end that Pete points out is a dead giveaway every single time. This video is great because I'm literally able to hear my options.

[@A-Wall]

And my Katana is staying stock! haha. This was an awesome video. Definitely heard some sounds from the Celestions here and there that I liked more, but the stock speaker can do almost everything pretty dang good!

[@jayjayftw07]

Yup I have Katana 100 MKII and it is INSANE. And the video just for me is just proving that there is no reason for me to change the speaker.

[@michaeltaylors2456]

Yep a complete waste of time really , I swapped it out for a celestion 90 / Mesa boogie black shadow. Made the little Katana really heavy in the process of not improving it significantly. Does very slightly tame a little top end bite but that isn’t always a good thing

[@owlmatt]

I came in here to say the same thing. What I learned in this video is that I don't need to change my Katana's speaker.

[@LunaticTheCat]

@@jayjayftw07 I have the same amp, it's amazing!!! I don't think I'll be interested in buying another amp for a very long time.

[@rockkstah2550]

Whole heartily agree, I think Boss nailed this speaker design right to match what it is intended for the for Kat series to do. I think Boss did a great Job. If Boss wanted a Celestion, then they would’ve contacted celestion deign team to design for the Boss Kat.

[@ionobelisk]

I think Pete hit the nail on the head when he suggested that Boss had made sensible compromises to make the Katana sound good at home friendly levels. I'm not sure that any of the substitutes justify the extra expense

[@bencampbell5468]

This is actually a really good comparison of different speakers. I wish there were more videos of objective gear comparisons like this, it takes out the guess work.

[@wabbadu1]

One of the best documentaries I've ever watched. Great movie!!

[@Josbornevonosborne]

Video was too short...

[@andertons]

We will include Pete fitting each one of the speakers next time...

[@karlpron]

@@andertons Can't wait :)...

[@relevantinformation6655]

That was part one of a 26 part series. Part 2 is “If I plug a boost pedal’s output into its own input, will I create a black hole?” BBC 4

[@lance134679]

I appreciate the hard work it takes to do a video like this. I think you can't really go wrong with the stock speaker, especially as the builders used that speaker to tune all the different amp models and it sounds pretty good on every one.

[@MrCarlzohn]

I do agree that the clean sound is where the Boss speaker really shines. And even though I do somewhat prefer the Celestions with dirt, I'd say - IMHO - the amp's EQ is tweakable enough to compensate for the difference. If nothing else, this video shows just how good the stock speaker in the Katana really is.

[@joshuao2548]

"480 vs 1080P " PERFECT! yep exactly. One of my favorite videos of this type - of all time! thanks!

[@matzer8846]

WOW ... this is a revealing demo: - direct comparison - done with AB-ing - different gain settings Great! What else? Hm, maybe you could do one for us 10" speaker addicts ... So, thank you very much guys, great job!

[@josephbyrne9563]

I think in comparing the katana speaker to a bunch of Celestion speakers and having so much Ums and Ahs shows what a fab job Boss did. Also worth noting that in some cases Lee played around with the Celestion settings to get Pete’s preferred sound but the same could have been done on the katana speaker to dial it in to preference. Great job guys and with such a long session to stay on point and be as dialled in at the end as the beginning is great. Thanks

[@necro5129]

Absolutely brilliant video! I was using a vox for many years with greenbacks, broke my back carrying it around. Recently simplified my rig with a mk 2 katana 212, so very relevant to me

[@baldybonce29]

Lee and Pete are now masters of presentation,I love these vids 😎👍

[@johnodotca]

How to tell Lee is the boss: Just sits back and watches Pete work while sipping his coffee.

[@SUPaddict]

Come on, let’s be honest.... It’s probably tea and not coffee...

[@JT_Sim_Racer]

My wife thought i was watching a movie. . . nope just Andertons TV. Appreciate all the work you guys do on this stuff, always useful information.

[@shawnadams1693]

This must’ve been a ton of work to do, so thank you very much for doing it!!

[@tomcat2292]

For low volume i use the Katana and it Sound great. For high Volume i use 20w DSL Marshall Head with Vintage 30 cab and it sound best. Great speaker test, thanks Andertons!

[@charlfrick8245]

You've just turned the Boss Katana speaker into a collector's item. I'm on the hunt already, would be great for a Fender Deluxe or Fender Blues Deluxe. Nice work, guys!

[@boabglen]

Do you using the katana head with the fenders or the speakers from katana in to the fenders?

[@charlfrick8245]

@@boabglen Was wanting to try the Katana speaker only, but in the two years since my comment I have never seen one for sale over here in the Australian gulag.

[@lagosis]

Guys, you’re really great. I appreciate your honesty in videos because I’m an amateur home player and learning a lot from you about whole technical stuff. I’m finding answers from your videos thanks to you that you’re saving my money & time for trials

[@CaptPostmod]

Johan Segeborn's channel's a great resource for diving into the art and science of speaker changing and its effect on tone.

[@brianbeyea7052]

Man does that guy have an insane gear collection and not afraid to put the amps up to 11.

[@TheBedroomRocker1]

@@brianbeyea7052 Yep! And then the following video he takes a junky solid state amp from the 90s and make it sound awesome as well!

[@ericjexen1793]

The creambacks made the amp go from good to really good. I'm Marshall biased for sure, but the Katana stock speakers have that fizz/papery harsh sound when on overdrive. I totally agree with you on that. So to me a swap is a no brainer.

[@SynZ777]

Is THAT what that sound is??? It's been driving me crazy for so long, I had never considered the speaker.

[@punottedbumhucker3974]

Thanks for this huge comparison thingy! The Katana is a good example how the manufacturer tweaks the amp (EQ) to the speaker + cabinet, especially on a modelling amp this an easy way to build good sounding amps with cheap speakers. On a valve amp the biggest difference comes from the power valve + output transformer, which interact with the speakers impedance curve. The curve is dependant on the speaker cabinet (size, volume and so on) So always remind yourself every speaker sound different on every setup you are using.

[@aaronwest1259]

This just made me believe that boss has developed quite an impressive speaker indeed.

[@punottedbumhucker3974]

@@aaronwest1259 they surely did. But thats the easiest way to get an excellent sound. The true heros are the old engineers back in the 50s who designed valve heads which had to interact with all the different speakers on the market.

[@helotaxi]

@@punottedbumhucker3974 impedance matching ensures it will work. If the amp is good with a 4/8/16/whatever ohm reactive load, function isn’t a problem as long as the cabinet presents the correct nominal load to the amp. That’s no different between valve amps and solid state. The thing is determining how it will sound. There’s a reason that valve amps in particular sound very different when plugged into different cabs; it’s the combination of both the sound character of the speaker itself and, at least as importantly, how the output stage of the amp reacts with the impedance curve of the speaker/cab combo. Likewise the design of the cabinet and the manner in which the speakers in the cab are wired (series/parallel, series or parallel) will change the impedance curve and the amp reaction even with the same speakers.

[@punottedbumhucker3974]

@@helotaxi maybe its the lack of my english skills but that’s pretty exactly the same thing i wanted to say. Thats is one reason why real audio/hifi amps with tubes are so difficult to design and inferior to transistor amps if you are looking for flat frequency response.

[@Ingsteen]

A speaker needs to break in. It will sound way more loose and less stiff, the highs will be less piercing. Hard to judge a speaker on its first few minutes making sound

[@LunaticTheCat]

Wait, this is actually a thing? I've never heard of this before.

[@wojciech2456]

@@LunaticTheCat yep

[@owentuckett938]

@@LunaticTheCat There is a membrane in speakers that becomes more flexible after 'breaking in' and enables to vibrate better which improves the sound. I found this out when buying my headphones. Some people buy recordings of different frequencies and play them constantly for hours on end to break the speakers (for headphones) in quicker. Strange but true.

[@hellodumplings8564]

@@owentuckett938 The quality increase is pretty negligible

[@jusrodney9946]

Yep waste of time if the speakers were not broken in , when I first took my new cream backs out to gig they were lacking bass and mids big time

[@onlyguitars]

This is an amazing video! Very good because this helps to really educate people about this that is often overlook, and very important part of the tone.

[@andertons]

Thanks for tuning in... We're glad you enjoyed the video!

[@mojo6778]

I love the unrehearsed video with unbiased real results. Awesome video - Dave Simpson loves his Katana and looks like for good reason.

[@ka0tek]

I have been contemplating upgrading my speaker in my MkII 100 so this was quite informative for me. Although Celestion was not the way I was thinking of going as for me they are more associated with valve amp sounds. I'd really love to see you do the same thing with the Eminence range as they are arguably the best solid state amp speaker (through popular opinion)on the market.

[@baronvonchickenpants6564]

Yes I've heard that too I was considered the swamp thing

[@Krullmatic]

You were considered the swamp thing? Since you were considered, did you actually become the swamp thing, then?

[@Stereostupid]

I love swamp thing 2 lol

[@davidmercury4104]

Hello guys. From Canada (not Candader) I want to say "Thank you". Your comparison of the stock Katana 100 speaker against the different Celestian speakers was educational, entertaining and for me, reassuring. I have a 100 MKII which I mostly use at home or with friends and I'm very happy with it as it is. It's nice to conclude that the cost of moving to a Celestian Cream is not necessary for my use and certainly not worth the cost. Love your show.

[@djrever]

This video demonstrates de great value of the Katana, that has been equipped with a quality speaker that has subtle differences in sound with a more expensive celestion. I Think it's not worth changing it, only if you are seaching for a specific sound. For a wide variety of sounds i think the Katana speaker is ok. Pete's playing is awesome.

[@jbognap]

Yes. If you have a specific sound in mind, otherwise leave it alone

[@TheFriedSky]

OMG! I haven't even seen this one yet. But this is next level effort. Thank you guys so much for your hard work in advance! You are really answering big questions for many guitar players, Katana users or not. Keep it up!

[@StormdriverOne]

This is pretty unbelievable timing here. I have just obtained 4 Celestion G12EVH speakers and have been considering swapping some speakers in my combo amps and cabs.

[@richardmcpike]

Generally for me Katana speaker cleaner and more modern - All the replacement speakers sound like vintage recordings which seems to make sense... thanks for doing such a painstaking video guys

[@markt.788]

Nine out of ten movies that come out now, I leave thinking they could’ve been half an hour shorter... I could’ve watched this for twice as long... Anderton’s TV as brought to you by Ridley Scott...

[@urbtful]

Thank you for your video. I put a Creamback in my Katana 50. I love the sweet mid to high mid tone, without the spiky 3-4K of the original speaker. It doesn't hurt my ears anymore, and I can play it all day long.😄

[@KimonFrousios]

"Grainy" is exactly how I describe the katana distortion sound too. The top end sounds like square-clipping, like a microphone running out of headroom or like low bitrate artifacts. Whereas other amps/speakers have "sweeter" high end and clip it more roundly.

[@helotaxi]

Or a solid state or amp or preamp running out of headroom. There’s a reason that you want to keep solid state gain sections in their linear range. They generally sound like trash once they start to clip. Tubes are awesome for creating music because of how they sound under clipping. Solid state more accurately reproduce what they’re fed while tubes add to the signal ambient in a pleasant way and one that’s desirable for a musician. That’s the main reason for a tube preamp in front of a, relatively compared to its tube counterpart, powerful power section in hybrid amps. Drive the preamp to clipping to get the warm, tube sound but get the output desired from the power section while remaining linear.

[@barneycarparts]

What I and others tend to do is not roll off the treble on the guitar and we get gritty distortion. Try rolling back the treble like Santana does to get that Phat Velevet smooth thing.

[@konsocosmin3332]

I ordered a katana mk2 50watt after this video...all the best gentlemans!!!

[@kslazinski]

I agree with the conclusion. Celestions did sound a bit better and warmer with gain and distortion. But how much of this difference could you compensate with Katana’s parametric or graphic equalizers? Anyways, cool and informative video. Just finished watching. More entertaining that many feature films nowadays :)

[@Radical_Middle]

the point of any comparison is to use the same settings. if u dial different eq on one speaker to match other, that means you can apply eq to other speaker as well to further increase the difference.

[@kslazinski]

@@Radical_Middle You are right. But I didn’t mean they should have dial EQ during this test. I just wonder if after seeing this I should change speaker or just play with EQ a bit

[@Radical_Middle]

@@kslazinski well that depends on your wallet, what sound you are looking for and if you going to perform solo or with a band (or as a part of recording mix with other instruments present) but sure you can:) it is all about mid cut/boost. from experience I know that what sounds nicer solo usually doesn't cut thru the mix or whole band that well. I think it is due to lack of real mids and overtones produced by tube preamp. pozdrawiam:)

[@kslazinski]

@@Radical_Middle Yup. I am interested in quite heavy sounds. Similar to TOOL. I record music with my band. So it is more important how it sits in the mix. So far I’m quite amazed with Katana. But playing with EQ helped a lot. Especially cutting lower end a bit as my Les Paul is sounding low enough already. But anyways, this test was cool and maybe I will change speaker in the future. But right now I play with EQ first. Pozdrawiam również 😁

[@Radical_Middle]

@@kslazinski I would try one guitar on katana like speaker (loads of bass, clear treble) but with some tube pre at least, and other guitar on 'middlish' sounding tube amp maybe with some metalzone like pedal to form that wall of sound for unison parts. I would narrow scoop a bit of bass fq of first guitar where it fights against bass guitar lower 'sweet spot'. always use good mikes and placement inside acoustically treated room. but... you better ask lads from TOOL:)

[@aleksasbaravykas1223]

I guess (I swear, I didn't read all the comments), Katana's original speaker is sort of FRFR speaker, because it is the modeling amp. All Celestions here are the guitar speakers - specially designed for guitars. So, when you put cab sim on (for instance, cab "contents" Cream Backs inside) and let it through same speaker in real cab, you'll get a mess. It makes sense to drive a FRFR speaker inside the combo of this format. All this, honestly, is written before Pete srummed his first chord...

[@Tiresmoke7]

I would like to see a video using the Marshall DSL 20. Thinking of doing a speaker upgrade on mine.

[@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t]

Probably worth it. IIRC the stock speaker is a 70/80 or something, same as was in my old Blackstar HT-60. Swapped it out for a V30, and... it was kind of like the amp actually woke up.

[@Tiresmoke7]

@@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t Stock speaker is a 70/80. I'm thinking a Celestion G12H Creamback would work best for me.

[@jorgeguitar2540]

Crap Tacular I heard 70/80 speakers are not good for metal?

[@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t]

@@Tiresmoke7 It's all about what works best for you. It maybe didn't come across too well, but what I really meant was that the 70/80 is a solidly mediocre speaker. It's not terrible, but it doesn't do any single thing well, either.

[@jorgeguitar2540]

Does the 40w version has the same speaker? Can’t find info. It only say Celestine v type speaker

[@JPAcuna3]

Such a great watch! I never stay this long on a video. Totally worth it

[@NotechisMusic]

Great video comparison. Definitely would like to also see a speaker comparison in the Marshall DSL40CR.

[@andertons]

Marshall DSL40 would be a great shout! We will see what we can do! 😉

[@andrewbrowning6357]

@@andertons Katana was a bad choice since it's not really intended to have its own voice; the speaker is probably voiced pretty clean and flat to allow the amp and associated tone tomfoolery to do all the heavy lifting. Putting a speaker with a particular voice in it is too many layers.

[@luis17021961]

Thanks, you guys are great. Yesterday it changed to Katana mkII 100 and I used an old Celestion Cream that I had and now I have a new amp, much better ... what a change ... I thought to sell it but now I will keep it to enjoy it. Thank you very much for the demo.

[@niclastname]

It's interesting that the Katana Artist has a different speaker though. I'd be curious to hear a comparison between the regular Katana speaker and the Waza speaker in the Artist model.

[@Artcore103]

I'm sure the Waza speaker is the ideal speaker for the Katana.

[@JunkfoodZombieGuns]

The Waza speaker is the bee's knees in the Artist version. I have spent far too many hours in my local Guitar Center trying out different guitars through Katanas. Once I plugged into the Artist version, I always used it because it just sounded so much fuller. Plus, it had the cabinet voice switch on the front that the others did not and that switch alone changes the sound pretty drastically. I bought one for myself. Had to have it. However, I will say that the 2x12 version of the 100w MkII sounds very good with the second speaker and has added the cabinet voice switch. If I couldn't have the Artist, that's the way I would go. P.S. I think the standard version and the Artist version use a slightly different version of the software that accounts for the different speakers, but I might be wrong on that.

[@ajlsrv5490]

@@JunkfoodZombieGuns I actually think the Waza is garbage for cleans. Way too dark. It ruined the Artist for me.

[@JunkfoodZombieGuns]

@@ajlsrv5490 Really? It has both treble and presence controls, and I've never had an issue getting enough highs out of it.

[@charlesharper7292]

I have a mkll 2x12 and thought about replacing the speakers with the Waza speakers. A pair cost almost as much as my amp! I may do it anyway.

[@zebulon39u]

You must be the best and most understanding employer in the world Lee. You end by saying, "thanks Celestion for sending these speakers", and then Pete precicously ends by saying "and thanks for not sending anymore". LOL 🙂. But that's what the video proved. There's not really any point in doing a speaker mod on the Katana. Thanks Andertons for telling it like it is. I'm sure Celestion speakers are wonderful purchases for many other projects, but this isn't one of them.

[@TeslaOsiris]

I'm curious how the Celestian speakers stack up against the Waza speaker in the Katana Artist

[@brandonbock4763]

I wanted this example so badly.

[@brandonpineda1057]

Yeah I wondered the same. Waza in my artist is better than the speaker they are using.

[@JunkfoodZombieGuns]

@@brandonpineda1057 Yeah, the Waza speaker is really good.

[@BrandonEht]

@@JunkfoodZombieGuns It's pretty much a greenback

[@christopherburnett1745]

And I am blown away! When you guys first announced that you were doing this, I thought for sure that I would prefer most of the Celestions over the Katana speaker. I thought wrong. Sure, in certain high gain settings I may have preferred the sound of one or two of the Celestions, but I'd never play it that way anyhow. Clean, that Katana speaker sounds glorious, and I, for one, like that grainy sizzle in a bit of overdrive. Sure, they might not sound as great in a tube amp that isn't voiced for that particular speaker, but I can see why they have sold so many of these amps! Great video!

[@marksvideochannel3592]

100% agree with Pete, to me anyway. I'd like to see an Origin with a greenback also a DSL 40 with a Greenback and some others....

[@robertogrady2798]

Fascinating demo guys. Didn’t end the way I presumed. Good info for upgraders.

[@ImNotOld_ImVintage]

I was waiting for this video because I really thought I'd be changing my speaker.. but as a primarily clean to mild gain player, I think I'm just as well off to stick with what I've got. I could go with a Neo cream back to lighten it up because through the mic the difference was almost nil. BOSS really nailed their speaker, though I'd have liked to hear it against a Gold. Side note. Would have been nice to know what speakers were in the cab at the beginning since I was taking notes.

[@maekong2010]

You earned your money today boys. In the final analysis, I heard nothing that makes me think swapping out the speaker would be a net win. Clean channel and stack your pedals. When you get bored, play with the amp's settings. I just ordered the MKII 50W, so I'm hoping the speaker is on a par with the one you've got, albeit tailored to 4 ohm impedance.

[@Superjet113]

This is why I bought the Katana 100 head...

[@ThatCoryKid]

I bought the katana 100w head and connected it to a 12in combo with a vintage 30 and it sounds so AMAZING! I definitely recommend it.

[@dr7246]

Rabbit holes are fun. Particularly when someone else is doing all the work. :)

[@rudiger1337]

This is a gigantic rabbit hole lol

[@PipeCat1965]

Fantastic comparison. This answered so many questions for me. I do think that the Katana speaker, being matched for the amplifier, did the better all-around job, but there are certainly some shining moments for Celestion in there. I agree with Pete: If you're an overdrive guy, try the Celestion Cream in your Katana, and if you're a fan of predominantly cleaner tones, keep the Katana's stock speaker. I sold my Katana 100 MKII, but the speaker in it was simply phenomenal. I just didn't find the amp models configurable enough to match my rather earthy tone preferences, which require tubes, really. I went with a Vox VT100X hybrid combo. Great job on this video! I enjoyed it immensely! Could listen to Pete play all day!

[@sambarillas1062]

Loved this video and the concept. I guess i never considered the speaker to be such an important component in a rig. Would've been amazing tho if they would've included the waza katana speaker for one last wild card lol.

[@tjukkv]

One of your best videos. I enjoyed hearing the differences in the speakers.

[@mbonguitar9456]

You guys are so cool. I hope to visit your shop one day. Cheers from Lille, France

[@ShredraGaming]

I don't plan to change speakers but I watched the entire video anyway. This is just fun to watch and listen to.

[@Ickguitars]

would like to hear the demonstrations the eminence speakers

[@jaychen2000metal]

Yes. After i put my WGS Reapers and Retro 30's in my 4X12 cab, i now have perfect tone!

[@Bogallan]

I would say that with a modelling amp what you need in the way of speakers is something that is as absolutely clean and neutral as possible. The whole point of a modelling amp is that it is emulating valve configuration, speaker effect and everything else through software processing. Anything extraneous that colours the sound merely confuses the issue and renders the modelling science somewhat pointless. I'm sure that the Katana's own speaker would have been designed with this specifically in mind.

[@epilpstd1]

Exactly.

[@rangerdoc1029]

Modelling amps should have FRFR speakers

[@Charlie6969]

The katana is not a digital modelling amp, it's analog solid state and uses a "normal" guitar speaker, although a little harsh sounding IMO.

[@gimmeagig]

I watched the whole thing. That was really interesting for me. I have a Katana 50 MK II and I bought a Celestion K100 for it. It came out really forgettable in this test.The clean tone on the Katana is so much better. But the Katana is unpleasantly fizzy sounding on higher gain sounds. That can be EQed out to a degree but the shimmering brilliance, the chimyness that the Katana speaker cannot easily be EQed into any of the Celestions except for one (I think).My favorite is the G 12H creamback. It has some of the chimyness and beautiful top end of the Katana speaker where you almost cannot tell them apart but without the harshness in the overdrive sounds.But it makes the Amp sound like an actual tube amp. What a revelation. Really great video you guys! Thank you.

[@joybuzzer]

I get that this is a Celestion video, but I really wish you included the Boss WAZA speaker in this shootout. I bought a Katana Artist MkII specifically for the WAZA speaker. I had a preconceived notion that the stock Katana speaker just wasn't any good.

[@ajlsrv5490]

I think that notion is wrong. The stock speaker is just fine, and actually sounds much better clean. The Waza is way too dark.

[@MrSkunk1964]

that has just saved me bunch of £20 notes. lol. i bought the 50 w katana and few guitars from Andertons back in May . I thought i have a go at learning the electric guitar again at 56 yrs old. used to play in my 30's but stopped playing. i was thinking of changing the speaker but after this i wont bother. Best thing i ever did was to pick up the guitar again . No youtube in my 30's to help but now woah we are so so lucky. I can now play along with basic backing tracks after 6 months of lockdown . I love the Andertons channel it helped inspire me and got me through tough times and now i can get a sound out of Epiphone Pro.... MK 3 from Andertons what a guitar...genuine 57 classic Gibson humbuckers. graphtec nut, grovenor tuners all for £420. great guitar from Andertons . And 1964 is my birth year , same year as Andertons so its written in the stars lol...many thanks Andertons . I now need a cheap Gibson lol... kent uk

[@H_mzaS]

This was a really informative video. Great job guys. We appreciate the effort you guys put into your videos. Keep up the good work. I loved the sound of the Creamback. But I think I’m going to stick to the stock speaker for now cauz I usually just play at home at 0.5w setting.

[@_larkin_321]

The Katana speaker is so far (I am writing this before the last pairing) lacking mids and has too much highs and lows, clearly tuned for home use. The Celestions have way more punchy mids and sound way more differentiated. Just what you need in a band context. Whatever that means to the Katana ... Though I am listening with very good headphones and an external hifi soundcard, so maybe I am hearing too much ;)

[@JimijaymesProductions]

Definitely, the celestions a little bit harsh/midrangey especially being a 112, in a 212 (like Lee said) and in a band context loud I think that they would sound better.

[@eddyleger7662]

Hi, as far as my opinion, you guys to real justice to your evaluations. Yes you play, but not abusing us with self gratitude. You are the real deal of gear. I always enjoy the show, in these epic times, you have done very towards us other musicians. You dont compare current stuff , like everyone else, to Marshall (though very few ever heard a ral stack, gear folks use references that they think make them have (experience), most dont. Keep up the great work.

[@jonnysophisticado]

Could you guys do one of the se videos with a blues junior please?

[@gsmeeuwsen]

All in all, this shows that the stock Katana speaker can hang with the best. Great show Lee and Pete!!!

[@law6044]

Considering some Celestions in my Fender Blues Deluxe

[@andertons]

Stay tuned & we might just have another episode for you... 😉

[@OtherTheDave]

@@sgholt I’ve read good things about the Cannabis Rex on the internet. Haven’t had chance to play with one myself, though, and would love to hear it in a shootout like this.

[@SmorgusBorg]

@@andertons I really want to hear the Katana Speaker thrown into this mix as well??? Pete has me extremely curious as to whether or not the raggedy 1080i low res sound under gain is coming from the Katana Speaker, or the Katana Amp. What does the Katana Speaker sound like in a tube amp?!?!?!

[@wtfdelicious]

@@andertons Yes, please!!!

[@WrynnCZ]

@@andertons Would be great. I have Fender Blues Deluxe too and looking forward to make best sound from it. :)

[@Kryptic1234]

Super content! Most people don't have the luxury of trying out different speakers in their amps, so this is a really valuable comparison. Would love to see the Blackstar Venue series next!

[@achill3usoverclocking874]

awaited for this one since seen the werk photos on Pete's instagram :D

[@Hello_there_obi]

Short story that I think many would find useful: I have a 2000s cube 60, the daddy of the katana, and always loved how much air it could push. I call it the “wumpf” factor. Bass in spades but also super clear and very warm at the same time. I know the gain sounds aren’t the best and are a little fizzy but still, killer amp. This year I bought a katana 50mk2 and was immediately struck by how flat and feeble it sounded. There was no wumpf. It couldn’t shake the room with bass and wasn’t anywhere near as warm as the cube. Especially with cleans. So I sold it and bought the 100. And it was much better but still not quite there. So my plan is to record the new katana, analyse the freqs, transplant my cube speaker to the katana and repeat the test to see if it improves and measure with the freq graphs. Main takeaway: speakers make a big difference. I know this before the test. The 50 to 100 was night and day. Second takeaway: for the love of god don’t get the 50. Get the 100 and be done with it. Sounds much better, has an effects loop and other bells and whistles. Just buy second hand!