Tone Lounge: Boss Katana II amps

[@tonybrooks476]

There is something incredibly endearing about these two doing these videos. None of the bluff and bluster of many you tube channels. Just a couple of mild mannered blokes chatting gear. Tremendous.

[@topnobby]

Seconded, they’re so genuine and devoid of the regular bullshit

[@TonyEmeryGuitar]

It's so refreshing isn't it., Great stuff.

[@tonybrooks476]

Tony Emery agreed.

[@DMSProduktions]

Gloriously BRITISH old chap!

[@blowawaytheclouds1]

Agreed, extrememly talented pair and very genuine in their delivery

[@richardbrown9069]

I love Neville and Richard....just wish there was more of these vids more often. 👍👍👍👍

[@thebadterrorists5323]

Totally agree. I buy Guitarist magazine, but these videos are a great adjunct. So british and understated, perfect delivery.

[@brianpateman2666]

This is the first review I've seen to mention how important the "feel" of an amp. is and the importance of a conventional power stage. Especially at the price of the Katana I think this is worthy of praise. I know exactly what you mean and I think I might have to try one of these before too much longer.

[@nickg2431]

Probably the most concise informative demos i have seen for a long time,no childish games,ridiculous statements and the like-its also a VERY good sounding amp-trust me ive owned a ton of them...

[@stevesteve1965]

Thought 1970s Rod Stewart was going to start singing at the moment you both started playing. Great to see you both back in Tone Lounge.

[@tonybrooks476]

Just got my 13 year old the mark one. For £169 it is insanely good. Just a clean channel with one of the boosts is a-mayyyyzing. Outrageous.

[@basslinger]

yeah, where was this stuff 20 x years ago, holy cow, darn kids don't know how good they have it, get off my lawn you kids!

[@tonybrooks476]

Tell me about it. Although a bit more than 20 years. More like 30!

[@lewisratford2908]

Bought a MK1 50 a year ago and for the price it’s just amazing. Great for home and travelling around with and it’s so light compared to what these amps used to weigh. Wish I had something like this 25 years ago.

[@9unslin9er]

I used to lug around a Vox Valvetronix 50 during my college days. The thing could barely keep up with the drums and was heavy as fuck. The Katana 50 is ear piercingly loud and I love the simplicity. 25 lbs, 2 channels, let's go.

[@edisongabutero9455]

THIS IS THE DEMO I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR!!! Good job guys 😊😊😊

[@imCurveee]

I picked up the 100W 2x12 a few weeks ago, and for anyone on the fence, I'll help you out: do it! Having heard this amp in person for the last little while, this review really does it justice. No fancy production or recording tricks. The Katana MkII really does sound this great.

[@colinsibthorpe6926]

Great video guys, very well explained & demonstrated. I've had the Katana Mk2 50w for a year now &it's perfect for my level of playing & very versatile. Ticks all the boxes!

[@XENONEZZ2]

Clear, calm, well paced review. Thank you..!!.

[@AwesomeFinish]

Thank you guys, this clarified how to use the panel effects!

[@Begbiespintpot]

Richard, Nev, that little interlude at 9:18 was superb. Great tone, great playing and always a pleasure to listen to. Thanks.

[@ptrisonic]

Best In-depth review of this amp. Well done, guys... Best, Pete.

[@YawpMusic]

Yes, the brilliant thing about these amps is how they’ve curated the extremes of all the knobs. It avoids that “if it can sound bad it will sound bad” situation.

[@MegaTubetiger]

Very good presentation of the Boss Kitana II amps, with helpful details & explanations. Thanks for providing.

[@Nikoo033]

The bass is quite pronounced on the katana. I found that Bass at 9.5, Mids at 11.5, and treble at 1-2 o’clock compensate for that nicely. Worth mentioning that at 25-50 Watts, even at low volume, the amp sounds much better! Loved this review, thanks.

[@jordandangelo180]

There is definitely a noticeable bass tone when I play the Katana I have ( 2 Mk II 100 w running in stereo ) I didn’t quite notice it at first because I was always using pedals that altered the frequencies such as the King of Tone or a fuzz or Duellist or some Dumble style pedals stacked with a TS808 or Vertex Boost. But when I played without the pedals I really noticed the bass which I didn’t really love but you can, like you said, EQ the bass away. You can always get around things like that by using your bridge pickup or turning the treble way up. But overall, I love this amp. Really love it. The delays and reverb sit perfectly in the mix. I have tube amps and I love them as well for what they do and the warm tone but the Katana really is an amazing amp and an amazing feat of modern technology. And the power scaling feature, I would of killed for one of these as a kid in the 1990’s when I had a Fender amp which couldn’t go past 1-3 without making your go deaf. I don’t even know if they sold attenuators back then. I certainly didn’t know what they were :)

[@andrewl5127]

A lovely gentle review. Love the clean & crunch tones as well as the higher gain. For a intermediate who likes to play at home or jam the 100 or 50 sounds perfect. Thanks for saying that the presets can store the relative volume levels of different presets. I have been burnt by this before with some amps which meant that they were virtually unusable in a jam situation...

[@Nowo78]

Great review, thanks! Boss: Please make a Katana 50 II Plus/Pro/Deluxe or whatever that works with the GA-FC footswitch and has an FX loop, priced between the 50 and 100, now that would be great.

[@getenlightened]

I agree. I wouldn't mind a smaller 50 watt head as well, but with the same features. I would have already bought the 50 watter if the footswitch worked and it had an fx loop.

[@Deliquescentinsight]

Agreed, the 100 watt 1X12 is the ideal form factor

[@hypersmudge1]

A big thanks to you both for your excellent and thorough review of these great amps. Will be buying one!

[@visu4239]

I've got no problem with this amp. It is a fantastic little amp for the money. I've got silverface vibrolux and a DR and this is a perfect little practice amp to complement those loud beasts. It is what it is, a great solid-state amp that sounds good and is convenient to carry around and program some effects for a light jam. How are you gonna compare this 200 dollar amp to an expensive tube amp? Adjust your expectations to the right level.

[@deanhallett6815]

Something that isn't mentioned much that I think a huge improvement is the new variation to the clean channel. It sparkles and drives just a bit, sounds like a nice valve amp being driven hard and is now the basis of all my sounds. Completely upgrades this amp for me personally.

[@michaelmorgan4717]

Great job with the boss Katara I am a mercenary musician if it pays I play and I think that Amplifier pretty much filled my bill thank you Great demonstration of the amp

[@kingfisher7960]

I have 2 Katana100 mk2 1x12s artists and i really love them. The dual amp feature is overlooked.

[@MindsetMastery75]

I want your Knaggs guitar SO SO badly! It is gorgeous and sounds even more gorgeous! Love the Katana series of amplification also :) Great review of a great amplifier fella's.

[@ew6629]

I've had the Katana II 100 watt 1X12 for about 2 months and either I'm incompetent or there's just something in your demo setup that certainly makes it sound much better than what I could get out of it. Of course, I can't factor in the talented fingers of these two outstanding gentlemen's guitar playing. I'm leaning towards selling the amp.

[@mattjenkins8357]

If you haven't already, try a factory reset. It may work or it may not but worth a try.

[@ew6629]

@@mattjenkins8357 I did do the reset. The place I purchased from recommended it to fix possible issue with the delay. The amp sounds "okay" but not like the audio I'm hearing in the demo of this video. One difference is this demo mic the amps for recording so maybe that has something to do with it. Thanks though for your suggestion.

[@kentbernard9842]

Hows the tone? For all things Katana, check out Juca Nery tutorials and patches/presets for Kanata. kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZvTXpR-oZ6drZo You will be surprised at the tone he gets out of the Katana. Watch and his EQ tips and tweak for your room your playing. Easiest is to buy his patches and presets and tweak those. Worth every penny.

[@ew6629]

@@kentbernard9842 I did sell the amp so no longer in my possession but thanks for help Kent.

[@ew6629]

@H Kay I did sell the amp already, even after the factory reset. Thanks though.

[@sl.is.google]

What a fantastic review guys, the world is a better place after watching your video 👍🎸 🎼 🌍🚀🌞🙏

[@Tolbiny]

Great stuff, really helpful and enjoyable. Thanks very much.

[@thomasvernier8506]

Thank you gentlemen! You made my day...thank you!

[@MrPaolo101]

A really good review... They are great fun, and I heartily agree with the fact that the master volume should be turned up. If your taking one out into battle it would be advisable to have the footswitch.

[@richardparker6279]

Neville Martin 'reviewed' a custom shop Les Paul a while back. He bought one himself (or was given it) and replaced the pickups with a one-off custom set wound by Tim Mills of Bare Knuckle. So he was saying 'This is a great guitar but, being a mere mortal, you can't have one'. Really useful that.

[@Blues-man.]

Very nice demo and explanation, you boys can play..

[@toneydavis9802]

I could settle in and just bask in the wonderful music you two can generate.

[@Имбирнаяпеченька-ю6ь]

Damn. Having gainy setting + booster and chorus = Brian May. That's what I wanted from this amp!

[@columbogaming9377]

Yup, plugged into the 100, the other day, in the shop. Even with a Strat... instantly got into the Dr. May's ballpark, heck even beyond the ballpark.

[@stephenNN123]

What settings on the amp you use

[@misterknightowlandco]

Whether these are great amps or not idk, but i think there isn't an older person here who wouldn't have rather have had one of these than we all had to start on.

[@geoguitar1950]

Still no demo of the acoustic setting. Not sure if it's for use with an actual acoustic guitar or electric guitar made to sound like an acoustic.

[@Fox-86]

I remember being a bit disappointed with the mk1. Not that it was bad in itself, just that I found it too modern sounding. It might seem absurd but I could get some nice Zeppelin tones with my roland microcube but not with the 50 watt katana. And I was able to try it for a few days as it was my friend's who had lent it to me. So I'm not talking about a quick 15 minute test drive in a shop. Wonder if this is the same.

[@masoncusack]

Fantastic review guys, thanks.

[@sheen4dean71]

Love Richard's Knagg. Beautiful

[@capitanvonchickenpants8492]

They are right about the feel, no difference between my JVM and Katana

[@deanlunn1969]

No offence but if you cant tell the diffrence between a Digital Katana and JVM Valve amp it ain't set right. Katana amps are cracking for jam nights but when I'm gigging want my Marshall behind me.

[@deathmwauthzyx3537]

Will this make a good metal amp for practice (solo/with band) or for small gigs? More newer style metals than 80s or hair for reference. I was also thinking of going Fishman modern pickups with a Schecter c-1 SLS elite or a Schecter c-1 SLS elite Evil Twin model guitar to pair with it. What do you think of that setup?

[@kidcrotchet]

Really the best Katana Review! Love it! Greets

[@SlowToe]

Thanks lads 👍🏼

[@paulgillings8943]

Great review thanks, do you know how they sound when you run a backing track through it and play over the top please?

[@lordPix3lUK]

Are these loud enough to have band practice with?

[@edwinmartinez9787]

Boss should pay these guy or hired them best I ever seen

[@MississippiDave]

I have now heard conflicting information about the Master versus the Volume ....On one review they say Boss has advised to turn Volume all the way and balance it out from there. On this one you say Boss advised to crank the Master full up... Which one is correct? (Great review by the way!)

[@nickguzman1734]

Boss advised to adjust the master and leave the volume full

[@hashmark13]

Are patches we made for the regular Katana 100 compatible with these new Mark ii Katanas?

[@Padlockigami]

I believe they are, yes

[@whatwouldhousedo5136]

Yes, but not the other way around. You can't load Mark ll patches into the original.

[@favoriteblueshirt]

A WEEN mode 4:05 ! Excellent.

[@JohnWDGTandTele]

Not sure if you mentioned it, but what kind of mic are you using?

[@telestrat1926]

They look like the sE Electronics R1’s

[@Pulse2AM]

You guys should have vintage wool suits and ascots on sipping a tea, so proper. :)

[@coehorst1]

In the last video of the mk1 they said the recommended setting was channel volume full open and the master volume at taste. Now with the mk2, it's channel volume at taste and the master volume full open.....I'm confused!!

[@capitanvonchickenpants8492]

I always set my master volume flat out on my valve amps then control the volume with the channel volumes

[@dongdong8933]

When will be the mk 3 released?

[@alwilliams1997]

when are the new Soldano amps coming in?

[@alanwalker3794]

why wont they answer about the volume vs master volume are we supposed to guess?

[@PJCobi]

I played one today because I was curious to see how they sounded. A lot of fun...and I bet tweaking the software, you could get some really nice tones. It’s a good bang for your buck.

[@gainbear8853]

Is the Tone Lounge getting smaller?

[@wanmorgan]

Great review thanks.. Does anyone know how switch through banks A & B on the effects section ?

[@bobbylee7320]

Please do a Fender Tonemaster review.

[@Matthew_Scan]

Best solid state / modeller around although the Fender tonemasters are very good but not as versatile

[@kubatrolski5450]

I can't decide between Katana and Marshall Code

[@adhaskym.a9536]

They don't go to Stupid mode.....I like that.

[@whatismyname8483]

What are the chances that the variation switch for the amp models is just a bright switch? Lol

[@supernoobsmith5718]

The 50watt version incompatible with the big GA-FC footswitch. That's a massive fail. Defeats the entire purpose why I wanted it.

[@getenlightened]

That and no effects loop. That's a major disappointment. They should have included both features, even if the price went up a little.

[@evodefrane63]

Can’t see what you are doing to the amp

[@paulspencer3624]

I have the solid state one and it's sounds exactly the same!!!

[@benedekgabor.]

This is solid state too. What are you talking about?

[@basslinger]

17:00 no stupid mode, I'm not interested then!

[@stevepierce5472]

I can hear splodgy ill defined bass tones,,, not for me!

[@dyingsuneffects3193]

The sentiments of the reviewers are betrayed by their use of such terms as in: "it does feel as though you're playing through a _proper_ amplifier." [1:19] And, honestly, I can't blame them. It sounds okay. It's not as horrible as a 90s-era Line6 whatever, but... meh. It's always kinda funny/painful to watch people who obviously care about guitars and tone reviewing solid-state and modeling amps. Kudos to the always-amazing Guitarist editors for maintaining their composure and professionalism throughout. :-)

[@BrandochGarage]

purdy...

[@maestropatron]

Guys great presentation but a little bit of more energy please!

[@fernandes5986]

I understand that boss went to a lot R&D work to make this amps appealing to tube amp lovers, but to me they still sound digital. Just make a A/B with any tube amp and LISTEN.

[@fernandes5986]

@H Kay I have tried one and I don't buy it but I agree that a broadening of choice is a luxury.

[@MrBossei]

Not convinced. Sounds fizzy...

[@omarqabbani27]

Hey Bosse, it’s me from 2 days ago on your video’s comments. I see this comment is 11 months ago and you used the katana 2 years ago and 6 months ago in your videos and you recommended katana to me (thanks for that). If you don’t mind me asking, what was the issue when you commented this?

[@MrBossei]

@@omarqabbani27 Hello again Omar! I had version 1 two years ago and when I saw this video it did not convince me that this version 2 was better. In the video I thought it sounded a bit fizzy. Later I bought the version 2 and it is better than version 1. Maybe its because the guitars used here is very bright? I still think it sounds a bit fizzy in this video 😊

[@omarqabbani27]

@@MrBossei I’m not sure but I think it has to do with the distant mics they’re using, anyways, great amps despite people mocking them in they comments, they compare them to tube amps and forget what they offer for the price

[@MrBossei]

@@omarqabbani27 They are great and I have friends who sold their tube amps and uses Katana instead. But if you want to go for a tube amp this one is really great and at the same price as Katana. In fact I think its better than Blues Junior. www.thomann.de/se/harley_benton_tube15_celestion.htm

[@omarqabbani27]

@@MrBosseiI don’t know why when I think low to mid range tube I always think fender/marshal. I’ve got a friends who praises his Laney amp and people also mentioned how great this Harley Benton, But...I’ll be more than fine with the katana, even more than I’ll need for a long time, no need for tube, got no pedals anyways😅

[@sidrussell8587]

Turn the gain down!

[@Nikoo033]

Sid Russell depends. I keep mine at 12:00 o’clock for clean 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@jdl2180]

I don't care what anybody says they Sounds like crap!

[@carlhardwickofficial]

The sound of bacon frying....fizzy in the distortion settings. Brittle in the clean settings. Definitely the Emperor's New Clothes. I don't get how others like how the Katana sounds.

[@Gueli]

Agree! The hype around this amps seems ridiculous to me

[@jdl2180]

@H Kay they might sound great but they don't sound good in this video, and I don't know why anyone other then a beginner would use anything but a tube amp.

[@richardparker6279]

Terrible amps - utter garbage. I have the 50w combo and it's the worst amp I've owned in 45 years of playing.

[@richardparker6279]

@@a.i799 Possibly, but it's still the worst amp I've owned in 45 years of playing.

[@Matthew_Scan]

You haven’t owned a Ashdown

[@KevinToine]

Why?

[@richardparker6279]

@@KevinToine Hi Kevin, I've had another crack at the Katana and am getting some pretty good sounds with the Brown setting with the gain set really low - around 8 o'clock. I still think the EQ is really weird. All controls have to be kept very low or it's unbearably fizzy and harsh. Punch Dave Simpson into KZbin and look at his suggested settings.

[@richardparker6279]

@H Kay Elaborate.