NAD - Boss Katana 50 mkII

ginormous

ginormous

Understatmentologist
My rusty, trusty 1999 Fender Princeton 65 (the solid state PR-410 model) finally went the way of all things back a few months ago, pre-COVID.
It sounded "Fender-y" enough -- clean as soap, good overdrive, good with pedals -- but it was all surface-mount pots, with plastic quarter-inch jacks. Trouble from the get-go; the clean channel bit it during a bar gig. Hasn't made a sound since. (I had to finish the night with a direct box through the PA. Ugh.)
I babied it as best as I could, but 21 years of gigs and practices will take down all but the most durable designs. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did.

What to do? I needed an amp that wouldn't kill my wallet, go the distance, and still sound good enough to record and gig with.
Not enough in the budget for a tube amp, and having been the father of a few already, finding matched sets of pre's and power amp tubes are a royal pain.
(Don't get me started on speakers... yeesh!)

Having stepped on my Boss ME-50 for years now (many thanks to Gearjoneser for that hookup!), with nothing worse to show than needing a solder repair for the wall wart, I figured I'd give this one a go.
I watched the videos, read the reviews, and listened to the shootouts.
Finally pulled the trigger just before my birthday... not in time to unwrap it on the actual day, but it just showed up at my door a few minutes ago.
I'll jam with it a bit, and give you my impressions.
 
That looks like a pretty sweet little amp for surprisingly little moola. Will be waiting for your long term review.
 
The more I look at this, the better of a value that Katana is. I have the GT-001 desktop unit that uses the same BOSS Tone Studio modeling software. Mine was 30% more, and lacks the cabinet, amp, and speaker. I think you got a sweet deal.

The good news is, I should be able to dial in the Katana tones, since we share the same software. It will be interesting to see. Hope you get to do a review soon.
 
I've only read great reviews of these amps. It has been awhile since Roland hit a home run with their amps.
 
Can't beat em for the coin. I think they are great great amps to practice with. Same think with the Spark. Amazing what is coming out for the price these days.
 
Jealous! Have heard consistently great things about the Katanas, so looking forward to your feedback once you've had a chance to dig in

Sent from my SM-N986W using Tapatalk
 
I have one, good little amp for the money. Will not replace a boutique tube amp, but not the same price bracket either.
If you have an Android phone/tablet, I suggest Katana Librarian instead of Boss Tone Studio, way easier to edit. I have an old Tablet sitting on top of the amp so I have access to all the controls, options and presets at finger tips.
Playing with the Global EQ is a must.
 
I have an older Katana 50. Insanely good value for the money. Once you get into Tone Studio, you have got a world of options at your fingertips.
 
I bought something on ebay a few weeks ago, and it arrived in a Boss Katana 50 MkII box. Apparently the seller was a guitar player.

So now I have a Katana box but no Katana. Great.
 
Top-L said:
I bought something on ebay a few weeks ago, and it arrived in a Boss Katana 50 MkII box. Apparently the seller was a guitar player.

So now I have a Katana box but no Katana. Great.
Click to expand...

It probably got your hopes up when it arrived, though!
 
TMD said:
I went shopping for a new modeling amp back in spring. I didn’t consider the Katana line because I wanted something that was fully functional without a computer. Now that I have that, I think I’d get a kick out of the Katana’s flexibility.
Click to expand...
You probably could. And eventually won't be able to resist the pull.
Let us know how it sounds when you get it.

Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk
 
Bought one for my son and it’s been great for him. Got a buddy to get one for his first amp and he digs it too

Really fine amps
 
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