New Amp Day -- Boss Katana 100 Gen 3
- Thread starter weepingminotaur
- Start date
Phantasmagoria
watch where you point that sabre
Have fun. I have toyed w/ the ideo of getting a Katana for years (head), but somehow never got around to pulling the trigger. If you have any idea, how does this compare to earlier two models for heavier tones?
weepingminotaur
Well-known member
I haven't had a chance yet to really test it out, but I hope to cycle through some heavy tones tonight, so I'll definitely post my findings here.
Masta' C
New member
That's kind of a tough question to answer, but I know they upgraded the internal hardware, made significant tweaks to the tube logic, and refined some of the onboard amps, including the high-gain "Brown" amp channel. That and the "crunch" amp were my most commonly used amps when I had my Katanas.
The Gen 3 head and Artist head/combo models also add a "Bloom" function, which further increases dynamics somehow. There's also greater EQ control from what I understand. That can only be a good thing, though I never felt that the older models were particularly lacking in this way, especially the Mk2.
Sonically, I think the biggest limitation of the Katana is always the cab, not the electronics. The KTN-50 cab is small and boxy and its tone reflects that. I mean, it sounds great...until you compare it to one of its bigger brothers! The 50 "EX" version upgraded the speaker of the standard 50, but kept the same tiny cab, which I think was a mistake.
The slightly larger cabinet and upgraded speaker of the 100 model improves things greatly without adding too much weight/bulk over the regular 50. However, using a Katana head with a regular cab or opting for the top-end "Artist" combo with its bigger cab and upgraded Waza speaker makes a worthwhile difference in my experience, as long as portability isn't a priority.
The new Artist "head" doesn't really offer any significant benefits over the standard head aside from front-facing controls and it actually omits the internal practice speaker the regular head has. Most of the functional "features" being advertised for the Artist head are still accessible via the rear panel of the standard head or within the Tone Studio software.
If I was committed to a "combo", having owned an Artist in the past along with a mkI KTN-50 and mk2 KTN-100, I would definitely hold out for a deal on the Artist gen 3 combo. That said, I've grown to appreciate the flexibility and future-proofing of having separate heads and cabs.
80's_Metal
Underglazed Hair Metalologist
Congrats! I found the biggest difference to be the addition of the concentric knobs.
Great amps indeed!
IIRC I really liked the guv'nor pedal for the heavy tones.
You can spend hours and hours dinking with the software....
I had a mk1 combo, a MK2 combo, and the MK2 100w head as well. I agree it sounds so much better through a proper cabinet. I think all amps do.
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weepingminotaur
Well-known member
Some preliminary thoughts after a few days of playing through the Katana 100 Gen 3.
The difference in tonal quality from my Katana 50 Gen 1 is substantial. Everything on every channel sounds more vibrant, more responsive, and just generally more organic. My spouse, who doesn’t play guitar, said that everything sounds nicer and less harsh.
There’s an openness to the sound that probably reflects the roomier 100-watt back.
It’s so nice to have the updated Tone Studio with the fuller range of options available. No more having to set a cab resonance globally — I can actually set it per channel. Having said that, the Vintage resonance is so clearly superior to my ears that I’m not sure I’ll ever have any channel on anything else!
Variation button ahoy. Again, you MK2 users already had this, but for me, it’s a secret of fire moment. For metal applications, this setting really adds the extra grit and bite that I need for them chugs.
The contour control, which offers you multiple preset colours, for lack of a better word, to apply to your sound, is interesting, and I’ll need to play around with it more. There is built-in instruction in TS about which is suitable for what (one contour is better for chording and rhythm, one works nicer for solos, etc.), but I don’t have a solid feel yet. I did use it to get the final piece of a usable funk tone.
The new pushed voicing joins the existing crew of brown, lead, crunch, clean, and acoustic. Reviews for it have been extremely positive, with many saying that it’s the best aspect of the Gen 3 line. I want to like it a lot — I want a nice edge-of-breakup tone as much as anyone — but I haven’t dialled it in yet. Will post here when I have.
The “sparkling clean” out-of-the-box preset is very nice and usable. I’ve tweaked and kept that one.
I think the crunch voicing has improved a lot in overall tone. For reference, I found the crunch voicing borderline unusable on my old Katana; now, I’m coming around. The clean sounds great, but it was always the best voicing on the Katana.
To me, getting a good metal tone on the Katana demands a few things. One, the right booster so you can mix the voice dirt with another kind of dirt. I’m an old-school TS kind of guy, and I like my mids, but there are tons of options as always. Two, some kind of EQ, whether parametric or graphic, to cut out the unwanted bass frequencies and make that low-mid gain less flubby.
Overall, I’m really happy with the purchase, and I’ve barely scratched the surface of what I can do.
The difference in tonal quality from my Katana 50 Gen 1 is substantial. Everything on every channel sounds more vibrant, more responsive, and just generally more organic. My spouse, who doesn’t play guitar, said that everything sounds nicer and less harsh.
There’s an openness to the sound that probably reflects the roomier 100-watt back.
It’s so nice to have the updated Tone Studio with the fuller range of options available. No more having to set a cab resonance globally — I can actually set it per channel. Having said that, the Vintage resonance is so clearly superior to my ears that I’m not sure I’ll ever have any channel on anything else!
Variation button ahoy. Again, you MK2 users already had this, but for me, it’s a secret of fire moment. For metal applications, this setting really adds the extra grit and bite that I need for them chugs.
The contour control, which offers you multiple preset colours, for lack of a better word, to apply to your sound, is interesting, and I’ll need to play around with it more. There is built-in instruction in TS about which is suitable for what (one contour is better for chording and rhythm, one works nicer for solos, etc.), but I don’t have a solid feel yet. I did use it to get the final piece of a usable funk tone.
The new pushed voicing joins the existing crew of brown, lead, crunch, clean, and acoustic. Reviews for it have been extremely positive, with many saying that it’s the best aspect of the Gen 3 line. I want to like it a lot — I want a nice edge-of-breakup tone as much as anyone — but I haven’t dialled it in yet. Will post here when I have.
The “sparkling clean” out-of-the-box preset is very nice and usable. I’ve tweaked and kept that one.
I think the crunch voicing has improved a lot in overall tone. For reference, I found the crunch voicing borderline unusable on my old Katana; now, I’m coming around. The clean sounds great, but it was always the best voicing on the Katana.
To me, getting a good metal tone on the Katana demands a few things. One, the right booster so you can mix the voice dirt with another kind of dirt. I’m an old-school TS kind of guy, and I like my mids, but there are tons of options as always. Two, some kind of EQ, whether parametric or graphic, to cut out the unwanted bass frequencies and make that low-mid gain less flubby.
Overall, I’m really happy with the purchase, and I’ve barely scratched the surface of what I can do.
weepingminotaur
Well-known member
"light, loud, and portable" is absolutely a strength of the 50w version. The 100w isn't anvil-heavy but it's not quite as grab and go. And that 50 can get pretty loud, even on the half-watt setting. Had no trouble being heard at past jams even when the other guitarist was playing into a trad head + 2x12 cab setup.
weepingminotaur
Well-known member
The clean sound has more sparkle and transparency, for sure. It was always good but it's even better now, whether you're going clean for real or using the channel as a platform for dirt. It sounds more organic and less digital.
You can actually edit things wirelessly on a phone, at least (maybe also a tablet), but you need an extra pricey Bluetooth dongle to make that happen. Definitely one of the minuses in the whole Gen 3 line. Like, gosh, Bluetooth is so standard these days but you're gonna make us pay for a dongle? Do better, Boss.
A few new features:
You can set the mic placement and type for amp out in the global settings, which seems pretty neat. I haven't fooled around with it too much yet but I might do that tonight.
The line out connection is now stereo, which is great if for example you're practicing with headphones at night.
You can choose to have global EQ enabled for specific channels, in addition to the usual EQ options you have in the channel.
donaldr
New member
You can get a 5m usb-b to usb-c cable and use Katana Librarian on your tablet/phone. Not wireless but a single cable is not such a pita.
weepingminotaur
Well-known member
Yes, although with the Gen 3 models it would be c to c (no more b connectivity).
Honestly, I didn't know that...you think a 2nd Gen would work with a USB/Lightning dongle?
weepingminotaur
Well-known member
Don't see why it wouldn't. I was using a B-to-C dongle to plug my Katana 50 Gen 1 into my Macbook. As long as the lightning part fits your cell and the USB side corresponds to the port on your Katana (B or C), you should be good to go.
I guess I will add a usb to lightning dongle to my Amazon order.