Boss Katana 100 watt 212

  • I think an important point though from people on this forums perspective is how does it sound with the Kemper through it though, not how it sounds by itself - apart from as an interesting comparison. Using it as a personal monitor with the Kemper main out to a pa could be really good if it also then can be used as a decent backup too. I use a dxr10 at the mo, which is great, but I have no real backup if the Kemper craps out.

    Yes, that's a very valid point, and actually why I initially had interest in it ...

    Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. - Wayne Dyer

  • I just like messing with things, tonight i tried putting the Katana in acoustic mode, put some music through it, used the Katanas parametric eq to get it sounding roughly the way i like it. Setup a Britt Marshall, monitor out(cabs on) - into the front of the Katana, used the Katana blues driver and had a really nice tone going. I was on .5 watt, tomorrow with fresh ears i'll bump the wattage up :)
    I know a lot of you guys will be scratchin' your heads at this, but it is fun

  • So,I got the Boss Katana 100 head and all I can say is wow...
    It sounds fantastic and the price is ridiculously cheap.
    I've tried it through a 1X12 cab loaded with a Celestion V70 (very smooth top end), a Celestian C90 and a Wherehouse G12C (A jenson 12c clone)
    All speakers sounded very different of course but all were great.
    I settled on the V70 for now....
    My acoustic Nylon string Godin Grand Concert sounds amazing for not being a full range cabinet.
    Then I tried using it as a power amp for the Kemper running the monitor out (cab off) into the effects return was was blown away.
    Turning the cab off on the Kemper is interesting because you're not coloring the tone with speaker into another speaker.
    The rigs will sound quite different than what you expect.
    Most of the Micheal Britt profiles are just incredible and very different than using the cab on.
    It's just another way to run the Kemper...
    For local gigs I'm using the Katana as a second amp along with my Mesa Lonestar Special running in stereo (ala Andy Timmons)
    Out of the Mesa effects loop into a Eventide/Strymon back into to the Mesa right side, left side into the Katana effects return.
    So, that means I'm using the Mesa Lonestar Special preamp as the tone for both amps.
    It's killer!
    What a great investment.


    btw, the Kemper is my fly rig and studio tool...
    But I wouldn't mind using 2 Katana amps with the Kemper brain for local gigs.
    At this price maybe I'll but another one...

  • I also ordered a Katana combo with one 12" speaker. Frankly speaking I have NEVER seen any other amp at this price point being that good --- and not only for the price.. The clean channel is big, fat and loud and one of the best jazz type of sound I ever heard. It takes also pedals very well and the built in effects by Boss (50!) are also very usable.. You can do a lot of nice things just with the clean channel. The other channels crunch, lead and brown provide a number of very dynamic and great sounding drive sounds from slight to heavy. There is no latency and in my opinion you can dial in sounds that are as good as any tube amp sounds in terms of feel, dynamics, sound impression and transparency.


    As a monitor for the KPA it also works incredibly well. The power amp is very stable and loud and makes the KPA shine.


    I have no idea how Boss is doing this but I am deeply impressed.


    Cheers Sacapuntas

  • Be sure there are some difference in the in/outs between de 50W and the 100W versions (extra send/return. midi etc.) and the are all mono.


    Otherwise for stereo the Blackstar ID Core100/150.


    Edited once, last by allright ().

  • Be sure there are some difference in the in/outs between de 50W and the 100W versions (extra send/return. midi etc.) and the are all mono.


    Otherwise for stereo the Blackstar ID Core100/150.



    it seems that the return is fed into a A/D....through the processor..then D/A to the power amp.
    It sounded great when i tried it in the shop, but avoiding an other a/d/d/a conversion should be better.
    Is there any info on how the aux in is routed to the power amp? All analog or also through the processor?

  • I finally received my Katana 100 Combo. Here are my first impressions. Keep in mind that I've only had a little more than an hour's experience with it.


    Nice build quality.
    Good clean model. I don't use much overdrive, so the crunch, lead, and brown settings are not for me. The clean model gets crunchy enough.
    I like the 4 preset channels, and the fact that the current front panel setting are retained after switching back from one of the 4 presets, giving 5 usable presets.
    I haven't checked out all the effects that are available yet.
    1/2 watt is friggin loud.


    I connected the KPA via the 1/8" aux connector. I found that I preferred leaving cabs on. The sound was smoother to my ear. I also found the Katana's speaker to be a bit harsh. I'm hoping that it will improve as it breaks in. My DXR10 is certainly less harsh.


    I need to spend some time with the amp, and get to know it better. I pretty much left the eq in the middle and simply used the default effects that are present. No doubt there are many adjustments that will improve the sound to my ears. Overall, I'm satisfied with it as a living room amp and a backup, and consider it a very good value. So far, though, the DXR10 is still my choice for monitor.

    Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. - Wayne Dyer