Boss Katana Review- Initial Thoughts

I picked this amp up from my friends at Guitar Brothers in Brisbane, if you are around the area I would highly recommend that you get out to Red Hill to see them. They have a great range of products and really know their stuff. The Boss Katana range has had a ton of positive press recently and I was in the market for a new practice amp, so I thought why not. I bought the Boss Katana 50 Watt, if you want one of these I would suggest that you get in quick as they are in very high demand at the moment and more than likely you will be placed on a wait list for a little while until more stock comes in..But they are definitely worth it.

I will do a full review a little down the track, but this amp packs serious punch, but also has the ability to play at low volumes and retain great sound. I have played both a Gibson LP Studio and a Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar through the amp, and both the single coils and humbuckers play beautifully through it. There are 5 amp selections to start with – Clean, Acoustic, Lead, Crunch and Brown, which give a great amount of choices, however there are also more within the Tone Studio when you get around to downloading that.

A few questions that I thought I would answer:

Is the Boss Katana good for bedroom use?

Yep – the 50 Watt on the 0.5W setting is fine for bedroom playing. There is both a Master and Amp volume which can be manipulated to get great low volume sound. Also, there is a headphone jack on the backside of the amp, which is even more useful for the bedroom player.

Boss Katana lead – where is it?

No idea..Unfortunately, there is no USB lead in the box for the Katana. The lead that you are going to need is a Standard USB-A to a Standard USB-B connection. This is a relatively unused type of lead (think printers for the B connection). It looks like they are relatively easy to find on Ebay and Amazon, a little annoying that it’s not included in the box though.

Is the Tone Studio easy to use? 

No idea, I have to go out and find a lead before I can use it…I am hearing murmurs though that there may be an unoffical Android version out there for the amp, obviously will have to have a different lead for that, but this could be great for people who are looking to make changes on the go.

Boss Katana or Fender Mustang GT?

Well, I haven’t used the Mustang GT as yet, however the reviews seem to be well and truly favouring the Katana. From what I have heard the Mustangs are a little tinny sounding and have some user interface issues. Also, at the 40w power, the Mustang (with 2x6in speakers) is well under the power of the Katana with 1x12in. The ability to use the Mustang with Bluetooth is a massive advantage, however that doesn’t beat out sound. So, from the demos that I have seen (especially from non-affiliated reviewers) the Katana is head and shoulders above the Mustang.