Boss Katana 100 - 100-watt 1x12" Guitar Combo Amp Reviews

I use this amp with just the return for my line 6 helix. It’s great for any occasion. And Dennis Konicki has always been a great sales guy! Always pleased when dealing with Sweetwater

I do a solo act. I sing and play with backing tracks and gig 4 nights a week.I bought this because of all the positive reviews and the price was on point. I do over 2000 songs, classic rock, Oldies Blues and country (new and old) I just bought the new Variax and this amp is the perfect compliment to it. Being able to switch from Electric guitar sounds to acoustic without changing amps is a godsend. This amp makes every guitar sample in my variax sound amazing. And being able to go direct into the pa and getting a good blend between the live amp and emulated direct out is awesome.

Been a tube amp guy, been using a familiar name brand for many years but with periodic tube issues requiring service not to mention lifting 45lbs now only 25lbs and the sound difference is negligible, I use a Boss ME 80 which is very compatible with the amp, I am very happy with my decision to make the switch

I love this little Amp. I am not using it for live performances so I can't speak to it's ability in that setting, but it sounds great for practicing, and recording. The effects sound good, and I love the acoustic setting. I have used it extensively since I bought it. The lead and crunch settings are pretty good for a solid state amp (not as good as the real thing) but still pretty darn good. I would highly recommend it for anyone who wants a versatile, affordable, mobile amp. Thanks as always to my sales engineer Rob Kramer for helping me get the gear I need to pursue my musical interests.

The Katana amp line is awesome! I have the Katana 100, it is not just a practice amp. I can take it to a gig with just my AXE and not worry about a bunch of other stuff to carry. I get all the tones l need and not the weight of My tube amp.

I don't know why this is so different than the Katana 50 playing at 50w, but it just is. It's big, rich and loud. The 50 is like a wimpy tin can.

Love the 100. I play it in parallel with a 12" Mesa tube combo from the 90s and the richness I get from the complimentary amps is unlike anything I've been able to produce before. If you've never tried dual amping before, you're missing out. And the K100 is a great, affordable option.

I have 35 years playing guitar.And have a lot of vintage and new tube amps and expensive!!I Bought the Katana and the low price really scare me (To good to be true).But I can tell is one of the best buys I make in years....Just go for it!!

This combo was actually my second choice. I am a die-hard loyal customer of another well-know brand. I purchased the other brand first, but it failed right out of the box. Sweetwater offered an immediate exchange, but my research revealed something I was previously unaware of... the failure was a well documented issue, so I elected to go with the Katana. The reviews and videos for this amp are really good, but they do not do it justice! This thing sounds AMAZING!!!! I have used it inside and outside and it has enough power to rip your head off, but still subtle enough to play inside a small coffee shop. The tone is crisp and clean, no distortion at high volume (unless you want it), and undoubtedly, the best amp I have purchased to date! The small compact design is light and attractive. The only thing I would suggest adding is a cover to protect it in transport and an amp stand for leaning it back. The built in solution is a joke. It only tilts the amp back about an inch and isn't very sturdy, which does absolutely nothing for me... so that's not really a credible feature of the amp. Other than that, it was an awesome purchase from my awesome Sweetwater retailer!!!

I saw these at NAMM and tested them out, talked to their reps and was impressed. I gig with a Mesa Boogie combo, F-50, 1X12. It has the tones I want, is reliable and at 55 lbs is a bit heavy for some situations. I didn't have an equivalent combo back up either, so I decided to try the Katana line. Got the 50 watt and immediately realized the 100 watts was the way to go so I traded back and up and at 32 lbs it's a great amp. I usb'd, downloaded their software and use that to set up my channels, effects, etc. Very easy once you get going and the interface was familiar to others I've used. Expect to spend some time tweaking and working with the amp selections and controls. There are also several YouTube videos you can watch to get started. It's a nice package overall.

Few things I found -
-I ended up rolling the bass up 3/4 and above, and rolling the treble down about mid-levels, and used the mid-range control to shape the sound. It warms up quite a bit with more bass.
-The 3 levels of attenuation are a great feature - for my taste I use less reverb and echo at all levels, in order to keep presence. The Boss effects are great and since they include them I used them to set my basic sound but I ended up dialing it down a little bit from what I started with.
-The back is open with a small footer along the bottom - my amp stand back supports don't quite have enough to make it feel solid in the stand, so I made adjustments in the amp stand. I'd like to see a support bar added across the back to give additional support.

I'd recently tested and demo'd a lot of amps, including the Quilter line and a lot of the usual suspects. Quilter particularly has a lot to offer but lacks a bit of oomph for my taste, whereas the Katana's have a bit more of that to my ear and re about a 1/3 the price. Opinions will differ, but now that I've gigged a few times with the Katana I'm giving it 5 stars, it's a keeper.

This amp is fantastic. It's nothing like most modeling amps, the tone sounds real, not cheap and digital. With the boss tone studio and the ability to share patches, I've barely scratched the surface. Unfortunately where I live I haven't been able to turn it up past .5 watts but it's already loud. I just want to Mention that Sweetwater surprised me when an actual person called me to confirm my order and then again to make sure I was happy with it. I've never experienced customer service on such a high level. They are fantastic.

What an amazing amp hands down best on the market in this price range.

I bought this at Sweetwater"s competitor (rhymes with "sitar enter") before I learned that I should only buy things through Sweetwater. Having said that, I had to review this amp and give it the 5 starts it deserves. It is LOUD if you want it to be. Sounds great. Relatively inexpensive, so you get a good bang for your buck. I am not the biggest fan of the gain/distortion options though. I use a Boss ME-80 with it, which offers way more options and gives you more of a metal sound (amongst many other sound options) and that"s all I need. No more pedal or amp shopping for me..... for now.

I have had this amp about 2 yrs and I think this is my 3rd review. I have gigged, recorded, played through the house and I love this amp more than any amp I have ever owned! You can't go wrong!

Again, the customer service at Sweetwater, and especially Ryan's follow through is superb. Now to this killer amp. I was always a solid state guy, and once had a Roland JC120...also 100 watts. This amp is remarkable, will have no problem gigging with this amp. Plus the choices in recording from the amp is very appealing. In my house, set 1/2 watt, can still make it feedback, and has all kinds of headroom. Stuff from big companies such as Boss and others, there is never that big of a price difference, but I will always go back to Sweetwater just for the service and thoughtfulness of everyone involved. Now just waiting anxiously for my Ovation Mandolin to get here!

I have nothing negative to say about this amp. I have the version 2, and it"s awesome straight out of the box. I will update this review as soon as I do the version 3 upgrade. Buy this amp!!! You won"t be sorry!!!

I"ve been using a Fender Hotrod Deluxe user for decades. We got a Katana 50 for my wife to use with her St Vincent guitar and I was so impressed I ordered the 100. The electric guitar presets are all great and the acoustic preset is icing on the cake. This amp is as versatile and good sounding as any non-tube amp I"ve heard. Lots lighter than the Fender at a way lower cost. Highly recommend.

This amp is better then I expected. Put a looper with it and i can't stop playing!. Its light and looks great ,
well built and very EASY to use with sweat warm tones. With the tone editor I just tried a few on line found some I love and loaded them onto the amp. With eight choices and the touch of my foot ( I bought the pedal) Its all the tone I need. I have a Mustang and i was always tasting knobs to get the tone. I have a Marshall Tube and its a bit heavey and I don't get the response I like unless I turn it up.TOO loud in my small space. The Katana is a solution. Both loud and quiet and it sounds as good as my Marshall to me...better even. Thank you Boss and Sweetwater...

So I am mainly an acoustic player but I play my MIJ 1962 Reissue Stratocaster (circa 1992) mainly to blues tracks etc at home. So I'm not SRV, but I don't completely suck either. More importantly, I know what good tone is. Over the years I have owned many tube amps (Fender Deluxe Reverb, Blues Deluxe, Princeton Reverb (10 in), Mesa Boogie, Bugera V22, Blackstar Artist 15, and finally a Limited Edition Princeton Reverb with 12in speaker and pine cabinet. They have all been fine amps especially the last one. Great amp and perfect pedal platform.

However, I'm sort of an audiophile and don't like noisy amps. I know there is inherent noise in tube amps (some more than others), but when you are not gigging and playing at home at low-mid volume, noise is a factor. I also play clean or edge of breakup AND I do not have a pedal board, just one OD.

So I viewed all the reviews on the Boss Katana series from very respected players on Youtube. Guys and gals who have infinitely more chops than I have. I was attracted to the tone, simplicity and the fact that it also has a legitimate acoustic pre-amp channel (not just a simulator). So I took the plunge and bought the Boss Katana 100 1x12. A solid state amp. OH.MY.GOSH.! It is dead quiet and the tone....WOW. It goes from crystal cleans to high-gain very, very well. I got great clean, edge of break up, and crunch tones in minutes. I don't do any high-gain stuff but I can tell you it sounds very legit to Mesa Boogie and Marshall tones. No need to hook up to a computer (unless you want to). I also bought the GA-FC Foot Controller which gives you up to 8 amp presets, each with the capability to switch on/off various effects / OD's / Mod / Reverb etc. I now have my "pedal board"!

Then I thought - what the heck - let's download the Tone Studio software and hook it up. I watched a short YT video on the software and it looked fairly straight forward, but I braced myself for a long day of frustration because I have some familiarity of doing this with a Line 6 Pod X3 Live I used to have. It was great but the learning curve was steep on that device. Not so with the Katana and Tone Studio. Within less than 2 hours I was done setting up 8 usable presets based upon different amp models with different effects. There are a ton of original Boss effects, delays, OD's, compressor, reverbs, etc. I swear I dialed in a Princeton Reverb patch that is as good as the two PRRI I owned. I know that sounds crazy but it's the truth. Plus - I was able to add various effects and access them from the GA-FC without a huge pedal board. From a ROI perspective, there is probably at least $2000 worth of pedals included in the amp and they are all VERY legit.

Oh - and this thing has .5 watt, 50 watt, and 100 watt modes. And it gets LOUD. I'm also a drummer and this amp would punish a drummer for sure.

The Acoustic Channel is incredible too! It has global EQ with deep para-metric EQ, plus there is a parametric eq pedal with Q. This makes a HUGE difference for dialing in a great acoustic tone. I dialed in a great acoustic tone with effect options for reverb, chorus, delay and compression. It doesn't sound like an electric amp trying to be an acoustic amp, it sounds like a true acoustic amp. I'm not sure how they are doing this with out a tweeter but there is plenty of "air" in the acoustic tone. Warm and sweet. Works perfectly with my Taylor 512e.

Ok - I think you get it - I'm a fan. If you think you can get tube tone only from a quality tube amp - think again. Now I see what all the hype about the Boss Katana is - it is true. If you want to buy a tube amp - no problem - I love tube amps, but for me, I was done with the maintenance of tubes and inherent noise. And I was not looking to invest $$$ in a pedal board. The Boss Katana checked all the boxes of tone, flexibility, reliability, low noise, effects, and price....and then some. I could not be more pleased.

This is the perfect amp regardless of genre and whether you are an acoustic or electric player.

I was strictly a tube guy before this purchase. Unbelievable. It can do it all. All the presets and effects sound great. This easily could have been $999...

Never had a tube amp but feel like I do now!

This amp is an incredible step up from my older solid state amp in regards to sweetness of sound and programmable options. Went with the 100 Watt Katana for the Line Out jack and I/O options. This thing is helping me advance in my playing and it was well worth the price.

Shipper damaged the amp during transit but Sweetwater made it right without hesitation. Very glad I bought from Sweetwater.

Have been really impressed with this amp. I mostly use the 50w setting, which has plenty of bite and is loud enough to hang with a drum set. I also have really enjoyed the .5w setting for practicing. The 100w is really beyond what I need, but the additional features make it worth it; especially with a ga-fc footswitch. The sound is great, and has a lot of versatility. I mostly use the clean and lead or brown channels, and I'd say the clean tone is the best I've ever been able to achieve. The high gain settings are far better than my previous amp, which was an old Randall. I've played through a lot of amps and the only ones that impressed me more were a dsl and an old 5150, but they were nowhere near as good of a deal. As a bonus the effects and tone studio really help you create the sound you're looking for. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a versatile combo amp that doesn't want to sacrifice tone.

Ive owned numerous tube amps from Mesa to current amp is a 6505+ after few back surgeries it made it tough to haul around a heavy amp enter the katana 100 I was skeptical at first but after seeing some reviews from trusted players I follow I pulled the trigger and wow what a little beast great tone that acts like tube will easily keep up with full band and at 32 pounds very easy for me to haul around do yourself a favor and try one out you won"t be diss appointed

First of all I will say that I was strictly a tube guy and I would never even think of switching to a solid state but after playing this I must say I was impressed I am a tone snob and this amp was not only a remarkable price but the sounds are so good shockingly good.
I still love my tube amp but compare a 75 to 100lb amp this amp is lightweight and loud ,gig playing loud no problem at all.
I would highly recommend this for beginners or pros .
Good job Boss

I bought the Boss Katana because my previous amp died and I needed good tone on a budget. I need a versatile amp for the theatre gigs I play and the Boss Katana has been able to dial in any tone I need.

The computer software for the amp can be a little confusing at first but with playing with it a bit you can adjust almost anything to the specs you need. I will say I do wish I could assign specific pedal knobs to the optional expression pedal such as phaser or univibe speed. I also wish there was an easier way to activate the Noise Gate rather than having to use the software to activate it.

I think the Katana really comes into it's own when you add the GA-FC foot controller as it puts 4 pre-made amp channels plus the settings on the amps panel right there at your feet. Plug a Boss FS-5U in the footswitches FX or Volume jack and now you have a footswitch dedicated to switch from Bank A to bank B and up now have access to 9 channels on your amp at your feet (Yes you can switch the banks on the amps panel and on the GA-FC itself but adding the FS-5U was a lot more convenient option to me than holding the panel switch for a small amount of time).

Simply put, this is the best amp for the price...by far! Great tone. Lots of options. Programmable, too. Eliminates the need for many pedals. Sturdy and reliable. At this price, everyone should have one in their arsenal. Highly recommend.

I have play pedal steel guitar for well over 30 years and have always used the Peavey steel guitar amp. I have a Peavey Sessions 400 and trying to haul that around is rough. I found out about the Boss Katana from a friend of mine and started researching it. From what I read and heard of it, this was exactly what I needed. First the sound of the amp is great. I was blown away by how good it sounds. The tonal quality is right there was the Peavey's. Second, it's so light to carry around and that helps out so great. Third, I really like being to program the amp to the different sounds I want to use and I don't have to buy all the different sounds I might want. Once you program it, just push the button for the sound you have programed. Fourth, I like the different power levels you have to choose from. Fifth, the price is great! I highly recommend this amp and you won't be disappointed. And as always Sweetwater got the amp to me asap.

I'll admit when I first got it, the clean was amazing and the distortion was ~good~ with a few limitations (see also operator error on my part)... I downloaded the software, watched some YouTube videos, dialed in the knobs a little, and I'm absolutely in love with this amp. (I'd recommend the factory crunch with the Blues Driver pedal that comes in the 55 built-in pedals. Trust me. Sounds amazing!) It's plenty loud enough to keep up with a drummer and gig live with. Whether you're used to an amp with a pedalboard or are into modeling amplifiers, the Boss Katana is the perfect amp. (Side note: You'll want to spring for the optional controller pedal, though you don't *have* to. It's a smart addition.) I'm extremely picky about my tone, and Boss has totally outdone themselves with this one. Very very happy with this purchase.

My first amp. was a used Fender G-Dec 30. I have been learning to play for the past 5 years and I now own 4 guitars. I have been wanting to upgrade my amp. for a while and listened to lots of demos of all models within my price range. I herd a lot of great things about the Boss Katana so I called Greg Savino at Sweetwater and told him the amp. I was thinking about because I knew I could trust Greg to give me the scoop on my selection. I have bought 3 guitars and many other items from Greg at Sweetwater over the past 4 years and have been very happy with the service and products. The day that my new Boss Katana 100 1x12 arrived, I couldn't wait to get it up and running. Right out of the box I plugged it in and tried out my E.S.P. L.T.D. electric guitar on it. I set the amp on the clean setting with lots of reverb. I put the power setting on 50 Watts and started playing. Wow!!! ---What a sound. I never knew this guitar could sound so great. What a step up from my old amp. I am extremely happy with my purchase. This is a lot of beautiful sound for my money. Thank you Boss for an excellent product and thank you Greg Savino at Sweetwater for your great service.

I've been playing guitar and bass for about 30 years, and this was the first time that I was able to plug in, set the EQ, and jam away. It took literally 30 seconds to turn it on and set the EQ to my taste. No fuss, no back talk. Sounded great right out of the box. Easily keeps up while jamming with a full band. 50% volume in the 50 watt mode and you could hear it just fine with 4 other musicians playing. The tones from this thing are great. Very easy to program, and takes pedals through the front and in the effects loop without a problem. Anyone out there looking for a great all around amp for practice, jams, or gigging need go no further. I've literally put my tube amps away. Cant say enough about this amp. Great job to Boss and Roland, and special thanks to Kyle who helped with the order and gabbed with me about gear. You will not regret picking this up.

I was fortunate to have a friend recommend Tim Harrington @ sweetwater who was AWESOME !
we talked at first re what I have,play,etc. I told him I do have an electric acoustic Epiphone and purchased with the amp a new Gretsch g2622 he put together the package and the amp is crazy! good for electric and acoustic electric.i doubt I will ever need another amp.still trying to figure it all out though.reccomed highly Tim and amp and of course,sweetwater.

I first would like to thank Nick for all of his help in selecting this amp and also on the quality service that I received, ordered it one day and received it the very next.

This amp met all of my expectations. I checked it out on YouTube along with several other brands before placing my order. For my needs, this was a very good fit. The sound is very good and it has a very comfortably layed out control panel. It has most every feature and sound combination that most guitarist would need. I also was impressed with the quality feel of the knobs when turned and with the cabinet build. I use the power control a lot because I live in an apartment. The fx loop was also a factor in my buying decision. You can hardly go wrong buying this amp. When you get ready for a new amp or other guitar item, give Nick a call.

My age would denote 'old school'... but I'm not. I totally get tube-nascious. That said.... these amps ROCK.
Boss has knocked it out of the park with these amps. Already have a '50'. Know I've got stereo, a bit more kick and additional options on the back.
Now they just need to introduce their cordless technology to the rest of the family.
Buy one, you won't be disappointed.

This amp does everything I want it to do and more. Very easy to use. Multiple setting allow me to create pretty much any sound I wish. I would highly recommend adding the GA-FC foot controller for ease of access to your favorite settings. I like it so much I intend to buy another to keep at my daughter's house so I can jam with her significant other.

I love this amp! Great sound, you"re able to dial in any tone you desire and very easy to use. My sales engineer Chris actually recommended this amp and I"m glad he did. He was a huge help and the amp shipped the day of purchase and was here the same week. This was my overall first purchase from Sweetwater and I look forward to many, many more.

This amp is just packed with great tones and features. It takes pedals well also. I regularly use it with a variety of overdrive pedals. VERY loud and also little-no noise once the noise gate is dialed in. The parametric controls (via tone Studio) for effects are absolutely stunning.

All that said, this amp doesn't come to life until you connect a computer to it and do a deep dive with the Boss Tone Studio SW. The out of the box clean tone is horribly mismatched volume wise from the factory. i.e. the default settings for the clean volume totally suck. That's my main gripe with the amp. Other than that it's just niggling complaints. I would prefer the controls to be forward mounted.

IMO, this is the perfect home amp. Super quiet (noise wise) but incredibly loud/dynamic and great tones when cranked up.

Greetings,
Great amp blown away.
I feel like a pro playing this
Even thigh in a beginner
Thank you.

With over 50 years of playing, I've owned just about any guitar and bass amp you can imagine. Most recently my main gigging amp was a 40 watt tube Traynor. Nice amp but pretty basic and at 60 lbs. also pretty heavy. I'd been thinking about getting something lighter that would still be powerful enough to cut through the mix and get a tone that was close to a tube amp. I also recently acquired a Parker Fly (phenomenal instrument) with piezo pick ups in the bridge. After reading about the amp models available on the Katana including an acoustic, I decided this might be a good choice. I read all the reviews here and also watched at least twenty video reviews on YouTube. I sold the Traynor, called Nate my contact at Sweetwater and ordered one along with the foot switch. Two days later I was putting it though a thorough a check out with the Fly, my strat, Tele, Rickenbacker, and LP. This thing is flat out amazing. IMHO the tone is as good and possibly better than any tube amp I've used. I'm not a fan of built in effects but the Katana's are very good. I love all the amp models and the acoustic amp model sounds incredible with my Fly's piezos. I really haven't moved the power setting past 50 watt since it's so loud with tons of bottom end. The .5 watt is ample for any practice situation with no sacrifice of tone It's also very light and
compact and… an absolute steal. This is one of the best gear purchases I've made. With Sweetwater's free shipping, 2 year warranty and no tax it is also the best value out here.

I had been using a Fender 20 watt practice amp, and as I progress I found that I wanted a little more. I bought this amp on advice from one of the Sweetwater pros. He was spot on. I am using the 50 watt setting and it is more than sufficient for now, but it's nice to know that I have the option of kicking it up to 100. Plenty of effects come preset, but, after downing more from the Roland website, it will do whatever I want it to do. Very easy set up right out of the box. I couldn't be happier.

Great tones and great fun. Probably the best $... I"ve ever spent on gear. I own a ton of US made tube amps and pedals and this is so convenient, plug in and play, with nice tones and effects. Boss/Roland have done a great job. As usual Brian and Hunter were great.

I purchased this as a first-time guitar learner. I wanted the flexibility of power settings (0.5W, 50W, 100W) so I could use it as a practice amp, but later be able to jam with friends -- and be able to carry it easily. I am familiar with Boss pedals and Roland quality, so it seemed like a good first choice. The reviews on it generally range from positive to stellar. I have to agree, now after hands-on tweaking and having heard it directly. I think this is an awesome all-rounder which allows me to experiment, fine-tune, and learn, and it actually competes well with various specialized amps so I don't necessarily (yet!) need more than one.

I wish to correct what I said in my last review, the only big error on this amp is the speaker. I sat down when my children weren't screaming at things and realized that the software is actually terribly easy to install. I also realized that without said software you can't even scratch the surface of what this amp is capable of! The noise suppressor function is worth the amp's weight in gold. The sheer amount of EQ adjustments, the ability to change the signal chain order, the many types of OD's and boosters available, the depth of how you can edit the modulation/delay/reverb... Before I installed the editor I was very impressed with this amp, now I'm just plain floored. It doesn't matter what kind of guitar/pickups you have. If you take the time with the editor I believe you can get just about whatever kind of sound you desire.

I'm sure you've figured out by the title of this review that I've never done this. But this time I had to. I have never been more impressed by a product in my life. I typically play tube stuff...Marshall 2553, Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue, Limited Edition Blues Junior III, Mesa Express 5:50. I had a short stint with a Quilter 101 head and was not blown away, so the idea of solid state was as it had always been for me...lackluster. I scoured YouTube videos, online reviews, blogs and everything told me to give this amp a try. Boy, am I glad I did! The tone that comes from this amp is nothing short of incredible. The effects are usable, the interface is friendly, it looks sweet...Boss seemingly thought of everything with this amp. I ordered the GA-FC controller with the amp, then once I tried it I turned right around and ordered the Moog EP-3 so I could control the wah sounds...because I 100% fully intend on gigging with this amp!!! Believe the hype, people. This product backs it up and I believe it will be long revered as a trailblazer for solid state amp design. Way to go, Boss! Thanks to Carson McClain for the help and Sweetwater for being the best online retailer out there!

5 stars for the sound with one small gripe in operation.

So if you're looking for a solid state amp and the Katana is on your radar, you've no doubt come across heaps of online praise for this amp. Well, the glowing reviews are to be believed. This amp is not a modeling amp, but rather a solid state amp with five distinct amp characters. Starting with the Clean channel, you can get a wide range of tones with the gain knob. From clean to breakup this channel is very versatile and can be used without any overdrive or distortion. It's best to spend a lot of time getting the EQ just right because once you find that nice sweet spot you will have a hard time keeping that grin off your face.
Compared to the Clean channel the three dirt channels range from more gain to lots more gain and all have a lot of variation in their overdriven/distorted tones on offer. For me, less is more when it comes to gain as my tastes have matured. I like the amp to be producing most of the overdrive, and pedals are used to enhance what is already there. Unless a fuzz or high gain pedal is required, basically I want the amp to be doing the heavy lifting. I was having trouble getting a nice overdriven tone from my Mustang GT 100, when I stacked two boosts from my Zoom G5n both with low gain dialed up. The results were just what I was looking for. So the point is, less is more for me and I know I'm on the right path.

Basically, the Katana 100 can cover a lot of ground, including plugging in an acoustic. Unfortunately it has always been my experience when amplifying an acoustic guitar the results are seemingly lacking. It takes running the signal through a pedal to get the best results. Same story here. No worries as I have no plans to pug in my acoustic. It will be mic city when the time comes.

As for other ins and outs there is an effects loop, a record out, and line out to the PA. Boss pretty much thought of everything. Everything that is except for a way to adjust the onboard effects. All you can do is adjust the intensity of the effects but not the individual parameters. Hmm. Seems rather limiting unless I'm just doing it wrong. I know there is the Tone Studio to tweak effects but what if you want to teak the parameters of each effect? Sorry. No dice. If all you want to do is add some reverb fine. You can adjust the tap tempo for chorus and other time-based effects, but that appears to be it from the top panel. I'd like to see a software tweak enabling the three knobs to allow you to adjust parameters of each effect.

Oh, and the included kick stand is a nice touch but it doesn't instill confidence. It's a bit of a pain to get it extended and once it's engaged the thumbscrew keeps it in place, but it just doesn't feel very sturdy. I have yet to experience it falling back in place though.

So overall, this amp is a game changer and will forever make you think twice about what a solid state amp can do. Worried about a solid state amp not being loud enough? Download a decibel measuring app and while on the 0.5 watt setting crank it to see how loud it gets. I measured 90 db and the Master wasn't fully cranked. The amp is very loud even at the 0.5 watt setting. That loud drummer you have to contend with? He won't be a problem.

Tube snobs (and yes I used to be one): you've been put on notice. The Katana has arrived.

The reviews are too good to be believed. But I bought one and have been won over. I sold my old combo that weighs twice as much and costs twice as much. My wallets happier, my ears are happier, my back is happier, and the kid in me gets to play with tons of sounds. Very cool.

I was not blown away by the sound when I first got it using the panel settings. It was fun to tweak, though. After loading the tone studio software (which wasn't super intuitive, but works no problem if you actually read Boss' instructions like I didn't), I spent a couple of hours just playing around with cool sounds instead of going to bed on time.

I was able to set up channel 1 with a clean tone with some light compression, slapback delay, and eq. That's 3 pedals off my board. Channel 2 is a nice dirty tone using one of the hidden Marshall amps, some warm OD, noise suppression, and different eq. There's another 2 pedals I don't need anymore.

I was concerned that it wouldn't be loud enough, or not enough air would be pushed. This is definitely not a problem. My old tube combo would need the volume on about 7 to keep up with our drummer. This one, on the 100w setting, is at about 4 on the dial (estimated, not numbered) for the same loudness and body part vibrations. The 50w setting sounds about as loud, but doesn't have as much beef to it to my ears.

Another concern I had was delay in channel switching. I've had modeling amps before that had considerable lag when switching channels. With the Roland GA-FC foot controller, there's some almost undetectable lag. If I stomp the switch on the downbeat like I'm used to, I lose a little bit of the attack on that first note. I was able to compensate for this, but it was a little awkward at first.

Alternatively, you can use a mechanical footswitch that will only toggle between channels 1 and 2. There's no lag here - it feels like it does on my 6505+. So I'll definitely be using the mechanical footswitch live, but the GA-FC will still have a place at home for exploration.

And I'm keeping my pedals because they're fun to tweak. But I'm a little upset that they've been made obsolete for live settings.

This amp was everything I was hoping it would be. The 0.5 watt setting is a really awesome feature for when I"m playing it inside the house. I have never been this pleased with an amp before. I want to thank Khaleed for all of his help. Sweetwater has the best service around and I will be doing all my shopping with them from now on.

Love the amp people at Sweetwater are the best

I don't have a lot of experience to compare it against, but to me this has a great sound. I'm also really enjoying having the ability to try out different effects without all the different options getting in the way when I just want to plug in and play/practice.

I've owned the Katana 100 for two weeks now, used it for my first band rehearsal, and I'm simply blown away. I'm not sure there isn't anything this amp can't do, and I haven't even dug into the effects much yet. In fact, I've only been using the clean channel and the 0.5W setting. Yeah, right. THAT'S 0.5W? Uh huh. Sure it is. Four-piece band at significant volume, using the practice-amp setting, the sound was unbelievable. I barely had the volume at 12:00. If, as some reviewers said, the speaker takes awhile to 'break in,' I find that difficult to believe. Out of the box, it sounds rich and full to my ears. And it gets BETTER? Wow.
For this price, who cares about finicky, overweight tube amps? Boy, after getting this, I sure don't. Takes my 13-piece pedalboard like a champ, and the effects loop works just perfectly. The effects are super easy to use, though I don't have much need for them, or the amp's drive channels or amp emulators, me being a high-end pedal hound. Incredibly quiet and clean sounding for home use, by far the best home practice amp I've ever had, but I can take it to my local bar jam and to gigs without any doubt of its performance. It is packed with features and has USB connectivity to your computer, another thing I haven't even touched yet. Boss deserves to sell a ton of these, and companies like Quilter should be very concerned, because Boss is going to take a lot of their potential customers. I have friends with Quilters, and I can't see how they're superior to this thing - especially for 3X the money. The Katanas are likely the best quality-for-value amp around. Love this thing.

I've been playing through a Hot Rod Deluxe and a pedal board for many years. I really liked the sound I was getting but it just felt like there were a ton of things that could (and constantly would) go wrong....tons of wires everywhere....just too complicated. On top of that, I recently formed a "just for fun" cover band and I need more effects than what I had. Basically, for a similar price, I could have bought the extra pedals I would have needed and an upgraded power supply or I could have gone with this amp and the GA-FC foot controller. I wasn't prepared to be as happy with the sound of the Boss as I am. I was worried that I wouldn't sound "like myself" anymore but I can still get it to sound like I want, but with more variety than what I was getting before. It is honestly really impressive.

I went "Katana nutz" and bought 4 different Katana s. The 100 1x12 is stellar and loud!! It takes any guitar pedal superbly and my Line 6 Helix processor sounded great through it. The availability of 55 different Boss effects really makes this 34 pound Solid State amp a must have. The "acoustic channel" is Superb. I played a Steinberger with a piezo at the bridge and it sounded terrific. I own a bunch of Mesa Amps and of course the Katana isn t going to replace any of them, BUT, I d gig with the Katana no problem and record with it as well. And the price!!! Wow!!!

Great Amp! It truly is a Gem. Very happy with it.
Sweetwater Rocks!

Buy it has everything you want and more at this price point.

I needed something I could grab-and-go for rehearsals and parties to simplify my life. I'm blown away by this little monster. Loud enough to keep up with any drummer and really nice guitar tone too. I have a Mark V, a Victoria, and a Vintage Sound 35sc which are all amazing in their own right. But the Katana is now my main practice amp and I actually did a gig with it too. Nice effects, good crunch, and lead tones. Don't overlook this guy because it's digital and doesn't have valves. Also get the GA-FC foot controller; it will make your life a little easier. I grab my Les Paul and this amp with the controller and a couple of cables tucked in the back and I'm out the door ready to rock. Plus the customer service at Sweetwater is the best.

Very good amp....a lot of useable sounds instantly without experience...and it does "cut" through the mix.
The headline of this amp should be the "line-out" feature.Very hard to find on amps these days and
it does actually work and does not cancel the speaker like almost all other amps, tube or solid state....that is, even if they offer a line - out. It really does work as a stage monitor, and goes through the sound system!! It is long overdue and I think a lot of other manufacturers will follow suit on this one feature.
Too many things to discuss with this amp but I would highly recommend this amp for many reasons. Will list a few.......cost, sounds great, extremely loud (really loud), good clean, or however dirty and grungy you want to get, nice handle, not too heavy, don`t need to replace tubes, and did I mention the cost ? This thing is crazy. If you do recording, there are great possibilities with this amp as well. Thank You Sweetwater for your service.

I've played a lot of amps this amp is a small package but packs a powerful punch I bought just for that I have a pedal board that has everything known to man on it so the on board effects are a plus they are good solid effects to gig with but I just choose my pedals over the on board effects. this is one powerful amp I played live last night and played my violin thru it with a touch of reverb " TC hall of fame " and a bit of delay " TC flash back wow what a sound dial the mid 3/4 to half on the bass treble straight up great sound live. had a Exotic EP boost and a Exotic Compressor these made the guitar way stranger than what was needed but for the violin it was great , believe me this amp has what you need for a live show, line out to the PA amp behind me for monitoring great set up

I have already commented on my Katana 100 when I first got it. I I have since played some outdoor gigs and this amp has not let me down. I cannot say enough! I love this amp!!!!

Fantastic amp been for 6 year looking for the right amp searching the soundhad so many tube amp stop counting. yes my dream amp is Mesa boogie but the price kills me.Play Santana Hendrix Gilmore this Katana nails it Brown sound is a plus takes pedals well much better with the foot control great for home or gig

Amazing amp, way better than i was expecting. I really like the brown sound, its great for rock and classic metal.

I demo this amp and I get speechless​ with the sound and the effects, this is the first amp that for sure you can play you rock and heavy metal song with out a single pedal. The delay, is insane and the od better that the od-1

The combination to set different watts is very practically to practice at home

I'm more than amazed by the tones you can get from this thing just from factory settings. I mostly play clean with some added modulation but this amp knows how to really bite with higher gain. Adding an overdrive on top or as a booster to the crunch channel makes this amp sound immense. The clean tones on this amp are glorious. Since I mostly play clean that is always what I look out for and this amp has been nothing short of amazing. The added effects are fantastic and can add so much to an already great amp. The attenuator makes this a joy for a mostly bedroom player like myself. It still holds itself even at its lowest wattage. As far as bang for the buck amps go, it's hard to top this and my sales rep, Chris Nunley, gave me stellar service and gave me a great deal too. Sweetwater will have my business until I die

Affordable amp, heavy duty speaker, amazing effects, I've tried tube amps and paid the price for the sound quality but still had to buy pedals to get the effects. Still only at 15watts with weak looking speakers. The Boss K 100 gave me all I wanted, and more at 1/3 the price of a tube amp. It's the future here today. Very pleased.

This is a follow-up review for a Katana 100. My second live outing with the amp was no less than impressive. I played a smaller hall with the .5 Watt option selected. Playing next to a full drum kit, I had no problem with stage volume – I did have the channel and master volumes close to 10, but the amp was singing. One of the characteristics I look for in a premium amp is its ability to produce tasty, harmonic sustain, Santana-like. The Katana did everything I asked for, channel switching from tasty cleans to over-driven rock heaven. I’m looking forward to an outside concert where I can use the 50 or 100 watt setting – this amp is LOUD! The build quality of Roland and Boss products is exceptional and one of the reasons they are industry leaders, and the incredible analog amp circuits they design is another. I can leave my pricey, vintage tube amps at home, grab the Katana and have a great playing experience…

This is the best amp you can get for the price, but don't be fooled about the low price. This amp stands head to toe with amps that cost three times as much. I got the Katana 100 watt 1×12, and have yet had to run it at 100 watts with the band. This amp cuts through the mix and sounds amazing. I could go on and on about it, but my best advice is to just try one. The acoustic guitar setting gives you two amps in one and trust me sounds incredible.

I've been a guitar player for almost 50 years. I've owned and still own a bunch of amps. But I'm blown away by the Boss Katana 112. I've been using a pedal board with 15 pedals and looper to get the sounds I want. But now All I need is this Katana and the GA foot controller. All the effects pedals are built into an amp that weighs 32 lbs. The sounds are awesome. I'll give it 10 stars if it was available. Love , love ,love it. The only amp anyone would ever need.

This amplifier is simply the best-sounding non-tube amp I have ever played through. What sets it apart from other non-tube amps is the fact that even the clean sounds are excellent. I have the 100-watt model and I plan on using it for all my gigs. Can I tell the difference in tone between this and my Mesa Boogie? Yes, but this thing still sounds amazing and is both more versatile and more convenient than my Mesa or my Supersonic...and its lighter too! My only complaint is that they do not sell an amp cover for this amp - and since I plan on taking it out at least once a week its important for me to find some kind of cover that will fit.

I have had Fender, Peavey, Musicman, Ampeg, all good amps! My Boss Katana is the best!

I read a lot of reviews and hate writing them but its time to give back. I build Valve amps like Dumble, Fender, Bad Cat, Marshall but all clones and all point to point hand wired and I still have a couple but this Katana 100 head through a 2 x 12 Cab loaded with a Gold and a Cream Back is the Ducks Nuts, The real deal and bloody awesome. The valve amps are still King for pure harmonic string separating chime but this Katana is the best thing I have bought in a long time. You have to go and buy the foot controller though cause that just takes you to another level. The cleans are clean and warm and it goes from crunch to down right filth, I mean ChugaChug to Metal to great Blues. The effects are as good as any stand alone pedals and all built in. The firmware upgrade was a bit of a ***** but once it was done the connectivity to the software was seamless. Is it a Valve amp, No, of course its not but it is Analogue and not Digital. You will Gig with this and be just as happy and you can leave all your pedals at home and you wont need your back brace to lug around your heavy Valve heads. You wont be disappointed...

Great sound and tone. Great distortion and clean. Acoustic preamp sounds great too.

I have been playing guitar for over 13 years now and have owned several amps (Fender, Roland, Blackstar, and Marshall) for the price this Boss amp cannot be beaten! Just the sheer harmonic tone is truly impressive. I have yet to try the Boss Studio; however, the basic sounds you can dial in are enough for me to gig with. I just ordered the Roland foot switch to add to my pedal board. I can see myself with this for a long long time!!

I received mine about a week ago and haven't stopped playing it...maybe that's why Boss added a standby switch to the power control section. It's so easy to quickly dial-in whatever tone your're looking for and speaking of tone, I've always liked Boss effects and the effects in the Katana Series are amazing! The straight-forward layout of the controls makes this amp so easy to use.

I have not used the Boss Tone Studio effects editor software yet so I can't comment on it except for the artist tone section where I was not too impressed with the samples I heard.

I originally ordered the Katana 50 and then changed it to the 112-100. My Sales Engineer Robert took great care of the details, shipping, etc. Thanks Robert and Sweetwater for another flawless order and the best amp I've owned in years...lovin' it!

I started playing jazz a few years ago, and moved to a Roland Cube 80XL for the clean JC sound, and the Marshall was relegated to the closet. For distortion, the Roland amp models were acceptable enough, and I am sure that the audiences never knew the difference. But being a tube player for years, I myself, could feel and hear the difference. From the reviews, the Katana seemed to be the best of both worlds, so I decided to give it a try.
The Katana gets it right in all the places I need it to be. The concept seems to be a Waza/Cube hybrid on steroids. The clean sound is clean and full and punchy. The distorted sounds feel and sound like a tube amp. Also, this thing is a beast! I will probably NEVER have to use this at 100 watts. I am sure that 50 watts is more than enough for anything that I can see doing in the future.
The range of effects is amazing, and they have the amazing industry standard Boss sound.
And, not just 4 channels, but 4 COMPLETELY PROGRAMMABLE channels creates a quandary (too many choices!).
I have used this amp for a few gigs already, and I feel it is flexible enough to be my workhorse for the next few years, or more.

Fantastic amp ! I'm playing more than I have in years.

This amp is delivering the goods....single coil, humbuckers.....clean, crunchy, or just plain ole dirty dirt!

The tone at lower volumes is great, and at "full bedroom" level is fantastic! It can get LOUD LOUD LOUD.....

The reverbs available out of the box are EXCELLENT always on type reverbs....you won't get ultra ambient type washes, but it's such a great mix of reverb that it sounds natural and makes the tone just work.

A tip - in the 0.5 watt mode, in either Clean or Crunch: Dime the MASTER Volume and the VOLUME knob, and use the GAIN knob to taste.....I believe one could call that a VERY convincing woman tone!! :-)


Extremely portable, sonically solid as a brick, fit and finish is quite good. I'm thinking that BOSS put these out, knowing they are such a VALUE for the money, that it becomes the "I gotta have a K 100 in my arsenal" type of gear..... At around $300, you just can't get a better amp, new. (IMHO, YMMV :-) )

This amp is simply great! Sure it's no expensive tube amp but it's just as loud and capable of pulling off any genre of music you play. I've never fully liked any digital amp because something was just too horrible sounding and buzzy but this is all around fantastic. I bought it to use in a band setting and didn't want to lug around an expensive and heavy amp but wanted a decent sound. This fits the bill!

I needed a solid-state amp the was small, light, and powerful. After some research, I got the Katana 100 from Sweetwater with the help of my good friend, Nick Church. I am extremely happy with it--plus it was in the perfect price range. So far, I have only used the default panel setting on "clean," and manually set the amp's EQs/gain/master/presence/reverb according to the room--that's the way I prefer to set up all of my amps; I rely more on my stompbox pedal board (Keeley Red Dirt + Fulltone Fat Boost + vintage Boss ME-50) to get all of the effects/sustain I need (vs. using the amp's pre-sets, which sound wonderful, by the way). I also combine the Katana in stereo with a Bugera Vintage 22 tube amp to round things out (for the best overall balance between clean solid-state & warm tube sounds).

I plan on doing some studio recording with this amp, at which time I will delve deeper into the amp's effects. For my current needs, however (lots of live performances), this amp is perfect for my guitar setup. Finally, I must say that I only need to keep the amp at 50 watts for the small/medium clubs. One of these nights I'll try it at 100 watts, but I'm afraid I'd blow out some windows--this sucker cranks at 50 watts!

This was a gift for my son. He hasn't stopped playing since the day it arrived.

Long story short..I play at home at a lower volume more than gigging, but like most, I enjoy the tones associated with driving a tube. A solid state amp is just more practical and versatile for me. The journey to the Katana involved leaving the Fender Mustang from the past few years (got discouraged that it wouldn't take pedals), and trying an Orange Crush 35RT, VOX Valvetronix40, and a Yamaha THR10C (which was really cool, just too small).

The Katana came out of the blue and has delivered the flexibility of a solid state amp and the range of tones that are endless. No models, just very tweakable settings and effects that are greatly expanded and versatile when used with the software. I've coaxed wonderful varieties of tones out of my Strat and Gretsch semi-hollow, and have increased the time I play ten-fold just from the sheer enjoyment of the responsive sound the Katana delivers. 0.5 setting gets it done at home, but I've experimented with the 50 and it's explosive, so I have no doubt 100 delivers in a stage setting. The tube purists will surely scoff at the notion that this amp can be as satisfying as a valve rig. I've had both, and I'm tickled too death with the Katana, and will look forward to broadening it's tonal palette with some pedal purchases in the near future. Something I couldn't do with the Mustang and recent modelers.

Boss has changed the amplifier game. For everything Katana, surf to the Boss website for full details. As a pro guitarist and experience with many premium amps, the Katana falls into the category of one of my favorite amps. While not a two thousand dollar Mesa, the Katana is a mid-priced amp that competes with some of the best amps on the market. From JC-120 cleans to all-out Waza saturation, this amp performs with a great organic feel. The industry changer is the Boss Tone Studio! This app allows you to completely customize your channel patches with incremental settings all while connected to your computer. Use any of the 55 pedal effects in the library to customize your sound and assign it to one of four channels. Simply amazing, adjust the setting, patch the setting into the signal chain, play your guitar to hear the change and assign it when happy! The dashboard also shows all of the amp controls positions in real-time. To purchase these pedals would cost thousands, to buy a mid-priced Katana and get free pedal patches, a no brainer. The practicality of four amp channels and a panel select is that you can play tasty cleans, select a channel or use the GA-FC footswitch and rock as hard as you want! No amp adjustments necessary. The line out and headphone out allows a direct connection to a stage PA or direct mix into a studio board. The sonic results are excellent. Boss has raised the bar; they didn’t create a modeling amp, but a customizable amp you can make your own. This will change the industry.

Just bought a new Boss Katana 100. Actually we bought two. I sold two awesome tube amps, a Marshall DSL40c and a Vox Nighttrain 15 G2 and an old Vox Valvetronix VT40+ I also sold three pedals, a Zoom PD01, an EHX Soul Food and a TC Electronic HOF.

We now have to Boss Katana 100 with GA-FC foot switches and big smiles on our faces.

These new amps simply and categorically and I believe permanently destroy the paradigm that tube amps are superior to solid state amps.

I was a bit of a tube snob and had over the years bought and sold lots of tube amps and some solid state and had reached a point where I was quite satisfied. That is until the Boss Katana came along.

The Vox Night train was an easy amp to replace. While for a Vox it is is a very versatile amp, it is not versatile in absolute terms. It has one of the most lush clean sounds in the world and some of the most distinctive at the edge of breakup sounds but it cannot do metal and hard rock and it has a tone that is very distinctive. It really needs a pedal such as a Soul Food or even an SD1 to get it to be more versatile. It also is not very good at sounding truly dynamic at low volume. Its not bad at low volumes but also not sensational.

The Vox VT40+ was also easy to say good bye to. Its only purpose was to provide extremely low volume tones that was reasonably authentic. The Boss Katana does that a million times better so no tears shed there.

The Marshall was harder to say good bye to. It was a stunning amp with a blood curdling tone, thumping and deep bass and personality oozing out of its grilles. It was just a tad temperamental and sometimes would just not sound that good. It was also not the best amp to play very quietly. Even at its lowest quietest setting it would resonate through the wall into the adjoining room.

It had some really great tones but also some that were quite sharp and harsh that had to be dialled back. Its reverb was also quite weak but in all it was a truly great amp.

After replacing the Night Train I was able to do a back to back comparison of the Marshall and the Boss and here is what I found.

The Boss has the same organic tone that the Marshall has but it is easier to dial in and does not have any sounds that are unbalanced. On the Marshall there is a huge difference in EQ between the Crunch and the Lead channel. One is warm and the other is trebly. The Boss is very consistent and a steady progression from clean through to crunch, lead and then brown. The clean has a bit more headroom than the Marshall. The Crunch, Lead and Brown cover a bit more sonic territory than the Marshall does by getting into modern metal territory earlier easily. Surprisingly the Boss is very sensitive to picking dynamics and to turning down the volume on the guitar, even more so, albeit by a narrow margin, than the Marshall. I would have settled for it being in the same ball park but was not prepared for it being better than the Marshall.

Interestingly the Boss has none of the digital artefacts some modelling amps are notorious for. Its sustaining notes decay naturally and very musically just like the Marshall.

Where the Marshall wins is by having a deeper and more thundering bass. This is quite noticeable but ultimately was not able to make me keep it. Remember it was the bass that was making it difficult to practice quietly.

I’m not sure how it would be on a stage but I can tell you that the Boss is quite a bit louder.

Now the Marshall is an extremely loud 40W amp and you would expect, according to conventional wisdom, that it should be equivalent to 100W or more of solid state amp. I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that the Boss is significantly louder than the Marshall. On the Marshall I have managed to turn it up to half way in the full power mode (pentode mode) and standing at the end of the 2m cable it was all I could tolerate. On the Boss at full power mode I could only turn it up to about 1/3rd of the way on the dial before I could not stand it any longer and the guitar was feeding back like crazy. I know this is not scientific but I am quite certain a full test at stage volume would prove me right.

What is really great is that like the Marshall the Boss is obviously designed for very high volumes because the sound actually improved and the speaker did not in any way show any signs of flubbing out or of any cabin resonance. The only thing that resonated was everything in the room.


What got me over the line in the end was the huge advantages in versatility that the Boss has over the Marshall. It is effectively 5 channels vs 2, with a far better reverb, direct out monitoring, headphone jack, a master volume, 0.5W setting, stunningly great sounding onboard effects. It is lighter and more compact and has a tilt feature for better projection. It is far less hissy and would record better and cleaner than the Marshall even with a mic. The icing on the cake is a very nice sounding acoustic setting where it sounds like a proper acoustic amp. It does not have tweeters but the speaker has sufficient range that this is not really a problem. My Maton Mini sounded awesome through the amp. About the only thing it does not have is that evocative Marshall logo.

I did have a lump in my throat when the person who bought the Marshall from me drove off. I truly loved it but I think I will love the Boss even more and possibly for far longer.

The Boss does have a few things that bug me. For instance I need to set some of the delay parameters using the tone editor software and the stompboxes should each have had two knobs instead of one for better control but that is nitpicking. I can

I used to own a Roland Cube 80XL. That amp was in its own rights a very nice sounding amp with some great effects. If it hadn’t been for a few of the effects that were not so nice I might have kept it and sold the Marshall earlier. The Boss Katana has no such problem. It does not try to emulate any other amp and so there is never a question of how well it emulates something. I did speak to a Boss representative who told me that it was not in the traditional sense of the word a modelling amp (it doesn’t use COSM) like the Cube series but rather an analogue amp with several preamp stages representing Clean, Crunch, Lead and Brown sounds. This is supplemented with digital signal processing to emulate how a tube amp sounds. The preamp stage is apparently also designed to act under load exactly like a tube amp. I didn’t quite understand from the description but can vouch for its effectiveness.

My thoughts have a few times turned to its price. The amps cost me just under less than half what a Blackstar ID or Orange Crush Pro would have cost. This is also less what the outgoing Roland 80GX would have cost. I have not found any place on the amp that feels like cost has been taken out or corners cut. It is also apparently made in the same factory that the Cubes were so I cannot understand why it is so cheap but I have a theory and its related to the name and branding change. Roland seems to try to move its guitar amps to the Boss name consistent with its pedals and multi-effects units. By sacrificing a bit of profit margin they have guaranteed that these amps will make a huge splash in the amp market thus ensuring that the name change is well received and recognised. I guess another way of looking at it is that this amp is actually reasonably priced, it is other amps that are too expensive, My prediction is that come this time next year many competing amps will magically reduce in price or go out of production.

The clean side, dug in and opened up to real stage volumes, is about two-thirds the emotional impact of the sweet and dark chime of a Fender Bassbreaker but at half the price and 10 fewer pounds. On the brown side the same can be said of it's complex wholly growl, again at half the price and 20 fewer pounds than a Marshall DSL40. It's acoustic setting, straight in, is very good for my K&K equipped Martin. It's effects... they're basically Boss with no additional weight. It's line out works great for my studio. In short, the Katana 100 is a wonderfully useful tool with good tones for a broad range of uses. But if you're picky and want a specific and far more limited sound, consider buying the original.

If you're thinking of buying this amp, explore the Tone Editor software before you do. The Tone Editor, associated "Live Sets" of sounds, and it's graphical interface make this amp shine. Don't expect to fully understand or enjoy the incredible possibilities this equipment offers using only panel controls.

The sheer range of sounds this thing is capable of is incredible!

I know modeling amps seem to be love 'em or hate 'em on the Interwebs, but I love this thing. I can't help that many of those who don't like this amp have only used the initial sounds and panel knobs. After playing with this backward and forward at home, I can say using a computer to initially set up and fine tune sounds is not an option, but a requirement... Boss' free sound libraries are quite good, and super easy to tweak and modify from the GUI.

Once you've got a full load of sounds that fit your needs loaded to the amp, the panel knobs are great for fine tuning to each guitar, room, stage, or volume level. Different gig? A whole new pallet can be loaded in seconds, and it's easy to store what you're replacing for later use.

The 0.5 / 50 / 100 switch is very handy, making it easy to get pretty close to specific sounds at family friendly volumes.

I'd give it 5 stars, but I really think this thing should have a way to access all the expanded features using a tablet, at least via USB, but preferably via bluetooth. So many folks already carry tablets when playing, and they tend to last far longer on battery without messing around with one more power cord than a notebook computer.

I've been looking for a smaller amp to take around to our gigs. I play in a band that plays mostly classic and new rock. I don't do reviews often but this weekend we played a larger venue and this amp sounded REALLY good! My other guitar player had his Marshall 412 and I brought my Katana and with them mic'd up I think they sounded equally as good. In fact on what we were playing I would give the slight edge to the Katana. You can get some really rich clean tones out of the amp and also some lead distortion that cuts through really nicely. I also played a smaller gig and ran direct out and it also sounded really nice. I don't think you can go wrong with this amp for the money. The ONLY thing I wish it had was the ability to store a few more presets. 8 is okay, but not quite enough IMO.

I'll try to keep my thoughts succinct and free of superlatives. I love the cleans, beautiful and articulate (though a bit dry sans-reverb). The overdrive options on this amp are plentiful and useful. It would take too long to describe the many combinations of each drive channel and each of the boosts' settings. The effects are very good, though I'll likely only use a bit of reverb and boost. What really surprised me was how well this amp responds to different pickups. I swapped out the bridge pickup of my guitar and the change was immediately noticeable (I know this should be a 'duh' thing, but I feel it speaks to the quality of the amp). What REALLY, REALLY surprised me was how great the overdrive cleans up with the volume knob (I've met a few 'boutique' amps that don't do that nearly as well as this little combo). The amp is reassuringly weighted the knobs and switches all feel solid. There are two blatant flaws I can think of at the moment. The first is the stock speaker. It's perfectly adequate for what this amp will be used for the lion's share of the time, but a simple upgrade would likely take this already fantastic sounding amp to the next level of usefulness. The second is the ridiculous list of steps one has to go through to install the editing software for the amp. I understand that it doesn't cost anything extra and I've seen demonstrations of how easy the software is to use once it's set up, but I feel like the process of installing that software on my computer shouldn't be so lengthy.

This amp is fantastic. I've been playing modeling amps since I started with guitar and have used everything from Line 6 to Fender to Blackstar.

The Katana blows them all out of the water. The selection of tones is very diverse and they all sound great. The high gain and distorted sounds are extremely clear and not too harsh (unlike Line 6 and Blackstar where everything sounds like scrambled eggs).

The effects are amazing (as you should expect considering BOSS pedals are the industry standard). I love how simple it is to add effects to a channel. No confusing LCD displays or convoluted preset menus.

There are a host of other great features like the included software (really lets you dive into dialing your perfect tones), the way the digital modeling behaves like a tube amp, and the USB-out recording quality.

My only complaint is that you can't have a booster effect paired with a modulation effect (i.e. an overdrive with a phaser). However this isn't hard to counter as you can always throw a physical OD between your guitar and the amp and use the built in modulation effects.

Overall, I'd say this is the best option if you don't want to drop the money on an expensive tube setup. You could easily play a small venue with this, it's great for practicing, and you can use this in place of an audio interface to get great guitar tracks into your DAW.

The Katana 100 is a very versatile tool. Sure it sounds great but I've got a collection of great sounding tube amps sitting around. I needed something light, low maintenance and versatile to take out for live shows and rehearsals. The Katana is all about convenience for me- todays modeling/SS/digital amps all make useable sounds. It's not a question of "is it as good as tubes", it's more of can I quickly and easily get a sound that will fit what's needed- in that case the Katana is a great tool for me. With the added foot switch I'm pretty much covered with 8 saved presets for just about any scenario.
I did ding it 1/2 a star for the odd electronic smell I got when cranking it up. My hope is it's some kind of excess internal coating that's burning off but if not, I've got no worries Sweetwater won't handle it for me.

After being a big fan of Tube amps where I mainly used them for clean sound with a pedal array, I figured I would give the Katana 100 1-12 model a try simply based on Boss reputation for quality. A friend and fellow band mate bought this amp and so I heard it on one gig before my purchase and I wasn't overly impressed with his hi-gain sound which was too bassy along with the feedback and hum. After I purchased mine I quickly realized that the amp is limited without the 6 button footswitch and at least one expression pedal. The hi-gain settings were also very noisy on mine cut when I downloaded the driver and tone software which is free from their website and performed the revision 2 update, it became a different versatile animal. I now had 8 presets rather than the factory 4, I can change my effects anytime I get ready plus tailor the sound to a particular guitar and have the wah-wah of my choice and or volume pedal. I'm not sure how it works yet but it appears I can also get other guitarists fav patches and sounds. For the money this amp has the tone and variety of effects in a stand alone package for under 600 bucks including both pedals. It's not heavy, it has the power and certainly in a class of its own with the USB connection port for editing notvto mention it's attractive styling.

The Katana sounds amazing on 50w and 100w mode. It sounds awful in 0.5w mode. Not enough power! But when you do put enough power through it, it trades blows with my Marshall DSL40C. The effects library is pretty sweet. I couldn't figure out USB recording bc a lot of static but I'm probably just dumb. If I were to choose again, I might go with the 50w instead. 100w is a lootttt of power

Great amp! Great price! Great service. Thank you!

This little amp sounds really good, all the 5 different voicings.
Again, sound is great, and if you do not have $ for a tube amp or if you are not bothered about tube amp dynamics, then this amplifier is for you.
If you want an amp that responds to your pick dynamics (cleaning with soft picking and breaking up with hard picking), then get a tube amp.
Another point, if you want sag, then get a tube amp.
To summarize, this is a SOLID STATE amp that sounds great, with really good features, light, flexible, but if you want DYNAMICS of a tube amp, then test it, because to me it is still solid state.
I currently own: Peavey Classic 20W, Peavey 6505 MH, Peavey JSX 120W, EVH 5153, Mesa Mark V, Mesa Rectifier and some others. Those are my references and I think you should try it.

An earlier review states having issues with the Effects Loop however, I think the issue mentioned is easily (and only) resolved by using the Boss Tone Pro Studio. If you click "SYSTEM" in right bottom corner and choose the "Send/Return" option, the Send/Return levels can be adjusted to 100. This will solve the volume issue customer was talking about. My factory settings were not 100 so I had to adjust them using the studio. The Effects Loop works great.

Additionally there is a "Direct Mix" for each effect which also adjusts volume level of effect. I hope this is helpful.

Overall, I really like the amp. It's a great alternative to my only tube amp, but I'm still keeping the tube amp. I like having options of both.

I highly recommend the Boss Katana 100. Rated 4.5 only because nothing is perfect in my opinion!

This puppy is one heck of a steal. All of the on-board tones are great, although I will only ever use the clean channel. I have a pedal board that I use with my own drives and mods (the drive channels on this thing are killer though. I could totally get away with not using my board and still have great results) The clean is very full and dark, which I love. I'm also able to add just enough sparkle with the presence knob. Very modern American sound, which I'm a fan of. I not sure I could get a good vintage tone to ever come out of it, but I have a pignose for that. It certainly doesn't feel like a tube amp when you play, but it is extremely responsive. Dynamic contrast is a little stronger on a tube amp I'd say. Responds very well to the volume control unless you have an overdrive in front of the amp. The kickstand is "cute". Really small and doesn't cut it if you're really trying to aim your amp upwards like an onstage monitor.
All in all, solid product. Totally worth the cash. Light weight, intuitive, and sounds great right out of the box.
Its replacing by old peavy renown 400, which finally bit the dust. I can guarantee you I don't miss it with the Katana around.

Very, very, very close to a Tube amp.. Great gigging amp

this thing is awsome loves to play loud very simple to use. has its own unique sound unlike some others. now to get into my downloaded software and dial in my tones

As a working guitarist, a big part of of my 'day job' involves teaching private students - this requires an amp that will run reliably for hours at a time and provide me with a myriad of quality tonal options at conversational volumes...while still providing the volume and flexibility to cut it at gigs on the weekend. Thus, I have relied on solid state & digital gear for over 15 years, with mostly gratifying results. I started with a combo (Line 6 Flextone III), and went to a modular setup a few years ago (Digitech RP500 preamp into dedicated power amp into vintage cab). Deciding I wanted to downsize/streamline my setup, I began looking at lightweight combos once again. After careful deliberation between a number of different brands & models, I pulled the trigger on the brand-new Katana 100 1x12" by Boss. I honestly could not be happier with my decision.

Rather than give an exhaustive rundown of the amp's feature set (which can easily be found elsewhere), I'm going to focus on what I consider the main standout aspects of the unit.

1) Volume: You may have already seen testimonials/hype on forums and the like. Well, believe it; this thing is LOUD! We've all become conditioned to the conventional wisdom that it takes roughly 3 solid state watts to equal 1 tube watt in terms of perceived volume. I truly believe the Katana is a game-changer in this regard. In the three weeks I've been using the amp, I have never had to use it on the 100W setting; 50 provides PLENTY of volume for almost any conceivable professional, live application. At home and in lessons, it stays on the half-watt setting, never going above half on the Master Volume.

2) Feel & Response: Piggy-backing from the first point above - most solid state and digital amps have a reputation for flat, sterile EQ and dynamics; so that even when your volume is cutting through the mix, the tone is often perceived as brittle, cold, 'lifeless', etc. Again, not so with the Katana. This thing really pushes air, responding to picking dynamics and the guitar's volume knob in ways I've simply never experienced on a non-tube amp.

3) Deceptively Simple: In a world where digital amp users have come to expect something like 50 models to play with and memory for 100 user presets minimum, it may come as quite a surprise that Katana offers a scant five preamp voicings and four user memory presets to work with. However, it's not until you get the amp in your hands and properly put it through its paces that you realize just how deceptively simple and versatile the Katana's "limited functionality" really is. The Gain, EQ and Presence controls alone DRAMATICALLY affect the tone and flavor of the amp. When I first plugged it in, I spent a couple hours just playing with the Clean and Crunch voicings, amazed at the range and quality of tones I was getting just by adjusting the aformentioned knobs. This thing really encourages an organic, tactile approach; tweaking things in real-time much like an old school single or dual-channel tube unit. And because of the elegant layout, there's no option paralysis, listener fatigue or second-guessing that comes with having a billion menus and presets to sift through.

3) Effects: If there's one thing Boss is universally respected for, it is their guitar effects. Ergo, it goes without saying that Katana has the best built-in effects I've ever heard from either a digital "all in one" amp, or even a high-end multi-FX unit. From the warmest, most musical chorus I've heard in years, to top-notch vibratos, tremolos, phasers, flangers, auto-wahs, Leslie sims, reverbs, delays, harmonizers, wave synths, acoustic guitar sims(!), and a bevy of great 'stomp box-style' booster/OD/distortions to push the front end of the preamp tone, you can basically put your pedalboard away when using this amp and not miss a thing. If you desire stomp box-style foot control over individual effects or channels, you can pick up their GA-FC foot controller, and you're all set for the gig.

4) Boss Tone Studio: For those obsessed 'tone seekers' among us, this free computer software is an easy to install, powerful MUST-HAVE to take full advantage of the Katana's "hidden" features - including most of the amp's effects & deeper controls, additional parametric/graphic EQ options, and even FX chain routing options. It also includes neat extras like an audio player that allows you to practice along with tracks with the ability to loop and/or slow-down the audio.

5) Weight & Portability: With its modest dimensions, open-back cabinet design and 32.5 lbs of weight, the Katana is super-portable and easy to cart around to lessons, gigs or sessions. You will not miss the tube head and 4x12" cab after a few dates with this amp!

6) Price: At $ for the 100 Watt 1x12" combo, you're getting a professional grade amplifier for a practice amp price. This was one of main considerations that ultimately led me to chose the Katana over something like the Blackstar ID TVP or Vox AV ranges.

There are really only two things that keep me from giving the Katana a 5-Star rating. For one, the Line Out is an unbalanced 1/4", rather than the balanced XLR option you'd expect on an amp like this. Secondly, there is no Speaker Out, either to plug into an additional cabinet, or disengage the internal speaker for an external one. My guess is that these were both strategic cost-cutting measures on Boss's part. All things considered, Boss did a great job prioritizing fuction, form and cost with the Katana. I look forward to years and years of use!

Yeah I love my new Katana 100. So many great tones and options. Very happy with it. Sweetwater is great too. Love the customer service.

Got a katana 100, at first I was worried about the CLEAN amp because compared to a VOX it lacked clarity, to tune the amp properly used a korg X3 synt and by mistake discovered that the real clean channel is the ACOUSTIC.

For me the best EQ settings for the ACOUSTIC channel are:
Gain = 0
Volume = 50 (12oclock)
Bass and middle = 50 (12oclock)
Treble = 100 (Full)
No effects
Presence = 3 oclock
Master = 9 oclock
Power 50 watts

With the above settings you will have a real clean amp that keeps the sound quality of your instrument.
Once you setup the ACOUSTIC channel try changing it to CLEAN and compare, you will discover the missing tones of the CLEAN amp.

We are lucky that the amp includes the ACOUSTIC channel, all the included amps sound good except the CLEAN, thats why many people report better cleans with CRUNCH channel.

Now my katana sounds properly, it is close to the clean channel of my VOX so that means the sound is now alive, the CLEAN channel sounds bad like if the amp was covered with a towel.

Try the ACOUSTIC channel with my EQ settings, it opens up all the frequencies and improves sound quality.

Got the Boss Katana 100 basically for the Acoustic guitar setting, but when I plugged the Strat in was blown away on the sounds you can get out of this amp. Always loved Line 6 amps for Modelling but Boss has matched and their amp is user friendly. Very happy with the price and the effects and wattage control. The amp is so light, if you are tired of carrying around heavy tube amps, this amp is for you.

I have long been a tube amp snob as I've been a guitar player since the late 50's as well as a tube amp repair tech as well. I have come to really appreciate these new Boss products as well as the new Roland Blues Cube amps. Incredible tone and versatility on this Katana 100. I previously owned a Katana 50 but my son and grandson liked it so well, I passed it along to them and picked up this 100 watt version which is very similar but seems to have a bit more bass response. Highly recommend these amps.

I"m the guy who recently said I likely wouldn"t be super close friends with the Katana 100..... now revising my view.

So... having spent more time digging deeper into tweaks, I"d move my opinion from a 3 to a 4. On an absolute scale, no excuses allowed like for price etc, I give this a solid 4 .... Because some tube amps, like my original Vibroverb, do sound better, and feel better and more nuanced. But an original Blackface Fender vibroverb now cost up to 10x the Katana price, and is surely not 10 times better. The vibroverb also has less built-in flexibility and is heavy. Still, there"s a reason SRV loved his.

All that said, the katana sounds better than some tube amps I"ve played and is amazingly flexible and competent. Can"t imagine a better amp for the price.

It's a nice amp for the price, certainly. I think it's probably the best solid state you'll be able to get. The tones are decent and it DOES work with distortion pedals, although not as clearly as a tube. On 100w setting I keep the volume knob between 7 and 11 for my room play. I'd say at max or near max volume it's viable as a band practice amp and a small gig amp. Tube amps are still better but I do suggest you invest in the Boss Katana if you want a reliable, lightweight solid state amp. I don't regret my purchase.

I like this amp almost as much as the Blues Cube. I think the difference is the speaker voicing which according to 1 user does mellow out in time. I'm actually going to run this in stereo with the Blues Cube which is very simple to have incredible warm tube sound, but this Katana gives me a few more options and is great price- but you will need to add footswitch. I haven't used Katana in full band yet but have used the Blues Cube in band and was really great. So I have AB'd with the Blues Cube to dial in my sound on this Katana and except for the speaker - it can get close and does "cut through". I used the Roland Tone Studio online and loaded some presets that work well, but still waiting for the back-ordered foot-switch so I can load some more, I played through the acoustic amp channel using the JTV Variax and sounded beautiful. The katana 100 is small size and I can use the effects loop return for my TriplePlay synth - and at first, it cut the guitar out, but by using Tone Studio was able reset for the guitar and effects loop at same time- you have to choose parallel or serial. I'm usually a straight into amp guy but am liking the stereo setup and it's nice having some effects available on Katana.

The Boss Katana 100 rates somewhere in between "Really Good" and "Great" for me. I also own a 6505mh, HT5R and a Fender Super Champ XD and while the Boss Katana can not compete with either the Peavey or Blackstar it is more satisfying to play around with than the Super Champ. It does react well to how hard you hit the strings and it does clean up very nicely when you roll off the guitar's volume (better I dare say than it's tube counterparts) and with all the effects inside it will provide lots of good times and come in handy when I want to use something a little different in recording like the slow engine, the voice thing, or the chopper, etc.

There is a learning curve; if you have not the patience to spend a few hours with it, look else where. Once it's set up and you've selected effects that work for you and you've spent several sessions dialing in tones, it's quite fun. It's bread and butter is CRUNCH in my opinion. Cleans are nice but take some tweaking while METAL tones (at least so far for me) are not easily obtainable. It's very loud. I haven't yet plugged it into a auxiliary cabinet (2x12 or other) but plan to and I have a long way to go in getting specific deep edits dialed in. It's strange, I'll play and think "YEAH, Nice" and then play my HT and think "YEAH, Nice!" They're different but I always come away having enjoyed it.

I bought this thing and I truly hate it, as long as I'm playing Mary had a little lamb very loud, it's ok. But if you want a real 70's 80's growl, without a computer to hook it to forget it. I mean yeah you can get a few different sounds out of it barefoot, but nothing like the fenders I've had in the past, it just will not, what I call growl. Good for a country band, maybe, or the easy sound of silence..lol, but that's it. If it can be made to get down and growl. I ain't found it yet. Everybody says you gotta connect to a computer, which I don't have, run thru 150 different sounds to find it. Its got a reverb knob, but it just don't get the sound of a fender...sorry. Sorry I bought it also.

I purchased this with the Roland GA-FC foot controller. Overall a decent amp, but at the end of the day I returned it, and went with the Orange CR-60 instead.

The good:

* I purchased this amp after being out of the gigging business for over a decade. I wanted a decent sounding amp, and didn"t want to initially shell out hundreds of extra dollars for pedals. This amp delivered in spades.
* Nice range of distortions from mild crunch to Metal.
* Over 50 effects available. Most of them really nice sounding.
* Plenty of volume - even in a band situation I never needed to use the 100 watt setting.
* Sounds decent at high volume (unlike many cheaper amps). I attribute this to the Katana speaker. It just rocks.


The Bad:

* Only a handful of effects are accessible from the top panel.
* You MUST have a PC or Mac available to access the other effects and really tweak your tone to taste.
* Upgrading the amp (mine arrived with version 2) to version 3 and setting up the Macintosh software was "less than plug and play". Not super difficult, but took more effort than it should have.
* The distortion sounds are very "hi-fi" sounding, kind of what you hear in over produced recordings. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it makes it difficult to cut through a mix in a band situation.
* After spending hours on the T-Wah settings, I gave up and bought a Morley Wah pedal instead. Most of the the other effects are decent to excellent.


The Ugly:

* The Amp doesn"t make a great gigging rig because there is no easy way to tweak it on stage quickly unless you bring a laptop computer. Need a little more volume on preset three? Touch the volume knob and it jumps the volume to whatever the panel is set to at the time. switch back to channel 2 to compare and you just lost your setting. This puts thew guitarist in an endless cycle of "touch, guess, save, compare" sometimes multiple times before getting it right. This will take 30 - 45 seconds for an operation that should have taken literally 2 seconds.
* No iPad, Android, or iPhone app. Boss really missed the boat here. Every band has multiple iOS/Android devices at any given point in time. No one brings a laptop to a gig. This is the amps biggest downfall. Without an Android or iOS app this amp just isn"t very gig friendly……making that 2 second single channel volume tweak just about impossible.
* Random reboots during the first gig I took it to. In fairness I think the venue power was shady, still it was the only piece of equipment effected.

Kudo's to Colin, my Sweetwater rep for making the exchange seemless, transparent, and painless. This is why I shop at Sweetwater. :-)

As others have said, amp is pretty bright. I’d say if you like to tweak, then you’ll find decent tones via software / computer adjustable parameters.

I’ve been VERY good friends with some modeling amps, as well as some tube amps. This one won’t ever be a great friend.

If you prefer to simply and quickly dial in a tone, this amp is not for you. If you like STELLAR vintage tones with moderate overdrive, this amp Isn’t for you.

But if you like a Swiss Army knife of options that sound decent but not great, then go for it.

I bought this amp to get away from some of the issues inherent in tube amps, like maintenance and blown/worn tubes. I needed something dependable for my studio and this looked like it fit the bill.

For the most part I am impressed with the amp. It's easy to use has a ton of sounds that you can program into 4 different channels and if you want to count the setting on the panel you have 5 channels.

Where it fell down was with the effects loop. If you need to use one, don't count on it. I had issues and Sweetwater replaced it thinking it was a bad amp but not so. When using the GA-FC pedal to turn on and off your effects loop, the volume of the amp takes a dive and then stays low after that, even when switching it on and off. The worst part is that as you use the pedal to engage the loop once it has done it's volume drop you get a momentary volume increase then drop as you use the pedal to switch the loop off and on. NO GOOD!

If you want an amp that sounds good has a nice recording out (I use mine into an ADA Ampilator and it sounds great) and don't need an effects loop. Then this will do the trick. If you have a pedal board worth of pedals you would like to integrate... Well all I can say is this will not be for you.

This is a follow-up review to the one I left about a month ago. Sad to say, while most gear grows on the player, the Katana has ultimately done the opposite for me. Inherently, it's a great bang-for-the-buck piece of kit. Everything I stated in my initial review regarding the Katana's *features* is 100% true; which is why I still give the amp a Three Star rating. However, the fatal flaw for me lies in how the preamp tones and speaker are fundamentally voiced. There is this strident, nasally, buzzy, mid-high character to the distortion voicings that is *impossible* to get rid of, no matter how you dial the gain or EQ in. I call it the "Mike Oldfield effect". Anyone that's listened to Oldfield's lead guitar tone should understand immediately what I'm saying.

This amp is *bright*...far too bright in the upper-mid and high frequencies for my tastes. I don't know if it has to do with the proprietary full-range speaker they use to handle the Acoustic preamp or what...however, I had to turn the Mid, Treble and Presence down to between 9 and 10 o' clock in order to get a dark enough tone...and that's with humbucking pickups! Even then, I found myself going in and attempting to shelve certain frequencies in the Tone Studio editor's Graphic and Parametric EQs to no avail. In the end, I threw in the towel once I realized that this 'character' is inherent to the hardwired voicing of the amp/speaker itself.

Bottom line: If you're a fan of darker voiced amps (Vox AC30 TB, Marshall Silver Jubilee, JCM800, Boogie MkIV, Carvin Legacy, etc.) do yourself a favor and *steer clear of the Katana*. Again, I'm not saying it's a bad product. On the contrary, it's a solidly built, elegant, versatile package at an awesome price. However, there are strong, fundamental limitations to the way this thing is voiced and it's just not my cup of tea. Sorry to say I'll be selling mine, but realistically I don't foresee getting much use out of it.

Title says it all. I really don't know why everyone is so up in arms over these things. Maybe its the functionality? The technology in this amp is really cool and functionality is great, it just really sounds like a toy.

I bought the amp because of the good reviews I heard but I was pretty disappointed so I returned it.
I had the following issue with the amp:
1) There is no extension output on this amp. 100 watts is a lot a for the 1x12 in there.
2) The clean channel is pretty bad. Especially when compared to a Fender or Vox tube amp.
3) The on-board effects were pretty lackluster.
4) The EQ didn't have enough range to it.
5) The wattage settings are pointless. It just acts as a 2nd volume nob. It doesn't change the break up characteristics of the amp.

I liked 2 things
The Brown channel sounded pretty good.
The weight.

If I had been able to try out this Boss Katana 100 amp in a store, I would never have bought it. The more I gig with it, the more I hate it. The effects are truly annoying. There's "boingy boingy echo" and "swooshy boingy echo" and "echoey boing boing" - oh - and "SUDDENLY VERY VERY LOUD!!!" Yeah those are great, just great. I've figured out how to dial back the annoyances, but every time I turn it off and on again, or change channels & back, it switches back to boing boing echo, in spite of the knob settings. Oh, and what's the point of having a "Master" volume if it doesn't actually set the volume at the level you want w/o getting suddenly loud when you switch channels? (Extra fun when you use the footswitch and then have to run over to your amp to adjust volume, mid solo) I've actually had a bandmate ask me "what's wrong with your amp?" Next step, I'm finally hooking it up to my computer and see if I can delete most of the annoying effects. Bottom line: selling it, buying a Marshall 100 combo.

Tried to put on compression, but couldn't shut off the delay.The only way to shut off the delay was to turn the reverb off. Now no reverb. Don't know why there is a presence control. It doesn't do anything. I guess if you want to just use the clean channel with a pedal board and run the amp flat, than this amp is for you.