I'm learning about my guitar and amp tastes (its a journey they say) and .. honestly, in the end, I find I am a tube amp person ... also, for me the 'g string honk' on this amp with my HSS strat set up was not good. I did enjoy the plethora of download options ... and, if you are a crunch, overdriven, or metal kind of player ... you might love this amp.

This is a great amp!

I´ve used this amp for both bedroom practice, jam sessions and the occasional bar gig. For every one of these occasions, its worked super well. I play bass mainly, but guitar sounds great through this as well. Sounds good through PA´s, and with some tweaking can achieve all of the tones you could want.

-Good durability
-Good tones
-Easy and understandable control layout

This is a very good modeling amp. The software provides a quick and easy way to download classic amp profiles and/or create completely new ones yourself. I have the 50 watt version that I am using in a small home studio. Perfect for that application. With the 3 different power levels built into the amp, I can use it to model at any volume with little influence on the output to DAW. And, the modeling software is quite powerful. Just make sure you have the correct drivers installed (voice of oops... here). All-in-all I agree with so many reviewers, this amp is well worth the money, and even more importantly - fun to play through!

It's a nice sounding little amp.
Simple operations. The wattage adjustment makes it easy to dial in big tone at lower volume.
No confusing pre sets to endlessly scroll through, just turn the controls until you find what you want.

I've honestly only been playing guitar for a couple of years, and this is my second amp. It's a great amp for both electric and accustic/electric guitars.The sound and effects are incredible for a 50 wt amp. I would definitely suggest it for beginners or small venues. Price is affordable also.
Thanks Max!
Danny Gentry

This is an amazing amp for the price. Able to get the exact sound needed for any type of music I desire. The only thing that would be an improvement would be to increase the number of preset storage to more than four. Software is great. I would recommend this amp to anyone for practice or small venues.

Returned mine after about a month of owning it. I swapped it out for a Katana Gen 3 50 watt, as my intention was to use this amp for practice only (mostly using headphones). It made some weird crackles and pops occasionally, which may have just been my unit having some weird problems on its own. What made me return it however is the amps complete inability to handle gain or any low end.

I get it, it's a small bedroom amp that's portable and is mini sized. But the amp does not deliver all that is promised. What I experienced happened in both headphones mode and when using the speaker, and it got worse the more gain/low end frequencies I added to the signal or in the amp itself. The fact that BOSS includes a "crunch" and "brown" mode for this amp is very misleading, as it implies that the amp can handle more than just a clean signal, which it can not. The amp has very little headroom and cannot take pedals well at all. Again, I know it's a practice amp, but why it's there a GAIN knob and a crunch/brown channel on this amp at all if it can't handle it?

Once I swapped it for a Katana Gen 3 50 watt the problem went away immediately. The 50 is a little bigger and is obviously not as portable or battery powered like this one, but at least I can get a good sound with it and don't have to stay in clean mode and refrain from hitting the lower strings on my guitar. Would not recommend this mini x amp to ANYONE.

This amp is a great buy for all you get, and the quality of the sound is really good... on most settings. The attenuation / power feature makes it perfect for bedroom or small venue. It excels at low volumes. There are definitely plenty of options when it comes to tone and affects, and most of the clean to blues-rock tones are fine. However, I have found that when applying any amount of gain that goes into crunch/metal territory, there is a loud, annoying hiss and hum. This is worsened when you add the Booster or more gain. This is where the BOSS Tone Studio app comes in very handy, and it also provides dozens of pedal emulations where you can add or place pedals in any order you want; Distortion, reverb, delay, compression, EQ's, - there is a lot to play with here and I love it. Without Tone Studio, for me, this amp would not get the rating I gave. The app allows you to tweak almost every aspect of the pedal board. It also includes a presence and noise suppressor, which I found helps kill the hiss I mentioned earlier. All in all this amp is a great deal.
*Be aware: I fried two of these amps when connecting to a PC with a faulty power supply, which I was unaware of, of course, via USB cable. This is how the amp is meant to be used, and the fault was all mine, ultimately. Be sure when connecting your amp and PC to use Tone Studio, to plug both the amp and the PC into THE SAME good surge suppressor/power strip to avoid a ground loop which can cause dangerous voltage to pass through the USB cable. This is rare, but I am proof it can happen. I now use a USB ground loop isolator when I use a PC and am sure to have both PC and Amp into same Strip, same circuit. The safest route, and the one I use, is to use a laptop on battery power, not plugged into AC.

Needed a versatile, portable, lightweight amp for gigging. This fits the bill perfectly. No, it's not a tube amp, but the crunch sound is as good as any in a combo amp. Onboard effects are solid, and the new "pushed" option comes in handy for pop songs that do not require heavier overdrive. Honestly, the only wish-list item is it does not have a line out jack. So for larger venues, you will be micing it up. Would I purchase again? Without question.

Love the amp. Great tones in the amp itself. Good beginner amp

I've owned quite a few combo amps over the years and Boss really knocked it out of the park with the Gen 3 50W. Versatile and expandable, it's all that the product description says it is and more. Would definitely recommend this to anyone shopping for an amp of this type and price range.

Oh yeah! You can not beat this amp if you are looking for versatile sound, power and ease of use. Has highly adjustable, built in effects that sound as good or better than a lot of pedals out there. Can sound like a Marshall or Fender and has plenty of power and volume for up to a medium size club. Absolutely love it especially for the price! Thanks to Eric B. at Sweetwater for the recommendation!

Enjoying the new amp. Am a new player and just learning all the settings. Seems like a good first amp.

Customer service is top notch here. Really enjoyed my buying experience. From the website interface,pictures, pricing, shipping and service.

Very happy with the selections and product performs as expected.

I've been through quite a few guitar amps over the years. I've had small ones, big ones, cheap ones, expensive ones, and of course, tube amps and solid state amps. I'm old enough to remember the first solid state amps. They were...awful. So I'd developed a reluctance to consider anything but a tube amp. But I'd still not found an amp that would make me happy. After trading a Blues Jr. III for a vintage Pro Reverb, I thought, maybe, my search was over. But it's big, heavy, and kinda noisy. Not good. So I called my salesrep/mentor, Mike Soper at Sweetwater, and told him what I was looking for: small, light, and versatile. He steered me towards the Katana, telling me that this has become the go-to amp for most of the pros that visit Sweetwater. Sold. When the amp arrived, I plugged it in and was immediately blown away by it's functionality and versatility. This box is a chameleon - it can sound like...well...anything your heart desires. Marshall stack? No problem. Fender tweed vintage? Yup. Mesa Boogie? Fine. It can handle whatever you put through it, and handle it well. It's really a perfect match to my Taylor T5z Classic, another instrument that has the versatility thing down pat.

A couple of things to note: In order to get the full use of all the features, you're going to want to pop for the BT-Dual Bluetooth module. That, or carry a laptop and USB cable with you. Unless you settle on four sounds you like, you'll need an external device to tap into the almost unlimited varieties of sounds. Boss has an app - the Boss Tone Studio - that is essentially a (free) library of presets that you can download and send to the Katana. Pretty slick, and there's an army of users out there, creating more presets every day. Did I mention that they've included something like sixty different Boss pedals IN the amp? Yeah. They did. My pedalboard now consists of a foot switch and a tuner. Of course, you can still rock your favorite pedals, but I'm going through a 'minimalist' phase, where "less is more."

The amp has room for four presets, plus however you have your knobs configured, so we'll count that as "five." Because there are features that are NOT accessible on the amp, you'll need/want a foot switch and an external gadget (phone, tablet or laptop) for playing live. Note that for a little bit more, you can get the EX version of the Katana 50, which bumps you up to eight presets instead of four.

In short, this amp ROCKS. Doesn't matter if you're into blues, jazz, classic rock, metal, or any other style - I believe the Katana will get you where you want to go. Two thumbs enthusiastically waaaay up.

Best practice amp I've ever owned. I previously owned a Line 6 spider 3 75w which was also great for practice. However, with the Line 6, problems and glitches became more and more frequent the longer I had it. The Line 6 had more effects and presets than the Boss and also a built-in tuner. The tuner is the only thing I miss and would have liked the Boss to have this feature. Having to run my Boss tuner pedal is a bit of a hassle. As far as build and sound quality, the Boss Katana clearly comes out ahead of the Spider. With the amount of features built in to the Line 6, it borders on too much. If you can't find the sound you're looking for with the Katana, plug in your laptop, open the free Boss editing software, and there's a whole 'nother amps worth of effects and settings to mess with. All in all, its the best little amp I've ever personally used and would recommend to anyone of any skill level.

Love this Katana 50 gen3.
Although,I'm not a guitarist, I'm a drummer, but I know enough to know that this is a great amp with lots of features.
I purchased this for my daughter,as she is learning guitar.
I definitely recommend it, if you're looking for a small amp with big,beautiful sound for small spaces or just a practice amp.

Great amp with all the preset sounds you could want and easy to use, too. This amp does the job for mettle to Accustic clean on my various accustic/electrics to my 335 and Telle. I can even use it on my Synth keyboard. I replaced 3 large amps and cabinets witht this one amp. I am 60 years old and sizing down and this amp truly does the trick!!

I own a BOSS Katana 50 MK II, so I have the unique opportunity to do a compare. I find the build quality continues to be solid. There are some new features which I feel justify the increase in cost vs. my original MK II. First off, the Bluetooth capability has been added once you use an adapter. Also, there are more choices in amp sounds which I have yet to exploit. This includes a new "Pushed" setting added to the overall sound dial. A nice addition to this model is the use of a USB C port vs the old "printer type USB" option. This is what enables your interface to BOSS Tone studio (the computer software which controls Katana amps). As far as Tone Studio, there is a new version for the Gen 3 which is separate from the 50 MK II. Since I own both amps, I wanted to synch up my sounds. This was easy to do by exporting from my MK II, and then importing to the new Gen 3 via Tone Studio. For those interested in using the BOSS's optional GA-FC/GA-FC EX foot controller, you need to purchase a different version of this amplifier. The version is called the Boss Katana-50 EX.

That does lead to the idea of a foot controller. Although there are currently few options for a "4-button" foot controller for this unit, you can still access all four of your preset settings using a latching footswitch (similar to the GA-FC/GA-FC). There are a number of compatible 2-switch options, including BOSS FS models which are easy to identify. It is even possible to use a third-party two-button footswitch with this amp as well.

One difference within one of the default settings of this amp are the footswitch options. In the MK II, the default allowed you access to Channels 1 and 2, and Bank A/B. The Gen 3 defaults to Channels 1 and 2, and "Solo". You should research the difference in the two setting defaults, but you can easily change between the two in Tone Studio on a preset individual basis.

In summary, I'm very pleased with the Katana 50 Gen 3. I've owned similar modeling amps by Fender, and my absolute preference is the Katana series. I personally find the tones you can dial in, as well as the build of these amps to be premier. And that's why I own two Katana-50s!

This little amp is great! I've been playing for 35 years and have had many amps over the years from Mesa Boogie to Marshall to fender, I'm not going to compare the Katana to those but with a laptop hooked up to it and tone studio I found the tone I've always wanted, a little compressor, slap back tape echo delay, plate reverb,eq, noise suppression and a tube screamer on the crunch channel and you get great squeezed tube sound, that can go from thrash metal or turn down the volume knob on my ec1000 deluxe with JB/59. Sounds tighter than gods vagina! Now I just have to come up with a clean tone for channel 2.

I have used a lot of iconic amps - Marshall heads (own one w/ an EVH5150 cab for bigger gigs) and Peavey 5150 amps. This amp when dialed in correctly on the brown sound setting and mic'd properly is a killer gig amp. I take it for out of town gigs and love it. Love the onboard effects. Boss nailed this. Tones are very true to form. Highly recommend.

I believe that I would be an advanced beginner player, and I bought this BOSS Katana-50 Gen3 amp to upgrade from my VOX mini-5 that I have been using for about four years now. I like this new amp and believe that it great for the price. I really haven't had it that long, maybe three weeks, and I'm still trying to figure it all out, there is no user's manual that comes with it. The tones I can get from it are better than my little VOX mini-5, which is also a modeling amp and pretty decent I must say. I suffer from Tinnitus, so I will never be able to use this amp to its full potential power, it would just be too much. The only reason I gave it four stars and not five, is because I just haven't had it long enough to know if it is a five-star amp. And to be completely honest, I really don't have anything to compare it to in that price range. I just know that so far, I like it.

Had the 100 watt 1 x 12" and liked it. Got this one because it is lighter and not as loud. This is a great practice amp. Sounds a little better than the Mk II I believe. I use these little amps to keep practiced and write songs before I play through the big tube amps. Liked these 2 so much, I bought the Artist 100 watt head. Thanks again J.D.!

Great amp for the price. Solid performer. Meets expectations. Glad Tyler recommended this amp.

I would not purchase the katana gen3 50 again.
Absolutely no customer support from Boss /Roland
Setup on my laptop was a nightmare. Installed and uninstalled all software at least 2 dozen times. Roland has no clear directions on what to download.
You must figure it out on your on!!!
After 2 dozen times tone studio still would not work.
I called sweet water and the tech dept after many try's got it to work.
Tech guy took a while to figure it out also..
So unless your tech savy. Save your money for a amp that doesn't require a download….
I would not purchase this again. Save your money for a plain old amp..
It's ok now that SW tech fixed it. My other complaint it lack of patch's for the gen 3!
All you can find is heavy metal patch's..
No rockabilly no eagles type patch's ..

This was highly recommended Amps since my original purchase Amps won't be available on time. I truly appreciate Mr. Drake's recommendation for this Amps.
My son love it so much.

I run this amp usb to my DAW and or open ear. The amp simply just works and works well. I am

I've had this amp about a month now, sold my MkII. Everything works as it should, however... the CHAIN feature is a joke. They have preset what is possible in positioning the effects and it makes no sense. If you can't place the effects where you want them, why PRETEND you can? Certainly NOT a deal breaker, but a very half-assed implementation of what could have been a useful feature. PUSHED amp is nice addition to the available amplifiers. It's a keeper for me.

I'm just a bedroom Guitarist and if that's what you are too, you will love this amp, I mostly play rock or thrash metal, with the new Pushed setting, this thing can easily recreate a Malcom Young tone, as for metal it reminds me of a Marshall DSL or JCM, if you learn how to tweak your knobs and find the sweetspot, I firmly believe this amp can do it all.