Review: Boss Katana Head (with 2 video samples!)

Hello and welcome to this week's article!
Today we are going to review an a small, amazing solid state guitar head: Boss Katana Head.

The Katana serie is the latest amp serie produced by Boss, the most popular guitar and bass stompbox producer in the world.
It is an affordable serie of solid state amplifiers: 3 combos (1x12 100w, 1x12 50w and 2x12 100w) and a 100w head; the four amps all shares the same solid (yet lightweight) build and the same preamp section.

The top panel is quite straightforward: 5 preamp types (acoustic, clean, crunch, lead, brown sound), an eq section, an effect section, a preset saving menu and a power amp section which lets us choose between several power settings, ranging from 0.5w to 100w.
The effect section is very simple to use, but plugging the amp via usb to a computer (it works also as a sound interface), we have access to deep editing possibilities, which can let us use up to 15 effects at the same time choosing from a palette of 55.

The back panel offers various in-out connections: an effect loop, a speaker emulated out for headphones rehearsing/recording, a midi in to connect the amp to other devices and so on.
Finally, the head version features (on a very compact, 8.8kg format) an exclusive feature that sets it apart from any other guitar head in the world: a 5 inches (for 30w) speaker built behind the grill that allows it to be played  also without a cabinet, and that is loud more than enough to be played in a home environment.

The most impressive thing about this amp is the sound: producers have come a long way in the last few years, and from the old solid state or digital amps produced 20 years ago, the quality today is uncomparable. Just plug into one of these Katanas (or also a Blackstar Id Core) and you will hear a tone that is impressively mid rangey and similar to a tube amp, with all the solidity, affordability and versatility of a solid state one; by the way, finally these amps sounds as loud as a real tube one.
The 5 preamp settings are Acoustic, Clean, Crunch, Lead and Brown, and this last one tries to recreate the classic Van Halen sound, creamy, mid-rangey and with a very tight attack.
The effect section is digital and it is taken from the latest generation of multieffects of the company, giving us the possibility to choose and set them via the software Boss Tone Studio.

All in all a very good amp, travel friendly due to its size and weight, but very versatile and powerful.
The best feature? You can play it at home using the small built in speaker, and plug it into the cabinet in the rehearsal room to unleash its full potential.
A real swiss army knife at a great price tag!

Specs taken from the website:

30 W (Using internal speaker)
100 W (Using external speaker)
POWER CONTROL switch (STANDBY, 0.5 W, 50 W, 100 W)
AMP TYPE knob (ACOUSTIC, CLEAN, CRUNCH, LEAD, BROWN)

BOOSTER/MOD button
DELAY/FX button
REVERB button
TAP button
BOOSTER/MOD knob
DELAY/FX knob
REVERB knob

AUX IN jack: Stereo miniature phone type
REC OUT/PHONES jack: Stereo 1/4-inch phone type
SEND jack: 1/4-inch phone type
RETURN jack: 1/4-inch phone type
LINE OUT jack: 1/4-inch phone type
SPEAKER OUT jack: 1/4-inch phone type
MIDI IN connector
USB port: USB B type


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