Boss Katana 50 MKII Reviews

Very versatile amp

I had been looking for an inexpensive combo/practice amp for some time. I wanted something that I could use at home (quietly), and as a grab and go if I was going to jam with friends.

I looked at a number of other amps, but kept coming back to the Katana 50. The sound is good for clean tones, slightly overdriven tones (which was surprising for an amp in this category - I do not hear any harshness that can sometimes come with a solid state or digital amp), and that '80's style distortion tone (guilty pleasure...:)).

The effects are good (I mean, it's a Boss amp...of course the effects are going to be good), but what really surprised me was that I was able to get an extremely useable range of tones just by playing with my guitar's volume & tone knobs. I did not expect that from this amp.

Simply one of the greatest amps I've ever owned

This little amp packs a lot of features and quality at a very affordable price. It is ideal for home use and practice, but can easily hold its own in a studio or live setting as well! It is versatile and portable, and a one-stop solution for most use cases really.

I have mainly used it for home use, practice and playing together with the kids, at a low volume setting and with the output switch set to 0.5W - which still can get loud if you want. At 25W or 50W it can shake walls.

The speaker is well suited to the cabinet and sounds available, it sounds really good. The effects are quality effects, both delay and reverb I have used extensively. The tremolo and auto-wah etc I have not used as much, but they also sound good. A surprising amount of quality features in a small frame at a decent price.

While the cleans may not be as sparkling or warm as in my old Fender tube amp, they are still very good. While the distorted chug may not be quite as solid as in a Peavey or Marshall setup with 4x12 cabinets, it is still extremely good - and you only need to carry the little amp around, no extra cabs or cables or anything!

I am extremely happy with this amp, and it is essentially the only one I use these days (my other modeling amps like Spider and Micro Cube are currently gathering dust, together with my old Marshalls and Fenders that are more suited to live or studio use)

I recommend this amp to anyone wanting to play guitar, beginner or pro, that does not want to lug a huge amount of stuff around, or that wants to play in different settings (live, home, studio etc) using the same setup.

I wish I could give 6 stars to this amp

I bought this amp at the beginning of 2020 (so the beginning of the pandemic) since I needed an amp that I can use at home, without waking up my neighbors. Before purchasing this one, I tried other practice amps but I wasn't satisfied. After I bought this one, I ended up using it more than my Marshall and Fender amps!

Pros:

- This is not a modeling amp! In other words, it does not try to replicate the sound of a Marshall, a Fender, a Vox, an Orange, etc. It has its own characteristics as an amp.

- The amp types/channels (Clean, Crunch, Lead, and Brown) do what they are supposed to do! I mainly use the clean and crunch channels. The clean channel is great, with a little bit of reverb, your licks sound fantastic. The crunch is my favorite, it just adds the right amount of crunchiness, such that the pedal effects that come after still sound fantastic! I rarely use Lead and Brown channels, even though I play metal %40 of the time.

- Then there are the effects, which can be controlled/adjusted with Boss Tone Studio. Now, this is where the modeling happens! Clever guys at Boss came up with digital processing algorithms to replicate the sound of very famous pedals (Muff Fuzz, Rat, DS-1, etc.). On top of that, there are lots of modulation and FX options that you can play with.

- The speaker sounds good in all settings. It is loud enough if you use it in 50W mode (for bedroom usage, 0.5W is also great!).

- The USB connection is very useful when you want to record your guitar without any microphones.

Cons: (These are cons that are expected and they are no reason to affect the rating.)

- No FX loop. So if you want to connect external pedals, you have to connect them in front of the amp, which may/will result in unwanted sound effects in certain situations.

- It doesn't support a decent footswitch controller as its big brother 100W does. Therefore, turning on/off the effects can become really annoying, since you have to turn the knobs to (de)activate the effects.

- In order to play some songs through the speakers of this amp by using your PC/Mac, you have to connect it through the aux-in connection of the amp. You cannot use the USB connection for this reason.

Perfect Amp

Absolutely brilliant amplifier. bought it as a beginner guitarist but could definitely use it for professional use... highly recommend.

also delivered in perfect condition.

Amazing amp

People had suggested me this amp, and I thought it would be a good amp. After playing it for about two months, I dare say it's a great amp for the money. You can pull off great sounds, for folk, surf, punk & hard rock without any pedals, and unless you are looking for a specific tone you don't need a pedal for this.

A really good amp! Versatile and powerful. It's perfect to use for small gigs and at home!

Very nice modelling amp.

Ive had this for several months now, and it is the product I expected.

I have not gigged with it, although with the addition of the pedal selector, no reason why you couldnt (other than how loud you need). With the pedal I can basically choose from four saved tones (and the panel).

I find it shines in the studio. There are a plethora of tones and styles can be achieved especially when hooked up to a laptop that combined with the presets provided, you can keep library upon library of your own saved sounds.

Pros

Great sound opportunities and inspiration. Great for studio.

Cons

All presets not easily accessed on the fly so might not suit all for live performance.

Amazing amp!

Decided to get this amp not too long ago as an upgrade over my starter Harley Benton HB20R. Seeing as it is still in the budget price range, I wasn't expecting a huge difference in quality, but wow was I surprised!

Pros:

- Amazing sound quality and tone

- Lot of features and effects, eliminates the need to purchase pedals

- Can regulate power input between 0.5W, 25W and 50W for different sound levels (I tend to stick to quieter sound since I practise at home, but I'd imagine this would work well on a stage at full power/volume)

- Sturdy but not heavy

- Can link with software on your computer for more effects

- Incredible value for the price

Cons:

- None

I fully recommend this amp, it's genuinely great!

Great amp at a great price

Sounds really good it has a lot of customization options thanks to the app that is free for the owners. I would definitely purchase it again. Highly recommend it.

10/10

I bought for my nephew who just started guitar. I heard good things about the Katanas over the past few years and even seen musicians play them in pubs which sounded great.

As a seasoned guitarist who uses higher end tube amps, I was honestly shocked when I played it myself how good it was.

The price of the amp is a steal. If you're starting out and need an amo, you're are crazy not to get one. It's hands down the best bang for buck solid state amp on the market. I only wish it was around when I was growing up.

Boss Katana

This is a great all round amp at an incredibly affordable price. Several different settings allow for a diverse range of sounds for electric guitar as well as an acoustic setting for which I mostly use it for. I would highly recommend this amp to first time buyers who want a high quality versatile amp for a great price.

Good practice amp!

I like the adjustable power control.

Needs a little tweaking and using the boss tone studio to get great sounds.

Sound not as warm as a valve amp but with many effects and possibilities.

Boss could add tuner and looper.

Really nice but could use a 4-channel though ... but I guess that's what the 100W version is for.

I'm really satisfied for the price, it sound really good (and I have another valve-based guitar amp)

Just Great

Beginner to advanced, great amp for home and stage if needed.

This amp sounds awesome and only does not get the full 5 stars as that are amps that sound better (and that cost a lot more!). If there was a score price compared to sound it would get a max score for that.

Nice

I've done my research, and it led to choosing this boi. I have to say I was not let down.

It's works well, does what what it has to, and it's possible to customize even more via the apllication, although I've not gotten to that yet.

I was geniunely surprised by the sounds I could get out of the box, but I'm just a beginner and this is my first amp.

Katana.. Magic!

Katana 50 Great Amp... will use for small gigs... great sound.. good build quality... every guitarist should have one!

Best amp for beginners and not only!

This is an amazing amp packed with plenty of features.

Powerful enough to mess up your neighbors! I am using it in an apartment and never been able to practice with the power more than 25W (for short time), which is really loud!

Options are practically unlimited when is used together with Boss Tone Studio software.

With a DAW, this amp can be used also to record your guitar (you don't necessary need to spend extra money on audio interface and speakers).

I don't have yet any cons!

It is an amazing amp specially to practice in apartments.

Excellent all rounder

Heavy sound! The variety of the options are excellent. Love the variation button. An amazing amp for the price.

Cannot reccomend highly enough

Everything about this amp is amazing. It sounds great for the price, it has every feature and effect you could ever want with even more being unlocked when connected to a computer. It's easy and intuitive to use, can be very loud but also still good at low volumes due to the power control. It's a very versatile amp and can be used for anything from metal to blues to acoustic. I cannot reccomend it enough and it is 100% worth the money.

Nice sound

Overall the experience is very nice. The same as katana 100 mk2, I did not like at all the default presets in this app, but after configuration I got a very cool sound.

Another cool feature of this amp is power control, which is very nice for an appartment