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The Boss Katana 50 combo is amazing !
I recently had to move my Vox AC 30 back into my studio and realised that the weight of it will eventually cripple me, so I began searching for something modern and light weight, that also gives me something close to the Vox soundwise. I did a bit of research and after auditioning one or two different makes I discovered this Boss Katana. The reviews and demos on youtube were impressive, as is the price at £189.00, so I ordered one with the option to return it if it didn't do the job. I gigged it on our regular Thursday night and I am delighted with it and would thoroughly recommend it to all my guitarist friends who suffer from owning heavy amps. The sound is amazing, it's very versatile with numerous built in effects and more than enough power for our gigs. This is the 50 watt version and has a power switch to allow you to use it at 1/2 watt for home use, 25 watts and the full 50 watts. I had it on 25 watts last night and it equalled my Mesa Boogie Mk III for tone and volume. It does all kinds of rock & roll tones and I had no trouble dialling in a good vintage Shads sound.
I am however sending it back and buying the 100 watt version, simply because this one cannot be used with the remote foot pedal to change programmes, which I hadn't noticed until I read the manual and this is important to me should I want to use it on our theatre shows. Other than that it's tremendous value and I for one was not expecting to be swayed by a solid state Japanese combo after years of using USA and British built tube amplifiers. I hasten to add that these are NOT the transistor amps of the past, the ones that lacked in 'soul and depth' , it seems that Roland ( Boss) have got it nailed at last, oh and the weight - 14 kg as opposed to the Vox AC 30's 38kg, it's a no brainer.

Just to let people know that I received the 100 watt version on Saturday morning and gigged it on Saturday night. It did the job fine as expected, but I decided that I preferred the 50 watt version for it's size and weight, as the larger amp was closer to my Peavey in weight and more bulky than it's smaller brother. I used the 50 watt setting at the gig and it was more than loud enough. Because I have a Vox Tonelab on the floor in front of me, I found that one setting was adequate to do the job and dismissed the idea of using the Boss pedal board, thus contradicting my original idea. It's great for playing in the house on the 1/2 watt setting and light enough to cart upstairs without getting a hernia.
The little Katana 50 is ideal in size and weight so that's what I've gone with.

Thanks for the heads up on this great little amp Dave, since your message I've been looking into this and decided to go with the little 50 watt version which I picked up this morning. it 's a great little amp, ideal for the "more mature gent". It will be interesting to get into the "deep editing" when Boss get problems with their "Tone Central" loading on to Windows 10 sorted out.
Take care

I'm pleased you like it Peter, I took the other one back to Gear4Music today as we were visiting Joy's dad in York.
I took my Strat and tried almost everything in the store apart from the Vox amps and Boogies which I have.
I'm more than satisfied with my choice and spent the afternoon playing through one of the display KT100 s.
I too am looking forward to playing with the deep editing software, I just downloaded it.

Hi Dave,
Having read your review of the Boss Katana, I , like Peter, have decided to splash out on a Katana 100 combo. I watched several YouTube reviews/demos & was sold. I already have a Roland Blues Cube Artist combo, so I know how good their amp models & effects work, & indeed sound very close to a genuine Valve amp, inc. that slight breakup even on the clean channel. I was interested in the fact that it has an 'Acoustic' simulation model in there also, as I play a lot of clean Rhythm tones with the lads. I will now not need to carry a specialised pedal with me to plug in the front, as that is already available in the amp models. What a delight that it is so light in weight, so a boon to us 'oldies'.
This could well be the best amp around, & the future for gigging / practise / home play all in one.
Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

Tony.

Yes Tony, I agree about the acoustic channel, I use a couple of Gibsons, a J200 and J 160e as well as a Martin and they sound as good through the Katana as they do through the AER acoustic amp. No need to cart the extra amp any more.

Anyone tried the RAT SubZero 15 watt amp. I have one and its upgraded to a Blues Junior but with further improvements. Plenty of clean volume for the pub/village hall type gigs. I now believe they do a 20 watt version. The guy who does them only has a few at a time in stock. A lot lighter than my AC301 which hardly gets used these days.

Having already a Roland Blues Cube Artist combo, I bought the GA-FC foot controller. I understand this unit can also be used with the Boss Katana amps. It is a good quality 6- switch pedal, costing about £80, but well worth it.

Tony.

Yes you can use the GA-FC pedal with the 100 watt version, but mine is the tiny Katana 50 and the pedal isn't supported on this one. I use my Vox Tonelab SE so I don't really need that option. I can flick between electric and acoustic with a normal footswitch, which is OK for my purpose.

Hmmm...interesting posts...

I've been saying for years that there's nothing wrong with using transistor amps!