Boss Katana100 MK2 Head

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Boss Katana100 MK2 Head

Postby dave robinson » Sat May 22, 2021 9:05 am

Back in 2016 I discovered the Boss Katana whilst seeking a lightweight gigging amp in Gear4Music's giant store in York. At the time I was using my Mesa Boogie MK3 which literally weighs what feels like a ton and it was becoming difficult to manage, prompting me to consider change, as good as it was.
I bought the 1 x 12 50w version of the Katana, then the 100w, replacing that with the 2 x 12 and eventually settling on the 100 head and separate cabinet.
Because these were affordable and the fact that Gear4Music have a wonderful returns policy, it allowed me to try them all and eventually settle on something that worked well for me, until 2019 when Fender introduced their Tone Master which is feather light by comparison. I have had the Twin Reverb since then and sold my two Katana 100 Heads and GA/FC controllers, having had good times using them and fond memories about how good these amps are.
Fast forward to today and in recent weeks have been thinking about all the great patches I made for my Katana that covered every genre of music that we use in our show.
I knew that Boss had upgraded these great amps and decided to get another 100 Head but this time the MK2. It isn't exactly light, but I wanted it because of it's small footprint and internal 5" speaker and it's great to have in the house to serve my practicing needs. The other thing that made it score highly was the amount of effects it carries on board and I discovered it has the capability of four echo heads too, which can be positioned and edited considerably, making this amp is very usable for Shadows music and a lot more as well. Using the Boss Tone Lab on the computer I find that I can create accurately almost any amplifier I need, from Vox AC15 -30 to Mesa Boogie, it's amazing.
Usually when companies make a MK2 it's just a face lift but Boss have added some great improvements to what is already sas an excellent product.
I just wanted to let people know about how good these new models are and well worth considering for bedroom/home players because all the effects you ever need are in one box and can be programmed and saved. No more pedals and little boxes and wires all over the floor. :)
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Re: Boss Katana100 MK2 Head

Postby roger bayliss » Sat May 22, 2021 2:55 pm

I sold my 100 watt combo Mark 1 and bought a Mk2 100 watt head . I use it a lot at home for practice. The 5 inch speaker is all you need in the house as well, plenty loud enough, but slightly boxy sounding compared to my 12 inch celestion blue cab. Loads of effects and eq options.

I find the Katanas a bit bass heavy , so I find going to the global eq and trimming the bass by a few dB helps.

The clean channel is what I use for Shadows tones and it does a great job for me.

I like the simplicity of picking up the head and plugging guitar and power cord in and off you go. Nice and simple.
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Re: Boss Katana100 MK2 Head

Postby dave robinson » Sat May 22, 2021 5:11 pm

I like it that much that I ordered the GA-FC today. ;)
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Re: Boss Katana100 MK2 Head

Postby artyman » Sat May 22, 2021 10:49 pm

Weight was the reason I bought the Katana 50 a Mk1, I didn't realize the head version had a speaker, what is the volume like on that, is it possible to use it in large room say 16' x 30' I'm thinking it might be suitable for use in the Care Homes we play at, then add a cab for larger venues.
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Re: Boss Katana100 MK2 Head

Postby dave robinson » Sun May 23, 2021 12:09 am

I'd use mine at care home gigs of that size, it's30 watts when using the internal speaker, plenty loud enough for a small lounge. :)
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Re: Boss Katana100 MK2 Head

Postby roger bayliss » Sun May 23, 2021 10:02 am

artyman wrote:Weight was the reason I bought the Katana 50 a Mk1, I didn't realize the head version had a speaker, what is the volume like on that, is it possible to use it in large room say 16' x 30' I'm thinking it might be suitable for use in the Care Homes we play at, then add a cab for larger venues.


Yes a room of that size would be possible with in built speaker, but obviously you can get a lot more volume on external cab as I believe there might be some internal power attenuation for internal speaker.
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Re: Boss Katana100 MK2 Head

Postby pauldb38 » Sun May 23, 2021 5:09 pm

Hi dave interesting post , i previously owned the Katana head MK1 , but i changed it for the Vox Ac15CH now don't get me wrong i love the Vox but you have got me thinking about the Mk2, do you have any sound samples with what you have done with MK2 ? I was waiting for a Mk2 Air version but it never appeared lol.

Paul :D
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Re: Boss Katana100 MK2 Head

Postby dave robinson » Sun May 23, 2021 8:48 pm

I love my Vox AC30 and my Fender amps too, but this was a practical decision as it doesn't go down very well having either of those in the living room. The tiny footprint and low profile of the Katana head make it ideal for my in the house needs and I can easily get a very similar tone to either the Vox or Fender and more.
I will at some point be using my Katana to do some recording, especially to highlight my latest work on the later Zoom pedals, which I'm doing for the benefit of guys who have them and want to hear what they are capable of. It is a work in progress so the links will appear in the not too distant future. :)
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Re: Boss Katana100 MK2 Head

Postby pauldb38 » Tue May 25, 2021 2:29 pm

As always i look forward to your examples dave, keep up the good work.

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Re: Boss Katana100 MK2 Head

Postby roger bayliss » Tue May 25, 2021 3:28 pm

Here are 3 demo's of my Boss Katana 100 head Mark 2. The echos (single head only) , eq etc are all done on Katana using built in 5 inch speaker and recorded live on my phone. Scuse mistakes . Guitar is G&L S500 tribute series strat. Best little practise amp ever.

Some are Lonely

https://youtu.be/eBrjiMCF764

Shazam

https://youtu.be/C6Efgvfhn9o

Theme For Young Lovers

https://youtu.be/JC-YEHVSIR8
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