Sitting on the amplifier fence.

[artyman]

Also looking for a lighter amplifier, and was thinking of going down the Katana route, has anyone any experience of the VOX VTX40 for shadows stuff, what with the Rumble now being suggested , decisions decisions

[Stu's Dad]

Also looking for a lighter amplifier, and was thinking of going down the Katana route, has anyone any experience of the VOX VTX40 for shadows stuff, what with the Rumble now being suggested , decisions decisions

All of the Valvetronix amps are great for Shadows tones, but if you're performing you'll need a high wattage model. I'd go for the VTX 100.

Len

[artyman]

The VTX100 weighs more than my current Mustang which is 100watt if I need the power, it was a lighter option I was looking for, though good to know the VTX range are good for Shadows tones.

[dave robinson]

As already said, I have the Katana 2 x 12 100w combo. Tonight I played at the Civic Theatre in Rotherham, a 300+ seater, old school, raked seating venue and it was almost full.
I used my amp on the half a watt setting and it sounded amazing, only very lightly miked up. Alan Jones and Damion our second guitarist with whom I share lead duties used similar settings on their respective amps. If someone had told me that was possible I would have laughed in his face, but people went out of their way to tell us that it was the best sound they had heard from us - ever. I learned something tonight.

[C-C]

Hi,
I now understand why you guys are happy with the Boss katana amps.
A friend ran me down to our music shop and I tried out different Amps and
I settled on the Kat Head.
It sounded ok at shop with different cabs, But when I got home I tried it
on a 112 Cab I had with a Celestion Alnico Cream 90watt Speaker I could not be happier.
The Head With the Cream sounds so smooth right across the range.
Did not think I would be happy without a Valve amp.
I did get the Katana 100 112 combo about 18 months ago then sold it I guess the difference now is the Cream Speaker.
Just want to say thanks for pulling me down on right side of fence.
Regards
Carl.

[Hank2k]

Great news Carl it's always best to try out yourself if poss. Glad you are happy with it

[artyman]

Well I have taken the plunge and bought a Katana 50 to keep my Katana Mini company, though I have yet to manage to dial in an authentic Shadows sound. I know it's possible, as I heard a nice sounding rendition of Peace Pipe on YouTube.

[Vincent]

For the price the Katana cant be beat in my opinion. I have used my 100w head for about 40 gigs now and never have a problem from a small pub to large outdoor gigs and everything in between. Great tone and easy to use.

The blackstar was great but the katana is much more flexible to me.

Yes, but get one indoors or in a studio and, to my ears anyway, it's apparent the sound is digital ie processed ,. in some cases harsh. The Blues Cube series should be better in that regard...

[Vincent]

Thanks Dave,
As I get older I get things confused if I didn't have finger memory I'D
forget how to play.
I also have the MV 50 clean which is excellent amp.
Looks like you have put another light amp on the table the "Fender Rumble".
Before I decide I will have to try one.
Thanks for putting me up on the fence again At least I am not spending money yet.
Carl.

I have to say that the Rumble is seriously light. I had a an inkiling that it might work, based on the success of the Fender Bassman with a lot of top notch guitarists e.g. Clapton, Keith Richard, Jeff Beck amongst them.
The tones are very workable and as I say, the weight is negiigable.

I remember you writing people ramble on too much about equipment !..cant resist new toys...

[Vincent]

Sitting on the fence...? I sat on the fence regarding Katana amps and I've come down against buying one despite everything written on here and all the hype on the internet. I tried the 50 w twice in the same shop and though I couldn't download voicings/sounds there, what I detected was the harsh 'synthetic' tone typical of other digital solid state amps and that certain 'raspiness in overdrive, not to mention the loud buzz when you unplug. These are a re working of amps they've done in the past -clearly more versatile'; I've already have Roland amp. I've seen people say these new ones they sound miles better ,more 'analogue' or 'tube like' and even that the 12" speaker is an 'acoustic speaker. ' Either I'm not hearing right or some people's eardrums have taken a bashing by too many gigs!
If you crank them up live surrounded by other noise then they'll sound good and Roland are very dependable, but I think the benchmark for quality sound is still analogue, with or without valves and they've not come up with anything that behaves like a valve. . All these amps have one thing in common; they emulate or profile classic valve amps. That tells you everything...