Shaman
Well-known member
I had a Marshall 50 practice amp (I don't gig with electric guitar, I'm a bassman), and I've had it since the late 1990s. It wasn't loud enough to jam with a drum kit and while it made decent sound, it was typical Marshall; it wants to growl and bark but not much else. More recently though, it gave up the ghost and just wasn't doing much of anything at all.
So I embarked this week on a long Youtube jag of amp reviews and poured over what's available online. I asked some friends who play a lot more guitar than me. My upper limit on costs? $750.
"BOSS Katana 100" they said. Just about everyone. I got a few wildcards like "Orange 20W" but again, I wanted to break out of amps with low flexibility. There was a used Fender Champion 100 on the floor too, but I was told that it's just not as good. So I got a Katana 100 for $579 at Long & McQuade, and set it up about 1/2 hour ago. I'll be playing with it tonight, and I'm probably not coming back online.
Now for the gearhead part: Holy old @#&$ is this game a different one with amps like these. I'm in mild shock that this is even available for this kind of money, honestly. The list of things it can do is so long that I'll try to keep it to the features that I like the best:
* effects in / out with two channels, if I read it right the channels are clean and post-amp effect
* chain up to 5 simulated BOSS pedals - Booster, Mod, FX, Delay, and Reverb
* remember up to 8 presets and a bypass to use just the amp channel EQ/effects on the knobs
* three different "amp contour" settings to quickly give you a starting spot for tone
* three selectable global EQ sections
* three different "cabinet resonance" settings - vintage, modern and deep
* use it with BOSS Tone Studio to upload different amp models and effects using Bluetooth or USB
This thing will keep me entertained for far too long. I have an old multi-effects pedal that I can use but it always sounded a bit weedy and fake to me (Digitech). This thing has features like "autowah" that you can turn on with the Tone Studio, etc. Pretty bizarre. 100 watts will allow me to jam with people using it, too.
So I embarked this week on a long Youtube jag of amp reviews and poured over what's available online. I asked some friends who play a lot more guitar than me. My upper limit on costs? $750.
"BOSS Katana 100" they said. Just about everyone. I got a few wildcards like "Orange 20W" but again, I wanted to break out of amps with low flexibility. There was a used Fender Champion 100 on the floor too, but I was told that it's just not as good. So I got a Katana 100 for $579 at Long & McQuade, and set it up about 1/2 hour ago. I'll be playing with it tonight, and I'm probably not coming back online.
Now for the gearhead part: Holy old @#&$ is this game a different one with amps like these. I'm in mild shock that this is even available for this kind of money, honestly. The list of things it can do is so long that I'll try to keep it to the features that I like the best:
* effects in / out with two channels, if I read it right the channels are clean and post-amp effect
* chain up to 5 simulated BOSS pedals - Booster, Mod, FX, Delay, and Reverb
* remember up to 8 presets and a bypass to use just the amp channel EQ/effects on the knobs
* three different "amp contour" settings to quickly give you a starting spot for tone
* three selectable global EQ sections
* three different "cabinet resonance" settings - vintage, modern and deep
* use it with BOSS Tone Studio to upload different amp models and effects using Bluetooth or USB
This thing will keep me entertained for far too long. I have an old multi-effects pedal that I can use but it always sounded a bit weedy and fake to me (Digitech). This thing has features like "autowah" that you can turn on with the Tone Studio, etc. Pretty bizarre. 100 watts will allow me to jam with people using it, too.
