How to choose the right Katana MKII for you - my DEFINITIVE answer!

so you're thinking about getting a mark ii boss katana and you want a combo but there's the 50 the 100 the 100 212 and the artist and you're not sure which one is for you so i've made this video to go over some of the differences between those amps and so you can decide which one is the best for you [Music] hello fellow guitar geeks i'm back with the katanas and i'm finally going to answer the question that i get asked the most about these amps and that is which one should i get before we go any further please note that i'm leaving the head out of this because today we're just covering combos okay if you want to skip to which amp i recommend then i'll put some time stamps down below this video but i really recommend you watch the whole video so you understand the reasons for my recommendations so let's take a look at the main differences between the katana 50 the katana 100 the katana 100 212 and the katana artist it's not about the watts now boss named the katana amps after the watts that they have so the katana 50 has 50 watts the katana 100 and the 100 212 has 100 watts and the artist has 100 watts but they're shinier more creative more expensive what's you may be wondering what is a what which is very fun to say a what is a measurement of power and in the guitar amplifier world that translates to how loud is the amp the first thing which is possibly the most important thing when choosing a katana is do not let the wattage of the amp be the reason you choose that amp a lot of us are home players and just play in our bedrooms or living rooms and worry that the 100 watts or the artist might be too loud however all of the katanas can be put in 0.5 watts mode so the 50 is actually no quieter than the 100 or the artist in that mode it might sound a little different but it's roughly the same conversely people wonder is the katana 50 enough if i'm going to be in a band well the katana 50 is loud enough to keep up with most drummers so if you think the katana is 50 is not loud enough it probably is even for gigging and if you think the artist or the 100 is too loud for home playing it isn't so once again the wattage is not a reason to choose one model over another it's about the money the katana 50 is the cheapest of all the katanas however it's also the amp with the least features of all the katanas here are some things the 50 does not have number one the 50 does not have an effects loop it does have a power amp in but that will cut off all the effects in the amp so this just becomes a powered speaker if you want to use a looper or any effects that should be in an effects loop like a reverb or a delay or something like that the 50 is probably not the amp for you number two although all the katana combos have a 12 inch speaker the 12 inch speaker in the 50 has a smaller magnet and is a cheaper speaker than any of the other amps i do quite like the punky raspiness of this one though number three the 50 does not have a line out so if you want to line out to a pa system and use the katana as a monitor speaker you can't do that if you want to record with a katana via a line out and use the katana as a monitor speaker you can't do that you can use the record out just up here however that's going to mute the speaker in the cab number four the 50 is not compatible with the gafc so these wonderful buttons which access all the katana's effects and features won't work for the katana 50. it will work with a two button switch or one button switch to switch the different presets but um it doesn't work one of these number five the panel is on the top so you can't see it if you're at the front number six the 50 only has space in its computing power to store four presets in two banks of two compared to its big brothers which have space for eight presets so if any of the things i've mentioned so far are an absolute deal breaker then the katana 50 is not for you okay what about the 100 do you get more for your money well next up in the range is the katana 100 and the 100 212 this has everything the 50 has plus a little bit more an upgraded 12-inch speaker or or two in the case of the 2-1-2 these have a larger magnet than the one in the 50 and it's capable of handling 100 watts the sound is more rounded more fuller and less raspy and punky than the 50. it's got an effects loop yay it's got stereo expand meaning you can connect two katanas together and use the stereo effects in stereo as a side note you can use a 50 as the slave but you will need to use it in conjunction with the 100 as a master it's got a real line out whereas the 50 only had the recording out and headphones which would mute the internal speaker the line out will keep this speaker active so you can still use the katana as a monitor speaker the 100 has eight presets in two banks of four and it has an on-board presence control if you found the extra features ticked more boxes of things that you require then maybe the 100 is for you but if you want more there's the katana artist [Music] the artist the katana artist the flagship of the range and the ultimate katana experience it's also the most expensive one in the range so let's find out if the extra features are actually worth it the artist comes with the g12w wazacraft speaker which again is an upgraded speaker but this time we're talking top tier it really is something different compared to the other two speakers and the other two combos whereas the 100 and the 50 can sometimes lack in bottom end and bass and feeling that makes you go er this thing really does sound full and it is a totally different playing experience the artist has a speaker out which means you can run an external cab office and get an even bigger sound it also has midi controllability meaning that you can control all the functions of the amp with a midi controller foot switch anything that has midi and can send signals to something can control the katana artist that's pretty cool even though i i don't use it i don't really dive into midi but if that's your thing that's got it i love the way the artist sounds however for me the most exciting feature of the amp is the front panel because when you're gigging or if you're doing what i do when you're in a recording studio or whatever you don't want to be leaning over the back of the amp when an amp has this many knobs and if it's a dark stage or something it's nigh on impossible to see what's going on back there and at least here like if i was doing a video with it now playing and changing stuff i could do it without having to lean over there and i think that's an absolute game changer it might seem like something small but for me it's huge the artist also has this solo feature which you can engage with this button just down there or you can engage it with a single channel foot switch or in conjunction with the gafc so when your guitar is just not loud enough kick in the solo mode also on that front panel is the contour three-way switch and the global eq which allows for even more tone shaping so you can preset this from the katana software the boss tone studio and then have three settings on here and the global eq to change easily live without a computer if you need even more tone shaping the cab resonance is here to save the day again on the wonderful front panel we've got vintage modern and deep which you can switch in the software but on the artist you can switch it just here note you can also switch the camera resonance on the 100 to 1 2. so if any one of those features feels absolutely necessary for you like the front panel then this artist could be the cat for you my back hurts just looking at an amp let's talk about weight the 50 weighs 11.6 kilograms or 25.6 pounds the 100 weighs 14.8 kilograms or 32.6 pounds the artist weighs in at 19 kilograms or 41.9 pounds and the 100 212 is the heaviest of all at 19.8 kilograms or 43 pounds it is kind of crazy how light the 50 is and if weight is an issue so if you're using like public transport or you're just not into lifting heavy amps then you'll have no issues with this the 100 is actually not that much heavier so maybe try both of them but this one's really light size is everything when it comes to size this is the 50 and this is the artist so you can see the difference between those two models and here is the 100 which is kind of smack bang in the middle of those two sizes the 2 1 2 the 100 watt is even bigger than the artist which is insane but of course it's got to house those those two 12-inch speakers the size of the 50 makes it very attractive okay which katana should you buy the 50 the katana 50 due to its size its weights its price its feature list its sound is one of the best amps we guitar players have ever had available to us and if your wallet can only stretch as far as the 50 and you know you don't need those extra features when you know you don't need them then that's the time that the 50 is for you the 100 so what about the 100 well online i've seen many people in the social medias having bought the 50 or we're going to buy the 50. and then change their mind and try and return the 50 and get the 100 mainly because of those extra features the effects loop for the looper and they didn't know that the effects didn't work or the other reason that the fact that the 50 doesn't work with the gafc and the 100 does that happened to me in fact i took the 50 and the 100 home from the shop that i was allowed to take them home they were very kind to me here in austria and i had both amps and i tested them in this room many eons ago and i ended up taking the 50 back because the 100 justified the extra spend and i still make that decision today i still think the 100 was the right choice for me so what about the 100 212 well you might notice that i don't have one and the reason is i don't really know why that amp exists because it doesn't have the features of the artist it's kind of the same as the 100 but with a bigger sound with two speakers but it is considerably heavier and considerably bigger and i just don't think that that amp has the benefits of that size of that weight i think that you're much better off either going for the 100 or the artist saying that if any of you own the 100 212 please let me know in the comments your experience and why you went for that amp because i've never really never really heard of anyone playing that one so so let me know down there please maybe the artist ah the artist the speaker the midi the front panel the price the price puts it firmly out of the budget amp range and if you're looking for a budget amp this is not it however this amp is a totally different beast to its siblings even though it's got the same brain you've got all these features which are readily available on the front panel you've got the upgraded speaker this amp even though it's expensive sounds like it's even more expensive than it actually is so if you can deal with the weight and the size and the price and you want to have bragging rights for all your friends and other guitar players you know go for the artist it won't disappoint it really is the best that's all the features of all the amps that i think need covering but if you still can't make a decision i will shortly summarize each of the four amps too long didn't read if money is the biggest factor the 50 is extremely impressive for the price and you get a lot of amp for your money if you plan on expanding your rig at some point and you're teetering on the edge of getting the 100 i suggest you save for a little bit longer get the 100. it's the better choice also if you've never tried a katana and you're buying one without being able to experience playing it get the 100. if you've got the money and you've heard good things about katana or you've tried the 100 or 50 and thought the sand wasn't quite full enough for you or you just want biggest bragging rights the artist is truly an amazing amp that will not let you down it's brilliant okay now the decision is yours i i hope i've helped you today because um that's a question i get so often and i thought the easiest way for me to answer it is to make this video and if you are decided on buying a katana then there's some links below this video if you buy it from one of those links then i get a small kickback at no extra cost to you so those are affiliate links um and use them and then i get some money i can buy food and guitars thanks that's it for me today thank you to boss for helping me make this video also thank you to you for watching if you want more of me there are videos floating around your screen right now where you can subscribe and smash the bell and all that sort of stuff and i'll be back very soon or even right now bye

Channel: TheGuitarGeek

Views: 45,581

Rating: 4.9463086 out of 5

Keywords: Boss katana, boss katana 50 mk2, boss katana 50, boss katana mini, boss katana 100 mk2, boss katana mk2, boss katana artist mk2, boss katana artist, boss katana review, boss katana comparison, boss katana 50 comparison, andy gear demos, Buying guide, the guitar geek, andy, ferris, theguitargeek, best amp for home practice, best live amp, best modelling amp under 300, best modelling amplifier, best modelling amp for blues, best modelling amp guitar, best amp for beginners

Id: U-pla7VRDmI

Length: 14min 3sec (843 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 16 2021