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Gorgon90

Gorgon90

Harmonic Dive Bomber
Just won a raffle for a brand new Boss Katana 50 EX gen 3 50w guitar amp combo on Shred Comps. Got lucky with some low odds and it couldn't happen at a better time as I've looking at lighter more compact rig than my current set up.

Pics when it arrives.
 
Congratulations! Have you recently started playing the lotto? Considering how often you have been winning lately, you might to.
 
The delivery man arrived last night and I got all excited.

Then I checked the box and noticed that it was the standard Katana 50 watt, rather than the extended version that was listed as a prize.

I contacted Shred Comps without opening the box, and they apologised profusely and are getting the right one sent out and collecting the one in my possession by return.

So while it's frustrating that it I haven't got my amp yet, I am impressed with the customer service attitude. When things go right, it's secondary, but when things go wrong, how companies deal with it is what often makes or breaks the relationship with the customer.
 
It finally arrived on Saturday.

20250915_131807_resized.jpg


Not had a chance to have a serious go with it yet beyond proving it turns on and makes a noise so may update this more as I get a chance to explore.

First impressions are:
  • Solid build - what I'd expect from Boss / Roland tbh.
  • Sounded ok, for a 2 minute tweak through the amp models and knobs to prove everything does something.
  • Amazed that it is half the weight and about 2/3rds the size of my Trace Elliot combo and still a 1x12".
  • Disappointed that it only came with a quick start up guide. I had to chase through the Boss website to find a full reference guide that explains a lot more of how stuff works.
  • Also think for the market price, Boss could include Bluetooth connectivity out the box rather than charge £40 for an adapter. My CubeBaby effects pedal/modeller did and that cost £36 all told.
  • Power option of 0.5 watt, half power and full power is a great idea for keeping the wife/neighbours happy.
  • To find out how good this thing can really be, I will need to get the editor software connected up via my laptop.
  • It doesn't have an FX loop, but the Power Amp socket does mean that using a modeller direct in and using this for monitoring is a viable option but how much of an FRFR powered cab it can pretend to be I'll find out in due course.
AFAIK the extended features of this over the standard 50 watt combo are:
  • Line out jack provided. This can be used as a DI to the PA, feed into another power amp, or drive a second Gen 3 EX combo in stereo mode.
  • Support for Boss' GA-FC and GA-FC EX footswitches. The standard 50 Watt has banks A and B, each with 2 channels but you can 't footswitch change between banks making it a straight 2 channel amp live. The EX version has the same buttons on the amp panel, but with the GA-FC and or GA-FC EX, there are 4 channels per bank and you can switch between the banks (if I have read the documentation correctly), making it a lot more versatile.
  • Apparently, the speaker is upgraded in this over the standard model. Can't A/B test it so I can't confirm if it sounds better.
EX Extras.jpg


Anyway, fair play to Shred Comps for sorting it, now I just need to get life to stop throwing curve balls and give me a chance to play with it.
 
HNAD! I have one of those, and I absolutely love it. Make sure you hook it up to your computer to create your presets, and EQ out the shrill highs. It will make all the difference in the world, especially in higher gain sounds. Enjoy!
 
GilmourD said:
Isn't the Line Out and Power Amp In the effects loop?
Click to expand...
Not tried it, but according to the manual, the Power Amp in switches out all the front end. It makes it a powered cab effectively with only the on switch, and the power level (0.5w/half/full) control operational.

Potentially, the line out and aux in might work as an FX loop but I haven't tried that yet.
 
@GilmourD - got a chance to have a quick go with the Katana tonight and tried out using the Line Out and Aux In as an FX loop and it worked!

i used a normal guitar lead from the Line Out to the modeller and a 3.5mm stereo jack to jack lead from my Tank G modeller's headphone output to the Katana's Aux In. I have a few simple FX patches set up for use on my Trace Elliot combo and these worked well in the Katana like this.

This was only a quick go and I suspect that some playing would be needed to balance impedences with straight pedals but as I had it set up it worked pretty well.

Katana's probably got better FX built in when I get a chance to play more with that but as an experiment, it worked.
 
TL/DR - the Katana Gen 3 50 EX rocks.

Long version:

Further adventures with the Katana Gen 3 50 EX.
  • I was correct, it is definitely necessary to get the software app. There are so many settings you can get to that aren't available from the panel.
  • I ordered a Boss GAFC-EX pedal to use with this which does indeed make it possible to get to all 8 memories in the Katana. For live purposes (which is my main aim), this is essential in my book and opens up so much more usability.
  • The skinny 10ft TRS cable that comes with the GAFC-EX doesn't look like it would last particularly long in a gigging environment and it also doesn't reach very far at all when plugged in from the back of the amp and you want your control pedal at the front of stage. Fortunately I have a couple of 20ft heavy duty TRS cables available so have used one of those instead.
First band rehearsal with it today and I discovered a few more things.
  • I got through it using stock sounds and a fair number of them were passable out the box. Definitely want to spend time playing with them though to tune them to what I need. I had my modeller with me to plug into the PA if all else failed but didn't need it.
  • I needed to put it in full power mode and run the master volume at about 6 out of 10 to keep up volume wise. Drummer wasn't sure it was going to be loud enough but it proved to be up to the job. As we typically play pubs using backline only with a vocals only PA, I think this will be fine in most pubs but any bigger stages, it will struggle on it's own and will need to be mic'd up. As our PA is a Yamaha StagePAS 600 where the monitor mix is a duplicate of the FOH mix, that will be a serious limitation if it happens. I have tried to persuade the bass player who owns the PA that using a proper mixing desk with dedicated AUX/Monitor channels and feeding into the output of that into power amp stage of the Yamaha would be better but he's not bought into it so far.
  • The Katana takes pedals in front of it well, at least it did with my Mooer PitchBox, Mooer Wahter and Tuner pedal.
  • Why did Boss not include a tuner somewhere in this setup? I could understand it not fitting on the amp display, but it seems an oversight not to have worked out how to put it into the GAFC or GAFC-EX footswitch. I believe I could lose the PitchBox and Wahter using onboard effects with a bit of programming and an expression pedal but not having a tuner means I have to keep one inline increasing cables.
  • The solo option on every channel is a great idea and really helps with the versatility, it effectively doubles the number of channels if you think of it as distinct rhythm and lead versions as I have done previously on my Trace Elliot amp.
  • Bank changing is weird compared to most tools. I'm used to selecting a bank and then selecting a patch inside that bank, and the sound not changing until that new patch is selected. With the Katana/GAFC-EX combination, when you change between the two banks, it instantly changes to the same channel on the new bank which may not be what you want. This will need some thinking about, if I need a 5th sound in a song and lining them up so the change in bank handles it. I guess the designers assumed 4 channels would be enough for any song, and swapping to controls effects as well would be enough. I'm just more used to having a patch for each combination of channel and effect I want as I went that way to stop tap dancing on pedals as much as possible.
  • One neat trick is that you can select the panel settings at any point rather than one of the channels. I used this to set up a mute switch today but it could also work as a 9th channel if you wanted.
Overall, I'm really impressed with the Katana Gen 3 50w EX. It's loud enough to gig with, add a GAFC-EX and it becomes extremely versatile and it sounds good out the box and can only get better with tweaking. The bank change method I can learn to work around. The lack of a tuner is all that stops it from being an all in one solution (when used with the GAFC-EX). Would I buy it if I hadn't won it? Having played with it a bit, I'd certainly think about it. If I had the money, I'd probably go higher up the range for something with 100w output just to have more headroom available for bigger gigs. Something with MIDI support giving more control over direct channel changes would be ideal and probably work more the way I have in the past. Recommended.
 
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