Designed to provide you with gig-ready rock tones while minimizing your reliance on a pedalboard, the Katana-Head Guitar Amplifier from BOSS provides 100W at eight or 16 Ohms, and also features a 5" internal speaker for monitoring your tone or practicing at home without a cabinet. When using the internal speaker, the amp provides 30W of power. The amp gives you access to 61 BOSS effects via BOSS's Tone Central. Using a USB connection, you can port any 15 effects into the amplifier at any one time, with three separate effects available for simultaneous usage. Once you select among these effects—as well as among five different onboard amp characteristics and EQ/presence controls—you can store your tone into one of four recallable Tone Setting memories. In this manner, you can easily change your tonal array onstage without a complicated tap dance routine.
Turn your attention to the rear of the amplifier head and you'll notice quite a few connective possibilities. For instance, you'll see the speaker output right alongside the headphones/recording output. This gives you the ability to direct your sound to cabinets, headphones, and recording devices with a minimal amount of maneuvering. Additionally, a line out jack allows you to route line-level signal to mixers and PAs. An effects loop affords you the opportunity to use outboard gear, and an auxiliary input jack lets you play audio from compatible players through the amplifier head.
But wait, there's more! For external control, there are two different footswitch inputs, one for channel selection/expression pedals, and one specifically tailored to the all-encompassing GA-FC foot controller. Should you wish to control the amplifier through MIDI messaging, you can do so via the dedicated MIDI input.
Built-In Monitor Speaker
The amp's built-in 5" speaker lets you check tones and practice without having to connect to a cabinet
Five Distinct Amp Characters
The amp offers five amp characters with tones ranging from organic vintage to modern high gain; Clean is natural and transparent, Crunch offers a small amount of grit, Lead has a wide gain range to suit many styles, Brown delivers a refined high-gain tone, and the Acoustic character provides a tonality geared toward acoustic/electric guitars
Pedalboard Sounds without the Pedalboard
Via BOSS's Tone Central, you can choose from 61 effects—the Katana Version 3 update brings the Roland DC-30 Analog Chorus-Echo, the BOSS GE-10 Graphic Equalizer, and the 95E pedal wah—to load 15 different modules into the amp at any one time, using three of them simultaneously; eight Tone Settings let you store custom amp and effects setups for instant recall, and you can always jump to the current panel settings at the touch of a button
Extensive Footswitching Possibilities
External control of specific parameters is possible with multiple inputs for optional footswitches, expression pedals, and MIDI devices, as well as a dedicated input for the GA-FC foot controller
Intuitive Operation
Dedicated knobs for multiple gain stages, the three-band EQ, and presence control allow you to dial in tones by ear, just as you would with a standard tube amp; essential effects parameters are adjusted with a simple knob twist, and Tone Setting memories can be stored with a brief button hold
Power Control
A Power Control selector lets you reduce wattage, allowing you to lower the volume for small stages and home-playing without sacrificing tone
Connection Options
The speaker output allows you to connect to eight or 16 Ohm cabs, while you can also send a simultaneous direct feed to PAs, mixers, and recording interfaces via the line output, which provides the mic'd up tone of the Katana in all of its power, fullness, and dynamics; a dedicated effects loop can also be utilized to loop in outboard gear
Computer Connectivity
You can send mix-ready, true stereo sound with Katana's effects to your DAW via the USB port, recording directly to your computer without having to take an analog DI
MIDI Input
A MIDI input jack enables seamless integration with external effects and MIDI switching devices like the BOSS ES-8 and ES-5
Tone Control & Tone Studio
The Katana gives you access to Tone Central and Tone Studio; Tone Central provides a plethora of free amp and effect setups created by seasoned professionals and downloadable by you, while Tone Studio gives you a convenient way to organize your Katana presets for different gigs, recordings, and practice sessions
Notable Features
- 100W amplifier head
- Five distinct amp characters: Clean, Crunch, Lead, Brown (derived from the Waza amp), and Acoustic (for acoustic/electric guitars)
- Choose from 61 customizable effects with BOSS Tone Studio editor software
- Store 15 different effects on board, with three effects available at once
- Dedicated gain, EQ, presence, and effects controls for adjusting sounds quickly
- Assign parameters to the front-panel effects knobs
- Eight Tone Setting memories for storing and recalling all amp and effect settings
- Full-time channel and global parametric EQs for refined tone shaping
- Three Cabinet Resonance types adjust the interaction between the amp’s output section and speaker, enabling you to fine-tune the feel and tone of the amp
- Cabinet simulation on the line, USB, and phones/recording outputs enhanced with three Air Feel settings for adding depth and dimension to direct tones
- Reverb section supports delay and delay-plus-reverb in addition to reverb only
- Expanded send/return routing options for inserting external processing in the effects loop
- Power Control for achieving cranked-up tones at low volumes
- Integrated 5-inch monitor speaker for practice without an external cab
- Line Out and USB jacks provide mix-ready tones
- MIDI In for Tone Setting selection and effects on/off from a MIDI foot controller
- Preset effects available at the BOSS Tone Central website
