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Boss Katana Bass ...

#22
JW56789 said:
Roland/BOSS has made interesting bass amps over the years, I'd like to try one of these for home use.

But like all advertising hyperbole, they're not immune to 'thundering power' and 'professional use' for 100-160 watt 10" combos in an age of 1000 watt cigar boxes. OK . . . .

But I do see something I expect to see more of: Until Yamaha's ground-breaking DX series FM Synths came along, synthesizers could have more knobs than an SSL console. The DX's front panel was mostly presets (although you could program it from there, FM was so obtuse to guys used to analog synthesis you usually gave up and bought sound cartridges with more sounds), and this is what I look for amps to head towards over time. Basic tone controls, everything else programmable as far as ganging memories built with tone curves and efx chains you call up with one button. I can't wait to see the names they'll use.
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But.....analog synths with knobs made a huge comeback, starting with modeling ones and now there are lots of real deal analog synths with knobs.

The main reason the DX-7 got so popular was it could do the "Fender Rhodes" thing without the weight and downsides of an actual Fender Rhodes.

If you want to do modeling and programmed sounds, there are products on the market that already do this.

The Line 6 ones from a while back did exactly what these Katana bass amps do but were an epic failure. Not sure why as modeling was pretty mature by the time they came out with those amps.

I don't want to be a thread crapper but I don't get any excitement from these amps, they are heavy compared to the competition, expensive and are not doing anything ground breaking in terms of modeling or presets.

Analogeezer
 
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#23
Analogeezer said:
But.....analog synths with knobs made a huge comeback, starting with modeling ones and now there are lots of real deal analog synths with knobs.

The main reason the DX-7 got so popular was it could do the "Fender Rhodes" thing without the weight and downsides of an actual Fender Rhodes.

If you want to do modeling and programmed sounds, there are products on the market that already do this.

The Line 6 ones from a while back did exactly what these Katana bass amps do but were an epic failure. Not sure why as modeling was pretty mature by the time they came out with those amps. Obviously one more player in the Rumble / Rocket Bass price range.

I don't want to be a thread crapper but I don't get any excitement from these amps, they are heavy compared to the competition, expensive and are not doing anything ground breaking in terms of modeling or presets.

Analogeezer
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I know. It's the funniest thing to see the new old-school analog synths with the Moog layout control panels. I still remember how to tweak a square waveform through the ADSR to make a fairly good clavinet tone.

BTW, I once saw a prototype DX Programmer at Yamaha in Buena Park in the 80's; they were considering selling it as an accessory like Roland did with the separate programmer controller for the JX's and others . . . . but it was like looking at a control panel for a UFO. Oscillators ? ? ? They passed on it. I did get to play the rare DX1 for a while, which clued me in to what the Voice of God would sound like if he were Japanese. Unbelievable, essentially a pair of DX7's ganged to gather on weighted 76 keys with extra front panel controllers.

When that's all we had (plus it got really fun when 8-note poly like original Jupiter 8's and the like came along), we dreamed of presets . . . . instead of all those knobs.

But I do think over time guitar and bass amp contol panels are heading that way. Katanas have been a big success for BOSS, but these are at best practice/coffeehouse amps. We'll see . . . . if they grow. Obviously they want to get in on the Rumble / Rocket Bass market segment.
 
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#24
Analogeezer said:
I'm not feeling the excitement, $649 for a 2x10" combo with 160 watts puts it in direct competition with the Rumble 500 (350 watts) and the Rocket Bass 2x10".

Less power and 10 to 14 pounds heavier does not sound like a winning combination.

You would have to really want/like the idea of programming presets and you only get six of those. Why only six?

Looks like the 2 x 10" takes an extension cabinet but the minimum ohm rating is 4 ohms.

That means either it can run lower than four ohms, or when you hook up an extension cabinet it cuts off the internal speaker.

The original Katana guitar amps did well because of value for the dollar, I am not seeing that with this pair.

Not trying to be a buzzkill, just being realistic.

It has a USB out for recording but even people with basic recording setups have an interface that can take the DI out of their existing amps.

Analogeezer
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I think it depends on the quality of the effects (which the other competitors you listed lack) which sounded pretty good to me. Only will really know when I play it in person though. I'm by a few large guitar centers so I bet I'll be able to test.

And I do think solid state watts are louder.

Lastly the competitors you mentioned aren't rated that much higher until you connect an extension cab.

I think the Boss will be popular and compete well.
 
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#25
Okay. From an engineering standpoint, what does the class AB power mean to the layperson? How does it compare to class D in a practical aspect?

I’m going to preorder the 110 but at almost 17kg (37.4 lbs) it is almost as heavy as my Markbass 210.
 
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#28
P Cheen said:
Okay. From an engineering standpoint, what does the class AB power mean to the layperson? How does it compare to class D in a practical aspect?

I’m going to preorder the 110 but at almost 17kg (37.4 lbs) it is almost as heavy as my Markbass 210.
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Class AB is less efficient than class D. What that means in a practical sense (you probably won't notice a very slightly smaller electric bill) is that the amp makes a bit more heat that it has to deal with. So you need heat sinks, fans - that sort of thing, and they weigh something. For a 60 watt amp, probably not a big deal - class D is a bit more complex circuitry wise, that may be a good tradeoff. For the 160 watt one, the rationale is a bit more murky.

Boss likely isn't out to make the absolute lightest combo on the market - they generally aim for a bit better performance, which usually means a bit more weight when you have a speaker enclosure involved. My guess is it's pretty solid stuff, even though it obviously isn't what you'd play on a huge tour. I once had a jones for one of their cube 60 bass amps - I played through one at a store, and a year later went to buy one (when you're in college, money doesn't show up quickly). They had discontinued the model. D'oh!!!!
 
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#29
Oh, my! I'm so grateful to you for sharing this link! I truly must check these out! So much gear, so little money!
This will motivate me to maybe find an easy part time job that doesn't interfere with my Social Security so if I like one of these enough and it makes me happy, then I will have the means to purchase it!
This journey will be fun!
 
#30
various topologies aside, the reviews around the video channels all seem to state that it’s loud enough to gig with. Of course there’s a limit to what a person could or would want to do with no PA. What one really needs is “big enough to cover any room that won’t have a pa in this day and age” I suppose?
 
#33
I love my guitar Katana 50 MK I. My Fender Rumble 40 Studio isn't something I've always jived with but it was like $300. It also weighs about 20lbs. The Katana Bass 110 is 37lbs and $540. At that price I'd be better off buying another Rumble 210 (my 1st one was $500) and using my Traynor Small Block 200H at home and at the rehersal space.

I would have loved and bought one of these in a heartbeat 2 years ago. Now that I'm used to the Rumble and my album is released I think I'll pass.
 
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#36
OnePunchMan said:
The 2x10 seems like it might come short as it might be too big for home and too small for outdoors.
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That's my feeling on it. I like the idea of the 1x10 for home practice, but it is quite expensive for that, albeit with some great features. The 2x10 though, just doesn't seem to have the oomph. I always take a 500w head to gigs, and frankly would be a little concerned with less.
 
#38
According to the Boss website it is class ab so they must have their reasons.Boss/Roland is a large enough company they could have used a class d module from a few different manufacturers and saved weight and cost but they didnt.Maybe that is something that needs to be heard? A thing that puzzled me though is if you plug in an extension cab to it that cuts out the internal speakers and the owners manual doesnt say if the amp puts out its full 160 watts into 4 or 8 ohms.Anybody else care to look into this?
 
#40
Rolling Thunder said:
What's the question?
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For the price & weight, I'd doubt it was Class A/B. Their guitar amps are 100% SS.

I guess my question is what the hey does your post mean? The manufacturer states plainly in their marketing literature that the amp is Class AB, so there isn't any cause for doubt. But Class AB is an amplifier topology -- it can be implemented in both vacuum tube and solid state designs. No one was hypothesizing the amp isn't solid state. That is, presuming that solid state is what you meant by referring to the guitar amps as being "SS" and not "Super Sport". :D
 
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