Darkglass Element vs Boss Katana GO or other suggestions

[Jroc07]

I'm currently stuck to mainly practicing through headphones and am using a Scarlett focusrite to do so. I find there's a bit of latency if I try to use a DAW andI find it a but difficult to dial in a good sound with MainStage, not to mention it's a bit of a hassle to set up the interface every time with my laptop when I want to practice. I actually find myself just using the direct monitoring.

I'm just looking for something to get a good sound to play along with and learn tunes and jam to backing tracks. I want that amp like tone to make it enjoyable. I've came across the Darkglass Element but it's a bit pricey in Canada, and the Boss Katana GO which I've seen decent reviews. Could anyone give some advice on what you would do in my situation?

Cheers

 

[getBAK]

If it was me - the Phil Jones HA-2 would be my choice for a headphone amp

P: HA-2 | Phil Jones Bass

www.pjbworld.com

head and shoulders above everything else I've seen

The HA1 (previous generation) can be found used for ~$100 if you look around

The Ampeg RB108 is a combo amp with headphone and aux in - shockingly good for $200

Ampeg – Bass guitar amplification

Ampeg is a Bass amp instrument manufacturing company that specializes in bass guitar amplification and effects. For over 60 years Ampeg has been providing amplification solutions for professional bass players and aspiring bassists looking for the best bass practice amps.

ampeg.com

 

[Jroc07]

I'll look into this, thank you for the suggestion. That seems to be in the ballpark I'm looking for, although the price is pretty high.

Does anyone know how the Phil Jones Bighead compares to the Boss Katana GO?

 

[DonaldR]

I bought my Ampeg SCR-DI for that years ago: good sound, aux-in, headphones-out and 9v battery powered. It can also serve as an active DI when bypassed.

Recently I'm using my M1 Macbook with an Axe I/O One and Garageband. No perceived latency as I run it at 96k and 32 samples (I think latency is around 1ms).
I also successfully connected the Axe I/O One to my iPhone 15 (usb-c) but I haven't dialled a tone yet in Garageband iOS. If I can manage a tone I like I might get an Hotone Jogg as my small usb-c audio interface, the pedal format is smaller to fit in a gigbag and it can act as an active DI (still not sure and I'm investigating).

 

[Peke]

I've been using Darkglass Element and I like it a lot! It has also cab sims, EQ and tuner and can be use for audio interface and DI.

 

[TaySte_2000]

I have both and the are both great I put them into one of two camps.

Is it purely practice? In which case the Katana Go, sounds greats and the extra fx are handy.

Is there a possibility it might need to be used live even just as a backup? Then Element because it works as a DI, audio interface, iem mixer, a Di with some eq/gain added, tuner, 2 channel practice amp for 2 people.

Mine is now my travel carry because there is always an off chance I might need the io of the Element.

Element is also the better audio interface as the katana you can't mute the live signal

 

[Jroc07]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and input! I think I'm leaning towards the Katana GO as this will be purely for practice. I really like the idea of not having to plug anything into an outlet and playing the backing tracks or tunes through bluetooth, I think a simple set up like this will encourage more practice. My main concern was that the tone just wouldn't be great with such small device but I'm reading good things and TaySte_2000 also confirmed what I was thinking.

 

[MrDinsdale]

Got both and the Katana go is a game changer to me. I have a 4 year old daughter and 2 needy dogs, I can plug the katana go in and walk around the house playing, I can noodle on the sofa when the offspring is in bed etc. It sounds great too. I can sit in the garden playing on my lunch break on nice days too.

If you don't need that portability or fx and tone shaping the Element could be a good fit though.

 

[Jroc07]

Got both and the Katana go is a game changer to me. I have a 4 year old daughter and 2 needy dogs, I can plug the katana go in and walk around the house playing, I can noodle on the sofa when the offspring is in bed etc. It sounds great too. I can sit in the garden playing on my lunch break on nice days too.

If you don't need that portability or fx and tone shaping the Element could be a good fit though.

Thanks for the reply, I'm in a very similar situation. Quick question about the Katana GO, can you put an outboard preamp (Sadowsky SBP2) before it if you wanted?

 

[TaySte_2000]

Sure I don't see why not. I've run it at the end of a pedalboard it's just where you start to benefit more from something like the element.

My favourite thing with the Katana is to just plug and play.

The Element I've been testing heavily the past few days and have a gig on Saturday where I'll use it. The DI bypassed is as good as my Countryman, it's a real utilitarian power house but by the time you've added a cable, a way of powering it, maybe a headphone extension if you're putting it on the floor it's quite a bit bigger than the Katana and certainly more faff to setup.

If you want it living as part of a setup, the Element is the much better option than the Katana.

I'll be keeping both

 

[meisi]

Worth mentioning if you're just looking for the headphones out from your pedals, another option is the ehx headphone amp which is as bare bones as it gets.

Headphone Amp | Personal Practice Amplification - Electro-Harmonix

The go anywhere Headphone Amp delivers a musical quality and attitude that defines the spirit of Electro-Harmonix!

www.ehx.com

Seems there is no real Goldilocks solution out there as this would need some kind of cab sim.

 

[Jroc07]

Went with the Katana GO, received it today and messed around with it. This is exactly what I was looking for, a simple mobile practice setup that sounds good in headphones.

Interestingly I usually don't like reverb on bass or effects that try to mimic large rooms/halls, but the first stage mode setting sounds pretty cool with a backing track.

Thanks again for the suggestions everyone!

 

[Temcat]

Another option is NUX Mighty Plug, just bought v2. Slightly lower max volume than I would like with my low-sensitivity headphones, but with the right tweaks in the Mighty Amp app, it's now quite comfortable.

 

[TaySte_2000]

Another option is NUX Mighty Plug, just bought v2. Slightly lower max volume than I would like with my low-sensitivity headphones, but with the right tweaks in the Mighty Amp app, it's now quite comfortable.

I had one and the earlier model. There is a bass boost on the Bluetooth that makes it muddy when playing along and for lack of a better description it does something to the tone that whilst not bad makes playing quite unenjoyable.

It was a very weird experience but I used one exclusively for about 6 months and over that time really lost interest in playing. As soon as I switched to the Camden EC1 and Katana for travel I was playing loads.

However as always YMMV