Showing posts with label katana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label katana. Show all posts

Saturday, June 15, 2024

Katana GEN 3

Was at Swee Lee (Star Vista) yesterday but not specifically there to check this amp out but it was there  - BOSS Katana GEN 3 50W ($399).


My immediate interest was to see if the new PUSHED mode is something potent in terms of distortion / gain. If you are looking for a saturated distortion with a hint of fuzz, then you might like it. If you own the pre-GEN 3 version of the Katana, you are not missing much in this aspect. 

Pics: BOSS

Saturday, May 25, 2024

Katana discounts

These Katana amps are on discounts at Swee Lee. Katana are good amps, especially for the practicing musicians who would wanna focus on playing instead of tweaking knobs to find that perfect tone before everything starts. Anyway, I'm of the opinion that prices could be lower for the heads. Chances are a cab is required for these & players new to the scene are not prepared / willing to fork out more for an initial amp purchase. Either that or offer generous discounts for stand alone cabs to complement the purchase. Just saying. Offer ends 31 May.

Pic: Swee Lee web store

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Cuts like a knife

BOSS released the Waza amp not too long ago, something touted to be very utilitarian while churning out boutique-level tones. But that one comes at a (high) price. We now have the BOSS amps, the Katana series. These are units featuring BOSS' own effects integrated into an amplifier. We note that this is the manufacturer's own amplifier affairs as opposed to Roland's CUBE models which contain BOSS' effect modules at the core. The Katana amps are now available at Swee Lee for about a fifth of the WAZA prices and here's a demo for your reference:

Friday, September 16, 2016

Katana


Fall release by BOSS- Katana amp. It's pretty much a 'lite' version of the Waza amp.


You get amp modelling/ voicing patches & BOSS effects on board, plus the 100W model features a power variable control. No idea if these will make it here :-/

Monday, May 16, 2011

Separated at birth (yet again)

This is the wonderful but discontinued Ibanez SZ model, wish it was back...

Conceptually, Schecter's C1 model & the Ibanez SZ are only slightly differentiated.

We can say so for Yamaha's (discontinued) RGX model here as well.

Not forgetting Cort's Katana offering- they are all fundamentally similar with slight differentiation to respect the design/ copyright threshold.

When a particular guitar design establishes a forte in terms of appeal, it will be imitated. Many of us will not hesitate to embrace the design fundamentals in other manifestations because having an experience with one, we know what to expect from the other. Ibanez's SZ & Yamaha's RGX are sadly extinct; they were both very good guitars for the money but the manufacturers have their reasons to do away with them.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Shred guitar recommendations: Others (Part 3)

ESP's range of affordable reproductions, the LTDs, are great guitars to own. Like the Fender reference, we need to be mindful of the production standard & feel differences. The M-50 depicted above is one suitable for speedsters out there in terms of feel. Do not be too enthusiastic with the cleans offered here (like many other budget models), the humbuckers are there for all-out distortion.

Schecter has a wonderful offering in their C-1 range. These are praise-worthy in their QC standards & the playability couldn't be any better. The manufacturer also included a well-beveled pair of cutaways so we won't be deprived of the upper fret reaches. As these units are set-neck in assembly, the sustain is above-average given the right dose of distortion, of course.

This is perhaps Cort's proud offering to such an extent that Neil Zaza has his signature model blueprints based on it. It is very much like the C-1 model above in terms of features; a set neck model, dual humbucking & string-through-body but the neck dimensions here are a little wider & slimmer, making the Katana (KX-101) a natural appeal for fast playing proponents. The body's curved top is also more accentuated, making it very arm-friendly when you play both sitting down/ standing up. The bridge is one genuine Tone-Pros locking unit so it won't be displaced when you unstring the instrument & the pair of Duncan '59 & JB there makes it a winner in terms tonal appeal. On a personal note, I feel this guitar is very under-rated because of it's brand name- CORT; something that everybody recommends when you are after a cheap alternative. The KX range is a a make-do model by any means.

To be cont'd...