Boss Katana Bass 110 , 210

Started by admin, March 14, 2022, 10:38:57 PM

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gumtown

160 Watts of "ASSERTIVE POWER !!" LoL  :D
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gumtown

Two new Katana models just landed
Boss Katana Bass,
in a 1 x 10" 60 Watt
and a 2 x10" 160 watt
both with selectable powered tweeter t provide a full range system.

They also have the optional Bluetooth plugin audio/midi adapter.



https://www.boss.info/global/products/katana-110_bass/

https://www.boss.info/global/products/katana-210_bass/
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CodeSmart

No Bass Head at this time. Probably Katana MKIII Guitar with bluetooth first, or not... ;) Just speculating.

GumTown, I'm happy I'm not a bass player, otherwise had to buy one and write a Floorboard for it  ;D
But I got more gear than I need...and I like it!

sixeight

Will it have sneaky bass amps and effects???

admin

#5
I predict later this year (perhaps sooner than later) Boss will release Katana MK3 guitar amp series, which will have access to the Boss Dual Bluetooth Audio/MIDI Module and access to IOS/Android Mobile BTS editors -as CUBE Street II, GX-100, Katana Bass 110/210 do today.

With any luck they may include a stereo Headphone out and USB Audio/MIDI  Class Compliant mode -  but I'm not holding my breath

(Why?)

To compete with the Yamaha/Line-6 Catalyst combo guitar amps

gumtown

Yeah - Nah !!
I will probably pass on this, my main gig is bass, but I am moving away from dedicated amps & stacks, and more towards modelling and monitors.

Still have my Marshall VBA400 tube head + VBC 810 cabinet (which I rarely use being so monstrous - near on a two man job to lift the head on top of the fridge sized cabinet),
and my DIY 4 x 6.5" quad + 1" throat tweeter (horn) bass amp, which is basically a 500watt RMS FRFR powered monitor shaped like stage combo (with a tube preamp buffer).

For a 160 watt combo, the Katana Bass just won't cut it for live gigs (for me), be OK for a grab'n'go rehearsal amp.
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gumtown

Here is someone's review while demoing in a store:
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/boss-katana-bass.1555186/page-7#post-26393606
Quote
I finally got to try one out for over an hour at my local Guitar Center and was able to compare it side by side with the Fender Rumble 500 combo.

Let me preface this by saying that I'm probably not the intended consumer for this amp as I don't use built-in effects on an amp, nor do I have a want/need for amp modeling so if I were to use it I would only use it in its most clean and neutral state, and eq from there. That being said, the effects did sound pretty nice and the different amp voices and such were cool if that's what you're looking for.

Anyway, here's my thoughts on first play through.
The inherent tone of the Katana Bass 210 kind of reminded me of the baked-in character of a Sansamp set fairly clean. The Boss was cleaner, obviously, but there was an inherent scoop to the sound with an emphasis on a full and punchy, yet somewhat undefined low bass frequency, and an upper treble grind. It was more hi-fi sounding than a Sansamp, but it has a similar punchiness and EQ curve, IMO.

For the tones I typically go for I like a balanced rig with present and defined mids rather than any kind of scoop. That's why I'm usually using Aguilar and Bag End stuff. Because of the tones I like and the perceived scoop of the amp, I had to back the bass off slightly and boost both mid knobs to about 3 o'clock. This gave me more definition and was much closer to a tone I would normally gig with.

Once set like that it felt nice to play and was definitely loud. Not quite as loud as the Fender Rumble, but loud of enough for a smallish gig, or even a medium gig with a respectful drummer (what's that?). It's the loudest 160w combo I've played, but it's also the heaviest.
And that brings me to the next point. I wouldn't say I'm super sensitive to weight like some are as I'm still using a couple of old ceramic driver Bag Ends for most things. But this amp isn't loud enough or excellent sounding enough to justify the weight, for me personally. Especially with the single top handle, it seems like it would be an annoying and awkward carry.

Overall, it definitely has some great sounds in it for someone who is trying to play small shows or practices and wants a wide variety of tones. Plenty loud and punchy enough for those applications as well and the effects are high quality, which is to be expected from Boss.

To be honest, I think I actually prefer the clean and punchy sound of the Boss to the Fender. There's a softness and kind of a vintage vibe to the Fender that's always there, whereas the Boss has a real solid feel to it. Whether that's due to the voicing of the preamp, the class of the power amp (I'm skeptical), or a slightly more sturdy build and heavier ceramic speakers (seems more likely, IMO), there's some nice oomph going on.

However, it is slightly too heavy, slightly too complicated, slightly too expensive, and slightly too quiet for my uses. Which is a shame because I love Boss as a company, and I'm a big fan of the Katana guitar amps for beginner to intermediate guitar players. They really nailed the value/weight/functionality ratio for guitar, and it shows because they sell literal truckloads of them. I just think they slightly missed the mark for bassists.

Obviously this is all just one guy's opinion. IMO, IME, YMMV, etc. etc.

EDIT: if Boss eventually do these in a higher powered head with separate cabs (which they'll do if they're smart and these sell well) then I'll probably take another look at them.
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