Through its innovative and hugely popular Katana range, BOSS has built one of the market’s leading collections of guitar amps – one that utilizes a cutting-edge combination of digital processing technology and analog circuitry to deliver a wide array of top-notch guitar tones.
Since its inception in 2016, the Katana catalog has become one of the best-selling amp families in recent memory, and has been the recipient of countless rave reviews, from the near-perfect 100 MKII to the five-star 50 MKII EX.
Now, for 2024, those cherished amps have been made more versatile and better than ever with the arrival of the Katana Gen 3 lineup.
The result of a systematic top-to-bottom overhaul, the seven new Katana Gen 3 solid-state amps build on the rock-solid foundation of their predecessors, but take the range to new heights with updated functionality, a new amp mode, improved hardware and Bluetooth capabilities.
Overall, the new range comprises five combos and two amp heads, each of which make use of BOSS’ existing Katana tech but bring new features to the table.
Such features include a new ‘Pushed’ amp voice – perfect for edge-of-break-up tube amp cleans – which makes up the list of six onboard amps that have been designed from the bottom up with unique characteristics.
These amps also have selectable variations, resulting in 12 distinct amp voices in total. Leveraging its Tube Logic design philosophy, BOSS has enhanced each with even greater sound, response, and feel.
BOSS’ world-class effects can also be accessed. The Gen 3 amps each offer five onboard categories – Booster, Mod, FX, Delay and Reverb – with three variations per slot. This results in a very generous 15 onboard effects you can play with.
All of these amps and effects can be customized and programmed into a range of presets, which can further be tweaked via the BOSS Tone Studio app.
Despite these onboard effects, the Katana amps are also excellent external effects pedal platforms, and can easily take the place of an existing amp in a pedalboard-loaded rig to provide a premium setup for gigging guitarists.
And, for those who prefer modelers, the Gen 3 amps can likewise be used as power amps, making them versatile and practical additions to any live rig.
Other Gen 3 updates include an upgraded stereo headphones output. Paired with the audio interface recording options, this makes at-home practice, learning and recording even more engaging than before.
And then there’s Bluetooth connectivity, which won’t be found on older Katana models. With the optional Bluetooth Audio MIDI Dual Adaptor (BT-DUAL), players can easily stream music and deeply edit parameters using a smartphone or tablet via the BOSS Tone Studio app.
Already, BOSS’ updates to the Katana range have been noticed. In Guitar World’s own review, the Katana-50 Gen 3 combo was praised for its excellent amp tones, world-class effects, and easy operation.
“It’s immediately obvious that BOSS has gone to great lengths to improve the overall sound quality of the Katana Gen 3,” notes GW writer Daryl Robertson, “resulting in an amplifier that sounds more alive with sweetened highs, richer harmonics in the mid-range, and a tighter, more defined low-end.”
And, like any Katana amp, these will only get better in the future, thanks to BOSS’ routine software updates.
There’s a reason why the Katana amps are viewed as some of the best solid-state amps money can buy, and with price tags that compete with older MKII models, these updated Gen 3 Katanas have certainly raised the bar.
Visit BOSS to find out more.
