Has anyone sold on a tube amp and kept a Katana head or combo ?

Telejester

If so, what did you sell on and was it a katana head or combo that ousted the tube amp ?

darthed1981

I believe @Legionreturns did

He's stalking me around the forum at the minute

midlifecrisis

im tempted to sell on my laney vc30 2by12 combo as all i seem to use now is my katana 100 combo.  i gusee whats stopping me is that its not really worth that much and i keep it as a backup (tho i dont take it to gigs) and its not really taking any space as my katana sits on top of it at home

Legionreturns

I got a H&K Switchblade 50 and so I sold a katana 100 1x12 and some other bits, then bought a Katana head and 2x12 cab, rendering the h&k redundant. 

To be fair I also have a Blackstar HT5R Head so I can still plug in some tubey goodness when I fancy a change. They both get used. 

sweepy

My back thanked me, the Katana is a cracking little amp

bingefeller

Nice rig, @Legionreturns ;

Legionreturns

By the way, if you do get the head, and put it on a big cab, replacing the feet with bigger ones like mine means it doesn't bounce off the edges  

Grumpyrocker

Selling my valve gear as soon as  I can be bothered to take some photos of it.

Teyeplayer

@Legionreturns how did the katana stand up next to the tone of a tube amp? I am always sceptical of YouTube reviews but am intrigued about these after 20 years of often heavy to lug valve amp use.

Legionreturns

Teyeplayer said:

@Legionreturns how did the katana stand up next to the tone of a tube amp? I am always sceptical of YouTube reviews but am intrigued about these after 20 years of often heavy to lug valve amp use.

Honestly not much in it. Certainly not enough for me to lug around a valve combo. 

I can tuck this under the arm I'm carrying my guitar in, board on other shoulder and still roll and smoke a tab! (This, as we all know, is the industry standard test for gear portability!)

p90fool

I've done it this week, Bought a Katana 100 combo and sold a Jet City Custom 22. 

To be fair though, I did have a pair of Custom 22s and the other one is going nowhere. 
I have other valve amps too, though not at home. 

That said, the hope is that the Katana will replace everything else for gigging, including my fairly modest pedalboard, but its first gig isn't until Saturday. Having played at reasonable volume at home to backing tracks it definitely sounds really good in a mix, only time will tell whether it works in a band situation dynamically.

Every attempt at gigging I've ever had using either digital or analogue non-valve amps has been frustrating not in terms of tone, but simply because I always seem to be either too loud or too quiet and neither my technique or guitar controls seem to be able to compensate.
I have a expression pedal but I hate being tied to it.  

I'm hoping the Katana is different, I'm the sort of player whose guitar volume is rarely on 10 so I need that natural valve-like interaction more than I need exquisite tone.

darthed1981

That a recommended 2x12 for the Katana Head @Legionreturns ; ??

Legionreturns

darthed1981 said:

That a recommended 2x12 for the Katana Head @Legionreturns ; ??

It cost me £85... V30s are my thing

clarkefan

Legionreturns said:

I got a H&K Switchblade 50 and so I sold a katana 100 1x12 and some other bits, then bought a Katana head and 2x12 cab, rendering the h&k redundant. 

To be fair I also have a Blackstar HT5R Head so I can still plug in some tubey goodness when I fancy a change. They both get used. 

Hey! What are you doing in my house?!

Travisthedog

I don't get the katana thing. I played one at absolute the other day and it was wholly under inspiring. Against the orange rocker 32 I played as well there was no competition

yeah for a few hundred quid it was very good but I didn't think it was as good as all this hyperbole might suggest

midlifecrisis

Travisthedog said:

I don't get the katana thing. I played one at absolute the other day and it was wholly under inspiring. Against the orange rocker 32 I played as well there was no competition

yeah for a few hundred quid it was very good but I didn't think it was as good as all this hyperbole might suggest

yes, i think there is a lot of hype at the moment. I like it as an amp. it probably doesnt sound as warm and deep as my laney vc30 when i noodle at home, but in a band situation it feels better. its smaller and lighter and the versatility of the effects and patches makes it good for me. Im really not into messing around on a computer tweaking the effects but it was quite easy and once done it doesnt really need to be done again until you decide you want to. I havnt had the experience of playing through very expensive amps or boutique amps so im not really one to judge if its a great amp, but i was prepared to just keep it for home practise and rehearsals but it works great for me gigging

darthed1981

Travisthedog said:

I don't get the katana thing. I played one at absolute the other day and it was wholly under inspiring. Against the orange rocker 32 I played as well there was no competition

yeah for a few hundred quid it was very good but I didn't think it was as good as all this hyperbole might suggest

Lets be fair, and I'm not saying you aren't being, but just to clarify.

The Orange Rocker 32 costs £900, it has no built in effects so you need a load of pedals costing presumably a few more hundred quid, lets say the rig would be £1100 with a couple of decent pedals.

The Katana 50 costs £179, has 4 modelled voices, 55 modelled Boss effects, an attenuator so you can play it quiet, 4 preset channels (with the latest update), weighs not very much, sounds good.

I don't think anyone has said the Katana sounds better than full-fat valve amps costing five times as much.  They are regarded as excellent, paraphrasing a lot, for the following reasons: -

- Value for money, many perceive they significantly out-perform rivals at their price point, and above it.
- Portability, they provide a good performance and save your back.
- They can do home use, rehearsals, jams and light gigging all in one box.
- Lots of effects options without going more high-tech like the Mustang GT and Marshall Code.
- Its got a little flippy foot so it sorta angles up and looks cool.
- Sweet attentuator that lets you set it to "0.5w" so you can max it out and its not too loud.

Probably other things as well.

I'm not saying it is for everyone, and probably if you compare the most direct competitor to the Rocker 32 (the 100w 2x12 at £400) maybe it makes for a more compelling argument, however for a relatively small amount of cash the Katana series gives you a lot of amp.

In terms of Valve competition, you are looking for the same money at amps like the Blackstar HT1R and err.. well there are probably others, but nowhere near as useful as a Katana.

p90fool

Even though I bought one, I'm kind of with @Travisthedog ; on this. 

I bought it online and thought it sounded weak, thin and boxy when I plugged it in, I certainly would have walked away from it in a shop. 

The global EQ available in the software has utterly transformed it for me. 
Its default sound now with the knobs at 12 o'clock is Princeton-ish, before I tweaked it in software it was unplayable with everything halfway up, it was vicious sounding. 

Anyway, it's a great practice or rehearsal rig, and I'm hoping it'll work for gigging too.
I'll find out on Saturday night I guess. 

Nikko

It's OK to not like it. I love it. But I really don't get all the love of Strats.... 

menamestom

Nope, I did the opposite.

TTBZ

Would be cool to hear it through a decent cab. I like the idea of the 100w head but haven't heard much to convince me yet.