Sell AC15 for a Katana?

pottolom

I play in an indie/shoegaze band and currently use a Vox AC15C1 and a large pedalboard - both great sounding but heavy and cumbersome. While the Vox sounds excellent, I rely heavily on delay, reverb, and some distortion, so I don't really 'hear' what it truly sounds like and I'm not sure I actually need a valve amp. Despite having a lot of pedals, I really only use three. At home, I use a much smaller amp as the AC is so LOUD.

I'm considering selling everything and switching to a Boss Katana 50 with a pedal controller, setting up my effects chains via the software. I assume I could set up and save effects chains on a per song basis, which would be very handy for playing live. I’d likely pocket around £1,000 and massively reduce the weight and space I’m hauling around.

Does this seem like a sensible move? Any advice or things I should consider?

topdog91

Why not consider a MFX that isn't linked directly to your choice of amp?

monquixote

I think this is a bad idea 

The Katana is good for what it is but the AC 15 will sound a lot better.

At the very least get the Katana before you sell anything.

Winny_Pooh

NONONO 

The Katana will not sound half as good, you and your band will regret it.

I don't have an alternative for you aside from recommendating a digital multieffects or BOSS MS-3 to reduce your board size.

skunkwerx

I'm not sure I follow when you say set up chains of fx on a per song basis. 

You can save different patches, or the same patch, ie a core tone to whatever channel you like and have different FX assigned to each patch on any channel, but you'll still be tap dancing. 

I use a Boss Katana 100 Artist, and whilst I'm no guru with tone, the best tones I've managed with it are basically using it as a clean amp with my effects pedals.. which kind of defeats the purpose of it, save for the fact it can be tamed down to whisper levels.. 

Voxman

I empathise with your dilemma.  Whilst I still have my amps, I stopped using big heavy amps for gigging a long time ago. I'm 68 in August and I just can't schlep these up and down stairs and in and out of cars anymore. 

I now either put a mfx unit straight through the PA or through my Headrush FRFR108 powered speaker mounted on a tripod stand. I can walk in and out of a gig with the 108 in its tote bag and tripod in one hand, guitar case in the other and mfx in a gig bag over my shoulder. The 108 weighs 19lbs which is half of even my lightest gigging amp. I have several different mfx and this means I have flexibility and am not tied to a particular amp. 

The AC15 is a good amp and as its always good to have options, I would therefore be very reluctant to sell it as you might need it for another band. Regardless of whether you sell it or not, personally I absolutely would not buy a Katana because to me they are tinny and artificial sounding compared to an AC15 and I think you'd regret it. 

Id suggest picking up a secondhand FRFR powered speaker and a second hand mfx unit. You really dont need to spend a fortune to have a good versatile and easy to use pub/small clubs gigging set up that's easy to carry and quick to set up and take down. A used Pod Go or Valeton GP200 can be found quite cheaply, ditto a Headrush 108 or similar.  

There are other approaches and solutions of course, with each having pros and cons, but the above works for me. 

fretmeister

I have a Katana 50 and it’s…. Ok.
While the Gen3 is a lot better than the previous ones I now only use it as a powered speaker for my Tonex.

i doubt it would get anywhere near the volume of the AC15.

If you want lots of effects etc then I’d go with a modelling setup. There’s a Helix LT in the classifieds for £450, and get a good powered cab to go with it.

I appreciate you wanting to cut the weight etc, but the AC15 is a fabulous amp and the Katana is just ok.

andy_k

I would suggest you get the Katana 100, which allows the use of the bigger 6 button switcher, and is better suited to live use.
I used to use mine as a back up to my Code 50 for gigs, but never actually had to resort to it, and in hindsight I would have preferred to use it in the first place, just that I had my tones already set up in the Code and didn't need a lot of patches.
One time, the Code had a digital fart mid gig, and I switched over to a basic tone on the Katana to finish the gig, but the problem never happened again, so the Katana was mainly used as a stand for the Code.
At home, I have a Katana 100 head set up with the footswitch, which gives me 8 channels, plus access to effects, so that is more than enough and I haven't really dug into the tone studio on PC, there is a lot to play with.
The head is a good option too, maybe as a back up which could use the AC15 as a cab if something went wrong - but that isn't really solving your problem, maybe a lighweight cab and some sort of small back up solution would work as well.
I have no issues with the sounds on the Katana, it does everything well.

Yorkie

I got the Katana to avoid using pedals. Instead, my pedalboard grew out of control because
- I didn’t like the built-in effects. 
- Changing presets was frustrating on the 50. 

- I hated using the laptop to access more controls. 

@skunkwerx has posted a similar outcome here. The risk is there. 

lustycourtier

Our guitarist has just done exactly this, and couldnt be happier. Id lent him my Blues cube which he loved but I wouldnt sell so he found a used Katana. He uses same pedal board still and sounds great. 

noisepolluter

pottolom said:

I play in an indie/shoegaze band and currently use a Vox AC15C1 and a large pedalboard - both great sounding but heavy and cumbersome. While the Vox sounds excellent, I rely heavily on delay, reverb, and some distortion, so I don't really 'hear' what it truly sounds like and I'm not sure I actually need a valve amp. Despite having a lot of pedals, I really only use three. At home, I use a much smaller amp as the AC is so LOUD.

I'm considering selling everything and switching to a Boss Katana 50 with a pedal controller, setting up my effects chains via the software. I assume I could set up and save effects chains on a per song basis, which would be very handy for playing live. I’d likely pocket around £1,000 and massively reduce the weight and space I’m hauling around.

Does this seem like a sensible move? Any advice or things I should consider?

Could you switch to a valve amp which comes in head/cab format? Orange Rocker 15 Terror and a 1x12 for instance? Or Orange Dual Terror if you don’t need an fx loop? 

maw4neu

I believe the Mk 3 Boss Katana is a massive step up from the Mk 2, I cant wait to try one but for now, I have a Boss Katana Mk 2 for Band Practice and Gigging . . . It's OK but not great . . . . I don't use the on board effects at all really as I use it as a clean amp and I put a Boss ME - 25 through it. . . .  The ME-25 isn't a great effects processor, its just simple to program and it has an on board Tuner, and its "good enough" plus they are quite cheap, second hand. . . . I use just 3 patches on the ME - 25, Clean with Reverb + a little delay, Clean with Reverb + a little Chorus, and finally Crunchy + a little Delay + a little Chorus . . . simple  . . . .

At home I have a 1980 Siverface Vibro-Champ coupled to a small pedal board containing the essential Boss TU3 Tuner, a mini TC Compressor, an Ibanez TS mini and a Strymon Flint . . . .  I absolutely love the tone of my "home setup" and I only have the Vibro Champ on " 3 " or a fraction over, its just divine and I can't get anywhere near that tone and warmth with my Katana . . .     

chrisj1602

I recently got a Line 6 Catalyst so can’t comment directly on Katana, but as they are quite similar…

I used it on Sunday with a pretty loud band. I got a nice basic amp sound and used a combination of the built in effects with some from my HX Stomp into the front. I know I can set this up better but didn’t really have the time beforehand. It sounded good though, I have to say. Better than I thought.

ICBM

Disclaimer: I admit that I have previously expressed some unfavourable opinions about the Katana… but I would also counter that by saying I’m not the biggest fan of the AC15. (I owned a 90s TBX.)

Don’t sell the AC15 to buy a Katana. By all means, buy a Katana, try it out both at home and with the band, and if you like it *then* consider selling the AC15 if it’s surplus to requirements - but not the other way round.

If you want a smaller and lighter Vox amp - and assuming it would be loud enough - then I actually prefer the AC10C1 to the AC15.

OilCityPickups

skunkwerx said:

I'm not sure I follow when you say set up chains of fx on a per song basis. 

You can save different patches, or the same patch, ie a core tone to whatever channel you like and have different FX assigned to each patch on any channel, but you'll still be tap dancing. 

I use a Boss Katana 100 Artist, and whilst I'm no guru with tone, the best tones I've managed with it are basically using it as a clean amp with my effects pedals.. which kind of defeats the purpose of it, save for the fact it can be tamed down to whisper levels.. 

I ended up using my Katana as a pedal platform too - hence the reason why it left. 
Katanas are great till you want to change something you've preset on the fly - then in a live situation, forget it - you need to be using a computer and the Katana software to do very much at all. 

Fiddlesticks_

ICBM said:

If you want a smaller and lighter Vox amp - and assuming it would be loud enough - then I actually prefer the AC10C1 to the AC15.

This. If size and weight is an issue then the 10 solves that to an extent without compromising on sound.

I’ve owned both an AC15C1 and AC10C1, and both sounded much nicer than any Katana I’ve tried.

You mention that the AC15C1 is loud at home, but I recall the master volume being useable (albeit not perfect)?

Also if you only use 3 pedals could you downsize your large pedalboard to just have the ones you use?

Yorkie

Fiddlesticks_ said:
You mention that the AC15C1 is loud at home, but I recall the master volume being useable (albeit not perfect)?

I was surprised to read that too — mine is very easy to tame thanks to the master volume. It does have to go pretty low if you want grit but it’s certainly not impossible to dial in? 

Danny1969

I wouldn’t say the AC 15  is a heavy amp. I literally have friends in their late 70s and early 80s who carry those amp into shadows meetings
The katana is one of the worst amps  I’ve ever played through. I just literally don’t get why people buy them.  I’ve been paid numerous times to connect the bloody things to a PC to access the extended EQ and try and get them to sound better but to me they always sound terrible in terms of their basic native sound with no effects compared to something like a fender champion 110 or PV bandit. 

That’s not a valve versus solid state thing it’s just whatever they’ve done in the katana the core  native Sound is just terrible 

ICBM

Danny1969 said:

The katana is one of the worst amps  I’ve ever played through. I just literally don’t get why people buy them.  I’ve been paid numerous times to connect the bloody things to a PC to access the extended EQ and try and get them to sound better but to me they always sound terrible in terms of their basic native sound with no effects compared to something like a fender champion 110 or PV bandit. 

That’s not a valve versus solid state thing it’s just whatever they’ve done in the katana the core  native Sound is just terrible 

For me they have a weirdly fatiguing, grating harsh sound that can’t be dialed out with EQ, because it’s not an EQ problem. The Mk2 was less bad than the Mk1, but I still can’t say I liked it.

Some other people don’t hear it though, so it’s a personal thing - although it does baffle me that they don’t, since I find it so glaringly obvious. 

I also found the same problem but even worse, with the Orange Micro Terror - and the Blackstar ID Core, although that was muddy as well (yes, and grating at the same time - hard to fathom how!). These three are probably my top candidates for the worst-sounding amps I’ve played.

Fiddlesticks_

Yorkie said:

Fiddlesticks_ said:
You mention that the AC15C1 is loud at home, but I recall the master volume being useable (albeit not perfect)?

I was surprised to read that too — mine is very easy to tame thanks to the master volume. It does have to go pretty low if you want grit but it’s certainly not impossible to dial in? 

Yeah. It’s a bit twitchy at the lower end of the range but was always usable for me

pottolom

Thanks all. Really helpful advice. Perhaps I'll stick with what I have!

It sounds like people really don't rate Katanas, so perhaps that's all I need to know really.

I've only played one briefly, in a rehearsal studio, and I must admit I didn't think it sounded as 'good' as my AC15 (hard to put my finger on why, but it just didn't). I just assumed that if I spent some time on it I'd be able to get it to sound better (there are YouTube videos with people seeming to get their Katanas to sound very Vox-like), but I guess that YouTube is never a great guide.