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Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
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My main issue is that I play guitar and run the PA in my band, and my wife is the drummer. That's a lot of equipment for one estate car plus two people, so we're down to a fairly compact vocal PA, an Arbiter Flats drum kit and the Katana with floor controller stuffed in the back.
We're looking at how the economy pans out next year with Brexit upheavals etc before shelling out on an HK Audio Lucas PA, which means we can just pick up any old 300 quid hatchback of reasonable size whenever we need to, rather than having to find big money for a van every couple of years.
I hate to mention the B-word, but during the last recession ten years ago gigs in mid Wales totally dried up, so I'm going to wait until at least next summer before shelling out two grand on more gear.
If I was just a guitar player I'd still be gigging with half stacks tbh.
Looking for the 100w combo, mainly for gig use, since my Fender SS60 its quite heavy and i cant park my car inside bars to unload and load it.
I think ill wait for a few more of your gigs report to pull the trigger
Watch this space!
So how are you getting on with it now?
I'm actually off to a soundcheck in about ten minutes, I'll give you more details tomorrow.
Quieter gigs are ok with the Katana, but when it gets rowdy it loses its dynamic feel, I'm never at the right volume, having to ride the expression pedal all night.
It's like there's a compressor across the output, if I set up a loud, clean-ish tone and play very delicately it just refuses to get much louder when I really dig into the strings.
Our next gig is NYE, and I just know in advance the Katana is not up to it, I will have to bring real valves.
It's a shame, I really want a lightweight, single box gigging amp, I'm undecided now whether to sell it or not. It's a handy amp to have around, and I guess it would make an ok backup that's cheap and loud, but it just isn't good enough to be my main amp.
It sounds great at home, if a little bland, but in terms of being a crucial half of a musical instrument I've had better results bunging a Zoom G3 directly into the PA.
I've just picked one up and I'm very happy with it as a home amp. It's useful to know it can be gigged if required and I suspect I would be ok as I'm used to having to set up patches with a few levels when gigging modellers.
I'm under no illusions it's not going to sound like a half stack.
I have a kind of backup plan in a pressure situation with a good valve amp, just turn it up way loud and do it all from the guitar. The tone at any given time might not be exactly what you'd choose, but it'll be musical and playable with a bit of sensitivity and skill.
I just cannot get the Katana to do that for some reason, it's totally unpredictable in the way that it can suddenly be very trebley, or certain notes on the fretboard will leap out at you.
The idea was to get a 100w Katana and if it did the job to then sell my Vox Valvetronix AD120VTX rig. The ridiculous thing is that the AD120VTX is brilliant live; the mix of modelling and valves that are in the power section and the way it changes with volume and reacts with speaker impedance makes it very valve-like.
The problem is it's size and weight - 58lbs amp, 14lbs VC12 floor controller plus mini pedal board for fx. I'm now 60 and I just can't carry it anymore up and down stairs and in and out of the car. Hence why I'm now using my Vox Tonelab SE and LE which are good but I love the simplicity and tweakability of the Valvetronix. I really was hoping the 32lb 1x12 100w Katana might have been the answer.
My guess - having not tried one - is that it is the modern-day Peavey Bandit - great value and useable - but not really a substitute for a Matchless/Bogner/Two Rock/vintage Fender, et al.
In fairness to the amp (and I think you are being fair), you are very much a dynamic player - plenty of valve amps would struggle with your use case, and the fact a katana has been seriously considered by yourself is a good indicator of its quality I think.
Really enjoyed your review.
Very valid point. I think @p90fool use case is about the least suited to a modeller and the most suited to a simple valve amp. The Katana getting anywhere close to doing the job is extremely impressive.
I’m actually thinking of looking for one since I’ve always loved the Vox sound but can’t be bothered with the weight of an AC30 now...
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