New Amp Day... Sort of.

[Rain]

A few months ago when I joined the band, I started looking into different options to record guitars for our demos. Although my trusty old POD HD300 is still very useful, I seem to be spending way too much time bent over it trying to dial in tones. Obviously I can hook it up to my computer, but, meh...

My Marshall 100W is out of the question, of course. Although I did look into DI options, such as CabClone and the others... I liked the consistency it afforded me, admitting that I'd be using the Marshall as my main amp for rehearsals and live venues. I was an early adopter of amp sims and, later, speaker and cabinet impulses, so running the aux out into my audio interface and using a virtual cab sim would have been another option, but anything I can do without software, I prefer...

So I kept looking, but I just wasn't convinced. One of the options I looked into was a Marshall Code head. I loved the fact that I could keep it on my desk and that everything was easily accessed.

But the one amp that really surprised me was the Boss Katana. Unfortunately, I hated the idea of having the controls on top of the amp, in the back. That would have made little improvement over the floorboard POD HD. But then last night as I mentioned to a friend that I was in the market for a small amp, he reminded me of the Katana. Went back online and found a sweet deal on a blemished Katana Artist - which has the controls in front.

I was pretty much sold but still hesitated. Then I started thinking about band rehearsals - do I really want to carry my half stack around? Noooooooo. A 100W combo suddenly sounded like a must-have. With the option to be recorded DI via USB, edited via software but still eminently tweakable directly... And for exactly the amount of birthday money in my account? How could I NOT order it?

Should be here Thursday. Can't wait to receive it.

 

[plankton]

Welcome to the Boss amp club! I have a Nextone which I'm really liking. I look forward to hearing what you think of the Artist.

 

[Worblehat]

Nice! Keep us updated how you like it.
I have the Katana 100 and I love it! I am a bedroom-only player though. Having the controls on the front with the artist is definitely an improvement. I have the amp sitting on a desk and it's really a pain in the a** to make adjustments and see where the controls are.

 

[GrumpyOldDBA]

Congrats same amp that i have!

 

[Tony M]

Those are great amplifiers.
They sound good, are very reliable
and don't weigh 3 elephants.
They also make great clean pedal platforms.

 

[Clifdawg]

Nice! Congrats. Great amp. You won't have any trouble gigging - I had a regular 100 for a while and that thing could knock birds out of sky.

Always been curious to try an Artist, but I've never seen one in the wild.

I like my Boss GT-1, which is essentially what the Katana is based on. Sounds glorious through my Marshall.

Boss is killin' it these days.

 

[Tony M]

Roland and Boss have killed it since day one.
I played all kinds of gigs for 11 years with a Roland JC-77
and one of those Boss pedal cases loaded with 6 boss pedals.
Biker bars, outdoor fund raisers, weddings, you name it.
That JC-77 has been on long term loan to a recording
studio on Long Island now and is still going strong
and to this day I have a tiny Boss pedal board.

 

[Rain]

Roland and Boss have killed it since day one.
I played all kinds of gigs for 11 years with a Roland JC-77
and one of those Boss pedal cases loaded with 6 boss pedals.
Biker bars, outdoor fund raisers, weddings, you name it.
That JC-77 has been on long term loan to a recording
studio on Long Island now and is still going strong
and to this day I have a tiny Boss pedal board.

View attachment 36955

The Boss SUPER OverDrive was my very first pedal. Although to be honest, I really wanted that classic orange Distortion box all my friends had but that's another story...

Much later when I started recording, the only effect I had to work with save for a Dean Markley Tube Overdrive was an old BF-2 Boss Flanger. And I made the most of it. Good little pedal that was. That's one piece of equipment I actually miss a bit, come to think of it.

I think maybe that's the potential caveat with simulation and having such a plethora of onboard effects - one doesn't necessarily spend as much time tweaking, using and misusing and effects. An onboard flanger becomes nothing more than a flanger and if I'm not looking for something that's exactly a flanger, chances are that I'll just move on to something different. But only having that little purple box in your hands and a few knobs to twist somehow forced you to think outside the box (no pun intended).

And yet, since the Katana has Boss effects onboard, it seems silly to spend money on a Boss Flanger, doesn't it?

I've never been much of a pedal guy otherwise but a few years ago, a friend who builds boutique pedals in Canada sent me those and I absolutely love them. That little Rewolver boost pedal does a kick ass job in front of my DSL's green channel. I could probably write an essay about each pedal but I'll spare you guys.

That being said, if you're in the market for pedals, I recommend you check out Jonny Rock Gear.

 

[plankton]

The Boss SUPER OverDrive was my very first pedal. Although to be honest, I really wanted that classic orange Distortion box all my friends had but that's another story...

Much later when I started recording, the only effect I had to work with save for a Dean Markley Tube Overdrive was an old BF-2 Boss Flanger. And I made the most of it. Good little pedal that was. That's one piece of equipment I actually miss a bit, come to think of it.

I think maybe that's the potential caveat with simulation and having such a plethora of onboard effects - one doesn't necessarily spend as much time tweaking, using and misusing and effects. An onboard flanger becomes nothing more than a flanger and if I'm not looking for something that's exactly a flanger, chances are that I'll just move on to something different. But only having that little purple box in your hands and a few knobs to twist somehow forced you to think outside the box (no pun intended).

My first pedal was a Boss Heavy Metal, and soon after I had a Boss pedal case filled, just like Tony M mentioned above.

My favourite modulation pedal is a 4 knob flanger. So many great sounds in there. I have a MXR 117 but I've thought about grabbing an old BF-2 to use on another board as the MXR is large.

 

[Clifdawg]

My favourite modulation pedal is a 4 knob flanger. So many great sounds in there.

I have a Joyo 4-knob flanger, and I've thought about boarding it next to my Boss GT-1. Yeah, the GT-1 has it, but I prefer to use it for phase, tremolo, and chorus, especially clean(ish). When the gain gets cranked... There's no alternative to a good Flanger.

 

[Rain]

I've recently started using my "Tube Screamer" in front of my POD HD instead on the onboard simulation when recording. Makes a world of difference (to me).

I need to try and run the Send on my Marshall through the POD's cab sim for fun. I've tried it directly in my DAW but anything I can do outside the box is always preferable to me.

 

[plankton]

I have a Joyo 4-knob flanger, and I've thought about boarding it next to my Boss GT-1. Yeah, the GT-1 has it, but I prefer to use it for phase, tremolo, and chorus, especially clean(ish). When the gain gets cranked... There's no alternative to a good Flanger.

That Joyo gear is great stuff, I have their Phase 90 copy and it sounds great, and cheap!

I would definitely get the Joyo flanger, but it doesn't solve my size issue.

 

[Rain]

It's here! Got a significant discount because it was allegedly scratched and/or dented, but, try as I might, I cannot find a single scratch. Same thing happened when I bought my Les Paul.

You gotta love American Musical Supply.