Each year the market for mid-tier, affordably-priced pieces of gear for musicians becomes ever more saturated, to the point where we start to get a bit skeptical about the number of times brands and manufacturers can reinvent the proverbial wheel when it comes to things like mics, interfaces, and guitar amps. But recently, at least with one piece of gear, this cynicism was abated simply by judging a book by its cover.
We see announcements for new guitar amps being brought to market reasonably often. Still, Boss’ Katana range wears its functionalities and potentials right there on its sleeves, and the wealth of knobs and parameters that line the amp’s top instantly made us know that we had to dig a little deeper.
So we asked Boss to check out one of the amps in their latest line of Katana amplifiers. After using it extensively in the studio and at a couple of smaller performances, there was a TON to take away from this portable and budget-friendly amp. So let’s dive into our full review and discuss everything we discovered…
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What Is The Boss Katana 50 MKII EX
The Boss Katana 50 MKII EX is a combo guitar amp with 50 watts of power that boasts an extensive range of tones and effects for guitar players. Its compact design and lightweight build allow for easy portability. This amp is versatile in sound, catering to various music genres, from soft and clean tones to more intense gain settings.
With a 12-inch speaker, the Boss Katana 50 MKII EX produces a powerful sound output that maintains clarity and depth. It has built-in effects like chorus, flange, delay, reverb, and tremolo, enabling guitarists to experiment and enhance their sound without needing extra pedals. Additionally, it features a dedicated acoustic channel that produces exceptional tones for those who play acoustic guitar.
Guitarists can connect the Boss Katana 50 MKII EX to their computer using the Boss Tone Studio software, which offers further customization options and preset management. The amp’s user-friendly control panel allows for easy adjustment of settings, and it can be expanded with the Boss GA FC EX foot controller for convenient access to multiple sounds. The Boss Katana 50 MKII EX is a portable, versatile guitar amp that produces impressive sound quality and offers a range of features to meet the needs of guitarists in various musical settings.
My Favorite Features Of The Katana 50 MKII EX
Having used this amp in the studio for a couple of months for practice and production work, I have enjoyed a handful of standout features. And while listing every one of the shining qualities would take up more page space than you’re like to read, let’s focus on a couple of our favorite things that stood out from the jump with this amp.
Its Versatility
This amp really can do it all if you let it. With a wealth of on-board parameters and effects to help shape your sound, different power controls that allow it to adapt to other rooms and situations, and software that opens up more creative potential, this amp really can be the Swiss army knife of guitar amps in your studio or practice space.
And while we can talk about the potential complexity of these interfaces here momentarily, the fact is that all the different parameters and ways to dial in the sound just to your liking is second to none (especially in guitar amps at this price point). It’s hard to find a guitar amp that rewards you for exploring all its sonic potential, and the Katana 50 MKII EX knocked this out of the park and excited me to fire it up each time I need to practice.
Its Sound
Taking a step back to talk about the overall sound of the amp, I will say that its as clean or chunky as you want, which was also fun to hear. This is mainly because the amp offers five different amp character profiles that are easily togglable between (Clean, Crunch, Lead, Brown, and Acoustic).
I naturally gravitated towards the Acoustic because I cut my teeth in the guitar world on my old faithful Taylor six-string. I also found myself finger-picking on the Brown profile, which I later learned was modeled after the ever-famous Boss Waza Amp! This was super exciting, as that amp is notoriously expensive, and having access to a similar sonic profile – or at least one inspired by the iconic Waza Amp – was super exciting.
It Does Exactly What It Tries To Do (And A Bit More)
The market for mid-tier, small-sized guitar amps is flooded with various models and options, all competing for space in your budget and studio. Many manufacturers use exaggerated marketing to make their amp appear superior to others. However, the Katana 50 MKII EX stands out as a highly effective amp for studio work and small stages which is exactly as it bills itself as.
It is not only affordable but also offers endless potential for new guitarists to explore different sounds without investing heavily in additional pedals for reverb, delay, or distortion.
What You Might Not Dig About It
No mid-tier and price-accessible piece of gear will be perfect and without flaws. As always, it’s essential to focus on its core features, most important for your needs and wants as a musician.
Its Interface
The biggest issue that I could see giving frustration to guitarists is the overall interface itself, which has the potential to be its greatest gift and curse. The number of parameters, USB connections for the Tone Studio App, options for power supplies, and more before you even get into your pedal board could easily deter more old-school players looking for a more plug-and-play experience.
Now, that’s not to say that the amp doesn’t sound just fine on startup, but the number of controls and options for shaping your sound – both in the amp and through the app – could lead to decision fatigue. Just look at the amp.
Having worked as a professional producer for years, I welcome endless possibilities and all of their sonic-shaping potential. However, I felt it should be noted here for anyone reading this review looking for a more conventional amplifier experience.
Boss Katana 50 MKII EX Specs And Features
- Type:Solid State
- Number of Channels:5 x Amp Types
- Total Power:50W (25W, 0.5W settings)
- Speaker Size:1 x 12″
- Reverb:Yes
- Effects:Modulation, Delay, 60 BOSS Effects (Tone Studio software)
- EQ:3-band EQ, Tone control
- Inputs:1 x 1/4″ (instrument), 1 x 1/4″ (power amp), 1 x 1/8″ (aux in)
- Outputs:1 x 1/4″ (rec/headphones), 1 x 1/4″ (line out)
- USB:1 x Type B
- Headphones:1 x 1/4″
- Footswitch I/O:1 x 1/4″ (channel/bank)
- Footswitch Included:No, FS-6 sold separately
- Computer Connectivity:USB
- Software:BOSS Tone Studio
- Construction Material:Black Tolex
- Power Source:Standard IEC AC cable
- Height:15.6″
- Width:18.5″
- Depth:9.3″
- Weight:25.8 lbs.
Learn More About This Amp While Supporting Our Team Of Writers Through Our Affiliate Partnership With Sweetwater Here
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
