Guitar Amp - Boss Katana 50, Marshall Code 25

T

TazR71

New Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2019
Messages
8
hello all,
I just ordered my SE Tremonti Custom Grey Black. I am now searching for the right amp for it to practice some creed,Alterbridge and others. I have made a short list, if you guys can let me know which would be better that would be Great.

1. Boss Katana 50
2. Marshall Code 25
3. Fender Champion 50XL
 
Hi Taz, welcome to the forum.

If you can, take your PRS and try these amps out for yourself.

My cousin bought my pops-in-law a Blackstar HT5r and that is pretty good for home practice. You can crank it up and get some nice overdriven tones as it’s a tube amp.

Sorry not to really answer your question and add confusion by adding another amp to the list.

Good luck on your journey.
 
TazR71 said:
hello all,
I just ordered my SE Tremonti Custom Grey Black. I am now searching for the right amp for it to practice some creed,Alterbridge and others. I have made a short list, if you guys can let me know which would be better that would be Great.

1. Boss Katana 50
2. Marshall Code 25
3. Fender Champion 50XL
Click to expand...


I have both a Katana 100 and 50. I think they are great (the 100 has a different speaker and sounds a little better to me). I tried the Marshall Code but wound up sending it back. The Katana seems easier to manipulate IMO. That's assuming you're going to use a laptop to edit patches.
 
I bought a Code 50 when they first came out but after about a week I realized it just didn't sound very good in general to my ears. It was rather sterile and not very dynamic.

I've heard great things about the Katana and the Champion but at the end of the day a good, used tube amp is the way I went. Plus, just about any OD pedal will work as a good attenuator to keep practice volume low while keeping the amp pushed. I went with an early 90's MIA Ampeg Reverberocket, think Fender Blues Deluxe with better reverb...and it was only $300!
 
I have the Blackstar HT5r 210 and its a great valve amp. Depending on what you want or what you consider loud for practice, you may find the Blackstar packs a bit too much punch when driven for home use but great for band rehearsals. The Katana though can be run at 0.5w and great for home bedroom use but can be switched up if you need more volume. I don't think the 50 comes with an FX loop but you can use the built in Effects - the type of effects you normally put in a loop. You need a laptop/tablet to make the most of the Katana - if you are also looking to gig, I would recommend the Katana 100 for a small increase in price but you do get more oomph as well as an FX loop too

I can't comment on the other two amps but there is a reason that the Katana is the most popular and most recommended of these type of amps. If you want an Amp that can see you through to gigging with a band and competing with the drums - go for the Katana 100 - you still get the 0.5w mode as well so its good for bedroom practice too but its also more capable of seeing you through to gigging etc.
 
The Katana is great! But for versatility of your rig, perhaps you would consider a mfx/modeler like a Boss GT-1000 or GT-100 if on a lower budget + an FRFR like a Headrush 112 or 108.

It's probably all you'll ever need.
 
Mozzi said:
I have the Blackstar HT5r 210 and its a great valve amp. Depending on what you want or what you consider loud for practice, you may find the Blackstar packs a bit too much punch when driven for home use but great for band rehearsals. The Katana though can be run at 0.5w and great for home bedroom use but can be switched up if you need more volume. I don't think the 50 comes with an FX loop but you can use the built in Effects - the type of effects you normally put in a loop. You need a laptop/tablet to make the most of the Katana - if you are also looking to gig, I would recommend the Katana 100 for a small increase in price but you do get more oomph as well as an FX loop too

I can't comment on the other two amps but there is a reason that the Katana is the most popular and most recommended of these type of amps. If you want an Amp that can see you through to gigging with a band and competing with the drums - go for the Katana 100 - you still get the 0.5w mode as well so its good for bedroom practice too but its also more capable of seeing you through to gigging etc.
Click to expand...

Is that the one that you can take down to 2 watts and .5 watt (from memory, so I may be wrong)?
 
Two paths: Amp with speaker or modeling rig. I've played pretty much everything out there now. Very few bad choices - just down to your needs - I like it simple.

I recently bought a Katana Artist after studying the review videos for months - Katanas have all the Boss FX built in and I don't need a thousand presets... KA has some nice added features and sounds that little bit better...

The Katana is super killer - also have a Sonzera 20 (LOVE it), a Mustang GT40 (fabulous home noodling rig), and just sold my totally custom modded Blues Jr (blue tolex even) after the KA arrived.


I run pedals into all of them. Have never met an amp that hated pedals... the whole 'pedal platform' thing is a gimmick term.

Oh and I have an 11 Rack and a TC Voicelive 3... yes they still sound plenty good in the right situation. VL3 is my killer acoustic/voice rig.

I also use Bias FX Grid 2 for traveling and playing live into PAs - far more than 'good enough.'

If I only had one:

Katana Artist. Switchable power out is a killer feature along with the pedals and the quality of tone.

If I only had 2:

KA and Sonzera.

The Sonzera is super killer but is super loud for home use... It's my fave...

Can't live without:

Bias Grid FX 2 is something we should all try. I just use the older Line6 guitar interface into my Ipad or iphone... I doubt anyone could tell between the various I/O devices... all 24-bit and good. I have Apogee stuff too.
 
Simple version of my long post...

I'd rather plug in, get the tone I want as fast as humanly possible, and play.

Some enjoy their time in deep tone sculpting. I almost never do much beyond tweak what others built for my rig...

I value the ability to quickly get into the ballpark and then tweak it over the fence.

That aspect of my personality drove my choices --

Your preference should drive your selection - the longer I play, the simpler I want things... that's been my conclusion.

Scrolling through endless presets looking for a tone drives me nuts.

The stuff I come back to has a great web library and easy access to useful presets in the order I like them...
 
Just read your original post again... why not get the 'official' PRS Tremonti amp?? ;-)

They're amazingly awesome for the money. That'll guarantee your tonal foundation will be in the ballpark... Tremonti recorded a whole album with his...

Otherwise, I'd go Katana after having tried the others. That's just me. Peace!
 
Cool -

How much louder is a 1000 compared to a 100?

Those are great sounding rigs - same tech as Katana by the way --
 
Find an amp that goes to 11.

330px-Spinal_Tap_-_Up_to_Eleven.jpg
 
Thanks a lot for the warm welcome. I will check out your suggestion as well. Cheers

Alnus Rubra said:
Hi Taz, welcome to the forum.

If you can, take your PRS and try these amps out for yourself.

My cousin bought my pops-in-law a Blackstar HT5r and that is pretty good for home practice. You can crank it up and get some nice overdriven tones as it’s a tube amp.

Sorry not to really answer your question and add confusion by adding another amp to the list.

Good luck on your journey.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the
Alnus Rubra said:
Hi Taz, welcome to the forum.

If you can, take your PRS and try these amps out for yourself.

My cousin bought my pops-in-law a Blackstar HT5r and that is pretty good for home practice. You can crank it up and get some nice overdriven tones as it’s a tube amp.

Sorry not to really answer your question and add confusion by adding another amp to the list.

Good luck on your journey.
Click to expand...
 
d2g said:
Just read your original post again... why not get the 'official' PRS Tremonti amp?? ;-)

They're amazingly awesome for the money. That'll guarantee your tonal foundation will be in the ballpark... Tremonti recorded a whole album with his...

Otherwise, I'd go Katana after having tried the others. That's just me. Peace!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the amazing suggestions. I loved playing the Katana as I liked the sound came out of it, although I tried the 100w version. I will have a look on the PRS tremonti amp too
 
mojo1fan said:
I have both a Katana 100 and 50. I think they are great (the 100 has a different speaker and sounds a little better to me). I tried the Marshall Code but wound up sending it back. The Katana seems easier to manipulate IMO. That's assuming you're going to use a laptop to edit patches.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the response. Do you think Katana 100w is too loud for a home environment ? I played the 100w and really loved it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Gtrbldr
NAD desert island amp
2
Replies
23
Views
632
László
László
Monahan
New Guitar/Rig Month
Replies
8
Views
578
andy474x
andy474x
aamefford
New Amp -OR- Midpriced modelers -OR- Is anyone here (still) playing a Tonex?
20 21 22
Replies
425
Views
20K
Justin1971
Justin1971
Monahan
NGD Rig (Belated)
2
Replies
24
Views
2K
Monahan
Monahan
Guitarjon
One Guitar vs 53 Amps (MT15 & Archon 50 included)
Replies
13
Views
2K
László
László
Back
Top