BOSSKatana Artist Gen 3 1 x 12-inch 100-watt Combo Amplifier

Apparently I managed to snag one of the few new Katana Gen 3 Artist 100 combos early shipped to Boss retailers - most shops including the large chains are still showing them on pre-order.Have owned/used a Katana MkII 50w for past 2 years for home noodling as an amateur player - have LOVED that amp, amazing # of features and price just made it feel like a steal - and the Boss Tone Studio has also been awesome to build a tone library for all types of music.So why upgrade to 100w, Gen 3 & Artist model?1). Effects Loop - I wanted to add background tracks/loops to help make playing solo more interesting, and the 50W versions don't have EFX loop like the 100W models, so I don't really need a 100W output, but now I can use the Boss RC-5;2). New Gen 3 Bluetooth adapter works great and allows me to do 2 things wirelessly with ease - (a) play music directly thru my Katana clean (not thru effects loop) to play along with (or just listen as a speaker), and (b) can use the mobile BTS app to adjust settings. Have only messed briefly with this, but so far the desktop and mobile Boss Tone Studio apps are working fine for me on Macbook Pro and Iphone SE without issues, and I was able to easily transfer my MKII tone patches over to Gen 3. Note the BT adapter is separate and about $60 but easy plug-in.3). Gen 3 effects add a few more hundred variations to the 1000+ the Katana already offers, lol4). I bought the Artist model because I watched a lot of A/B comparisons on YouTube and honestly while I like both the standard MKII and Gen 3 tones, figured for +$200, that's the cost gap for the premium Waza speaker alone and I liked the low/high output of Waza, you get some other features and the "experts" basically say while the std. Katanas sound really close to tube amps to most except expert ears, the Gen 3 and Artist tone updates put this amp in realm of popular premium tube amps that cost way more (and someone of my level would never justify paying for).For an amateur player like me who also enjoys building custom guitars, this Katana Gen 3 Artist is way above "all the amp I'll ever need" (even if I gigged someday). The ability to not only create infinite tone patches, but use the Boss Tone Studio and download/share hundreds of free and fee tones, basically allows you to use ONE amp and create or replicate just about any amp/tone you want, which is amazing. Like most other pundits, I think the Boss Katana amp line is one of those rare products that is just a home run in every respect, with tremendous value in $300-600 price range - and they've just improved on it with Gen 3.So far in first few hours using this amp, the only quirk I've found is that when I switch tone patches in Librarian, there's a noticeable 5-8 second lag before the new tone selection goes live thru speaker that I don't encounter with my MKII. Not an issue, just something it does and maybe a future firmware update might address. Great job Boss/Roland - and seller Pitbull for shipping promptly!

I already own the Boss Katana 100 Gen 2, which I love. I mainly bought this amp for 2 reasons...I wanted to experience the Waza Craft speaker, and I wanted to be able to run it in stereo link with my other Katana. As per usual, it sounds amazing, stereo linking is something I had never tried, and it's really cool. One thing is that I can't hear the 'upgrade' in sound from the stock Boss speaker in my older Katana vs. the Waza Craft speaker in this one. They both sound great, and I don't really hear the difference. I also bought the bluetooth adapter, which is great to be able to control the tone studio from my phone, plus play music over the amp. Still toying with it, so time will tell, but the controls on the front instead of the top is a great feature.

If you do not use amps with firmware be aware this amp will be extremely difficult for you to figure out. These guys leaving 5 stars have loads of experience with these kind of amps. Good luck finding instructions or help on how to set this thing up. Apparently a normal usb c cable isn't the right cable and it weighs about 50 pounds. I would not purchase this unless you have experience with super digital, over priced solid state amps. I'll stick to micing tube amps or going DI. Thanks for the headache boss

This amp has been criticized for being too complicated , it’s not. I literally pulled it out of the box, plugged in turned on,struck a power chord ,and went wow. It has a ton of effects and is capable of lot for sure but finding a tone on the katana is as easy as my peavey classic 30.I just received my gen3 artist combo this week so I can’t comment about reliability but at 600$ as long as I can get 4 or 5 years out of it I’ll be happy.