I’m really impressed with the Katana 50 - I see why the entire Katana series comes so highly recommended.
I basically spent all day fucking around with it. Playing at bedroom volumes, then going to my mate’s for jamming (it keeps up with a drummer in 50 watt mode with the stock speaker, seriously impressed with that) - tested out the software for hours too (which is cool, it’s like a stripped down version of the Boss GT-1000 software; but still plenty complex).
I will say the stock presets are absolutely a steaming pile of shit and once I figured out the software I made my own 4 presets of common tones I like to use and quickly replaced them. That’s not a complaint though, it’s really rare on anything like this that I like the stock presets. They’re always shit in every product tbh
It’s hard not to recommend the Katana to anyone looking for an amp tbh. Is it the best sounding amp? Nah, it’s not a valve amp and solid state hasn’t caught up yet (I think it will soon though). But does it sound great? Oh yeah, it most definitely sounds great.
And because it’s made by Boss, pedal making legends, it takes pedals so fucking great. Which imo most solid state amps I’ve tries are a bit finicky with some pedals - so that’s nice to see.
For the price it’s a seriously impressive unit. Like unbelievably impressive tbh, I wish these existed when I was a kid. And cheap combo amp usually sound bad because of shit circuitry or shit speakers, with the Katana you’re definitely not getting that.
I’ve only got one complaint: there is no effects loop on the Katana 50 - if you’re getting the 100 that’s not an issue.
But yeah, I see why these are so highly recommended. It really is a jack of all trades option for guitar players - a wide array of tones in an amp that can be used in a variety of ways.
I’m seriously impressed with it, if you want an amp that can be used in a shitload of practical applications I think it’s the best option for the money. Because it’s seriously cheap for all it can do and how good it sounds (again, tonally it’s very similar to the GT-1000, but with less effects, amp models, and the software’s a bit limited... but it’s about a grand less dear). The only way I wouldn’t recommend it is if someone wants a super particular tone - like if I wanted a Marshall Plexi tone, I can get close with the Boss tone studio with lots of tweaking... but a Plexi or a Plexi clone will (obviously) be a better amp choice.
Tl;dr - I’m seriously impressed with it, it’s not the best sounding amp I’ve ever used/owned... but it sounds great and is so versatile in so many ways. Even though it’s not perfect, I’d have to give it a 10/10 considering my fiancé paid just over $200USD for an amp that can do so much