BOSS Katana-Artist Guitar Amplifier MK2

Features

• Professional 100-watt combo amp with enhanced tone and all the latest Katana features
• Tube Logic design approach produces class-defying power, authoritative punch, and cutting presence for any performing situation
• Robust analog class-AB power amp section delivers the authentic tone and highly musical response that Katana amps are noted for
• Custom Waza 12-inch speaker realizes classic British stack speaker tone and response with increased power handling capacity
• Newly designed cabinet with ultra-solid construction and semi-closed back for tight, focused tone with rich low end
• Five unique amp characters, custom-tuned for optimum performance with the Katana-Artist’s cabinet and Waza speaker
• Choose from 61 customizable BOSS effects and many effect routing configurations with BOSS Tone Studio editor software
• Eight Tone Setting memories for storing and recalling all amp and effect settings
• Power Control for achieving cranked-amp tone and dynamic response at low volumes
• Dedicated panel controls for Cabinet Resonance and Air Feel functions
• Effects loop with position, gain, and series/parallel operation configurable via BOSS Tone Studio
• Support for external control with optional footswitches (GA-FC, FS series) and MIDI
• Stage-ready patches for all music styles available at BOSS Tone Central

About the Katana Amp Series

Katana—the traditional sword carried by the historic samurai of Japan—is a symbol of honor, precision, and artistry in Japanese culture. Adopting the majestic sword’s name with pride, the Katana series presents guitar amplifiers with smooth, cutting tones honed by generations of dedication and expertise. Born of the development process behind the acclaimed Waza amplifier, these innovative amps embody BOSS’s determined pursuit of the ultimate rock sound. Featuring proprietary circuit designs and meticulous tuning, the Katana series combines traditional craftsmanship and breakthrough functions to produce true next-generation rock amplifiers.

Refined Tones for Stage and Recording

Built for pro players, the 100-watt Katana-Artist combo features a new cabinet design with front-facing controls and a premium Waza 12-inch speaker. The semi-closed back is ideal for rock tones, and the tight, rugged construction produces rich, full sound with impressive projection. You can further tweak the response for your touch with the dedicated Cabinet Resonance control, which customizes the dynamic interaction between the amp’s output section and speaker. In addition, the sound and response of the Katana-Artist’s five amp characters have been fine-tuned to work in perfect harmony with the Waza speaker and new cabinet.

Waza Speaker: Legendary Tone, Modern Power

A standout feature of the Katana-Artist is its custom Waza 12-inch speaker, which produces tones inspired by the benchmark 25-watt British stack speaker from the 1960s. BOSS set out to fully capture the rock speaker’s sought-after sound and response, but with the practical benefit of greatly increased power handling. Through detailed analysis of original speakers and careful selection of the magnet, cone material, and other construction elements, BOSS has fully realized this goal. Delivering rich, resonant tone with wide dynamic range, the Waza speaker brings the ultimate vintage rock sound to a compact 100-watt combo amp for the very first time.

Five Original Amp Characters, Fine-Tuned for the Katana-Artist

Newly refined specifically for the Katana-Artist, five selectable amp characters offer everything from organic vintage tones to modern high-gain sounds. Clean is natural and transparent, while Crunch offers satisfying grit and response. Lead has a wide gain range to suit many styles, from fat, stinging blues solos to fluid legato shredding. With DNA inherited from the Waza amp, Brown delivers refined high-gain tone sought after by the world’s greatest rock players. The Acoustic character further enhances the Katana’s versatility, providing optimized tone that makes acoustic-electric guitars sound stunningly natural.

Leave Your Pedalboard at Home

With its built-in BOSS effects, the Katana-Artist lets you perform anywhere with just a guitar and amp. Connecting to BOSS Tone Studio via USB provides access to 65 fully customizable effects, and you can load your favorites into the amp’s various effects sections. Going beyond standard distortion, delay, and reverb, the selection includes powerful tone-shapers like pitch shifting, ring mod, channel and global EQs, and many more. There’s also an effects loop for patching in that external gear you can’t live without. And via BOSS Tone Studio, you’re able to move the loop’s position, adjust input/output gain, and select series/parallel operation as needed.

Version 3 Effects and Control Features

Newly added with Version 3 are the Roland DC-30 Analog Chorus-Echo, BOSS GE-10 Graphic Equalizer, and 95E pedal wah effects types. These classics work great with any Katana amp character, but really dish up some special tonal magic when used in combination with the Brown character’s harmonically rich voice. The update also provides the ability to assign favorite parameters to the front-panel effects knobs, giving you greater flexibility for shaping your own unique effects tones on the fly. Additionally, you’re now able to control specific effects parameters from up to three expression pedals (connected via the rear panel and GA-FC foot controller), unlocking a new range of real-time command while performing.

Tone Settings: One-Touch Recall of Custom Amp and Effects Setups

One of the Katana-Artist’s most powerful features is the ability to store favorite amp channel and effects setups in Tone Setting memories for instant recall. After you’ve dialed in a sound with the panel controls, simply save it to the desired memory with a quick button hold. Eight Tone Settings (two banks of four) are available, and you can easily select them from the panel. It’s also possible to use an optional external footswitch for hands-free control on the gig.

Grab-and-Go Operation

While the Katana-Artist includes many advanced features, it’s amazingly simple to operate. Familiar controls for gain, presence, and the three-band tone stack let you dial in sounds quickly, while essential effects parameters are adjusted with a simple knob twist. And with the convenient Power Control, you’re able to roll back the overall volume while retaining the expressive tone and feel of a cranked-up amp.

Ready-to-Mix Direct Tones with Air Feel

The Katana-Artist features line, USB, and phones/recording outputs with mic’d cabinet emulation, allowing you to send mix-ready amp tones to a PA system, computer DAW, or headphones. Using the panel’s Air Feel knob, the spatial character of the cab emulation can be instantly adjusted to suit different songs or styles. The Version 3 update further enhances the direct USB capabilities, offering true stereo sound with many of the Katana’s modulation, EQ, delay, and reverb effects, including the newly added DC-30 Analog Chorus-Echo.

Free Patches and Editor Software

At the BOSS Tone Central website, you’ll find numerous free amp and effects setups for the Katana series. Created by pro guitarists, these setups provide ready-to-play sounds for various music styles, and also make great starting points for building your own sounds. They load into the memories in a Katana amp via the BOSS Tone Studio editor software, which is also available at the site. In addition to Katana effects selection and customization, BOSS Tone Studio gives you a convenient way to organize all your Katana setups for different gigs, recordings, and practice sessions.