marnold
January 2nd, 2024, 02:09 PM
Whelp, I had a change of heart (see my previous thread (http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php/23493-Katana-100-Mk2)). I drove to the local GC and tried out the Boss Katana 100 Mk2 head vs the Fishman Loudbox Mini. I used one of their ~$1800 Taylors there which has the same pickup/preamp as mine. From what I heard online, I thought the Katana's acoustic amp model would work fine. Mind you, it didn't sound bad. I played it through the Boss 2x12 cab and also out of the little speaker that is in the head itself. The speaker in the head sounded way better than I thought it would. Played through the cab, it was sort of like playing an acoustic through an electric guitar amp. More of the acoustic character of the guitar carried through, but there was a boominess that I just couldn't dial out no matter what I tried. So was it better than playing it through one of the amps I own? Yes. Was it worth spending more money on? In my opinion, no.
So I tried the Fishman Loudbox Mini (https://www.fishman.com/portfolio/loudbox-mini-amplifier/). It is specifically designed for acoustic and it has a second channel for adding a mic. It has a 1/4" and 1/8" line in as well as Bluetooth. There's three band EQ, digital reverb and chorus, and a phase switch. There's also an mic DI output. It sounds glorious. The sound that is coming out of the amp is the sound of my guitar. So often piezos can be super quacky. I don't know if there is some Fishman witchcraft in there that takes that out but it sounds wonderful. The reverb and chorus sound very nice and natural. Even with them cranked, it never sounds tacky.
Now, it was more expensive than the Katana (the head was on sale for $299, normally $369) and the Fishman was $399. The sound quality was way beyond the difference in price. I'm a happy camper.
Having said that, if I knew that someone was starting out on electric guitar, I'd recommend they get a Katana. The amp's controls are very self-explanatory and you can dig into the software to tweak the living daylights out of everything. If they got into acoustic later, it would be a serviceable amp for that too.
So I tried the Fishman Loudbox Mini (https://www.fishman.com/portfolio/loudbox-mini-amplifier/). It is specifically designed for acoustic and it has a second channel for adding a mic. It has a 1/4" and 1/8" line in as well as Bluetooth. There's three band EQ, digital reverb and chorus, and a phase switch. There's also an mic DI output. It sounds glorious. The sound that is coming out of the amp is the sound of my guitar. So often piezos can be super quacky. I don't know if there is some Fishman witchcraft in there that takes that out but it sounds wonderful. The reverb and chorus sound very nice and natural. Even with them cranked, it never sounds tacky.
Now, it was more expensive than the Katana (the head was on sale for $299, normally $369) and the Fishman was $399. The sound quality was way beyond the difference in price. I'm a happy camper.
Having said that, if I knew that someone was starting out on electric guitar, I'd recommend they get a Katana. The amp's controls are very self-explanatory and you can dig into the software to tweak the living daylights out of everything. If they got into acoustic later, it would be a serviceable amp for that too.