Introducing Boss's next bestseller - the Katana : Go Personal Guitar Amplifier - instant everywhere plug-and-play satisfaction!

The device does have a tiny screen - which is useful for the Bluetooth Pairing - and seeing which Memory Slot / Patch is selected - but for everything else there is the Bluetooth connected Mobile App - which allows you to setup, configure, copy across and select which your 30 onboard patches are - which are split into 3 sets of 10 - A / B / C - with the format 1-A, 1-B, 2-A, etc. You can move the patches up and down within each letter selection - but need to click on the appropriate letter button on the device to get the next batch of 10 as such - really easy to operate.

Here are the patches that come default set on the device - beautifully calibrated by Boss's Gabor - where most of them work immediately and without any need for tweaking, while some will need some EQ adjustments to match better with your guitar / pickups.

These are the 30 default presets - which of course you can edit / replace as you wish! :

• 1-A BROWN LEAD
• 2-A MODERN BROWN
• 3-A METAL RIFF
• 4-A STADIUM SOLO
• 5-A 80s ROCK LEAD
• 6-A PUNK RIFF
• 7-A Major HARMONY
• 8-A PHASER LEAD
• 9-A RING DRIVE
• 10-A FIXED WAH LEAD
• 1-B NATURAL DRIVE
• 2-B WARM TONE
• 3-B STACK CRUNCH
• 4-B CRUNCH TREMOLO
• 5-B MIDSCOOP LEAD
• 6-B UK CRUNCH
• 7-B AMERICAN CRUNCH
• 8-B BASIC BLUES
• 9-B ROTARY OCTAVE
• 10-B FUZZ LEAD
• 1-C CLEAN CHORUS
• 2-C FAT CLEAN
• 3-C AMB CLEAN
• 4-C RETRO PHASE
• 5-C NEO CLEAN
• 6-C UK CLEAN
• 7-C SLAPBACK ECHO
• 8-C CHILL TREM
• 9-C T-WAH CLEAN
• 10-C FOR ACOUSTIC

It's interesting that it kind of starts heavy on the A, and gets progressively lighter / lower gain through B and C patches. I tend to prefer heavy riffing - and the Brown Lead, Metal Riff, 80s Rock Lead, and Phaser Lead were immediate and instant successes for me. While in mellower mood - the Clean Chorus, Amb Clean, Chill Trem, and T-Wah Clean are my primo choices.

Boss have really done a superb job on the variety and mix of effects here - and the App is so incredibly easy to operate with a very intuitive and easy to understand interface.

TUNER | CHAIN are the first two options you see on the App Screen.

The TUNER option loads up a cool chromatic tuner which we will not particularly concern ourselves with here - the Chain Arrangement is the more salient part!

CHAIN ARRANGEMENT

So instead of a fully drag-and-drop arrangement of Effects Blocks - you have a more fixed format here - but where you can select 7 preset patterns of arrangement - which typically involve the placement of the EQs and core effects blocks. It's simple enough and wide-ranging enough to cover all bases really! :

Options : CHAIN 1 | CHAIN 2-1 | CHAIN 3-1 | CHAIN 4-1 | CHAIN 2-2 | CHAIN 3-2 | CHAIN 4-2

e.g. Chain 1 : [IN] > [BST] > [AMP EQ] > [MOD] > [FX] > [DELAY] > [DELAY2] > [REVERB] > [SPEAKER]

Next we have the AMP Settings

Everyone should be familiar with the Core Katana Amps Selection - which sine series II has also included a 2nd Variation for each of the 5 amp models - delivering 10 Amp types in total - where the other competing devices have more specific types (Postive Grid Spark Go has 33) - while overall Boss has more effects and variations than any of those other devices. And this is of course Canon within the Boss Katana EcoSystem - and therefore mirroring the features and functionality of their full size amps.

• BROWN
• LEAD
• CRUNCH
• CLEAN
• ACOUSTIC
• [VARIATION]

Controls for - GAIN (%) | VOLUME (%)

AMP EQUALIZER

BASS (%) | MIDDLE (%) | TREBLE (%) | PRESENCE (%) | RESONANCE : VINTAGE > MODERN > DEEP

Interestingly - the Effects are split out across 12 selections - where several of them have overlapping options - these mostly correspond to the CHAIN ARRANGEMENT BLOCKS - but there are addition categories here - including SOLO, PDL FX and NS (Noise Suppressor).

All very intuitive really, and I've listed out the key options below :

• BST
• MOD
• FX
• DLY
• DLY2
• REV
• SOLO
• CONTOUR
• PDL FX
• EQ
• EQ2
• NS

BST - Clean Boost / Treble Boost / Mid Boost / Crush OD / Blues Drive / Overdrive / Natural OD / Warm OD / Turbo OD / T-Scream / Distortion / Fat DS / DST+ / Guv DS / Rat / Metal Zone / Metal DS / '60s Fuzz / Muff Fuzz / Oct Fuzz / HM-2 / Metal Core / Centa OD

MOD - Chorus / Flanger / Phaser / Uni-V / Tremolo / Vibrato / Rotary / Ring Mod / Slow Gear / Slicer / Comp / Limiter / T.Wah / Auto Wah / Graphic EQ / Parametric EQ / Guitar Sim / AC Guitar Sim / AC Processor / Wave Synth / Octave / Heavy Octave / Pitch Shifter / Harmonist / Humanizer / Phase 90E / Flanger 117E / DC-30

FX - Chorus / Flanger / Phaser / Uni-V / Tremolo / Vibrato / Rotary / Ring Mod / Slow Gear / Slicer / Comp / Limiter / T.Wah / Auto Wah / Graphic EQ / Parametric EQ / Guitar Sim / AC Guitar Sim / AC Processor / Wave Synth / Octave / Heavy Octave / Pitch Shifter / Harmonist / Humanizer / Phase 90E / Flanger 117E / DC-30

DLY - Digital / Pan / Stereo / Analog / Tape Echo / Reverse / Modulate / SDE-3000

DLY2 - Digital / Pan / Stereo / Analog / Tape Echo / Reverse / Modulate / SDE-3000

REV - Plate / Room / Hall / Spring / Modulate

SOLO : 0-100

CONTOUR - Contour : Off > 3 | Type : 1-4 | FREQ SHIFT : -50 > +50

PDL FX - Pedal Wah / Pedal Bend / Wah 95E

EQ - Parametric EQ / GE-10

EQ2 - Parametric EQ / GE-10

NS [Noise Suppressor] - Threshold (%) | Release (%)

BASE MENU :

Right at the base of the App you have a further menu which grants you access into other areas - including the Boss Tone Studio - Librarian / Tone Exchange

EDITOR | SESSION | LIBRARIAN | TONE EXCHANGE | SYSTEM

During the pre-release testing phase we used a Test version of the App - which had all the features intact, bar the ability to share across the patches from your Katana Amp - via the Boss Tone Studio. Which would have been fairly moot for me in any case - as you know that I operate my Katana Artist II very much as a neutral / flat EQ'd Clean Pedal Platform Amp.

While for those who really use those Amp Preset Patches to their full potential - you can save those across to your Katana : GO device - for seamless in-context practice sessions.

• Sound Quality : 48kHz / 32 bit
• Display : OLED 128 x 32 Dots
• Memory Slots : 30 Guitar / 30 Bass
• Guitar & Bass Modes
• Amp Models : 10 - BROWN / LEAD / CRUNCH / CLEAN / ACOUSTIC x Variation
• Effects : 60+
• Simultaneous Effects : 6 + 2 x EQ Block
• Bluetooth Streaming
• USB / Recording : USB-C
• Battery Life : Rechargeable Lithium-Ion vis USB-C
• Stage Feel : 1 / 2 / Custom
• Headphones : 1/8" Jack
• Foot Switch / Expression : Via Bluetooth (FS-1-WL / EV-1-WL)
• Editor App : Boss Tone Studio
• Librarian Software : Boss Tone Studio
• Compatible Presets : Katana / Katana MKII / Katana Bass
• YouTube Video Control : Via App
• Markers for Preset Changes
• Onboard Tuner
• Onboard Noise Gate (NS)
• Size / Weight : 45 x 125 x 24mm (fully extended)
• Weight : 70g
• MAP / RRP : $129 | €139 | £122

NOTE - you will need a set of wired headphones to connect to the device. Roland / Boss makes the phenomenal V-Moda headphones, while I'm using my daily runaround set - the Sony WH-1000XM5. 

Carrying Pouch : CB-KTNGO (Accessory / Optional) [$19 | €25 | £22]

Headphones : V-Moda - Crossfade 3, Crossfade LP2, Crossfade M-100 Master, M-200, M-200 ANC, S-80.

Wireless Controllers : Boss EV-1-WL, FS-1-WL.

I've always been one to advocate 'pushing air' and stating a preference for loud and direct amp playback. Which is why I didn't overly consider the Waza-Air as a viable platform for me at its time of launch. But there has been many a time where I wanted to practice late at night - particularly if I've just witnessed an amazing gig and want to get into deconstructing some of those riffs - or learning to play them via songsterr.com and similar.

The Katana : GO has actually been quite the revelation for me. Sure it doesn't give me quite the same dynamics as my fully live rig - particularly in the guitar volume gain cleanup stakes. But as a wide-ranging practice platform it's absolutely perfect for my needs. And in particular with the Stage Feel feature active - it sounds really exceptionally lively and vibrant - a million miles away from my earliest experiences with modelling amps - which could render somewhat flat and dull at times. No such issues with the Katana : GO - it truly sounds magnificent and richly detailed - with loads of beautiful harmonics delivered direct to my ears!

Pretty much everything about this is exactly as how I would have it and the Katana : Go Device and App Interface work seamlessly together. The only nice added extra would be to have an onboard BeatMachine too - but that is a tiny omission within the grand scale of things!

The product is immediately accessible to all - and instantly and overwhelmingly satisfying. The fact that you can pair it with your favourite headphone set is a bonus too - and makes travelling with the device a breeze!

Boss has really been on a roll of late - and this device is going to propel it even further ahead of the chasing pack - these are surely going to be one of the hottest sellers of the year!