My Gen 3 Boss Katana Artist Combo has landed, and is indeed noticeably improved in every department - with a more vibrant and responsive soundstage

You can instantly feel that the new amp is more immediate, tighter, and responsive than before - with more snap and punch to its output, and deeper soundstage projection. It benefits from additional expansive controls and output options, and now is much more controllable via direct Bluetooth App control with the Boss Tone Studio App. I would describe it as overall significantly more articulate and dynamic than before.

And I really love the new ’Pushed’ Amp Type - which I’ve switched over to from ’Clean’. I only have the gain @ 9 o’c, and it allows for more impacting gain ramping via your guitar volume control - while still starting off really very ’Clean’. There’s something a little extra about the ’Pushed’ mode that really appeals to me. UPDATE! - actually the Pushed mode is a little too much for some pedals - so I’m basically mixing up Clean and Pushed for my core pedal platform project. I will do a further deep-dive into using the amp wholly sans pedals too!

The EQ is mostly set flat, with the Bass knocked back a bit, Treble raised a smidge, and Contour set to Red, I also seem to prefer Air Feel set to Live Mode - which represents closer virtual microphone placement - but really just gives you a more vibrant tone. I’ve not used the Bloom feature too much yet - since I typically need to shave off some of the low end to deliver the amp character that I need. In fact I’m really just getting stuck into this amp - which arrived a couple of days before the Brighton Guitar Show, but then I had a long spell of Covid which kind of got in the way a little. I had to move the amps around, and put my original MKI Katana 100 into storage - which all took time and effort. While the setup of the new amp could not have been simpler, and connecting to Bluetooth for the first time was a breeze too! UPDATE! - actually I love the Bloom feature - it reminds me a little of the ’Loudness’ button you used to get on 80’s Hi-Fi’s which made everything sound better and fuller - and that’s what’s happening here - it really nicely fills out the lower end of the output profile and makes it all sound a little fuller - but still tight an elastically snappy!

The control topology is very similar to the previous MKII Artists edition - but with just a few additional controls, and a few more output options on the rear panel. The amp looks pretty majestic with its new grey matrix grille cloth - everything about this edition seems slightly more refined and robust. And the updated Tube Logic platform simply sounds magnificent now - with the most tube-like dynamics ever for such an amp. Obviously helped by the JFET AB Class Power Amp Section.

This EL34 emulating Gen 3 Katana Artist will occupy my usual Left Channel placement, while my EL84 All-Tube Carvin V3MC holds onto its Right Channel deployment for now. I have considered going full Boss at some stage - with likely the Nextone taking up duties on the Right Channel - as I need that combination of EL34 and EL84 frequency response - where one favours the Lower Mids and Low frequencies and the other the Higher Mids and High Frequencies for a more expanded and deeper 3D soundstage. While changing amps is always a big step, and I would rather do that process in longer-term stages.

It’s still very early days in my journey with the Gen 3 Katana Artist - and I tend to do a lot of fine-tuning and refinement over the period of the first month - making sure that the amp is tuned perfectly into the core pedalboard dynamics - which will likely mean adjusting both core elements a fraction or two. My longer term report in a month or two will cary more in-depth details!

What’s New for Gen 3!

• 6th ’Pushed’ Amp Type
• Bloom Feature - which adds a Springy Low End profile to the output (80’s Hi-Fi ’Loudness’!)
• Updated Contour Push Button (formerly a 4-way knob) : Off / Green / Red / Orange
• Solo now has Level, Delay and Tap controls
• Line Out Button allows you to Engage / Bypass Line Out
• Added Air Feel Knob : with Custom / Rec / Blend / Live options
• USB connectivity now standard USB-C
• Bluetooth Enabled - via Boss ’BT-Dual’ Bluetooth Audio MIDI Dual Adaptor
• Balanced XLR Line Out
• Headphone socket now with Stereo Output
• New elegant grey grille cloth