Boss Katana 50/100, Peavey Classic 30 or DV Mark 12?

[Musgo Real]

Hi Jazz Maniacs,

beginning of this year I sold my Mustang II v.2 and regret it today. At the moment I am playing my D`Angelico EXL 1 through a Vox Mini 5 Rhythm CL, but I am not satisfied with the sound at all. Reading many threads here in the forum and watching lots of videos on youtube, I found three nice sounding and affordable amps which will fit my budget.

1) Boss Katana 50 or 100
2) Used Peavey Classic 30
3) DV Mark 12

I want an amp for practice at home. Therefore it should have a nice jazz tone also at small volume. Second the amp should be loud enough to work within a small jazz band.

And no, there is no shop in my hometown offering all of these three amps.

[Alter]

My first choice would be the Peavey cause its the real thing, tubes. Second would be the DV Mark, for portability. Boss has many sounds and effects built in if that's of interest, plus its is cheaper.

[snoskier63]

I see it a bit differently. The Peavey classics 30 is clearly the best amp of the bunch, but having owned several 30 W amps before I can tell you that it is way too much power for home use. You will never have the volume over about 1.5 or two. Also, it weighs well over 40 pounds I think. For my money, the Katana 100 would be the best option because it has a built in attenuator allowing you to use whatever volume or output you need, and it also has much more functionality than the DV Mark amp. The tone of the Katana is also very good. If having something very light is most important, and you don’t plan on playing anything but jazz then the DV Mark amp would be your best bet. Otherwise, I would definitely go for the Katana 100.

[raised11]

I have a Mustang III v2 and a Katana 50. Although the size of the Kat 50 is very seductive both for gigging and bedroom use (especially with that adorable little flip-up stand it has which makes the most of its tininess), I would second the vote for a Katana 100 1x12 - especially since you no longer have the Mustang.

The 100 is closer to what you've sold off - four saveable "channels" instead of two, an actual DI output (if you ever need that; I often do), and more satisfactory low-end response from that larger cabinet. You won't always need that noticeably bigger bottom end that the 100 offers, but unfortunately you won't really know either unless you buy a 50 and bring it to an actual gig or rehearsal situation.

For whatever it's worth I thought the Mustang was the ultimate stupid-cheap / -expendable Swiss Army knife amp and I've gigged it a lot (including this past weekend) in favor of many much more expensive amps I've got. But I have come to feel that the Katana is the superior amp overall. If I had a Kat 100 and the unfortunately way-too-expensive multi-footswitch to go with, I'd probably be gigging that rig now instead. It's even a few pounds down on the Mustang.

[raised11]

Also, don't rule out the Katana head if you have a cab or cabs that you like. It's probably the most flexible device in the whole Kat lineup.

[GNAPPI]

I'm in the Peavey camp but...

This amp in particular has an internal temperature fused transformer which is known to open for no reason. I've replaced a couple of transformers in them (the replacements are not identical IIRC) but in mine I just bypassed the internal fuse as the secondaries are fused and it's been no problem since then.

[TedBPhx]

My beloved Peavey Classic 30, bought new in ‘98, is gathering dust since the Katana 100 came home two years ago. That 0.5w bedroom mode is hard to beat. And on the rare play out I appreciate the 10lbs slimmer on the Kat. When the wife is out of the house I play with 50 or 100 modes but still don’t miss the Peavey. I should, I feel guilty, maybe today. It is a great little tube amp once you swap the speaker and get the tubes right.

[Longways to Go]

I prefer to practice on a tube amp, even if it is less practical in many ways.

[zephyrregent]

I recommend the Roland Blues Cube Hot 30. It's the same price as the DV Mark 12. I had a DV Mark 12 but returned it right away. The tone sounded flat, small, boxy and without a lot of dynamic range. I don't understand their popularity. The Blues Cube has much more dynamic range and sounds and responds like a tube amp. You can adjust the power from 5 watts to 30 watts so it makes a good home practice amp as well as being loud enough to play with a band. You can get a clean jazz tone from it or adjust it to your taste. It's not the same as old Roland Cube models. It has something new called TubeLogic that gives it the sound and response of a tube amp.

[Musgo Real]

Reading your posts, it seems the Katana is the most versatile amp of all, if you take into account the three different volume levels and the five amp characters...

Does the second version of the DV Mark Jazz 12, still got the annoying fan sound, which is audible when you playing alone at home on a houshold noise level?

Damn that I don´t have the money to buy all three amps.

[Musgo Real]

I recommend the Roland Blues Cube Hot 30. It's the same price as the DV Mark 12. I had a DV Mark 12 but returned it right away. The tone sounded flat, small, boxy and without a lot of dynamic range. I don't understand their popularity. The Blues Cube has much more dynamic range and sounds and responds like a tube amp. You can adjust the power from 5 watts to 30 watts so it makes a good home practice amp as well as being loud enough to play with a band. You can get a clean jazz tone from it or adjust it to your taste. It's not the same as old Roland Cube models. It has something new called TubeLogic that gives it the sound and response of a tube amp.

Never heard of this amp before...has a nice vintage look, which I really like a lot. Maybe I am wrong, but every amp with Blues in the name, I associate that the clean channel will distort at higher volume...con: this amp got no aux in / line in.

[Musgo Real]

Thanks to everyone who posted in this thread.

I will follow raised11`s adwise and will buy the Boss Katana 100.

Seems to me it is the most versatile amp of the three. Reading some threads here in the forum the Katana will give me a nice jazz tone, and the other amp simulations will give lot of space for other music styles, too.

I will also buy an EQ for my little Vox Mini Rhythm 5, maybe this will turn the sound into a better direction. It is a very nice portable amp.

Maybe one day I will get a Brunetti 35 tube amp, too. But that is a different story.

[Bob P.]

Thanks to everyone who posted in this thread.

I will follow raised11`s adwise and will buy the Boss Katana 100.

Seems to me it is the most versatile amp of the three. Reading some threads here in the forum the Katana will give me a nice jazz tone, and the other amp simulations will give lot of space for other music styles, too.

I will also buy an EQ for my little Vox Mini Rhythm 5, maybe this will turn the sound into a better direction. It is a very nice portable amp.

Maybe one day I will get a Brunetti 35 tube amp, too. But that is a different story.

Just curious if you've looked at or considered the new Boss Nextone amps as well? They have an 80 watt version that has me a bit curious.

[raised11]

I think snoskier63 was the first person to suggest the Kat 100 1x12 - but I do agree with them.

Also I now see I misread that you had a Mustang II, not a III. The Kat 50 is closer to the Mustang II in feature set and size. But the 100 is kind of a no-brainer for the extra hundred bones, especially if you ever think you might want to gig out with it.

Everybody is different. I used to have a lot of really nice tube amps. I have basically no tube amps today, with everything I own being either vintage solid state, modern-analog solid state, and/or modeling solid state. Some days I do kinda wish I still had a good Deluxe Reverb or blackface Bandmaster or even a good Marshall JMP in the stable. But I definitely don't miss the tonal variation from day to day, or the sonic inadequacies of a >5-10W tube amp at reasonable practice volume, or (definitely) the upkeep and wondering when the next thing is going to go wrong and require service. With good amp techs also getting harder and harder to find, I really don't think you'll regret that Katana.

[raised11]

Just curious if you've looked at or considered the new Boss Nextone amps as well? They have an 80 watt version that has me a bit curious.

Ooh, interesting, I hadn't seen those. Looks like Roland is maybe cannibalizing their own Blues Cube line with these.

For me, given that the power tube setting seems to be global, the big question mark is whether the power amp settings get stored in the custom channels (so I could have a stored 6L6 clean in the clean channel and EL34s for the dirt side).

But even then it looks like you only get two "channels" on the Nex Artist vs. the four on basically all of the Katanas, and you're also paying like double for the "privilege."

They do look nice on stage from the front though...

Something to maybe keep in mind with that 'four separate power amps' thing in the current marketing copy is that Roland insisted something very similar with the Katanas when they were introduced. They took a lot of pains, and frankly kind of deceptive ones, to somehow suggest the Katanas were not DSP-based modeling amps but using some kind of semi-discrete analog preamplification instead. They've conspicuously dropped all of that since the Internet dug in on their Kats and discovered exactly what was up. I doubt that Roland would have found it actually worthwhile or cost-effective to install four different varieties of MOSFETs or whatever in the Nextones rather than simply applying modeling in advance of the power stage.

[raised11]

...the Nextones and Blues Cubes seem oriented for the more traditional player who is comparing them more directly to vintage and boutique tube amps and wants that kind of control-panel simplicity.

But the Katanas already have plenty of dedicated faux-analog controls for the player who likes to have knobs on stage... and I'd argue the added functionality and versatility in the Kats still makes them a more sensible choice in most situations.

I hadn't tried a Blues Cube until I got my Kat. However, I've tried several BCs out of curiosity since and I have yet to notice that the more expensive Roland line has much, if anything, up on the Katanas in the sonics department.

[snoskier63]

Another 15w tube (hybrid) amp to consider is the Fender Super Champ XD. It has a dedicated clean channel that is excellent, along with a channel of simulated tones that actually sound quite good as well. Best of all, it only weighs 24 pounds and can easily be found used within your budget. I also love the Roland Cube 80GX, which was replaced by the Katana (Roland and Boss are the same company). They are indestructible, fairly light at around 32 pounds (I think), and they are easy to find used in great shape.

[Bob P.]

Ooh, interesting, I hadn't seen those. Looks like Roland is maybe cannibalizing their own Blues Cube line with these.

For me, given that the power tube setting seems to be global, the big question mark is whether the power amp settings get stored in the custom channels (so I could have a stored 6L6 clean in the clean channel and EL34s for the dirt side).

But even then it looks like you only get two "channels" on the Nex Artist vs. the four on basically all of the Katanas, and you're also paying like double for the "privilege."

They do look nice on stage from the front though...

Something to maybe keep in mind with that 'four separate power amps' thing in the current marketing copy is that Roland insisted something very similar with the Katanas when they were introduced. They took a lot of pains, and frankly kind of deceptive ones, to somehow suggest the Katanas were not DSP-based modeling amps but using some kind of semi-discrete analog preamplification instead. They've conspicuously dropped all of that since the Internet dug in on their Kats and discovered exactly what was up. I doubt that Roland would have found it actually worthwhile or cost-effective to install four different varieties of MOSFETs or whatever in the Nextones rather than simply applying modeling in advance of the power stage.

So are you basically saying the Nextone is comparable to the Katana in terms of performance. Similar "book", just with a different cover type of thing?? And for twice the money !

[helios]

The Delta Blues is another option-A classic 30 with a 1-15" 0r 2-10" speaker configuration:

[raised11]

So are you basically saying the Nextone is comparable to the Katana in terms of performance. Similar "book", just with a different cover type of thing?? And for twice the money !

I haven't seen a Nextone in my local market yet to play with. The front panel setup is fairly different from the Katanas. It does also seem likely that there will be some fabric / internal software connecting them with the Katana line, the BluesCube line, or both.

The Katanas themselves are basically the progeny of the Boss GT-100, having lost the LCD display and a number of deeper effects options before growing a power amp section and a speaker.

But as to the degree to which the preamplification / processing is shared between the amp lines, I figure only a Roland/Boss engineer is going to ever have that information. There are probably some differences and implementation refinements in the more expensive amps, in the physical hardware if nothing else... better speakers, cabinet construction / materials, etc.

The Nextone was only announced last month... I imagine there will be plenty of deep Nextone vs. Katana comparos on the Internet shortly if they aren't already appearing.

[snoskier63]

I believe the deeper effects options are available with the Katana, but they are only accessible via their online community. Those effects can then be stored on the Katana. I’m sure those with direct experience will chime in.

[raised11]

Oh yeah, there are tons of effects available on the Katana, especially via the PC editing tools, and (IIRC from last I twiddled with it) routing can even be modified to a decent extent.

The GT-100/001 effects library is not represented in its entirety, though, from my recollection, and it's somewhat more flexible overall. As it probably should be; it's a $500 standalone effects box vs. a full-blown combo amp selling for effectively half that!

One thing I really like about the Katanas is that Boss got the balance pretty well right in terms of twiddle vs. instant gratification. But I sense from some of these forum threads on the Nextone that some players get frustrated simply having selectable effects available to them on an amp and would prefer an amp that eliminates those choices altogether. I guess I can kind of relate to that some days.

[TedBPhx]

Put the Katana away for now while the wife is out running Christmas stuff. Fired up the Peavey C30 for the first time in almost two years. Oh yeah! That does give a luscious clean. Got in a couple of hours with it since this thread had me re-thinking Kat vs PC30. The Kat wins on overall versatility. The Peavey has far fewer tricks but it does perform them very well. Has a better sound played clean and too loud for the wife with the Gibson 175. I’ll keep both, thank you.

[Musgo Real]

Just curious if you've looked at or considered the new Boss Nextone amps as well? They have an 80 watt version that has me a bit curious.

Thanks for this tip, Bob P.

I had a look at the Nextone amps on the thomann website.

Boss Nextone Artist: 699 Euro. 80W. No line in. 16,2 Kg.

Boss Nextone Stage: 499 Euro. 40W. No line in. 13,4 Kg.

Boss Katana 100: 299 Euro. 100W. Line in. 19,2 Kg.

The Nextone amps have such a better design than the Katana with, for my taste, a bit cheap looking white Boss logo and this Asian sign in front...

[Musgo Real]

Finally I bought a used Roland Cube 60 in perfect condition, which I get for 90 Euro. I am quit satisfied with the sound of the JC120 clean channel, also the Black Panel and Tweed clean channel sounding good. Now I have to change the factory pickup of my D`Angelico EXL 1 as next step.