Katana Go is back

[MichaelDean]

I just had an email from GAK that they've brought it back. Must have sorted out the missing component or maybe a redesign? Might need to get one.

https://www.gak.co.uk/en/boss-katana-go2-guitar-and-bass-headphone-amplifier/972558

[MrDinsdale]

They're great, hopefully this means more ongoing support and updates!

[markbunney]

Good news, it is a bit cheaper than the first edition as well.

 

i had one and sold it, and then regretted selling it so I might grab another one.

[tauzero]

I was just about to post the same thing. There's an update to the firmware available at https://www.boss.info/us/support/by_product/katana-go/updates_drivers/12b0d6f6-b2c4-41d3-8f65-b1247ce1eb4b/ which I presume means that the Mk 1 and Mk 2 are software compatible. Just did the update, all went well, and I didn't have to re-do the pairing for the audio side - on the MIDI side, the app happily scanned for and picked up the MIDI channel on the Go.

 

Externally, the only change seems to be that instead of having a big knob for volume, there's a side mounted control which I would have thought would be more fiddly.

[MichaelDean]

I wonder if the big volume control was the hard to source part? It seems strange to omit it otherwise.

[Cato]

Total unfounded speculation but without the big volume wheel the Go looks less like the Fender Mustang headphone amp.

 

I wonder if there was a 'cease and desist' involved in the sudden halting of the original run?

 

Great to see it back anyway, mine is still my go to practice set up.

Edited February 13 by Cato

[thumbo]

I've just got back into using mine again, it's an excellent little gadget for practice sessions. I was underwhelmed with the bass presets out of the box, but with some tweaking it's capable of some decent sounds. I've just dialled in a Jamerson-ish tone for my P bass with flats which has kept me entertained for a good chunk of today. 

 

How are folks using it for practice? I find the bluetooth connectivity great for playing along to tracks off my phone or laptop. 

[tauzero]

1 hour ago, thumbo said:

How are folks using it for practice? I find the bluetooth connectivity great for playing along to tracks off my phone or laptop. 

 

That's the way I use it. I've been a bit lazy over presets and haven't bothered setting up anything, must do something about that some time. Maybe.

[tauzero]

On 13/02/2025 at 16:57, Cato said:

Total unfounded speculation but without the big volume wheel the Go looks less like the Fender Mustang headphone amp.

 

I wonder if there was a 'cease and desist' involved in the sudden halting of the original run?

 

Great to see it back anyway, mine is still my go to practice set up.

 

If there was a cease and desist, it would have been the other way as the Boss came out first (or at least that's what this article says). And it also says that Fender bought up the entire supply of the required chip, hence the redesign.

[Woodinblack]

They are great things, I have one of the originals.

[MrDinsdale]

Game changer, realised I can just plug the Katana GO straight I to my phone to record little ideas straight onto my iphone via the native camera app 🙌

 

 

Its so much easier than booting up logic and connecting everything up.

[Woodinblack]

Is that straight from the USB?

[MrDinsdale]

Yeah literally plugged the usb into my phone and hit record on the native camera app, didn't even need to change any settings!

[ped]

I just got one of these after a long wait. I sold my WAZA Air headphones because whilst they’re super neat and everything, the actual headphones themselves let the system down. I really wanted the same sort of tech but where I can use my preferred bass playing headphones, the Beyer DT770. 
 

Well, the GO is bang on. I plug it into my Backbeat so it’s like it isn’t there, the app is much better than the WAZA one and I was able to make a flat preset which sounds almost identical to my VB99 setup right away (copied the settings across, pretty much). Flat amp, small upper mid bump, limiter and a tiny bit of room reverb. 
 

The app is so much more logical and thanks to a tiny box that says ‘don’t show this screen again’ when you connect the device and open the app, it’s actually more seamless then the WAZA which you basically had to pair with the app each time you opened it. 
 

I’ll spend more time with it later this week but I’m pretty confident that I will be able to get exactly the same clean sound I get with my home setup, which will be great - and I notice you can record out of it via USB, too. Excellent! 

[MrDinsdale]

I love it, there's a few times ive had an idea, connected to my phone and recorded a quick video with the audio from the Go that would've otherwise been long forgotten.

 

I love that I can play bass in the garden while my daughter's playing too. It also sounds great considering how compact it is.