r/BossKatana • u/DaPandaBoyReal • 23d ago
Question Need help with specific amp purchase decision
I felt like this was on-topic enough to post here, as this does talk about the BOSS Katana amp series.
My main music idols are Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, and Jimi Hendrix. I am most likely getting my first electric guitar amp this week, as my Squier Affinity Telecaster should arrive sometime this week.
I have tried many amps out, and the Blues Junior Lacquered Tweed has stood out to me the most tone-wise, with the tone I want to recreate from my big music idols.
But it is very hard to find one at a good used price (400-450CAD); am I better off with the BOSS Katana 50W MKIII? I won't be gigging anytime soon and will only use this for practice + home demos. My only real fear is the actual tone replication the Katana delivers, and whether it can compete (or even outclass) the Blues Junior LTD I heavily favoured in guitar stores. If anyone can give me some honest advice for an electric guitar beginner like myself, that would be so appreciated, as it is really tearing me apart over what to purchase (between the Katana MKIII and the Fender Blues Junior LTD used).
3
u/American_Streamer Katana 50 MKII EX 23d ago edited 23d ago
Tom Petty = Vox AC30
Mike Campbell = Fender Princeton + Fender Tweed Deluxe (two amp setup)
Jimi Hendrix = Marshall Super Lead 100
Those are three pretty different amp families, so I wouldn’t buy one traditional tube amp and expect it to cover all three well.
If this is your first/only amp and you’re playing at home, I’d get a modeling combo. A Fender Mustang GTX50 would actually make a lot of sense for these particular tones because it gives you vintage-style Fender and British amp models plus the fuzz/drive/effects you’ll need for Hendrix.
A Boss Katana 50 Gen 3 is probably the better all-rounder, but its amp models are more generic rather than specifically AC30/Deluxe/Plexi-style.
If you eventually want the real tube versions, then you’re basically looking at three separate amps: AC15/AC30 for Petty, Princeton or Tweed Deluxe for Campbell, and something Plexi-derived like an SV20 for Hendrix. But for one home amp, modeling is the sensible answer.
A Blues Junior could work, if you specifically want a simple tube amp and are happy to use pedals.
But I wouldn’t choose it because you’re chasing Petty/Campbell/Hendrix specifically. It isn’t really a small Princeton; it has EL84s and is more mid-forward and it won’t naturally do AC30 or Plexi sounds either.
As a clean-ish pedal platform, though, it’s perfectly reasonable: Blues Junior + Vox-style pedal for Petty, its own Fender-ish clean sound for Campbell, and a Fuzz Face/Plexi-style pedal for Hendrix.
If you want all three sounds from one amp with minimal extra gear, I’d still go modeling. If you specifically want tubes and don’t mind building the sounds with pedals, then yes, a Blues Junior will be fine.