Boss Katana Gen 3 Review: The Best Value Guitar Amp in 2025?
The Boss Katana Gen 3 brings the new Pushed voice, Bluetooth editing and a revised Tone Studio to the best-selling amp line in the world. Here is the full review, and which model to buy.
The Boss Katana has been the best-selling guitar amp line in the world for years, and the Gen 3 range is the most complete version yet. It is still the amp we recommend first to almost anyone who asks what they should buy.
What the Katana actually is
A Katana is not a modelling amp in the usual sense. Boss's Tube Logic design puts a class-AB power stage behind the speaker, so the amp responds like a valve amp rather than a simulation of one. Roll your guitar volume back and it cleans up. Dig in and it bites. That feel is the reason these amps keep selling.
What is new in Gen 3
- A Pushed voice. Designed to sit right at the edge of breakup, where the amp is compressing and adding harmonics but has not distorted. It is touch-sensitive and it is the most musical addition to the range.
- Wireless editing. A dedicated port takes the optional Boss BT-Dual Bluetooth adapter, so you can edit tones and stream backing tracks from a phone or tablet.
- A revised Tone Studio. Boss's editor software has been reworked, giving access to a large library of Boss effects and full signal-chain routing.
The range still gives you six amp characters - clean, crunch, pushed, lead, brown and acoustic - each with a variation switch. Power Control lets you drop the output to a fraction of full power so you get cranked-amp behaviour at home volumes.
Which Katana Gen 3?
| Model | Power | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Katana-50 Gen 3 | 50 W, 1x12" | Home practice and small gigs |
| Katana-100 Gen 3 | 100 W, 1x12" | Gigs, more headroom, more presets |
| Katana-100/212 Gen 3 | 100 W, 2x12" | Maximum stage coverage |
| Katana Artist Gen 3 | 100 W, 1x12" | The premium model, upgraded speaker and cabinet |
The Katana-50 Gen 3 is the value pick. The Katana-100 Gen 3 is what most gigging players should buy, because the extra headroom matters when you are competing with a drummer. The Katana Artist Gen 3 is the one for players who want the best of the line and will notice the difference.
Using it at home
The Katana works as a USB audio interface, so you can record the amp direct into a computer without a microphone. Combined with Power Control, that makes it a genuinely practical bedroom amp as well as a gigging one.
The verdict
Nothing at this price offers as much. Great core tones, a huge effects library, USB recording, wireless editing, and a power stage that behaves like a real amp. If you are buying your first serious amp, start here.
Shop Boss Katana amps at OneStopMusic
- Boss Katana-50 Gen 3 50-watt Combo Amplifier
- Boss Katana-100 Gen 3 100-watt Combo Amplifier
- Boss Katana-100/212 Gen 3 Combo Amplifier
- Boss Katana Artist Gen 3 100-watt Combo Amplifier
Browse the full range of Boss products.
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