Boss Katana 100 with a Travis Toy speaker

Dale McPherson · Post by **Dale McPherson** » 23 Sep 2018 6:38 am

Has anyone tried a Travis Toy speaker in a Boss Katana 100 combo. I bought one to play my practice tracks thru and it sounds ok but I do not like the amp when playing my steel thru it. I was considering trying the Travis Toy speaker to see if it helped. Thoughts?

George Kimery · Post by **George Kimery** » 23 Sep 2018 8:58 am

Dalw, I have the 100 head version with a TT-12 in a cabinet. I love it and it sounds great. I had a PF-350 before that and it sounded about the same to me. I don't think you can go wrong with tbe TT-12.

Travis Toy · Post by **Travis Toy** » 24 Sep 2018 10:25 pm

Dale McPherson wrote:Has anyone tried a Travis Toy speaker in a Boss Katana 100 combo. I bought one to play my practice tracks thru and it sounds ok but I do not like the amp when playing my steel thru it. I was considering trying the Travis Toy speaker to see if it helped. Thoughts?

Do it!

-t

David Nugent · Post by **David Nugent** » 25 Sep 2018 3:16 am

There was a previous post by Forum member Gary Hamblin concerning replacing the speaker in a Boss 'Katana 100' and the general consensus appeared to be that the process may be rather troublesome. You may want to measure the diameter of the stock speaker to determine if it is standard size. I recall a friend attempting to replace the speaker in a Roland GX series amp (same company as I understand) and found that a standard size speaker would not fit properly. He eventually removed the speaker, shortened the cab, and converted it to a head only unit.

mtulbert · Post by **mtulbert** » 25 Sep 2018 3:30 am

Dale,

I had the same feeling with the amp and then got one of Brad Sarno's Black Boxes. Made a world of difference IMHO.

regards,

Dustin Kleingartner · Post by **Dustin Kleingartner** » 25 Sep 2018 8:44 am

I have a Katana 50 and I replaced the speaker in mine. It really wasn't that difficult. You have to take the amp out of the cabinet, but I think that's only 2 screws. I put in a 12" WGS ET 65, and the speaker fit, no problem. I've been very satisfied so far.

Dale McPherson · Post by **Dale McPherson** » 18 Oct 2018 3:32 am

I just ordered a Travis Toy 12. Will keep you posted as to the results.

Dale McPherson · Post by **Dale McPherson** » 20 Oct 2018 1:02 pm

Today I received my Travis Toy speaker. I changed out the speaker in my Boss Katana 100 in about 15 minutes and really like the results. The results were not a day/night difference but even without any break in time, it gave me more bottom and fullness. I personally think the change made a mediocre amp a pretty good amp. It doesn't compare to my Telonics but for less than $600 total--- it does a good job.

gary pierce · Post by **gary pierce** » 21 Oct 2018 5:55 am

Thanks for the update Dale, I might do the same.

George Kimery · Post by **George Kimery** » 22 Oct 2018 5:08 am

Dale, I am glad the TT-12 is working for you. You are probably aware that a lot of us like the amp set on acoustic setting instead of the clean setting. There are so many variables, the same thing doesn't work for everybody.

John Gould · Post by **John Gould** » 22 Oct 2018 10:47 am

I've found that Eminence has another speaker with specs so close to the T.T. I had to try it in my amp. I have to say I have the best sounding Steel amp for the least amount of money I have ever owned . I've had Peavey's , Evans, Webb and I don't think I was as ever as happy with the sound as I am now. I'm using a Fender Mustang III version 2 single 12 combo with a S2012 Eminence speaker. I have a total of $175 invested in the entire amp . Bought the amp used and the speaker off a dealer who had ordered for someone who backed out on the deal.

Dale McPherson · Post by **Dale McPherson** » 22 Oct 2018 11:11 am

Yes, the acoustic setting is the only one that sounds good on steel. I use the clean setting for the tracks. Channel 1 and channel 2 makes it an easy switch.

Josephus Vroomans · Post by **Josephus Vroomans** » 22 Oct 2018 1:24 pm

John Gould wrote:I've found that Eminence has another speaker with specs so close to the T.T. I had to try it in my amp. I have to say I have the best sounding Steel amp for the least amount of money I have ever owned . I've had Peavey's , Evans, Webb and I don't think I was as ever as happy with the sound as I am now. I'm using a Fender Mustang III version 2 single 12 combo with a S2012 Eminence speaker. I have a total of $175 invested in the entire amp . Bought the amp used and the speaker off a dealer who had ordered for someone who backed out on the deal.

I've got the same amp. Was it easy to replace the speaker? Is this the Eminence Basslite S2012 speaker? This is a bass speaker. What makes it suitable for pedal steel?

John Gould · Post by **John Gould** » 22 Oct 2018 2:22 pm

Josephus Vroomans,
The speaker replacement took me maybe 10 minutes to do . Very easy to get the original speaker out and put the new one in. If you go to the Eminence Speaker site and look at the specs for the Travis Toy 12" speaker and the Basslite S2012 they are not that much different in the frequency response . I was going to bite the bullet and get the TT speaker because I have a friend that did that in his amp. But in the back of my mind I kept thinking with as much tonal range as the Mustang amp has I just need to find something in the Ball Park . I had put the S2012 in my Rumble 100 Bass amp as was very please with the sound compared to the stock speaker so I tried it on the Mustang and loved it . So I got one for it as well. I've played indoor and outdoor gigs with it so far and it sounds great to me and I'm getting compliments on my tone every place I've played with it .

John Gould · Post by **John Gould** » 22 Oct 2018 2:35 pm

This should give you a idea of how close they are

gary pierce · Post by **gary pierce** » 22 Oct 2018 4:52 pm

I believe in supporting our fellow steelers, so it will be the TT-12 for me. I already have a 212 cab with Telonics in it.

John Gould · Post by **John Gould** » 22 Oct 2018 6:00 pm

I'm not trying to cut Travis out of royalties on his signature speakers. But in my case I cannot justify paying over $200 for a speaker to go in a $100 used amplifier . Or in my case I can't justify spending that kind of money on a speaker period . I don't make big money on gigs or on my day job so I have to look for bargains on every purchase I make. If I ever win the lotto I'll buy a bunch of TT speakers to go in all the amps I'll buy.

Travis Toy · Post by **Travis Toy** » 22 Oct 2018 7:53 pm

Iâ€™m glad youâ€™ve found a speaker you like John. I know it doesnâ€™t look like much on the graph, but believe it or not, there are quite a few pretty major differences in those response graphs. At the end of the day though, as long as youâ€™re happy with it, thatâ€™s all that matters. Cheers!

-t

David Wren · Post by **David Wren** » 22 Oct 2018 9:19 pm

I bought the Katana 100 head, then when it arrived I discovered I couldn't use it with any of my 4 ohm 15" cabs

So I ordered a Line 6 single celestion 12" cab... and it has been OK....

Then last week I used my new Milkman "The Amp" as a pre-amp only, then going into the Katana... WOW!

Of course that's using a $700 pre-amp. for a $300 amp

â€¦ but it did sound pretty nice, AND I could use the 4 preset FX channels as well.

So to Mark T, this is similar to using Brad's Black box, but with added EQ and reverb on the pre-amp stage.

John Gould · Post by **John Gould** » 22 Oct 2018 9:57 pm

Hey Travis, I understand that there are some frequency curve differences . I'm sure you spent a bunch of time with the Eminence engineers refining and tuning and anechoic chamber test . I take my hat off to you to be a discriminating enough of a player to tune your own signature speaker and to be a great enough player to get that kind of endorsement. I am in no way trying to lessen the value of your speaker. I have many friends in the Steel Guitar community that love your speaker and use them . I'm not saying that the speaker I chose would be right for as many different amps and cabs that your signature speaker works in . I'm just stating that in my situation with the particular amp I have and my guitar and the way that I play the other speaker works for me. Like I said previously the TT was my first choice, even the Eminence engineers tried to talk me out of my choice. If I hadn't already had one in my Rumble 100 that I use for bass I would have ended up saving my money for the TT . The bottom line is I appreciate what you have created for the Steel Guitar Community but I tried thinking outside the box and it works for me. I also appreciate you understand it's about what you as a player are happy with.

Josephus Vroomans · Post by **Josephus Vroomans** » 22 Oct 2018 11:38 pm

John Gould wrote:Josephus Vroomans,
The speaker replacement took me maybe 10 minutes to do . Very easy to get the original speaker out and put the new one in. If you go to the Eminence Speaker site and look at the specs for the Travis Toy 12" speaker and the Basslite S2012 they are not that much different in the frequency response . I was going to bite the bullet and get the TT speaker because I have a friend that did that in his amp. But in the back of my mind I kept thinking with as much tonal range as the Mustang amp has I just need to find something in the Ball Park . I had put the S2012 in my Rumble 100 Bass amp as was very please with the sound compared to the stock speaker so I tried it on the Mustang and loved it . So I got one for it as well. I've played indoor and outdoor gigs with it so far and it sounds great to me and I'm getting compliments on my tone every place I've played with it .

Thanks John. How would you describe the difference in tone between the S2012 and the stock Celestion speaker in the Mustang 3? What amp settings do you use? Any cab modeling?

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 23 Oct 2018 8:45 am

John, any sound clips? I considered the Mustang but then came the Katana so it's confusing which way to go for a multi purpose lightweight amp.

John Gould · Post by **John Gould** » 23 Oct 2018 10:40 am

The stock speaker in the Mustang III was overly bright and brittle to my ears even with my 6 string guitar . I was able to tame it down some with EQ but when I made the change to the S2012 everything smoothed out and got richer and fuller but still has a defined top end. I use the Studio Pre-Amp as my starting point. I will post some settings later once I get a chance to hook up to my laptop and pull the settings with the FUSE software.

John Gould · Post by **John Gould** » 23 Oct 2018 10:44 am

I will post some sound clips over the weekend . I have a gig on friday night and I'll take my portable recorder with me and put it in front of the amp and capture some stuff. I use the Vibratone effect to get a organ type sound on a couple of songs just for fun. Kinda reminds me of Rusty Young in early POCO

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 23 Oct 2018 11:05 am

Thanks John, looking forward to hearing that.

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Boss Katana 100 with a Travis Toy speaker

Boss Katana 100 with a Travis Toy speaker

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Boss Katana with Travis Toy speaker.

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