DO NOT LAUGH ! Boss Katana Mini
Posted: 27 Oct 2023 1:19 am
DO NOT LAUGH, thats an order !
I've been playing a bit of Dobro again and will be attending a few local jams soon, the thing about Dobro's is they project UP- not forward and they can easily be drowned out by Banjo's Guitars, Fiddles etc. My Dobro has a K+K pup which is not bad overall. So I decided to check out a few battery powered small amps to use with the Dobro at the jams. I only wanted a tad of clean volume and NO feedback. I selected the Katana Mini, $100. It has a few different input modes and the Clean Mode is perfect, it gives 2 or 3X the natural volume which is MORE than needed for a jam, maybe even too much . It also has 3 EQ knobs that actually do something, so with the Dobro you can roll back the lo end or mids if they are causing any rumble feedback. It also has an on board delay which is kinda useful in a very mild setting. Supposedly it can run 5 to 7 hrs on batteries, I ran it for over 4 with the cheap batteries it came with. It also runs on a Boss 9V PS. There is also a REC out which I suspect can be sent to a board if need be and an AUX IN for music tracks.
The main reason I selected the Katana Mini was because it has 3 EQ knobs,( they actually do something ) many of the small "battery" amps have preset EQ profiles, if any at all.
OK, on to the Steel. Seeing that I now use this KATANA MINI for my daily practice rig for the Tele, I thought uhmmm , what about that D10 Emmons sitting across the room ? So I plugged the Steel in, same clean settings for the Tele/Dobro and lo and behold, not bad, actually pretty darn good, using the 4" speaker or phones. Just make sure you are in the clean mode. Add a tad of delay and I don't see using one of the big amps for practice ever again. Its not loud, its loud enough and clean enough. Actually it may be too loud if your are practicing at night and the fam is sleeping.
Don't laugh
I acquired this specifically for the Bluegrass Jams with the Dobro, I now use it for all of my practice needs.
I've been playing a bit of Dobro again and will be attending a few local jams soon, the thing about Dobro's is they project UP- not forward and they can easily be drowned out by Banjo's Guitars, Fiddles etc. My Dobro has a K+K pup which is not bad overall. So I decided to check out a few battery powered small amps to use with the Dobro at the jams. I only wanted a tad of clean volume and NO feedback. I selected the Katana Mini, $100. It has a few different input modes and the Clean Mode is perfect, it gives 2 or 3X the natural volume which is MORE than needed for a jam, maybe even too much . It also has 3 EQ knobs that actually do something, so with the Dobro you can roll back the lo end or mids if they are causing any rumble feedback. It also has an on board delay which is kinda useful in a very mild setting. Supposedly it can run 5 to 7 hrs on batteries, I ran it for over 4 with the cheap batteries it came with. It also runs on a Boss 9V PS. There is also a REC out which I suspect can be sent to a board if need be and an AUX IN for music tracks.
The main reason I selected the Katana Mini was because it has 3 EQ knobs,( they actually do something ) many of the small "battery" amps have preset EQ profiles, if any at all.
OK, on to the Steel. Seeing that I now use this KATANA MINI for my daily practice rig for the Tele, I thought uhmmm , what about that D10 Emmons sitting across the room ? So I plugged the Steel in, same clean settings for the Tele/Dobro and lo and behold, not bad, actually pretty darn good, using the 4" speaker or phones. Just make sure you are in the clean mode. Add a tad of delay and I don't see using one of the big amps for practice ever again. Its not loud, its loud enough and clean enough. Actually it may be too loud if your are practicing at night and the fam is sleeping.
Don't laugh
I acquired this specifically for the Bluegrass Jams with the Dobro, I now use it for all of my practice needs. 