I moved to the Katana after my starter pack of Fender Squier with the Frontman 15G. I was pretty happy with my Frontman, but I decided to try and expand my possibilities with the Katana.
Buying the Katana was a great decision that allowed me to evolve as a guitarist and learn about tones. I moved from the two channels (clean / overdrive) of my previous amp to all the different amp modes of the Katana (4 with variation + acoustic) and all the effects it includes. I think this is a great option for exploring possibilities and checking out how different pedals / effects sound for those who are not very familiar with tone crafting. At this point I have to say that the sheer number of possibilities can be daunting, but you can always start from the presets or third-party tones available in online communities.
PROS:
- A lot of effects and amp modes with endless possibilities for different tones, which allow trying new sounds, especially useful for beginners.
- You can connect it to your computer for recording or to manage the tones through the GUI.
- 8 patches can be stored in memory, allowing to switch between different tones quickly without using the computer. For this, the switch pedal sold separately is great, allowing to switch while playing.
- The effects loop comes in quite handy for my looper pedal.
- The amp sounds great to my inexperienced ears.
- The power switch allows to play indoors without the neighbors having to call the police.
CONS:
- With the huge number of possibilities it might be a daunting task fiddling around with all the options to find the tones you like. Also, the official tone patches were quite limited last time I checked, relying heavily on non-official communities.
Overall, I am really happy with my purchase and would never think about going back to my Frontman after this, I think it's great value for the money. I would recommend buying it with the switch pedal for changing channels while playing.