katana amp/marshall origin 5

[chris mcbain]

Hello Shad fans,
i am currently down sizing my amp for something like a katana 50 combo or possibly a marshall origin 5 watt, i know the katana has great review the marshall seems to be
iffy on the reviews , as they are similar priced would like some views on these please they would only be used for mostly shads stuff in the bedroom with a zoom g3x pedal
no other pedals or p.c. or is there another better sensibly priced amp out there, I know this may start a heated debate but lets keep it friendly all views appreciated.

Chris

[Stu's Dad]

I know nothing about the Marshall Origin 5 Chris, but I doubt it'll get you anywhere near a Shadows sound. The Katana on the other hand will. I've got one, and it's one of the best solid state amps I've had. If I had a complaint about it, it would be that it takes a lot of setting up on your computer, but there's lots of help on You Tube. If you click on Search in the top right corner (the very top one, not the Google box), you'll find several threads here about it.

If you don't want to go through all the setting up malarkey and you've got some good Shadows patches on your Zoom G3 you plug it straight into the Power Amp In socket on the back of the amp and it goes straight to the power amp - which is actually Class A/B. I've got a Zoom G7.1ut with Charlie Hall's EFTP patches and it works great that way.

Cheers,

Len

[dave robinson]

Hi Chris, being totally blunt I would recommend you forget about the Marshall. Th reason being that in all my fifty odd years f being a professional guitarist I have yet to plug into one that pleases me and I have used a few.
The Katana however is a different beast altogether. I used the Mk1 head for two years with a Vox 2 x 12 cabinet an it was terrific, then I went super lightweight and bought the Fender Tone Master that you can carry with your little finger. I missed the Katana though and recently bought the Mk2 100 head that has a small speaker for home use as well as amazing effects. I can get all the Shadows echoes I need from my Katana as there is the option of using four echo heads to get tall the patterns. Also there is all the tone shaping that you will ever need on board when you connect the unit up to your computer with a USB cable into Boss Studio.
Should you wish to use your Zoom G3 instead that's no problem. You just set up a Vox sound and plug the Zoom in as normal and away you go.
I very rarely go backwards with my gear, but I knew the Katana Head very well and got the most from it, the new one is twice as good so I had to have another.

[artyman]

I have a Katana 50 Mk1 and it's a great amp. A couple of videos should give you an idea of the sound, I've tweaked it some more subsequently. Excuse the rubbish playing.

https://youtu.be/A4bZ_rNoPG8
https://youtu.be/7z4xDcfyoKQ

[chris mcbain]

Thanks guys i new the katana was getting great reviews and cheap enough to buy new and plenty of second hand ones around also, i also like the three out put settings
which gives more control , thank you everyone who has contributed to this forum and confirmed for me the katana is the way to go.


Quick update 7/6/21 have just ordered a Katana 50 combo due to be delivered tomorrow , thank you again for your views, i will keep everyone posted with my thoughts
and comments in the next few days.

Chris

[chris mcbain]

Hello, well the Katana 50 amp arrived , I ordered on Monday about 1 30 pm and it arrived Tuesday at 9.40 am can't fault gear 4 Music for service, I have been busy
fiddling and adjusting with various settings and must admit the sound quality is amazing with and without my Zoom G3x connected really happy with this amp. Over the few years that I have been playing i think that I have had around four or five amps and wasn't really happy with any ( excluding my Blackstar Silverline which sounds fantastic
but is too big for my needs) so thank you again for those guys that offered their advice and thoughts in helping me make the right decision.


Chris.

[dave robinson]

The Katana is a good choice Chris, I manage to get excellent Vox & Fender like tones from mine and I'm over the moon with how much the MKII has improved from the first one and that was excellent too. I'm not sure of the capabilities Katana 50 and if it's the same as the head version regarding it's effects, but everything I could ever need is on my 100 Head in that department, especially with it's capability to give four editable echo heads.

[chris mcbain]

Hi Dave,
Not too sure what my Katana 50 is capable of at the moment as still fiddling around with it but at a guess would think your 100 w Head will be better as it's the All singing and dancing top of the range model, but this 50 meets all my needs .

Take Care.
Chris.

[dave robinson]

I've been looking at the user guide and I can't see why it won't do the same as mine.

[chris mcbain]

Thanks Dave I will have look through all the specs myself and try to understand it.


Thank you. Chris