Boss unveils the Katana that’s always been missing – a compact 25W combo designed for home playing

Boss Katana-25
(Image credit: Boss)
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Boss is expanding its celebrated Katana range of amp modelers with the Katana-25 – a compact practice amp that fills the last remaining gap in the Katana lineup.

The 25W combo is designed for home practice, and sits comfortably between the giggable 50W Katana-50 and the desktop Katana-Mini. It's an edition of the Katana platform many have been waiting for.

It has six amp characters and over 60 onboard effects, with Boss promising “studio-grade sounds” from its 8” speaker and open-back design.

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Tube Logic tech is central to the Katana-25, promising authentic tube amp sound and dynamic responsiveness. Its speaker and the 25W reactive analog power section tag team for a “highly interactive playing experience” that belies its lack of tubes.

Of its amp sounds, one is tailored specifically for electro-acoustic instruments, while the others cover genres including pop, blues, country, rock and high-gain metal.

Its 60-plus effects library brings forth familiar Boss pedal magic, with the Katana-25 able to run five simultaneously. In-depth sound editing is available via the Boss Tone Studio app and software.

The amp ships with 20 pre-made presets and a further empty 10 slots for players to fill. There's also a tap tempo button for delays, and a built in tuner, to help make the amp suitable for practice.

Further still, a Power Control helps players enjoy the sound of a blaring amp at lower volumes, with full- and half-watt modes available. That helps keep relations sweet with housemates and neighbors alike.

Bluetooth connectivity makes it easier to jam along to songs, and sees the Katana-25 double up as a home audio speaker. A nifty Session feature takes this concept further, letting players browse and play YouTube content in the app, and set key frames within the videos that automatically signal tone changes.

So, if you want to play along to a track with clean guitars in the verses, and full on distortion in the choruses, the Session feature helps users focus on playing over tap dancing.

It’s also compatible with external (and sold separately) Boss switches, including the EV-1-WL Wireless Expression Pedal.

“With its friendly interface, versatile tones, and integrated practice tools, Katana-25 is an easy choice for players looking to explore their sound and discover their unique voice,” says Boss.

Priced at $199.99, the Katana-25 joins a family of amps that includes other solid practice tools like the Katana-50, Mini-X, and Katana-500 bass head.

See Boss for more.

A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.

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