Boss KTN-ART2HD Katana Artist Head MKII 100W Amp Head

Boss KTN-ART2HD Katana Artist Head MKII 100W Amp Head Overview

The BOSS KTN-ART2HD is a flagship 100-watt digital amplifier head with five amp characters and five variations, a wide range of premium BOSS effects onboard and an analogue class-AB preamp for a truly authentic tone.

The BOSS Katana-Artist MkII Head provides guitarists with the inspiring tones and features of the flagship Katana-Artist MkII combo in a portable 100W amplifier head. This head is a superb choice for guitar players who want a compact solution for gigging and the flexibility of pairing with different cabs for a wider variety of tones. Offering high-quality guitar tones and an impressive range of features at an affordable price, the BOSS Katana-Artist MkII is ready to inspire professional and beginner musicians alike.

Powerhouse Amp Head

BOSS have equipped the Katana-Artist MkII Head with the same core features as the combo amp version. There’s plenty of tonal versatility on tap, with 5 unique amp characters with 5 variations, for a total of 10 distinct amp voicings. Within a single amp head, you have access to a wide range of classic amp tones. From bold US cleans to classic British combo chime to a roaring overdriven stack that’s pushed to its limit, the Katana-Artist MkII Head can do it all and more. There’s even a dedicated Acoustic channel for electro-acoustic guitarists.

All amp voices can be shaped with five simultaneous effects categories, giving you the sound-shaping potential of an entire pedalboard of premium BOSS effects within your amp. The free BOSS Tone Studio app offers deeper control and customisation over the onboard effects, providing over 60 different effect types and access to more internal parameters.

Katana Power

With the BOSS Katana-Artist MkII guitar amp head, you can connect up to two external speakers cabs. Whether you want a compact 2x12 half stack that’s easy to transport or the commanding presence of a full stack onstage - the choice is yours. Whilst the BOSS Katana-Artist MkII amp head sounds superb with any compatible cab, a truly powerful pairing is created when it’s matched with the Katana Cabinet 212 Waza.

Ultimate Stack

The Katana Cabinet 212 Waza is a flagship guitar cabinet that’s equipped with 2 custom Waza speakers. These premium speakers are inspired by sought-after '60s British stack speakers and can handle the Katana-Artist MkII Head’s vast sonic range with ease. Unlike most guitar cabs, the Katana Cabinet 212 Waza can switch between tight closed-back and wide open-back tones thanks to a removable back panel. In addition to complementing the Katana-Artist Head MkII Head sonically, the Katana Cabinet 212 makes an excellent visual pairing with its sleek design.

Deep Tone-Shaping Potential

The front panel is where you find features that are exclusively available to Katana-Artist MkII amps. A three-way Contour switch allows you to quickly shape the core tone of your amp. Three Global EQ settings let you tailor your overall sound to your different guitars and playing styles. When it’s time to bring your guitar to the fore, a footswitchable post-amp Solo Boost function is at your disposal. This useful boost can be quickly dialled in with a panel knob and features a dedicated EQ and delay that can be tweaked via BOSS Tone Studio.

Dual Amp Functionality

Integrated Dual Amp Support gives you the power to seamlessly combine two Katana-Artist MkII amplifiers, including the Katana-Artist MkII combo. The sonic possibilities of this setup are immense. You can effortlessly create a complex wet/dry setup, blend clean and dirty tones, envelop your audience with immersive stereo sound via the Stereo Expand functionality and more. The best part is, you can operate both amps simultaneously using a single GA-FC or GA-FC EX foot controller using Dual Link.

Crank It Up

BOSS have been at the forefront of amp technology for decades and their Tube Logic approach ensures the Katana-Artist MkII Head delivers a responsive, rich tone with authentic output distortion like a genuine valve amp. As you increase the volume, the amp will respond as you’d expect a valve amp to. The variable Power Control lets you crank up the volume and find the amp’s sweet spot without making your bandmates deaf or your neighbours aggravated.

Although the Power Control’s middle setting is set to half power out of the box, it can be tweaked in 10-watt increments using the BOSS Tone Studio app to your suit your needs.

Save Your Tones

Once you’ve dialled in an amp character and effects setup, you can store it to one of the onboard Tone Setting memories to be instantly recalled later. It’s as simple as a quick button hold, which saves your favourite setup to one of 8 Tone Settings (2 banks of 4) that can be directly selected from the panel. Gigging guitarists will appreciate the hand-free functionality offered by connecting the GA-FC/GA-FC EX foot controller.

Incredible Direct Tones

Mix-ready amp tones with mic’d cabinet emulation can be sent straight to a PA system, audio interface or headphones from the Katana-Artist MkII Head’s line, USB and phones/recording outputs. Your direct sound can be shaped with three preset Air Feel settings located on the head’s rear panel. Plus, you can configure two custom settings in BOSS Tone Studio.

The BOSS Katana-Artist MkII Head boasts two-channel USB audio so you can record in true stereo with the amp’s high-quality onboard effects straight into your DAW software.

Hands-Free Control

The Roland GA-FC and BOSS GA-FC EX foot controllers allow you to recall Tone Settings and independently turn the five effects sections on/off hands-free - perfect for the performing guitar player. Connecting the GA-FC or GA-FC EX is hassle-free, with a signal cable that connects to the amp and no external power required. Both footswitches support expressional pedals and external footswitches, with further customisation offered with BOSS Tone Studio.

The GA-FC provides standard control whilst the expanded GA-FC EX lets you control two amps simultaneously, connect another unit for enhanced foot control and more.

BOSS Tone Studio

The free BOSS Tone Studio software provides even greater tonal tweaking, giving you the ability to change the factory-loaded effects, rearrange the effect chain, create global EQ settings, adjust system settings and more. Using Livesets, you can save your favourite setups and instantly reconfigure your amp for a variety of playing contexts.