For me the big standout tone on the Gen 3 is the new Pushed amp. It nails that edge of breakup tone perfectly, and it makes drive pedals sound more better than just into a clean amp. The Bloom feature is nice, but I don't really use it much. It's something I would like to explore more though. Boss says that all of the amps have been re-voiced but I can't really give an honest side by side comparison to validate any difference over MK2. All I can say is I love the tones I get out of this amp!

Bluetooth Tone Studio is probably my favorite feature. It kind of stinks that you have to buy the adaptor separate, but at least it can be used in multiple Boss products. With that out of the way, being able to make quick tweaks or even major changes from the tablet on my mic stand is a huge plus. I did try using it to switch between effects and use Live Sets to see if I could actually cover our 4 hours worth of cover music using just the GAFC and no pedalboard and it works, but the Bluetooth connection dropped a few times and required the amp to be powered off and on to recover. With so many variables involved with BT it's hard to say if it's a Boss issue or just the flakey nature of Bluetooth. Either way it can be done, but I think I'm going to stick with my pedalboard for the time being. Another standout feature for me is the XLR out and the updated Line Out settings. It finally has a useable line out that doesn't sound bad. I can't really think of a least useful feature. One of the great things about the Katana is everything is fairly well thought out, though some features could still use a little work. There's still no GAFC or MIDI option for tap tempo on the Solo Delay, and the overall MIDI implementation could be a little better.

With just about everything on the panel and front facing knobs it's very easy to get a good tone right away. You still need Tone Studio to do any effect editing but being able to do that with a tablet or phone is super handy. Plus the new(ish) Boss Tone Exchange has tons of really great livesets to get you started if you want. The only downside is it isn't integrated into the mobile app. Boss says they are working on it though.

It's made like every other Katana I've owned the last 8 years. Plastic and MDF but I've beaten the living crap out of my other ones and never had anything break, so I'd say they are made pretty well!

This is a tough one. The Artist Gen 3 head is a great amp no doubt and well worth it if you want the best Boss has to offer, but you can get 90% of the features and 98% of the tones from the standard Gen 3 head and at much less cost, it just doesn't look as sharp. I'd be very happy with either one honestly, but I opted for the Artist because of the look and the XLR out. You still get tons more amp for the money than any other Solid State head out there, so in that respect it's a good value.

I've owned Boss products for over 40 years and while I love them, their support is just like their documentation. Frustrating and incomplete! Thankfully between YouTube and the VGuitar forums I've never had a question I couldn't find an answer to.

This amp should appeal to anyone, but I think the head and cab configuration is geared towards a gigging guitarist who sees the advantages of these amps and simply needs a little more. The days of Katana bashing are long gone. People are finally taking these amps seriously for gigs and if you show up with one, they know you mean business, value your money, and can cover any type of music out there. I highly recommend any of the Katana amps

I'm not old enough to get a discount at Denny's yet but I'm close, and I still gig out on a regular basis.

Classic Rock, Prog, some CCM.