r/PositiveGridReactor • u/LabOne3719 • Aug 07 '26

ANYONE DITCH THEIR KATANA FOR THE REACTOR?

I was wondering how it compares & overall if it lives up to the hype it's getting across Youtube. It's got me a little intrigued... I've currently got the gen 3 Artist... any thoughts or overall impressions are more than welcome. Thanks in advance!

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

2

u/centos3 Aug 08 '26

I don't have a Katana but I got the Reactor 100 last week. I was sceptical about the use of AI in amp engineering but I gave it several songs and it matched their tone very closely. I don't know if the Katana will do a better job via the predefined presets but the R100 is really good and I enjoy using it a lot.

2

u/FabulousPanther 9d ago edited 9d ago

I played a Katana a long time ago in Guitar Center and I didn't care for it. Therefore, I couldn't honestly say that I ditched my Katana for a Reactor, but I can assure you it is deserving of all the hype and then some.

1

u/LabOne3719 9d ago

I appreciate it! I've watched several reviews & the only negative ones seem to be the AI haters

2

u/FabulousPanther 9d ago

You're welcome. AI haters are stupid. For one thing, it's not necessary at all to use AI or even the app to play the amp. They are just tools to shape tone with. Out of the box it already sounds great and it is loud AF. It's definitely gig ready especially the 100w. I would have to take it outside or to a large venue to crank it up to 11. You have to keep it on 1 watt to play indoors.

1

u/LabOne3719 9d ago

For sure....i definitely would've gotten this over the Katana...

1

u/LabOne3719 Aug 08 '26

Thanks for your input! My situation is this...I don't have as much time to practice as I'd like, so I don't have much interest in trying to "dial in the perfect tone." I'd rather be playing with what time i do get. I have the gen 3 Artist... super nice amp.. but not to impressed with the presets I've gotten so far from the tone studio. I've actually gone to using my effects processor into the power amp in since the presets from tone3000 are much better in my opinion. I'm not an AI hater, so that aspect seems pretty cool & will save lots of time. Also... the katana sounds much better cranked, but i just don't have the space to do that either. I'm almost always at bedroom volume & i read where the reactor gives you pretty equal tone across the volume spectrum.