Gear compared
Boss Katana vs Fender Mustang LT25
Updated 6 min read3 sources
The Katana-50 Gen 3 is the bigger amp: 50 watts into a 12-inch speaker, a Power Control switch down to 0.5 W, six amp types and real Bass, Middle and Treble knobs, at 11.6 kg. The Mustang LT25 is 25 watts into an 8-inch speaker at 5.8 kg, and it puts a screen where the Katana has knobs: 20 amp models, 30 presets and a built-in tuner, with Middle set from a menu.
Choose the Katana for more power and a bigger speaker, and for a panel you set by turning knobs. Choose the LT25 for many amp models and stored sounds in half the weight. Every figure on this page comes from BOSS's and Fender's own manuals.
Side by side
The Katana column is the Katana-50 Gen 3, the current 50-watt model, from BOSS's Gen 3 reference manual. The LT25 column is from Fender's expanded owner's manual. Where a manual does not list a feature, the cell says so rather than guessing.
| Boss Katana-50 Gen 3 | Fender Mustang LT25 | |
|---|---|---|
| Power | 50 W, with Power Control at Standby, 0.5 W, Half and Max | 25 W into 8 ohms |
| Speaker | One 12-inch | One 8-inch Fender Special Design |
| Amp sounds | 6 amp types, each with a Variation | 20 amp models |
| EQ on the panel | Bass, Middle and Treble knobs | Treble and Bass knobs, Middle in the amp menu |
| Effects at once | 5: Booster, Mod, FX, Delay and Reverb | 4: one each in Stomp, Mod, Delay and Reverb |
| Stored sounds | 4: CH1 and CH2 in banks A and B | 30 presets |
| Display | No screen; lit buttons, whose colour shows the effect | Display window and encoder |
| Tuner | Not listed in the manual | Built-in chromatic tuner |
| Headphones | Stereo 1/4-inch | 1/8-inch |
| USB | USB Type-C, for recording and the BOSS TONE STUDIO app | Micro USB, for audio recording |
| Other connections | Aux in, power amp in, footswitch and expression pedal jacks, slot for the BT-DUAL Bluetooth adaptor | Aux in, footswitch jack |
| Weight | 11.6 kg | 5.8 kg |
| Size (W x H x D) | 470 x 398 x 238 mm | 368 x 332 x 211 mm |
Amp sounds: six types against twenty models
The Katana has six amp types on one knob: Acoustic, Clean, Pushed, Crunch, Lead and Brown. BOSS says all of them are original rather than copies of named amps. Clean is clean and natural, Pushed responds to picking with a big, penetrating sound, Crunch is a fat crunch, Lead covers crunch to high gain depending on the Gain setting, and Brown is a lead sound with an edge from the BOSS Waza brown sound. The Variation button switches each type to a second version.
The LT25 has 20 amp models, picked with the encoder, and Fender names the amp behind most of them: the 1965 Twin Reverb and Deluxe Reverb, the '59 Bassman, a late-'60s or early-'70s Marshall Super Lead, the JCM800, the Mesa Dual Rectifier and the EVH 5150III among them. If you want to call up a particular classic amp by name, that is the LT25's advantage. If you want a few voices that cover clean to high gain on one knob, that is the Katana's.
Knobs against a screen
Every Katana control is a knob or a button on the top panel: Gain, Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble and Master, then a knob for each of the five effect sections. What you see is what you hear, and the CH buttons remember all of it except Master.
The LT25 has five knobs, Gain, Volume, Treble, Bass and Master Volume. The amp model, the effects in each slot and Middle are set with the encoder and the display window. That is more to scroll through, but it is also what lets a small amp hold 30 presets, each with its own amp model and effects.
Effects and stored sounds
On the Katana, five effects run at once, one per section. Each section's button cycles through three effects on its green, red and orange colours, and the knob sets how much you hear. The effect settings are edited in BOSS TONE STUDIO for KATANA Gen3 over USB, or from a phone app with the BT-DUAL adaptor, sold separately. The 50 stores four sounds, CH1 and CH2 in two banks, plus Panel, which plays whatever the knobs are set to.
On the LT25, every preset has four slots in the order Stomp, Mod, Delay and Reverb, one effect in each, chosen from the 26 the manual lists. Drives and modulation go before the amp model, delay and reverb after it. There are 30 presets to edit and save over, and Fender's free Fender Tone desktop app edits, backs up and restores them from a computer.
Quiet practice and recording
For playing quietly, the Katana's Power Control switch cuts the power amp to Half or 0.5 W, and Standby mutes it between sets without touching a setting. Its stereo headphone jack takes a full-size plug and mutes the speaker. The Katana-50 has no line out; the 50 EX adds one.
The LT25's headphone output takes a 1/8-inch plug and disables the speaker. Both amps record to a computer over USB: the Katana over USB Type-C with BOSS's driver, the LT25 over its USB port with a cable you supply.
The same starting points on both
These are Tonelify's starting settings from each amp's gear page, not BOSS's or Fender's numbers, on a 0 to 10 scale. They line up because the amps share the controls that matter here; the difference is that on the LT25, Middle is set from the encoder.
| Sound | Katana-50 Gen 3 | Mustang LT25 |
|---|---|---|
| Clean | Clean type, Gain 2 to 3, Bass 5, Middle 5, Treble 6 | TWIN CLEAN or DELUXE CLN, Gain 2 to 3, Bass 5, Middle 5, Treble 6 |
| Blues | Pushed type, Gain 3 to 4, Bass 5, Middle 6 to 7, Treble 5 to 6 | DELUXE DIRT or BASSMAN, Gain 3 to 4, Bass 5, Middle 6 to 7, Treble 5 to 6 |
| Classic rock | Crunch type, Gain 5 to 6, Bass 5, Middle 6 to 7, Treble 6 | 70S ROCK, Gain 5 to 6, Bass 5, Middle 6 to 7, Treble 6 |
| Metal | Lead or Brown type, Gain 6 to 7, Bass 5 to 6, Middle 5, Treble 6 to 7 | SUPER HEAVY or METAL 2000, Gain 6 to 7, Bass 4 to 5, Middle 5, Treble 6 to 7 |
Settings for a song, on either amp
A style setting gets you close. A particular record needs its own numbers, and they land differently on a Katana type than on an LT25 model. Tonelify gives song settings for the controls each of these amps actually has, so the answer for one is never a copy of the other.
Common questions
Is the Boss Katana louder than the Fender Mustang LT25?
BOSS rates the Katana-50 Gen 3 at 50 watts into a 12-inch speaker, and Fender rates the Mustang LT25 at 25 watts into an 8-inch speaker, so the Katana has twice the rated power and the bigger speaker. For home use its Power Control switch turns the power amp down to Half or 0.5 W.
Which has more amp models, the Katana or the Mustang LT25?
The LT25: 20 amp models, most of them named after the amp Fender based them on, such as the Twin Reverb, Bassman and EVH 5150III. The Katana-50 Gen 3 has six amp types, Acoustic, Clean, Pushed, Crunch, Lead and Brown, which BOSS says are all original, and a Variation button that gives each a second version.
Does the Katana 50 have a tuner like the Mustang LT25?
BOSS's Gen 3 reference manual lists no tuner among the Katana-50's controls. Fender's manual describes a built-in chromatic tuner on the LT25, reached from the MENU button or by holding TAP.
Can the Katana and the Mustang LT25 save presets?
Both can, in different amounts. The Katana-50 Gen 3 stores four sounds, CH1 and CH2 in banks A and B, each holding every knob and button except Master. The Mustang LT25 holds 30 presets, each with an amp model and its effects, edited from the encoder or Fender's Fender Tone desktop app.
What about the Katana 50 MkII?
The MkII is the earlier model. BOSS's MkII manual lists five amp types, without Pushed, and a Power Control switch at Standby, 0.5 W, 25 W and 50 W. Like the Gen 3 it is 50 watts into one 12-inch speaker, with Bass, Middle and Treble knobs, so the comparison with the LT25 runs the same way.
Sources
Gear in this guide
Settings for your own amp
This guide covers what is true of every rig. For a specific song on a specific amp, Tonelify reads the documented chain behind the recording and returns gain, bass, middle, treble and presence values for the controls your amp actually has. A first plan starts with 7 days free, $0 today.
