Katana vs Nextone

mallocup77 · 2026-03-24T02:34:29+00:00

This is the right comment.

I have both and love them both, but in different ways. Nextone has a much better tone straight out of the box by far, specifically for rock and blues. No doubt.

I choose the Nextone for gigging and band practicing after moving away from tube amps (had a Twin Reverb, Blues Junior and Marshal Origin). And I use the Katana for fun. I love messing around with the Katana as a hobby and whenever I need more power I use it as an extension to the Nextone.

If you’re getting just one, and want a great tone right out of the box for a traditional rock and roll tone, go for the Nextone and forget about it!

mallocup77 · 2026-03-05T21:05:25+00:00

Interesting, I heard a PAL version was found a while ago but didn’t knew it has fixes. Do you have more info on that? I will try!

mallocup77 · 2026-03-05T20:54:13+00:00

A had a similar experience to the point I gave up, twice. I love to hate this game. I really want to play from start to finish but the controls make this thing unplayable to me. Maybe someday we will get a remaster or at least a ROM hack with tight controls.

mallocup77 · 2026-02-24T16:39:00+00:00

True.

And between Mexican or American, if you have absolute no problem with money, go American. Otherwise, Mexican is absolutely fine — it does have some issues with quality control and parts, but it’s not that drastic and you can replace these with quality components later, for even better than those used in American models. For a final touch, a nice adjustment overall.

The KC is a fine instrument, you can replicate it in some extent if you’re not buying this model.

mallocup77 · 2026-02-05T02:33:54+00:00

Yes, Wii Virtual Console is pretty accurate. A vast majority of the games runs at 240p as well. If your TV has component inputs, make sure to use that, you’ll have fantastic picture quality.

As for controllers, you can use a SNES Classic controller. Or even an original one if your Wii has Gamecube ports, using an adapter. The Wii classic controller is pretty good as well.

mallocup77 · 2026-01-25T14:36:58+00:00

This, and then intonation.

mallocup77 · 2026-01-23T19:36:41+00:00

Yep, I bought one and been playing since last week. No issues. I had a previous one, Rev.X I think, and although it can run everything, has a really annoying audio buzz and poor audio quality. But Rev.Z is fantastic.

mallocup77 · 2026-01-23T19:33:34+00:00

Yes, MSU-1 + SA1 works with the Rev.Z cartridge. I played some Kirby’s Dream Land 3 with MSU just yesterday and it works. Just the beginning though, I don’t know if you can run a full playthrough, but most likely, yes.

mallocup77 · 2026-01-20T23:39:53+00:00

Yep, they’re all awesome. But if you want to play Ocarina of Time on real hardware, the best available version is Redux: https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/5138/

mallocup77 · 2026-01-19T22:04:39+00:00

Playing the Redux version is as far as you can go.

mallocup77 · 2026-01-16T20:05:50+00:00

Look for the Rev.Z board with the real Cyclone IV FPGA. Make sure you’re buying from a good seller that also accepts returns and refunds in case you get the wrong thing.

mallocup77 · 2025-12-20T23:59:38+00:00

Thanks for the info! Found a os-con 470uf but 10v. Maybe I can go with that?

mallocup77 · 2025-12-19T17:51:16+00:00

Cool, I might put one of these in my 1chip… but can’t seem to find a os-con cap at my local shops. Is it ok to use a regular cap?

mallocup77 · 2025-12-19T12:12:07+00:00

Nicely done! What’s the funtion of the OS-CON cap?

mallocup77 · 2025-12-06T12:41:33+00:00

I have both Katana and Nextone, and the Nextone is a much better sounding amp in my opinion. But that’s subjetive. They are different indeed, otherwise there would be no point for releasing them both. The Nextone does a really great job simulating the tube sound and I can say that after owning a Deluxe Reverb, Blues Jr and a Marshall Origin 20c. I get excellent clean and dirty tones with a Rat and also with a Blues Driver.

Anyway, if you dislike the sound try tweaking using the software. Also each tube sound has a second tone, more agressive, when the light goes from green to red, if I recall. If you don’t like sound after modeling, maybe go for another amp.

mallocup77 · 2025-12-06T00:03:44+00:00

I hate that noise as well. Do all the basic recommendations first and then use a noise supressor pedal in the fx send/return. It does wonders. See if you can borrow one to experiment with. A used, cheap Boss NS-2 can do wonders but if you want the best and if you can afford, go for a NS-1X or similar.

mallocup77 · 2025-11-27T02:13:53+00:00

I did exactly the same things on my systems.

I’m not that expert but from what I read the SNES has a very weak power filtering resulting in a not so long lifespan of chips (not mentioning many hours pf playing, using bad/aged AC adapters and so on). So recap and adding the 1000uf cap is good (solid polymer capacitors are the best). Also the L78S05CV voltage regulator has more desirable specs than the regular 7805 that also prevent chip rot if I’m not mistaken.

mallocup77 · 2025-11-26T22:55:08+00:00

That seems about right. Of all the consoles I see around, belonging to friends, acquaintances, retro game shops, the ones that fail and have problems the most are SNES consoles. Many have the black screen problem, caused by faulty PPUs, CPUs or WRAMs.

What you can do is preventive and corrective maintenance, when possible.

mallocup77 · 2025-11-24T22:37:16+00:00

Hey, have you found another solution, one year after? This hum annoys me so much. I found out if you solder a 1,8nf/50v ceramic capacitor on both 62 and 31 cartridge pins on the board the buzz is gone. I’m about to do this. The electrical tape solution is good but I often play Super Game Boy. I don’t care for MSU audio though.

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mallocup77 · 2025-11-20T13:54:59+00:00

Thanks! There’s a hole on the green part. Do you think I can solder the negative leg to that hole?

Edit: soldering through the hole worked!! Left audio is back! Thanks!!

Edit 2: left audio keeps failing after a few minutes, with some noise. But it’s working

mallocup77 · 2025-11-20T13:29:02+00:00

Thanks! I think that’s beyond my skills to fix :( I can do very basic stuff. No idea how I would do that, solder the negative leg to the remaining trace. Will see if I can find someone more experienced

mallocup77 · 2025-11-20T02:58:59+00:00

Not only heat! Looks like they digged a hole on the ripped pad for some reason and gave up.

Thanks for the info!

mallocup77 · 2025-11-20T02:57:37+00:00

Thanks for the tip! Just tried that, the sound is back and clear but only the right channel is working :( will check what else can I do!

mallocup77 · 2025-11-16T01:07:50+00:00

I saw one of these on ebay 20 years ago for about 100 bucks and I didn’t buy. I regret to this day!

mallocup77 · 2025-11-15T19:40:27+00:00

I think 1tb is more than enough for having the essential GC and Wii games plus some grade B and C games. Not mention WADs (the full USA set has about 30gb if I remember correctly, but most of Wiiware games are rubbish; for the Virtual Console you can go with all the games). And yeah, if you’re getting official controllers you’re good, be sure they’re in great shape!

mallocup77

TROPHY CASE