Cursed !i give in !!!

mark123

After trying and selling a yamaha thr10 +peavey bandit(both get rave reviews)im now on a boss katana 50...you know whats coming ..cant get  good sound out of it ..im feel like giving up guitar because ive seen it said if you cant get a decent sound out if a peavey/yam thr10 nthen you are crap...well im crap and frustrated !!!guitars going through are vintage lemon drop ..classic vine tele ..gibson sg faded ..italia with wilko mini humbuckers..i swear to god if i got nrian mays /eddie van halens/foo fighters /stones rig and i pugged in it would sound shit ...i think/know ..ive got to practice more ...wake up call...anyone went through the same ? Hints tips ?

professorben

Join the club man. 
Ive fired up my big expensive Valve set up and thought...... ahhhh that's crap. 

How long you been playing? What tones are you trying to get? 

Almost any amp amp can be made to sound decent if you have the patience to sit with it. 

Given that hat a great number of experienced players on here rave about the Katana, I'd suggest spending a bit more time with it and try to hone in on what sound you are aiming for. 

richardhomer

I think you're being far too hard on yourself.

Had you managed to get a good sound out of a Yamaha THR10 you would be rightly hailed a genius....

Legionreturns

Katana works like this: 

Master volume on max. Adjust channel volume to suit location.

Then either engage crunch channel or leave on clean channel but add your preferred od from knob 1. Reverb on 10 O'clock ish depending on guitar / pickups. Tone locked in! I've done that on a 50, 100 combo, 100 head ...works every time. Yes there are other options but for a quick "something that sounds warm and fuzzy" that does the trick.

ICBM

richardhomer said:

I think you're being far too hard on yourself.

Had you managed to get a good sound out of a Yamaha THR10 you would be rightly hailed a genius....

lol

The clean sound on these is actually really good.

It's the overdriven sounds they seem to struggle with, like every digital modeller I've played. Some have a few good settings, but mostly bad ones… some have only bad settings. Disclaimer - I haven't tried a Katana yet.

For the OP - what are you comparing your sounds to... what you hear on records? If so you may struggle more than you expect with an amp in a room. Try a multi-FX into a clean amp, or even into your hi-fi if you have a way if hooking it up. (Don't play to loud, the speakers may not like it.)

Or alternatively, if you're just trying to get a sound you really like in the room and aren't trying to compare it to anything, get a small - but not too small - *clean* valve amp, and some pedals. Although I like solid-state amps too, there is something indefinably 'natural' about a valve amp.

Winny_Pooh

Maybe the problem is with your hearing. Buy a valve amp, plug in pedals and boom, it works.

clarkefan

ICBM said:

Although I like solid-state amps too, there is something indefinably 'natural' about a valve amp.

This is the thing. I've had the same thought a lot.  I recently gave a Katana a good try, and it sounds really good, plenty of versatility and the heavier sounds were solid.

But not... something.  Really difficult to put my finger on.  To the point where on a recording I'm not sure I'd hear it. But in the room, it's clear, my valve amp just has something the Katana didn't, something that puts a smile on my face.

midlifecrisis

my experience with the Katana.  when i play it at decent volume at home then compare it to my laney vc30 212 it doesnt have that warm organic thump you get with a valve amp...But in a live gig situation it cuts through beautifully and i prefer it clean or dirty to my valve amps. plus at half the weight its  my gigging choice (at the moment)

CarpeDiem

It can take a lot of time, effort, and money to find the sound you're after. My preference is for a clean valve amp that will take pedals well. I also use the guitar controls to tweak the sound. Having said that, I often have to adjust some settings when switching between playing at bedroom volumes versus a band session. If you've got the patience, you could try multi effects units or modelling amps. If you have a local guitar buddy, it may be worth asking them to help you dial in a sound that you like and give you some practical advice.

midlifecrisis

no disrespect but sometimes people chase "their sound" too much, just find something that sounds reasonable and concentrate more on playing and maybe your sound will just come.

Teetonetal

imark123 said:

After trying and selling a yamaha thr10 +peavey bandit(both get rave reviews)im now on a boss katana 50...you know whats coming ..cant get  good sound out of it ..im feel like giving up guitar because ive seen it said if you cant get a decent sound out if a peavey/yam thr10 nthen you are crap...well im crap and frustrated !!!guitars going through are vintage lemon drop ..classic vine tele ..gibson sg faded ..italia with wilko mini humbuckers..i swear to god if i got nrian mays /eddie van halens/foo fighters /stones rig and i pugged in it would sound shit ...i think/know ..ive got to practice more ...wake up call...anyone went through the same ? Hints tips ?

What's wrong with the sound?

ESBlonde

Context.

If you listen to many of the guitar greats (playing live) in isolation and at low volume they sound a bit pants. What makes them great is the excitement and intensity plus the 'soul/fingers/mojo' of the player.
Forget about tone for a moment and concentrate on making a single plucked/fretted note do it for you. Feel the touch (less is probably more) get some vibrato into it but start subtle and build as the note sustains. Any amp tone will do for now it's the player you want to bring through.
Play a favourite piece but with the intent to extract the maximum YOU from each note, play slowly with intent, repeat and bring it up to speed. After a while (days/weeks) you start to impart your musical soul into the notes and the amp tone is less important. Look for things like varying the pick angle, the length of the pick exposed, the hardness of the strike for different notes.
Listen to any world renown player with a cheap nasty amp and they still sound like themselves, you just have to find your sound and forget about speedy shredding for a while. It's not what you play so much as how you play it.

Nikko

I definitely think you should give the Katana a little more time. I went for the 50 quite some time ago now, and absolutely love it. It obviously depends on what you are after and what your expectations are, but I found it very easy to get great sounds out of mine.

Ive also used mine in a full band situation, and it copes incredibly well.

How are you setting yours up?

professorben

The answer is more gain. 
Always more gain. 

photek

The position of the amp is really important when playing at lower volumes. I gave up on getting a good valve tone for humbuckers at home levels years ago and now just use a Blackstar Fly3. If it's too bright, stick it on the floor, too boomy, rest it on a guitar case, too boxy sounding, stick it under the table. Seriously, it sounds completely different depending on where you shove it hahah.

clarkefan

Absolutely.  For me it also matters where I stand, like in front of the speakers or for me to the side out of the "beam".

To be personally honest, big amps are better, they just are, and so is *some* volume.  A mate lent me a little Vox modelling amp, it honestly has some good sounds in it at low volumes. Do I enjoy it? Fuck no. Not a knock on the amp, it does what it's supposed to very well. It's me. We get conditioned.

sweepy

The common factor is you, seriously, just sit down and work on your picking and fretting. Steve Vai had a great tip of just isolating one note and altering the tone by picking differently and fretting harder and softer. It is far too easy to blame the gear but when you see a really accomplished player get an amazing sound out of any old shit, you realise that it IS in the fingers

iseverynamegone

Get a  small clean valve amp and a good amp in a box distortion to suit what sound you are after. That part of it cannot go wrong.

If it's still pants after that then simply you just need more practice, which is still no reason for quitting