Katana players, any tone tips

damo_89 · March 2021

Hi all, I’ve got a katana mk2 100 and I just can’t get an overdriven sound I like from it, everywhere I look for settings brings up the tone studio that I don’t have access to, anybody got any tips just using the amp controls? Thanks

Grumpyrocker · March 2021

What kind of sound are you after? Can you name songs we might be familiar with.

Have you tried tone stacking? Using onboard boost FX into driven amp sounds?

damo_89 · March 2021

I play classic rock through to indie really, led zep, Clapton through to Oasis and arctic monkeys, as much as I mess around with the EQ there seems to be an awful sound in there I can’t get rid of, at first I put it down to my playing but I’ve since played through someone else’s amp and it was gone. As I’m typing this maybe it’s just the amp I can’t get on with haha, they get so much praise and sound great in YouTube demos though.

darthed1981 · March 2021

You may have more luck if you experiment with the boost pedals into the clean or crunch channel.

You will probably need Tone Studio to access the most advanced features, you have about 60 Boss pedals modelled in there, but only 15 or so available out of the box.

ICBM · March 2021

damo_89 said:

I play classic rock through to indie really, led zep, Clapton through to Oasis and arctic monkeys, as much as I mess around with the EQ there seems to be an awful sound in there I can’t get rid of, at first I put it down to my playing but I’ve since played through someone else’s amp and it was gone. As I’m typing this maybe it’s just the amp I can’t get on with haha, they get so much praise and sound great in YouTube demos though.

It’s not your playing.

There’s some sort of hideous grating overtone to the sound that can’t be dialled out. Some people don’t seem to hear it, but you are not alone...

I found the only way to get a tolerable sound out of one was to set the small rectangular switch at the far end to Off. It was a great relief, like when your neighbour’s burglar alarm that’s been going all weekend finally cuts off.

Neill · March 2021

ICBM said:

damo_89 said:

I play classic rock through to indie really, led zep, Clapton through to Oasis and arctic monkeys, as much as I mess around with the EQ there seems to be an awful sound in there I can’t get rid of, at first I put it down to my playing but I’ve since played through someone else’s amp and it was gone. As I’m typing this maybe it’s just the amp I can’t get on with haha, they get so much praise and sound great in YouTube demos though.

It’s not your playing.

There’s some sort of hideous grating overtone to the sound that can’t be dialled out. Some people don’t seem to hear it, but you are not alone...

I found the only way to get a tolerable sound out of one was to set the small rectangular switch at the far end to Off. It was a great relief, like when your neighbour’s burglar alarm that’s been going all weekend finally cuts off.

I have the Katana 50 and must admit I am underwhelmed by it considering all the rave reviews these amps get. I can't get what I consider to be a proper overdrive sound from it, and I've experimented with all the settings.

The on board effects are very good though, which I suspect is what really sells these amps, but to me if you can't get that basic rock sound out of an amp it doesn't matter how many bells and whistles it has.

monquixote · March 2021

There is a certain frequency which is a bit grating you can dial out with the global EQ, but obviously you need Tone Studio to do that which is no good if you don't have a laptop.

There is an Andertons video where they swap speakers and I think it's actually coming from the speaker which might explain why people think the 50 and 100 sound different in this regard.

The crunch channel I didn't really like on this amp however the clean channel sounds great with pedals including the internal ones. I really liked the clean channel with a DLS pedal, but also the RAT setting on the modelled pedals. I can't remember what they are set to as stock, but I'm sure the manual will tell you.

I think the bottom line is that you may need to find someone with a computer to help you with a bit of tweaking.

damo_89 · March 2021

ICBM said:

damo_89 said:

I play classic rock through to indie really, led zep, Clapton through to Oasis and arctic monkeys, as much as I mess around with the EQ there seems to be an awful sound in there I can’t get rid of, at first I put it down to my playing but I’ve since played through someone else’s amp and it was gone. As I’m typing this maybe it’s just the amp I can’t get on with haha, they get so much praise and sound great in YouTube demos though.

It’s not your playing.

There’s some sort of hideous grating overtone to the sound that can’t be dialled out. Some people don’t seem to hear it, but you are not alone...

I found the only way to get a tolerable sound out of one was to set the small rectangular switch at the far end to Off. It was a great relief, like when your neighbour’s burglar alarm that’s been going all weekend finally cuts off.

Haha I think your right as I’ve tried all sorts to get rid of it but it just hangs there, I agree with @monquixote too I can get some great tones from the clean channel, maybe I need to invest in some decent pedals to get that rock sound I’m after, down the rabbit hole I go

andy_k · March 2021

I just found out there is an android app available, Katana librarian, which I have installed on a tablet, but haven't tried yet.
It seems to be a library of demo patches, with full features unlocked by a one time , in app purchase.
Might be worth looking into it if you don't have access to a laptop.

grungebob · March 2021

I had a K50 original.

I had access to the tone thing via pc but still struggled to find a tone I liked.

In the end I sold it and got a Vox VT40x, out of the box tones I really like. If I could work out how to turn the nose gate off it would be better still.

p90fool · March 2021

It's basically unusable without tweaking the global EQ in Tone Studio I'm afraid.

That's another rabbit hole though, you can end up homing in on ugly frequencies to remove them until there are no frequencies left and you can't hear it any more.

Grumpyrocker · March 2021

I disagree with all the Katana is unusable stuff.

It's one of the best selling amps around with good reason. It's easy to get it to sound great. Never had any issue getting great sounds with mine - either the inbuilt sounds - or the way it reacts to pedals.

Legionreturns · March 2021

You should join the Facebook group. There's a sister group specifically for patches as well.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/boss.katana/?ref=share

damo_89 · March 2021

Thanks for all the advice, I’m not giving up on it yet, I’ll find a way of getting the tone studio and see if I can fettle it

andy_k · March 2021

I had my V1 100 combo out yesterday, to re-familiarise myself with it prior to gigs starting up again, so I'm giving it plenty of time.
Was intending to try out Katana Librarian, but didn't have the right cable, so I just had a little jam with it.
One thing I found a little weird, was if I save a patch to channel one, for example, it sounds a little dull compared to the same settings on panel mode.
It sounds almost like the patch is saving minus the presence control.
I had the amp on 'Brown' and all knobs at 12 o clock, no effects apart from reverb, on half watt setting, saved this as patch 1, and then flip back and forth between '1' and 'panel'. The presence is at 12 o clock, but does not seem to be there in the channel 1 setting, 'panel' just seems to sound livelier.
Weird, but I couldn't be bothered to find out if it is a known issue.
I'll just have to try and remember to try it next time I have it at gig volume.
Great amp, no reason a good sound cannot be found.

JayGee · March 2021

andy_k said:

I had my V1 100 combo out yesterday, to re-familiarise myself with it prior to gigs starting up again, so I'm giving it plenty of time.
Was intending to try out Katana Librarian, but didn't have the right cable, so I just had a little jam with it.
One thing I found a little weird, was if I save a patch to channel one, for example, it sounds a little dull compared to the same settings on panel mode.
It sounds almost like the patch is saving minus the presence control.
I had the amp on 'Brown' and all knobs at 12 o clock, no effects apart from reverb, on half watt setting, saved this as patch 1, and then flip back and forth between '1' and 'panel'. The presence is at 12 o clock, but does not seem to be there in the channel 1 setting, 'panel' just seems to sound livelier.
Weird, but I couldn't be bothered to find out if it is a known issue.
I'll just have to try and remember to try it next time I have it at gig volume.
Great amp, no reason a good sound cannot be found.

I think Presence (alongside Master volume and power control) is actually “global” and doesn’t get saved to a preset/channel. Having said that, if you haven’t actually moved it when switching between the panel settings and the same settings saved to a preset you should get the same result...

Mine’s the 2x12 100 Watt version by the way, and while I’ve never subscribed to the view that the Katana was some kind of giant slaying holy grail of tone I still think it sounds implausibly good for the money and makes a brilliant grab’n’go practice/rehearsal/jam rig and Works Just Fine for gigs where you either need to be in and out really fast or are badly pushed for space...

HAL9000 · March 2021

Part of my issue with the Katana is that it was hyped by Boss as being ‘gig ready’ (Boss’s words - not mine), but in anyvreal-world situation it just seems to get lost in the mix. Again, probably fixable via the Tone Studio but really shouldn’t have to.

Neill · March 2021

HAL9000 said:

Part of my issue with the Katana is that it was hyped by Boss as being ‘gig ready’ (Boss’s words - not mine), but in anyvreal-world situation it just seems to get lost in the mix. Again, probably fixable via the Tone Studio but really shouldn’t have to.

Same here - I was swayed by the hype that this was a terrific practice rig that you could also gig with but I could tell straight away it wasn't a backline amp. And the idea that you have to jack around with software to get a decent sound from an amp is ridiculous.

YellowLedBetterMan · March 2021

I too had a Katana at one point. I didn't hate it, but I missed the Peavey Bandit that the Katana replaced.

I ended up getting very fed up of plugging a computer into it to find useable sounds, too. I eventually moved it on in favour of valve amps and haven't looked back. Analog/valve beats digital for me any day.

Barquentine · March 2021

I have the original Kat 50. I bought it hoping I could use it for small gigs. I would have been happy to find one usable sound but this proved impossible.

munckee · March 2021

I had a katana which didn’t sound as good as my thr5 at hone but had the advantage of being loud enough to jam with a drummer. Took it to one jam and it sounded woeful next to the valve amps everyone had so I got rid of it.

Now have the super champ x 2 which is debateable whether it is a valve amp but has valves in it and sounds way better than the katana did and is not awful sounding next to valve amps.

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