Boss Katana 100 - My 3 tips for good tone
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- Hi folks. This is simply my personal advice for sounding like me (if that’s what you’re after). If you’re after a full review of the Katana and what it’s capable of then there are many better reviews on TH-cam.
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If you have a query, or if you simply wish to buy me a coffee via PayPal, then my PayPal address and email are one in the same:
paul_ursusarctos@hotmail.co.uk (or 078900 67773)
Thanks folks 😊
READ THIS!!!
The 4 buttons next to the “PANEL” buttons are channels for your guitar tone, so if you think you got a perfect tone, you don’t wanna lose all the settings you’ve been playing with... just hold down the “1 CHANEL” button until it starts flickering. This means your amp saved the settings. You can do this on channel 1 to 4. So you can save 4 different settings. To active the saved settings/tone, simply single press the channel button :)
I didn’t know that..... seriously..... and I’m Mr Katana! Actually, there’s a heck of a lot I don’t know about the functions of the amp (incl. Tone Studio). However - to those of you who know my playing, you probably know that I’ll not use these buttons. It’s not very “Me”. I’m more of a “tweaker” depending on my mood. But it DOES sound like a very useful function. Thanks for pointing it out 😀
Paul Stafford Cook ye i feel ya, i keep switching and saving them too, i’ll never keep the same presets but you know, it’s so usefull for me because at one preset i make an acoustic sound (with out having to turn vol knob down) with effects and all that, and on another preset i’ll just put on a little distorted rock n roll sound, so i can just go from acoustic rhythm playing to heavy rock n roll with just 1 tap on a button :)
That's some serious guitar face you have there 😂
Yes, i do get a bit carried away :-)
Paul Stafford Cook that's great, you're just feeling the music :)
+Music Islife
I just imagined him doing all those faces when arguing with his wife. Damn. Things like that can be triggering. Hahaha.
Wow the face is seriously scary
@@paulstaffordcook8799 you should do a guitar faces video,, alot of people need work on this aspect of guitar playing. :)
The speaker on mine is starting to get nice and worn in. Sounds better now.
I'm still really enjoying the amp. I'm glad I got it.
That’s interesting and nice to hear. Wasn’t aware - if u c’n forgive me ignorance - that modeller amps could be worn in...
My amp is still fairly new and I’m still getting accustomed to it and my way around the bells and whistles. I prefer the clean channel.
Hope to hear yer thoughts mates
@@erikpaterson1404 does yours sound thin? why does mine sound thin
@@erikpaterson1404 Not the amp, the speaker.. the more use they get the less brittle the get
Great video. I bought the 2x12 100watt version because of videos like yours and a few others. I have one tip for you though. Honestly, use the boss tone studio it's so much fun. I got the gc fc foot controller too which gives you 8 channels over the 4.
Another great video
Thanks man, great to hear I had a hand in helping your choice of amp :-). Yes, it seems a few other of my subscribers are having good fun with tone studio.... I don’t actually own a laptop or PC so I guess it’s not an option for me. However, I’m intrigued about the footswitch.... I might look into that! Cheers for listening.
Some people don't have a computer
How will they view this then?
Lindsay Ross on their phone.like I'm doing now(no computer).I have one of these amps .The 50 watt one.Great tone.Very nice clean tone.
apparently there's now an android version of the boss tone studio if you wanted to have a go at running it on your phone, its not official though so not sure how well it works. There are 8 channels available too, the channel buttons double up.
The best home setup, by far. Purely simple, these are great takeaways, no pedals necessary, which a lot of people like to obsess over.
Thanks Kevin, yeah, simple is best! Cheers for listening to the clip :-)
it has a foot controller
Love it mate! I have been a punk guitar player 43 years , but I relate more to an old school, bluesy tone than the modern fizzy stuff that headaches are made of!
I have vintage tube,and various solid state amps, so this video was fantastic!
Thank you Mark, delighted you like my old school approach 👍. Cheers for watching Mark
Seen a lot of tone videos for a katana but this is easily the best one. I’ve never been one to mess with knobs on guitar. I normally put them at 10 but you have me experimenting and I can’t thank you enough.
Well thank you Anthony, I’m chuffed you liked my vid 👍
You can save your tones with the tone settings. Up to 8. if you have the GA-FC foot controller you can change them on the fly and adjust them as well.
i do. how?
Thank you Paul for providing Pro Tips concerning tones from this amp! That was some very pleasing and smooth blues you had going there! I'm in a decision making mode right now about buying another amp, have a CODE%) and while it's pretty decent for what I am able to do so far, I'm looking very hard at the Boss Katana50.... This video helps me out quite a lot, Thanks!
I played 60 shows last year just using the katana, I love it and don't even use tube amps anymore lol
Cheers for watching my clip. I’m not in a band at the moment but I agree..... I’d use my Katana for gigs :-)
Me too. Katana is great. I use clean and crunch only
I have a player series tele and sounds beautiful with the katana 100.
The blinking light means it is in standby.
The blinking panel light tells you you are on the bank B channels . The blinking light with small round button is the tap tempo
I have a tendency to roll the bass way off when I'm on the crunch channel. Something about it seems less articulate than the lead and brown channels.
Maximum Thiccness
3:45 Holy Hell........🤯🤯😭
Thank you Sam! Cheers for watching 👍
I'll try this out on my Katana 50. Thanks! BTW... not interested in playing out??
Thanks for listening Hanover, appreciated. As regards playing out... if you mean playing in a band, then yes, my creative juices are flowing so I often think about joining or forming a wee blues band. Then I think of the hassles that go along with that.... but overall, I probably see myself doing that at some point :-)
Yeah. No Drama is always preferable :) Best Regards!
I've had a katana lurking in the back of my mind for a while now, so this was good info.
Also, I'm kind of a volume-swell junky myself, you do them some serious justice !!
Thank you Mark! Appreciate your compliment and for listening to my clip :-)
Ah - now I’m a bit jeleous here, because I secretly wonder if I should have gone for the 2x12, instead of the 1x12...... I love my 1x12, as you’ll see from my TH-cam channel, but it’s always tempting to think about the extra air and warmth from 2 speakers......
Honestly had this thing for 3 months and barely left the clean/crunch in this time. I use the green booster and occasionally the clean boost from the katana software, but i fully agree with you. A lot of people need to know to use their volume and tone knobs on their guitar like you said!
Thank you salman! I get my fair share of adverse comments on this particular video, so it’s nice to read a positive one! Thanks for watching 😀
These amps suck
I'm a big fan of your playing and tones. It's refreshing to hear that you don't need a ton of effects, pedals, etc... to get a great warm tone.
Thank you Chris! Delighted to receive such a compliment 👍
Almost exactly how I run mine - Crunch for nearly everything. The Brown mode sounds too compressed, though you can turn the gain all the way down and use the clean boost and it's a little better. PEDALS: run them into the ... ACOUSTIC mode. Yep - it's like the fx return but you retain the basic tone stack. Sounds amazing with a good pedal like the Wampler Plexi Drive. \m/
I like the brown for thrash metal stuff. Put an OD pedal on it for tightening and it's great.
Hi
That knob rolling on the tele was wicked! Appreciate the vid
Thank you Jared! Yes, I stole that technique from players like Roy Buchanan and Danny Gatton. Cheers for watching, appreciated.
I saw this comment just as he did that and I agree. That was gnarly
I use the clean channel for everything with the booster if I had a choice again I would buy a fender champion 100watt or Mustang amp the crunch and lead channels on the katana aren't good
I have the same amp , i just about always use the presets., but i am going to use your settings from this Video. Thank you
BTW the best patch i have used is like your tone called "Dumble Klon.tsl"
Thanks Doug, I’m delighted got something out of the vid. Cheers 🍻
I use the app called Katana Librarian from the playstore and it's a God send...no more hooking up to a PC or lugging around a Laptop..just plug your smartphone into the amp and you get everything that Boss Tone studio gives you and more
Hi Rob. Thank you very much for this info! I had no idea that this App existed.... I assumed I would have to buy a PC to unlock the potential of the Katana. I hope others reading this comment will take advantage and get use out of this. Cheers 👍
This is a perfect example of a " didn't read the operating manual " approach lol " blinking light ? i don't know what that means. " Lmao I'd hate to see the dash lights on your car. 🤦♂️
Yes, I can totally see what you mean... I actually laughed when you referenced dash lights on my car 🤣. But to put this vid into context.... it came about after my subscribers kept asking about how I achieve my tone.... So this is simply a vid on how I do it. My personal tips. To sound like me. The fact that the Katana can do so much more is fantastic. But to sound like me, you just plug in, twiddle some knobs, a play. No PC, no laptops, no mics, no tone studio.
Not sure why people would buy this amp if they didn’t want access to at least some of the features of tone studio - at least all of the great options on the boost channel.
Katanas knobs are touchy , some problematic ! Like dodgy taps ,
At 3:47, did you hurt yourself?
I have the Katana MK1 100 Watt head. I plug it into a Marshall, Peavey or Dime Cabinet depending on what I want to do.
THAT alone can make all the difference in the World. Like you I NEVER USE TONE STUDIO.....EVER!!!!
I did 1 factory re-set. (hold down a couple of buttons while turning it on, easy) and that was it..
The idea of needing my laptop to get to the Noise Gate or whatever does not appeal to me.
You are right about the sweet spot on this amp being important. It will be different for everyone, but it can get noisey with Lead or Brown AND a Boost.
The effects are good enough for most basic stiff. I do have to say, plugging in a couple of extra "reverb,delay, modulation "type pedals into the FX loop and combining them with the built in effects can give you some trippy "ambient pedal stacking" sounds. Lots of fun. Great amp. Boss got it right with this one, but a Noise Gate on the top panel would have been perfection.
Nice presentation and great advice. Cheers from Canada.
Thank you Al 👍
I can get amazing cleans out of this amp but any lead, brown, crunch sounds like absolute garbage. I don’t know how y’all get these tones with distortion? I have the 100 MK II 2x12. I’ve tried Tone Studio everything. I wonder is something wrong with my amp. On mine the difference between 0.5 w and 100 w is not that dramatic. Volume goes up a little bit lack of power stays. Mine sounds like a toy when distorted. Sound is small and tinny. Sounds like what I imagined the Katana mini would sound like. I got rid of a Marshall Code 100 to get this amp. It wasn’t great but sounded a million times better when distorted. Think I’m just gonna get rid of this one too
Hi Michael. Yeah, as time went on I definitely warmed more and more to the Clean channel, and less and less to the others. Then I rediscovered tube amps….. and so I sold the Katana eventually, and now I enjoy a tone that is more authentic sounding, if that makes sense. Good luck on your quest.
Long press panel button to switch between Bank A and B. Blinking means Bank B. They both have different set of effects. All green effects in Bank A are Blues Driver, Digital Delay & Plate Reverb. In Bank B, it's Clean Boost, SDE-3000 Delay & Plate Reverb. 🤘
Thanks AR 15 😊
I appreciate this. I bought the Artist MkIi last year. Although i do mess with Tone Studio my default is plug and play, and using the guitar volume as my "channel switch" Im about to use this amp for only the second time on a big live gig. These tips are extremely helpful.
Thanks, I’m delighted you liked my wee vid 👍
Ill tell you a little story. I bought a Katana a couple of weeks ago. The owners manual is pretty useless so i have been fiddling around trying to work it out and get it to sound good.
(Im a beginner guitarist)
I have watched about 12 videos before yours on the Katana and all of them were pretty rubbish. But yours? My god! Exactly what i was looking for! Basic settings, showing the top of the amp so you can see where your knobs are set etc.. Loved it. And i even learned a bit about playing guitar. Overall great video mate 👍🏼
Thanks so much Chris, I really appreciate your nice comment 😀. Happy Practicing mate, hope you enjoy your Katana! Cheers
Thanks Paul
Thanks so much. I have been looking for the perfect tone for weeks and with your help finally found it. With the right settings you can get great tube amp sound out of that wonderful little katana.
Amazing tips Paul. I have used them to dial my tones on the Katana, and your advice from this, and your other Katana videos, has been extremely helpful.
If I may ask, from what Santana song did you grab that extra tasty riff around 3:20?
Thanks man, and keep on rocking.
Thanks Geebee, I’m delighted you like my wee Katana videos. Yes, that lick is from the song “Adouma” from his album “Shaman” 👍
G'day Paul.
You'd have to be one of the most, if not the most, expressive, nuanced guitar players I've ever had the pleasure to watch and listen to! Brilliant!
I'm looking into getting one of the Katanas mainly due to arthritis taking its toll on my back, so the idea of lugging my Bugera 333XL valve combo around is starting to discourage me from gigging. The tonal quality of the vast majority of online Katana demos are quite poor to my ears, but your examples are exceptional, particularly in light of what you are using to record with! So thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.
Subscribed.
Cheers.
Wow, what a great comment! I’ve shown your compliment to my wife and now I’m sure she thinks I’ll get a big head, ha ha.! But really, thank you for your kind words and for listening to my clip. Cheers man, appreciated :-)
hey I am pretty new to playing E Guitar. There a song that I want to learn, Its start very quietly on the clean tone and only later has this crunsh rock tone ( Its pennyroyal tea by Nirvana). So how can I immediately switch from acoustic to crunsh or lead on my Boss katana, without stop playing. I was thinking about buying a pedal?
Hi Anna Mai. Had a quick listen to that song. I reckon a pedal is the answer. Alternatively, buy the footswitch specifically designed for the Katana, which allows you to switch between clean and furious filth 😊. Lastly, you could do it without pedals if you firstly create your distorted tone, then turn your guitar volume down to 10% approx and pick very lightly. That’ll give you quite a clean tone and then wind your guitar volume to full for the filth. Hope that helps
My opinion if you go old school you might as well use a old school amplifier..
However you are missing out on all the benefits of connecting it to a computer that where you could really find tune everything to your liking... However I do respect that you are old school and demonstrating what you could do. The boss Katana studio is the heart and soul of this amplifier you are really missing out...My opinion...
Hi Donny. Yes, I can’t really argue with what you’re saying. From what I hear, the Tone studio is incredible and can unlock so many hours of fun. Perhaps it was inevitable then that, an old school dude like me, has ended up 4 years later with no Katana and 4 valve combos. I’m certainly loving my current situation 👍
i have the boss katana 2x12 and i like a van halen/ guns n roses tone. so i use the brown channel with the booster but the gain still seems thin and not heavy, theres lots of distortion but its not powerful or heavy sounding, and the crunch channel sounds so brittle and thin to me, fwi i have an ibanez rg series one of the lower end ones with "designed by emg pickups" its not at all the guitar I'd want some day but I chose it because it plays really well, so maybe the pickups are making it sound thin, idk Edit: I usually have the bass all the way up and treble and mids at around 50 percent, if i give those setting any more it makes it thinner and way to harsh sounding, I use variation on the brown channel as without it theres not much gain
Hi Braydon. What a coincidence.... I’ve just replied to someone else who feels their Katana sounded too bright and brittle on the Lead and Brown channels (I note you mention Crunch too). So if it helps, let me copy / paste my reply;
“Ah, straight away I recognise your issue. Don’t use the Lead Channel. Simple as that. (Nor do I use the Brown channel). All the warm creamy goodness, in my opinion, is to be found in two places:
(A) Clean channel, Gain knob up FULL, then add the booster knob (green setting) to suit.
(B) Crunch channel, Gain knob set to suit, Booster knob if you want extra grit
Now, I’m not a metal or thrash guy.... I’m not that into rock either. I’m more of a blues, country or atmospheric kinda player. So the above settings definitely please me. Hopefully this helps. I’ve only used the Lead channel on ONE of my vids “Relic Telecaster blues” th-cam.com/video/lgR2Gt1w_ao/w-d-xo.html and I can definitely hear the brittle, bright attack you speak about. And I’ve used the Brown channel only a couple of times and only when I need the amp SO loud so as to create feedback sustain. Hope that helps 😀👍
Brown Channel, bass up all the way, mid to 8 o'clock, treble at 10-11 o'clock, gain at max - thicccc tone man.
We all have different tone styles, so just because I play a different genre of music doesn't mean I can't get thicc tones anyways. ;)
You’re absolutely right. This vid was just my own personal tips, for anyone wanting to know how I get my sound. On a related note, I’m intrigued by your choice of settings and so I’ll try that tonight! Cheers for watching 👍
@@paulstaffordcook8799
If you want I could email you my patches, that way you can have the same settings, amp settings etc.
Just as an FYI, I prefer using the KatanaFXFloorboard software, I find it easier to control and that you have alot more options for pre-amps, there's even a Rectifier'ish model in there and alot of other good stuff.
Hi there. Hope all is well my friend. I am looking to purchase a nice reverb pedal alone for ambient music and practice. I have a vox vt20x modeler , will the reverb get messed up in the front and if so would a boss katana work better and or would I still need an effects loop?
Hi Robert. I’m not familiar with the vox vt20x..... but what I CAN say is that i have experimented with putting reverb pedals in the amp’s effects loop AND in front of the amp. I can confirm that I’m very happy with reverb in FRONT of the amp. In fact my Supro and my Cornell don’t even have effects loops. I generally follow this order: guitar > overdrives > delays/reverbs > amp. I don’t see me ever using an amp’s effects loop ever again. Hope this helps. 👍
@@paulstaffordcook8799 thank you. Yes it did help and thank you! I guess I'm needing a proper amp now for this as the Vox vt20x is a modeler amp SS. Budget amp. Hahaha. I'll buy the pedal and see though. All else fails I'll finally get that PC set up. Hahah
Thats the first time I ever seen swells how'd you do that? Thanks for advice on the amp also its never been explained to I'm just a really old beginner lol 😆.
Well thank you James, delighted you liked my wee video! Yeah, I’ve always liked the idea of swells. Watching Rory Gallagher, Roy Buchanan, Arlen Roth, Danny Gatton and Mark Knopfler (although Knopfler uses a floor mounted volume pedal). I always loved how they strike the note with the guitar volume at zero and then introduce the volume a millisecond later. Tasty stuff 🙏
are u using any noise gate pedal? cause when i dont use a noise gate on my Katana 50 it just buzz soooo much, i need to use the boss studion on pc and switch the noise gate on otherwise its unplayable cause of the loud noise/buzz it makes. by the way iam using the same configurations as your katana 100 on the video .
Hi Made in China! Thanks for listening to my clip :-). It’s funny, you’re the second person to ask about how my Katana seems so quiet..... To answer your question, no, I just plug in and play, no issues with noise - EXCEPT - when I turn the bedroom light on, it seems to increase the amp’s background noise. Not a deal-breaker but definitely noticeable. So I use a lamp plugged into the room’s plug socket to light the room. No noise. But then if it switch to the Lead channel (which i rarely do, since I’m a “Crunch” kinda guy) I do get an increase in noise. Still not a deal breaker, but noticeable, especially with hands not touching the strings. Hope this helps....
Great stuff! Marvelous playing too! I have the Katana Artist and like yourself, have never used the tone studio or preset buttons and keep the amp cranked on "crunch", using guitar volume for dynamics. Katanas are great for all the modern, computery stuff (if that's what people want), however they also work great as "old-school" amps, just by using the amp's knobs. Where we differ is in the master volume - for me it fits best if I put it on full and forget that it exists, then using the channel volume for control. Having said that, I believe that both ways (master up and channel to taste or vice versa) engage the power section nicely. I don't use the gain on full but I do like it "pushed" and I totally agree about the boost, delay and reverb - i.e. the first stage works best (with a healthy amount of gain, a heavier overdrive or distortion would only squish the sound to mud). I also use the 0.5 watt mode for most settings and have found it also works well for wee solo gigs (re the Artist, the 50 watt mode would probably suit most band settings however the 100 watt mode would inevitably result in a murder charge). I have been playing for 100 years and during my time I've played through tons of great valve amps and in my opinion, Katanas are "valve amps without valves". They are that good! Thanks for the great vid :)
Thanks Ruiseart, glad you liked the clip. Seems we share a bit of “old school” in our approach :-). It’s reassuring to hear that you have played through a fair selection of valve amps and still feel the Katana stands up! Thanks again :-)
I think "old school" is best, as long as we keep an open mind re new possibilities. For me, the Katana IS an old school amp, just with new gadgets - should one decide to use them.
Hey dude what model is yer PRS very nice sound I have a katana 100 mk2 head and I love tube amps but wow kantana can sound amazing
Hi Lorenzo. Yes, that’s a 2018 “PRS Santana Retro”, part of PRS America’s core range. Cost me £3,300 in 2018 (brand new) but ended up swapping it a year later for a Gibson ES-335 (this vid explains why: th-cam.com/video/8kxkG9k9Mos/w-d-xo.html ). Glad you like it’s sound.... I think they did a great job of capturing the sound that Carlos gets with his. And yet, strangely I don’t miss that guitar....
Great
Thanks Richard
Did you ever try the fender super champ x2? How does it compare to the katana for home use?
Hi NoFap 365. Actually, no I haven’t tried the super champ yet. I’ve seen a couple of TH-cam clips on it, and it seems like a good sounding little amp. I suspect I’d prefer my Katana for the kind of stuff I play, in that I don’t want to use pedals. I just want a great sound straight out the box for warm blues crunchy tones. But that’s all subjective. I’d be keen to hear your thoughts if you get the chance to play both 😀. Thanks for listening man, appreciated.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 I just upgraded my Fender Champion 20 with an USA Jupiter speaker. I may be crazy but I love my Fender sound. th-cam.com/video/Frwk15ad7us/w-d-xo.html
Hi man, great video, one question, 4 years later do you still consider this amp as the best option or there are better options now beside the MKII ?
Great question Raul. I hope someone else can comment on this, because I have not really tried the obvious competitors yet, i.e, namely the Line 6 Catalyst. The reason I haven’t tried them is because, a year or so after this video, I started dabbling again with valve amps…. And I’ve never really looked back. You’ll see that my “go to” amp these days is a small Cornell Romany 12. Hope this helps.
this made me laugh so funny the faces make yourself a meme also good playing! subscribed!
Thanks for subscribing, delighted you liked the vid. Yes, when I watch my own vids, I can see what you mean with regards to my face pulling 🤣
@@paulstaffordcook8799 No worries mate your just into the music cheers
Paul, you must miss the PRS, it’s got an amazing tone. Love your videos and your amazing playing thanks 🙏🏻
Thanks Roundabout, cheers for the compliment. Actually, strangely, I don’t miss the PRS. I think that owning that guitar made me realise just how old fashioned I am. And so that was the turning point in pushing me to play more vintage inspired instruments. Don’t get me wrong, it was a quality guitar…. But ultimately it just would have hung on my wall instead of being played.
Great info on the amp and settings BUT if that's your idea of warm, fat tone....we are definitely on different planets.
Yes, my Marshall Astoria (£1,300) can do better, but we’re talking about the Katana..... I think I make it sound ace. No?
Sorry not convinced on Katana or the others. Kemper moreso
Good value though, I find they don't cut in a live setting.
I sent mine back. I didn't like it. If you like a lot of bells & whistles, you will probably like it. But I found it very limited for just simple, clean tone. The acoustic channel was decent but the clean channel was very thin and trebley. Frankly, I think my Fender Champ 40 or Orange 35RT had much fuller, warmer clean tone. Not my cup of tea.
Thanks for your comment Don, sorry to hear you didn’t like your Katana. For anyone else reading this comment who wants a warm fat clean(ish) tone - I suggest turning the Gain up high, but still on the Clean channel. The Gain seems to add warmth and fatness. That said, I rarely play 100% clean. So if it’s completely clean tones you’re after, check out Don’s suggestions 😀
@@paulstaffordcook8799 I did turn up the gain and volume almost all the way up and kept the master down around 3. It did help a lot on the acoustic channel. That was pretty nice. But it did little on the clean. It was still too brittle for my ear. And since I never play anything but clean, or tweed, this amp was probably not a good choice on my part. I never play lead, crunch or brown. I'm going back to my Champ 40 and Orange Crush 35RT.
Now your just showing off man 😉
Yes, my Mum says it’s because I’m a Leo - born show offs apparently 😃. Thanks for watching Karl 👍
Great video, keep up the good work
Thank you so much for the tutorial all the haters never Wana help a guy out can't we all just solo together
Cheers Danny 👍
Love these thick creamy tones. You really make that amp scream. How about a video with your favorite clean tones. Maybe a twangy Strat tone or clean Tele. Thanks 🙏
Thank you Mike! It’s funny, I sometimes get that request.... i.e. to demo my favourite Clean tones.... but the truth is.... I just don’t do clean. I only do Crunch. I just love the way that a Crunch tone gives you both worlds, with the slightest change in your pick attack.... I even use a Crunch tone for country! And so I’m afraid I wouldn’t know where to begin in giving a demo of a clean sound. Sorry Mike, I wasn’t much help there ☹️
That's all I do with mine. Plug in and play. I could care less what the computer can do for it. How many sounds do you need.
Totally agree Daniel. Thanks for watching :-)
@@paulstaffordcook8799 I know this old, but, for posterity's sake: 1) if you can get all the sound you want out of out of the box - great! No issues there.
But 2) there seems to be a lot of misunderstanding out there about what using the tone studio to edit the effects actually does compared to what ships on the amp presets. The presets *are* essentially patches set up via tone studio. The different types of boost out of the box are just three of the available boost effects in the amp that are preselected by the mfg to fill the three boost slots. By going into the tone studio you can change which three types of boost are available, and adjust the specific boost settings. I don't recall what the presets are out of the box, but you can choose from a wide variety from treble or mid boosts, various overdrives, blues drive, a number of boss's distortion pedal effects, fuzz, etc. Same goes for every other knob...Boss chose three of their modulation effects to be the presets, but you can choose from a lot more, or just tweak the settings of the preselected modulation effects, delay, reverb, etc.
Again - if the settings it ships with work for, awesome, enjoy. You make it sounds great, for sure. But the main point I want people to understand is that it's no more or less pure to do it out of the box or to edit the sounds you want in the software. The analogy would be leaving the bass/mid/treble knobs in the exact location they were out of the box. The tone studio is just another set of knobs to fiddle with to dial it in exactly how you want it.
Paul I have just discovered you . Have you any recorded material I can access ?
Ah, thank you Richard, delighted you like my wee channel. Actually, no I don’t have anything recorded. I’m just amateur, and I’m doing my TH-cam channel just for the enjoyment of performing. Cheers for watching Richard 👍
Hi and thanks! Trying to learn how to set up a TH-cam video. What are you playing your backing tracks through and how are you syncing the video and audio?
Hi tenantrep. I have 2 iPhones…. My current day to day one and my old one that still works fine. So I play a backing track (from TH-cam) on my old phone, and it plays through a little Bluetooth speaker (from Anker). I then play my guitar through my amp, playing along to the backing track. And I film it using my current iPhone. The resulting movie is then imported into iMovie (on my phone). iMovie allows me to join many movie clips together and edit them. Once I’m happy with the final edit I then upload it to TH-cam. No laptops or computers required. All just my iphone 😊
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Excellent! Love the simplicity. Sounds better than an interface, DAW software like Reaper etc.
Thank you very much! This helps a lot. Great playing und fantastic tone. Your settings work very fine for me. Extremely helpful video! Greetings from Germany und keep on your great work!
Thank you Rockerated, really appreciate your comment. Glad you liked the clip. And greetings back to you from Scotland :-)
Great Demo Paul , What settings would you recommend for a nice warm Bluesy sound from my Strat , Cheers Den .
Hi Dennis. Easy! I suggest the Clean channel, Gain knob up full, EQs to suit, and that’s that. Immediately that will give you a full “fat” sound, that might be a little too clean for your liking…. but maybe not…. If it IS too clean, then start with a small twist of the booster mod knob. Stay away from the Crunch, Lead and Brown channels. 😉
Thank you Paul for your reply , I will try it out tomorrow , many thanks .
Another great video Paul. By far the best tones I’ve heard from the katana and definitely something I’ll be trying out.
Thank you Mike! Happy Practicing mate :-)
Yes he's very good.
Your voice is about 5% volume compared to your guitar bits... I either have to ride the volume to watch this, or not hear you speak..lol try for some near balance if possible. otherwise, thanks man, keep it up.
Hi Toad Lick. Actually..... I read your comment and decided to make a change! I have a little lavaliere microphone that I never use..... so I’m about to upload a new video in an hour’s time where I used that mic, and I can definitely hear a more equal volume spread between guitar and voice. Would love to hear your opinion.... 😀. Cheers man.
I'm so sorry but there's something chad krogerish when I look at you
I have to agree.... pity I can’t sing like him....
Great stuff Paul. I've the 2x12. my guitars are a mim strat with Texas special pups, an Ltd ec-401 with DiMarzio 36th pups, a es-335 Gibson withe classic 57 pups, and last but not least, a us tele pro with whatever the stock pups are. the reason I listed guitars, is that with the 2x12 katana, they all have a very distinct sound (which of course they should) and in general, though is started out with settings similar to yours, I've found I like the master volume higher than channel volume. all is subjective though. my "studio" is detached from the house. basically a fancy shed, haha. Any rate, nice vid, and look forward to more soulful playing by you. you're playing inspires me to keep trying to get better.
Thanks for that compliment at the end there, keeps me smiling! Yes, I think if I was playing at gig volume I might do it your way (high master volume / low channel volume). But I’ll have another play around with that, and maybe I’ll discover something. Cheers man :-)
Your playing is so damn soulful the tone honestly feels irrelevant.
Well thank you Sunny! Delighted you like my playing 👍
New Katana owner. This was VERY helpful.
Thanks GoldtriggerDude, I’m glad you liked the vid 👍
mine continues to hiss as I bring up the gain and volume. Quite disappointed, maybe I'm doing something wrong.
Hmmm…. In my experience, the hiss comes in only when I do ANY of the following; Add Booster mod or visit the Lead / Brown channels. So I usually kept to Clean and Crunch channels, and despite Booster mod adding noticeable hiss, to me it was definitely not too bad. So I often added some. I’ve never gone into rock and metal territory though…. Which I guess would increase the hiss.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Thanks Paul I did not expect answer, very kind of you. Really liked the video and then tone you got. will keep messing around and try and remove the hiss.
Respectfully disagree. Tone Studio is amazing, and without using it you are missing out on well over half of what this amp is capable of. I feel like if you use Tone Studio, it actually validates the idea that you don't need pedals with this amp. Reverb, Chorus, Boost, Mod, Fx, etc are all built in and fully customizable, with dozens of virtual pedals to choose from. Those options on the top of the amp just barely scratch the depth that it has within.
Hi ER Webster, sorry for late reply. Yes, your comments are echoed by many others and so, without having tried Tonestudio, I’d have to agree that people say it’s fantastic. From my own perspective I just want a great sounding amp without floor mounted pedals, and so I’m very content with the amp as it is, without tonestudio. It’s worth noting however that I’m really a very “old fashioned” player, not in search of soundscapes. I’m from the Rory Gallagher / Gary Moore school of simplicity and the Katana gives me that. That approach doesn’t work for everyone and so I guess Tonestudio takes things to the next level. Appreciate you watching the clip :-)
Great to hear a different view on the set up. I just wish there was a tuner incorporated into the amp. I have enough problems standing up without falling over leads to effects pedals.
Thanks Robert! Yeah, that would be ideal..... in fact, when your think about it, that’s a bit of an oversight really..... For such a versatile amp it seems kinda obvious that you’d fit a tuner 🤣👍
I love my peterson tuner pedal but a tuner would be nice in the amp. also, the MONO headphone jack is a joke.
All I saw was 1 tip for the Katana and 2 for any other generic amp
Yes, I can see how you’d come to that conclusion. But if you look at the description you’ll see I’ve clarified the context of this vid. It’s really a vid in response to my subscribers asking me how I get such nice tones from the Katana. So this is how I do it. It’s not a review of the Katana. Hope this clarifies things.
Sounds great, Send me the patch!!! Or the parameters in numbers to dial for
Hi Catched You, thanks for watching. If you watch it again though, you’ll see I’m not relying on a patch, nor have I ever hooked up to a PC for Tone Studio. I’m just plugging into the amp’s Crunch channel, whacking the Gain full up, setting the EQ fairly Bass heavy, and that’s that. Cheers :-)
Tip #1....throw that piece of crap in the trash and get a tube amp.
Yeah.... but I’ve owned several tube amps.... and for playing in the house, at house volume, my Katana beats them all I reckon. Not sure whether I’d feel the same at gigging volume.... I’ve never cranked the Katana..... but I wouldn’t be surprised if I still felt the same.
Thank you for your awesome tip i play alot of Latin Rock and now thanks to you i got that Carlos Santana tone down now you nailed it i cant thank you enough peace & Cheers.
Thank you Patrick! Delighted you liked this video. Truth is, I get quite a bit of stick for this particular clip (because I haven’t used Tone Studio), so it cheers me up when someone like yourself leaves such a nice comment! Appreciated 👍
Good tones ..like to add that I use mostly 50-60% of volume & tones with my guitars unless I go nuts then the cops shows up.
I think that volume knob loves you!! Very nice.
Well thank you Kevin 👍
Great playing! Love the dynamics. I’ll be getting a Katana 100 mK2 for jam sessions soon.
I bought this same amp and absolutely love it. I also bought a Fender altra Stratocaster HSS in cobra Blue 💙. Thank You for your time and help. Love you all Bill. Oh and That's a beautiful PRS!!
.....Tip # 4.....No PRS.
No computer there is no recording?
Correct. All my videos are just an iPhone placed near the amp’s grill cloth. Cheers for watching Brandon
Great video thank you. Just what I was looking for. Plug in and play. Do you have a tip to getting a good clean sound out of it?
Thank you Allen! As regards a good clean tone..... actually, I’m struggling to answer that one, because I tend to live in “bluesy breakup” territory 99% of the time. However, I did get (what I consider to be) a good Katana clean tone in my “Boss Katana - Knopfler tones and techniques” video (see TH-cam). On the Strat, I used the Katana’s Clean channel but turned the Gain up high to add a little attitude. And at the very end of that video I show a photo of my Katana settings. Hope this helps :-)
Paul Stafford Cook thank you for replying. I will check out that video.
Still enjoy the great playing!👍 I would love to hear some of your country playing.
Thanks Mike! Yes, the best way to hear me attempt Country is to check out my Vid called “my licks Part 3”. I was always a big fan of Albert Lee and Brent Mason... and while I’m not even close to being in their league, hopefully you’ll hear the influence. Cheers Mike
paused the video and left in the first 10 seconds when you said “no pedals”
Well that’s a shame, you missed a good vid.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 i went ahead and watched it. you give a good insight, i will try your recommended amp settings tomorrow when i wake up. i’m just a guy who enjoys using pedals.
Those tones were beautiful honestly….
Thank you! Appreciated 🍻
Great!
You’ve achieved the true meaning of being an artist with this video Paul. I clicked on it for tips dialing in my Katana, but by halfway through the video I was more interested in your playing than the gear you were using. Bravo!
Well thank you man, I really appreciate that 🍻
What song is in the min 4:04 and then with the LP?
Hi Daniel. Yes, at 4:04 it’s Carlos Santana’s “Europa”. Check out his LIVE versions on TH-cam - outstanding 😀. And the song I played on my Les Paul was “Autumn Leaves”. It’s an old jazz standard, but the version I like best is Eva Cassidy - drop dead amazing the way she sings it. My version was simply to turn it into an instrumental. Glad you liked 👍
old school rules dude.couldnt put it better.
Thanks Andy 👍
Absolutely amazing tone. Thanks for sharing
I had some trouble with my new telecaster through a katana. This video helped a bunch. Thanks so much. Big Paul Stafford Cook fan!!
Glad it helped Dlee 👍. And I’m delighted you like my stuff, cheers 🍻
Great demo.
There are plenty of videos about all of the bells and whistles.
I appreciate the focus on Tone.
and thank you for the volume swell techniques
Thank you Scott, I’m delighted you liked it👍🍻
Nice clip, the tones you suggested will sound good at home. Cutting through a band mix I would argue not so much. Plenty of mids and presence pokes ya right out. Not hating buddy just chucking in my two pence 😎 keep rocking
Thanks Cal Mac, you’re probably right about needing more mids to cut through a live band..... cheers for watching 😀
Your tip on use of the volumes contradicts almost everyone else’s advice on here and it’s saved me from selling my 100mk1. Thanks.
Glad it helped! Thanks TenPester, cheers
I actually found the opposite b Crank master all the way (on a combo) and bring up the gain for bite
You need to check out the Tone studio. Otherwise you only have 50% of what the amp can do. Even if you dont’t use it at least you can use the pannel and channel buttons to store up to 8 presets that you can recall at anytime.
Yeah, I’m starting to wish I had a PC or Laptop to check it out... many of the comments on my channel definitely recommend I take a look at it. :-)
After reading all the raving reviews, I got myself a 50watt yesterday. However I am quite disappointed with it so far, it sounding so sterile, digital compared to my vox valvetronix. Any suggestions, patches perhaps? Tqvm
Hi TN :-). Sorry to hear about your disappointment..... my only suggestion is to put the Gain on 10 and stick to Crunch or Clean. That way, you’ll be making it sound as warm, fat and full as possible. From your comments I’m guessing you’ve strayed into Lead and Brown....? Both of which I’d agree with you, in that they’re a little brittle sounding to my ears and certainly wouldn’t compete with a valve amp. Luckily I’m not looking beyond bluesy Crunch tones, so the amp’s perfect for me. As regards patches..... I’m not much help as I’ve never hooked it up to Tone Studio....
Totally bizarre that you're advice is to not use the incredibly powerful Tone Studio. That's awful advice honestly.
Hi Dave, sorry for late reply. Yes, in isolation, my video seems to give unusual (or crazy) advice. And so you’re correct in that respect. Everyone says Tone Studio is fantastic, and I seem to be the only person who has never used it. However, my video is entitled “My” 3 tips.... in other words, if you’re a subscriber or follower of my playing, then it all makes sense, i.e. I’m a back to basics, bluesy, emotive (and hopefully toneful) sort of player..... and so I think I sound more like my heroes when I strip everything back to bare bones. And when I watch this video back, I smile, because I think the tones sound great for that style. Hopefully that puts more perspective on this. Appreciate you watching Dave, even though we may differ in our tastes 😀
Paul its Patrick you are a awesome player my friend i just got my Artist im still tweeking things out i love the fact that i dont have to buy tubes anymore my Mesa Boogie is retired in my closet now. I love that Santana tone you are getting i am working on my Les Paul custom im putting some Semore Duncan Pearly gates on it and custom wiring i cant wait till im done. Cheers Mate.
Thanks Patrick! I do love a compliment 👍. I’m intrigued by your project.... Seymour Duncan Pearly gates / Les Paul custom.... would be keen to hear what you think of it once it’s done. Cheers
I use a metallica ajfa sounding tone and it sounds amazing
Hey can u give me the exact settings pls 😂
@@chaseashton611 theres a patch for it on guitarpatchs.com, its for mk1 btw
@@loganmiller6481 darn it I have the mkii. Do u think it still might work?
@@chaseashton611 it doesn't, if you try to download it, it wont load, It'll just say it failed
Paul, why is a guitar player of your caliber not in a band?
Actually, I really miss being in a band. I used to play in a covers band in Edinburgh from 1991 to 2005. I loved it but it’s also been lovely not to have the hassle that goes along with it - hence TH-cam is a nice compromise. But... time has passed, and I’m starting to really get my juices flowing again.... so I might think about starting or joining a wee blues band.... And your comment has got me thinking I should just do it!
@@paulstaffordcook8799 just do it, im 50 and just got back to jukin with some old friends, so its something you cant fight! 😎