Boss Katana - How To Get A Great Drive Tone 

For a couple years now you have been my number one source for setting up tones on my Katana. My favorite tone is STILL the Modded Marshall, and anyone reading this needs to check out the video Paul created for this incredible preset. It sounds like a Friedman BE-OD. You will need to add a little delay and plate reverb to get it right. And after this one, watch all the rest of the Katana videos from The Studio Rats. They really are the best. Cheers Paul. 🍻

Another great katana tone Paul! I'll be adding this to my collection of tones crafted from your older videos!

As usual Paul, not only an incredible tone but but a deep insight into how to create it. Thank you sir! :)

Finally...I've found a place that makes sense of this awesome amp. I've been struggling with the Katana 50 MkII Ex . I've downloaded some decent tones but want to make my own...this video helped a lot. Thanks.

After 40 years I’ve got a sound I like partly due to your vids - thanks

Great times.. found one at the pawn shop. Updated it, downloaded tone studio, now I’m getting awesome sounds. Your tricks are very achievable and are producing top notch tone and drive. Much appreciated

No matter what I do, my amp on clean setting with any amount of gain will not ever sound like yours in the very beginning of the video. I do not know what you did, to me you are a wizard

😍🥰 You are playing my dream guitar sir. I'll take it in any color. Black, maroon, blue. Matters not. Pete is a lucky fella. It's perfection imo.

Great info here. Not many of us would think to start with clean and add an OD pedal to get great drive tones. The EQ makes a HUGE difference! Thanks!

Cheers Paul, this is the best channel on RU-vid for gear

Let that be a lesson to you kids, you don't need full on distortion to get a great tone. You do it through other means like the blues pedal. Very informative, thanks!

Great video Paul, you truly know how to make the Boss Katana shine! By chance have you tried the Line 6 Catalyst. It is Line 6’s version of the Boss Katana. I would love to know your thought on the Catalyst and how you think it compares to the Katana. Cheers.

Can’t complain about these tone one bit!! This is a great live rig for sure

Really REALLY appreciate showing the amp controls AND the tone studio controls. Top level production man!

The most surprised is the clean CH ! The slight overdriven tone is the treasure in the price range

So helpful. Thanks for all the time and effort you put into these informative videos!

They have come a long ways. The Katana does some great digital reproductions of the real amps. And for the money, it's a good option. Of course if you want and can appreciate the real thing. Watch the Studio Rats review of the DSL20HR. That's the real thing. And a DSL amp, is a very affordable real tube amp comparatively as another option.

SOOO many questions answered here Paul. Thank you!

Great video was really struggling with getting good tone for recording out of my Katana, this was really helpful

Spot on Paul, thank you…..I’m poaching that for my Katana, love the clarity

Paul, recently purchased Katana 100 MKII artist head. Love how you go through the tone studio controls. Ok - I go to the site and there is all these live sound downloads, do I just go through all of them before touching controls and figure out what I can suit to taste..... love the sound you have on this video..... Thanks, John S

Seriously learned a lot from this! Thank you!!

Hello Paul, what a fantastic drive-sound. I assume you're not using an external speaker, you're using the recording out, right? Thank you. 👍

Thanks Paul. Essential viewing as always and I'm looking forward to using and fine tuning these settings. Going a bit off piste here, because the Katana is so transparent I find it less forgiving on guitar set up than other non-tube amps. If there are any guitar set up issues, then they will show up so these need to be resolved to get the best results. I've got away with sloppy guitar set up with lesser amps.

You're video's have helped me so much with all boss products, so much information in helping me get a great tone. Thanks mate cheers!!!! Any way you can do more Boss gx-100 video's, especially tweed combo I've been working on dialing in a good tone for that amp

How about a video on how to get those great smooth jazz tones from a hollow body using reverb chorus and parametric. Or roland jazz chorus or polytone type. Also could those smooth jazz tones for strat and semi hollow. My compliments to the TONE MASTERS on this channel!!!!!

Thanks a lot Paul - I was struggling with my drive tone for recording . You learned the trick …. it’s not the gain but the drive unit that does it 😮

Wow … great sounds & playing. I need to pick-up a katana. I’ve been a tube-amp snob for decades, but can’t believe how-far the digital-amps have come over just the past few-years.

Great video, Paul. I would love to see a video on how you would setup and use the Katana (specifically the power amp in) with a modeler such as a Fractal or Helix. I'm currently running my Helix into 2 x 100 watt Katana heads with two 2 x 12 cabs with Waza speakers. It sounds freaking amazing , but I would love to get your take on it. Cheers!

Paul, would love to hear a Gretch through this Katana. Thanks

That's great. I'm looking for a good Santana Europa sustain patch.

#PAUL! *Paul I know you really don't do the HIGH GAIN MODERN stuff, however you appear to have a far better grasp of how to get town from that amp. Could you please ( for the HIGH GAIN METAL GUYS ), make another video illustrating HOW TO get a High Gain Chugging amp tone form that amp?*

answered my issue.. thanks!!

I'm in total agreement, the clean channel with the variance button either way(depending on guitar), has proven to be the easiest way for me to dial in great tones. For higher gain, I favor the lead channel as it's not too much right out the gate. I never understood why people enjoy super oversaturated tones, that just end up needing more frequencies dropped out to get it anywhere near tolerable. I guess everyone comes at it from different directions? More isn't always better.

awesome, thanks for doing these vids, very helpful, Ive just recently upgraded to the Katana from my Marshall TSL 602, which was getting very heavy to lug around, I'm still sussing out the new unit, I left a message with Boss asking if you can re program the existing foot pedal buttons to turn on/off the cry baby but was told it cant do that and need to use another pedal, its a shame you cant just use the cry baby pedal itself to turn it on and off when plugged in via the footswitch as you can using as a solo in line unit or even being able to use the to plug ins on the pedals as an effects loop

if u use the normal eq and eq2 for the present u like u can use the global eq for different rooms or locations. i dont understand why u use global eq insted of the normal eq. global eq is not fixed to the preset. if u change the global eq for a preset its changed for all presets

Big help thanks!

Hello. Can you make a chapter similar but how to set up all this EQ for nice clean chanel and high gain solo chanel? Please

Wow! , just wow !

I have never heard any fizz in the sound of my katanas...been using them since the MK1's came out in 2016...

Love watching all these videos, but what I'm finding is, even copying your settings etc, and I know guitar matters, the sound is never as good as on your videos? I have fender tele single coil, Katana mk2 100w. Any suggestions?

My question is why use the global EQ instead of adding a Parametric EQ to the signal chain of that particular patch? Pros-Cons....And if adding it to the chain, where would i place it. Input/output i.e. before Boost prereverb postverb ..Aargh soo many options on this GD Amp. (MK1 2x12)

Sounds great/ Does it feel as great in hands as well? Or does it have the same sluggish feel of a solid state/hybrid amp (solid state power amp)? That lack of natural compression or whatever it is that sets valve amps apart from everything else that tries to emulate it?

What 1x12 cab would you recommend for the Kat Artist head? I dig the sound of the Artist combo speaker but for portability purposes I’d like to move over to a head cab setup. The combo is great but too bulk for a SS amp.

Greetings and salutations Paul. If I may, I’d like to ask if you’re familiar wit the JOYO Pre-Amp House pedal? And if so how it could best be utilized with my Katana 50 MkII. I’m looking for a clean patch as a baseline for the 9 amp models clean side and another patch that would work well on the dirty Sid of those amp models. I’d also like your thoughts on running this pedal into the front of the amp or into the power section of the Kat. Any guidance you can share would be greatly appreciated.

Global EQ is on do you have a setting we can see to try out

Mine sounds so bad:((( even following this

Paul, what's your set up? Cab Box? Or Speaker Cab?

We don't have all those eq settings on the 50.

Do you have this tone up on the boss tone exchange?

You show how to make a cool sound on a katana! Could you create the sounds of Yngwie Malmsteen from his best album Rising Force?

Hey, nice lesson, awesome! What model Suhr guitar is that?

can you get the same results out of the Katana:GO ?

I followed the settings and loaded up garageband and it sound horrible…I thought maybe it’s garageband that’s the problem so I tired it on studio one and it sounded NOTHING like the video. Am I doing something wrong?

great video - which delay and reverb did you use on this patch? Thanks

How to download the patch you made??

Is there any chance you can share this patch? .tsl file?

Is there a difference between the Katana Artist Head and the normal Head, if you load the same preset through the same Cab and how is it via usb? Could be a good video. Thanks!

Be awesome to see a katana vs tonex !!

Ever tried the Marshall Code 100 combo?

Like Chapman said, the master volume has to be maxxed. Do the rest with the channel volume and gain.

There aren’t any CAB resonance control buttons on my Katana Mk2

wow!

Hi, do these settings apply to the Katana mk2 50 please

I love your playing but why can't make an effort to make the Katana sounding more like a rreal tube amp by improving on the edge of break tone? It sounds digital, better than the previous version, but still digital.

i took it back and got a marshall lol

Important question. Where’s Digby????

Oh gosh 😮. Another infomercial about an amp! Wow! It's like the chainsaw guy that shows you how to put gas and oil in the saw.

all this video did is make me think my katana must be broken or something...

This channel comes off like a paid sales pitch for katana

There good for beginners. This guy make everything sound fantastic then when u get it home after buying it. U find it's junk. The boss katana is nothing more than a child's toy. Not honest

Use the software.... EQ the amp internally.

Is he using any pedal in front of the amp? My katana, in its Clean Chanel, do NOT sound like this.

Great video. You pull better tones out of the Katana than anyone on RU-vid. With all the boutique amps out there (and I own a few), it is amazing how great that Boss amp sounds.

I’m in so much trouble!

I’ve watched a lot of your videos, Paul, and love how you combine expertise in playing and recording with simplicity of explanation. I use a Katana Artist MK 2 for live medium sized gigs, mostly on my tweaked version of the crunch channel with a pedalboard for variations. Following this I’ll experiment with the clean channel tweaked to the kind of overdrive tone you demonstrate here. Am hugely enjoying the content and am grateful for all the work you’re doing. Very many thanks!

Hello Paul, i have one suggestion. Can you use much cheaper guitar then Suhr which cost 4000 euro? There are many who owns katanas but these people surely dont play such expensive guitar. Whenever you make patches, use 500-1000 euro instruments please. Whenever i play your patches i never get the sound you got....simply bcs of the quality of guitar and pickups. Think about it. Thank you.

🙋here coz my tone is too fizzy and I hate it. I even tried changing the speaker and it didn't change much. Using a Les Paul standard too! Hopefully your video will help

Best video I've seen on RU-vid about Katana amps. I'm changing my mind after how good sounds, I would forget altogether to compare to valve amps. I believe from watching other videos that the Katana were tested maybe as they come out of the box, having a bit neutral sound without adjustments made, and this at least for me makes a big difference. The Katana has it all, great tone, touch sensitivity, dynamics, compression, and for the price is far more than most guitar players would expect. Thank you Paul, really amazing.

Loved that tone it was killer but I have the mk1 100, do you have any tips on what you’d change?

Paul great vid ! Yep totally agree on the clean channel for me gain maxed, tremble 7 mid 7 reverb 10 , presence 10 and I just use a tube screamer and boost together and I am golden :) I now just use the katana solely for the clean channel, cheers !

Hi Paul, I've had trouble in the past getting satisfactory drive tones on my Katana Mk 2 so thanks for this video ! My main issue though is that I seem to never get nearly as much drive as you do with the clean channel, could it be caused by an insufficient pickup output ? (using roswell HAF Humbuckers)

Bought an Artist head and matching cab today. 😂

My problem is that the clean channel is just so low volume. Even with the volume at 100, I barely get anything without cranking the boost.

Wow, this helped tremendously! My buddy had been dealing with feedback issues particularly with the drive channels. Once we tried this in my studio it worked like a charm. Better dynamics and he can crank it without any real issues. The editor on the PC seems like a must now.

Ah this is only for 100. 50 doesn’t have some of these like cab resonance

Wow thank you big time! Subscribed! 👍

Katana tone sucks actually in comparison from fender with line 6

With the exception of when I'm playing thrash metal and shredding, I keep it on the clean channel for everything else. I made the discovery for myself that the clean channel is awesome.

How do I control the variation on the 100 watt artist mk 2

Oh poor me over here with my little katana 50

What are your other eqs?

Paul, for this video you are using a Mark II head. What speakers are you using or are you going direct. Most Katana owners have 1 x 12 or 2 x 12 combos, and of course the speakers would make a huge difference in the tone

Hey studio rats, so I have a Boss Katana combo amp and I've noticed that I get little shocks from the bridge and occasionally the frets of my guitar. I figures you'd be the guys to ask. Is there way to stop the shocks. They're not painful but annoying and shocking - literally. Thanks!

Can you make some tones that actually sound like that coming from the amp itself? Alot of us play through amps for people, not through our DAW'S like most of your videos.

I have watched this a few times now and there's no doubt. You are doing something right and many others are doing something wrong. Some make the katana sound very crappy. And then they blame the amp! Your set up sounds so good. I covet a katana now. And as soon as my wife says it's O.k. I will get one. And this is one sound I will want to have. It will be my main drive tone. Geat job.Cheers.

Dang! I’ve been back and forth about getting a Katana MkII for a while now. You may have just sold me on it from just the flexibility of the clean channel alone. I love my 100 watt tube stack. But I’ll probably get just as much done if not more with the Katana.

Is it just me who’s not get anything like this tone with these settings? I’m using a Gibson 2014 LPJ and a Boss Katana 50 Mk 2.

This is a Katana in a live setting based on your modded Marshall patch. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Rcyk7bfSQus.html

that’s great and it sounds amazing, but how do you save that sound to the amp? So you don’t have to bring your computer to a gig