Finally! A visual on exactly which cables run to which jacks on both ends. Both ends being the back of the amp location of the effects loop and the loop pedal itself. Thank you very much! This will work perfectly with my Fender Mustang 3 effects loop. I’ve watched over 50 videos to finally discover yours and this is exactly what I’ve been looking for. Bravo Sir! ✌🏻🎸
Many thanks Scott and also, thanks for the reply you made to the other chap... Indeed, it was more about demonstrating the ways in which this set-up is connected and how the pedal worked in that respect than about actual looping... I may do another video of me playing some loop ides so it's very obvious, as a couple of people have mentioned that. Anyway cheers buddy! Thanks again , Mark
Got the GA-FC. Got the Katana Artist. Got the Looper. Was somehow tremendously confused in how to make it all work. But many thanks to you, I now know. *Thanks* for the nice, clearly laid out demo and explanation! And thanks as well for the great ear candy! Very nice vibe.
I have the same setup man. And was so confused. My music store couldn't even figure it out. Thanks to this video I'm all good and its all working. Thanks!
Thanks so much for this Mark, I was searching for hours how to fix this problem with the GA-FC & it was doing my head in. Only video I could find that explains this simple & straight to the point. Cheers 🤘🏽👍🏽
@@MarkFeaGuitar Just to note - I have an Artist Mk2 - you need to enable the Send Return function in Tone Studio and set it to Post Rev and Parallel. Apologies if this has been said already.
@@sebastienarthur6405 I think this is the same and been mentioned elsewhere, if not by me then by other comments but it's always good to share and update stuff - nice one mate!
Just what I was looking for, I had totally forgotten that the Katana had a dedicated LOOP jack in the back panel. Thank you! If it wasn't for you I still be scratching my head 😂 Now I just need to figure out how to turn off the Boss RC-500 looper without having to unplug it every time lol
The Mk2 has different configurations of connections but same results. Good job because folk would automatically do it the old way but this is easy to connect a RC3 although it could do with a one click stop!
This is the second video of yours I have watched and you have a real gift for getting the message across and clearly without gibberish....right to the point and clearly demonstrated......thanks so much.
Great informative video...I just got a Boss Katana MK II,a ga-fc footswitch, & was happy......Until I happened upon this video...now that Looper pedal is a MUST...thanks LOL !!!! I was wondering about that aspect of this kinda set up anyways... This shows the Absolute Best way to set it up. A loop w/ fx,THEN...playing over top of it w/ DIFFERENT FX. & Sounds...AWESOME---- WHAT ELSE COULD ONE WANT AS A MUSICIAN ...Especially with the tweaking you can do in the Boss Tone Studio,quite possibly my new Fav. Amp !!!!! 😎🎸🎼🎸🤘👍
Hey, welcome to the gang lol. Yep, once you get your setup tweaked, it's a fab combo and so versatile with the pedal and looper! Glad you found my video interesting , good luck! Mark
A GA-FC pedal is actually an indispensable addition to a Boss Katana. So I bought one for my MK2 100. However, that GA-FC has a disadvantage. To move from Bank A to Bank B, you have to hold down the panel button for a while. An unwanted interruption in your guitar playing. That's why I made an extra foot switch, with an led on it, that makes a very fast change possible. This is connected to the exp. pedal input of the Katana. My expression pedal itself could simply be connected to the GA-FC pedal. I think it's a nice and handy addition!
Yeah, that's a great idea. Another dislike for the Boss system is that you don't know which bank you're on anyway! There's no way to tell until you play something!
This is exactly what I needed. Bought a looper and it didn’t work like this in my Marshall Code because of the absence of an effects loop. Pick up my Boss Katana 100 today! Thanks man!
Kevin OCallaghan nice one matey! The Katana is a superb amp and really worth spending time getting to undestand with all the time and effects options. Glad I could help and enjoy your new toys!
Hi people, if you notice too much of your 2nd tone affecting the sounds coming from the looper, check this out!! This was posted on another video, about the same subject by Juan Francisco Batista Galván 8 months ago You may also say that people must set CHAIN to CHAIN3 in the software, to skip BOOSTER & DELAY/FX of the signal. If not, looper sound will take the effects you set for your guitar too (and you want to avoid these when connecting the Loop). "The KATANA-100 FX Loop Send/Return is located within the AMPLIFIER EQUALIZER section of the KATANA EFFECTS CHAIN. This can be accessed and changed with the BOSS TONE STUDIO SOFTWARE. Options for CHAIN 1, CHAIN 2 and CHAIN 3 are available for selection. If you are using a LOOPER pedal (ie. BOSS RC-3/30/300) with the KATANA, use CHAIN 3 for the best functionality, REVERB will still be the ending effect but can be set to zero. ".
I changed the chain to chain 3 like you said and it fixed my problem, however, now my delay sounds terrible and keeps going for ages when on chain 3. Is there any way to fix this? Also, if you see this mark, could you please let me know what chain you use in the tone studio because yours seems to work great. Cheers.
Thanks, this is exactly what I aim to do with my Katana with a Ditto Looper. Great tones you got going and love the vibe of that song! Smooth playing. I love it. You got a music channel? I would love to hear some more of your stuff.
Hey Mark, thanks for the great video. It explains so much. I also have the Katana 100 and the GA-FC, but have yet to purchase an RC looper (5 years later; many different models to choose from lol). But I was wondering, does the looper work with the loop controls (the FX port) on the GA-FC? Is the GA-FA FX port pre or post effects? Or is it exactly like what's in the Effect Loop send/return on the back of the amp?
Hey!! How ya doing! Nice to hear from you. In regard to your question, I am not sure. I can't check my amp cos it's in France and I'm in the UK atm but... I think there may be some parameters that are manageable for that part of the amp in the tone studio software. Have you used that? It's the part where you can assign functions for the rotary pots, what they affect and how etc. It may he worth looking there. I'll have a think too and update here. Hope that's of some help at least but feel free to let me know. In the meantime, all the best! Mark
thanks wasn't 100% sure that would work. Woulda been great if they had a looper on their pedal, but I've been impressed with the tone of the amp listening online.
It is a great amp although the pedal is very basic and has some poor operational shortcomings when it comes to live use... for example, it's great you can have two banks of four presets, giving you loads of effects combo choices but... there's no way to tell which bank is active... as well as having to select the effects button to make that active and not the channels.. so they could have made that a little easier to navigate onstage. The tones from the amp are pretty good but you do need to dial it in for the pickups on specific guitars to get the best out of it.
MFGuitarStuff haha awesome. i hope it lives up to my expectations :) still abit unsure if i should have bought the roland cube artist. in the search for a good amp that aint a tube amp :p
drioood the Artist is a great amp. I tried one a few weeks ago in my local music shop and I liked the fact it had all the good Katana bits plus the extra amp sound and the output options on the front panel. I don't think you'll be disappointed. I toyed with the Cube Artist a while back but the Katana is a lot more versatile... let me know how you get on! Good luck, Mark.
Subbed man. 😎 killer video. Nice down to earth presence. I wonder if I took this katana amp say a 50? If I keep it turned to the lowest power if it would be very small footprint on my power ...I wonder because for the next few months I'll live in my camper. It's great but I cannot power it with its 220 sure power I'm using the connection with an adapter. 220 down 110. So...sadly. though I have everything o can off but little lights..the heater and ac will be my concern. If they are on when I want to play I'll have to buy a battery operated....Unless they draw less than 5 amperes. Lol. Or I suppose I could run another extension cord. I am trying to save money so I am parked at parents lot. With a cord. Maybe if I have to I'll run a separate through window. Lol. Thanks buddy.
Hey! Thanks for the comment! Boss do a baby Katana which may be worth checking out. The problem with incorrect or low voltage is it changes the amp sound in a big way also in the long run isn't healthy for the transformer as far as I'm aware... check out the baby Katana, see what you think! Cheers, Mark
very useful video mark. thanks. just one beginner question: is the loop pedal connected at all to the pedal board, or does everything go through the amp?
Hey, thanks for the message. The looper is on the send and return fx loop and that's it. There's two other ways to add other effects into the system. One is the classic chain - between the guitar and the amp. The other would be on the FX loop before the loop pedal. It would affect everything else of course, so you'd have to choose carefully what you want recorded / looped. Does that make sense?
Hi Mark, I've just been blessed with the same setup although I don't have the GA FC yet. 10 mins in and I have noticed two issues that I'm wondering if you have encountered. First, when I use preset one, record a loop and then switch to panel the loop is lost. Second, when I add in delay to my lead sound it is added onto the loop. This is the most annoying as I thought the effect loop hardware was going to eliminate this. Any ideas? Cheers!
Hellooooo!! Ok, you may need to check that yhe channels you are choosing to loop on have that option enabled. You'll need the Tone Studio set up if you are familiar with this. I have done a couple of videos on this Software, which is freely available from the BOSS website, if you don't have this already... also, as for your delay, the looper can only record what's coming through that channel, so any effects or amp tone will be added to your loops. Hope that helps, Mark
I love you man i was about to throw the damn ga fc ex and the looper pedal into the damn blender. i love my boss shit but fuck me why cant they write a guide ever
It's true if you record the effects, then they will obviously be on the loop. I prefer to use clean tones with minimal effects on my loops then add any effects on top live, with the GAFC. The only time I'd record the effect is if it was a fundamental part of the lopp, so a delay might feature, or chorus etc
@@MarkFeaGuitar I worked with the pedal a little more. I think more accurately what I'm trying to convey is that the drumtracks work separately from the loop so if you turn on effects after the loop, those effects will be applied to the drumtrack so even the fx loop doesn't help at all with this.
Hey Mark! Great video! How would you connect a BOSS TU-3 into the mix? Would that have to go in between your main amp input cable and the guitar, or can you run that into the FX loop as well?
Hey, thanks for the comment, something like that would be best run in line from the guitar to the amp as it's only dealing with a specific thing. Other pedals would probably better be better in this way too, as the loop function from send / rtn deals with the output signal and if you add more effects to be recorded, it's the signal flow from the amp that will get "printed" in the looper if that makes sense?
@@MarkFeaGuitar Perfect, thanks. I figured that might be the way to go. That would mean: 1 cable from the GA-FC. 2 cables from the RC-3. 1 cable from the pedal chain into the main amp, AND 1 cable from the start of the pedal chain (TU-3) and into the guitar. So many cables.. :P
I think so, as they're already in the looper on their own settings. The RC30 has 9 or 10 pre-programmed beats which work independently of the main looper but, of course, they are activated first and remain live as such
I don't think there is, as the extra four were a firmware update anyway and, only accessible by switching on the panel button. I haven't heard about anything further nor can I see how you'd access them without it getting very complicated! Maybe another viewer can confirm...
KEEP in mind that this only works with the Katana 100 and Katana Artist Combo amps. Or any other amp that has effects (in) and (out) ports. My Katana 50 does NOT have the effects in and out ports... sad sad day.
I agree that the 50 should really have it but they kind of have to starve it of that feature in order to not cannabalize sales of the more expensive models. They still have to make money somehow haha
I have the same set up but the loop pedal won’t record the panel sounds only presets I have saved into the channels.. any way to be able to record the panel?
HI Mark, i have a question. While i have mine set up the way you do with the looper via the fx loop, i can change channels fine. but when i add delay or reverb to a channel via the ga-fc it adds those effects to the loop that is playing. So if i have something looping playing clean, and switch to clean with a lot of delay, it adds the delay to my loop and muddies everthing up. Do you know how to fix this?
Oooh, that's weird... someone else had that problem from memory... it probably has something to do with the set up in the software on screen. Worth checking the manual and see the setup for the whole chain
Mark Fea Guitar I figured it out. I had to go into tone studio and go to chain and put delay and effect before the amplifier. You are unable to move reverb before the amplifier in the signal chain however. Thanks again!
My amp doesn't sound with that connection. The input pedal goes to the return on the amp and the output pedal goes to the send on the amp, is that correct? thank you
Hey, hope you're well! I think there is something you have to do , from memory - it's been a while! , in the tone studio software to make that channel and the routing active. I think that's been commented on here before too so may need worth a scroll through the comments here. I don't have my amp available at the mo so can't check for you- sorry! Mark
Looking at the Katana diagram in the manual, it shows the FX return BEFORE the effect module in the Katana. But your video suggests that the effects in the Katana ARE being sent out the FX send. Hmmm.
ok, but all I know is the way I have mine set up it works so I can change channels and have the effects looped if they are "on" - make sense. Other than that, I haven't dived into it any further, once I had the system working!
What if your amp doesn't have an effects loop? I have the Katana 50, so I guess I wouldn't be able to use the onboard effects, I would have to have stand alone pedals and put the looper at the end?
Hi there, hoping you may be able to help me out. I've a Cube GX, a GA FC & a Ditto Stereo Looper. How do I set it up so I can do as you're demonstrating.. it's honestly cracking me up. If you've any tips I'd really appreciate it.. many thanks in advance.
Julio's Evil Twin Hi. Not sure which GX model you have but does it have an effects loop - the send and return jack sockets? You need these for the independent loop signal to be processed.
I too have a Cube GX with three connections on back 1.) GA-FC 2.)Tip: JC Clean-Lead Ring: Solo 3.) RECORDING OUT / Phones. Would I be able to dub different sounds with your method?
I believe I have the same setup but with the RC1 looper. Send to the RC1, RC1 Out to Return. Guitar into Katana input. When I step on the GA-FC controller, the sounds on the recorded part of the looper change. Any suggestions? Thanks
@@markwellendorf3949 hmmm... it might be worth looking at the set up on the software to see if there is anything but to be honest, it seems like you have done the same as I have for the signal chain, so I'll have a think and see if anything else springs to mind.
Hmmm this seems odd. I have a Katana Mk2 Artist and a boss rc 5 looper all connected up but whatever I do when I come to switch channels on the GA-FC it doesn't transfer the tones over. Any ideas? Thanks
@@MarkFeaGuitar hi Mark, the GAFC works normally without the looper plugged in once it’s plugged in it only seems to work on the initial channel that i have used. When i switch nothing goes with it for some reason. Thanks for replying!
@@donsuccone you probably need to access the channel setting for each channel within Tone Studio. There's a setting there which you have to turn on for the loop channel. Same happened to me when I set mine up. Make sense?
Thanks Mark that did the trick! For anybody else who is having this problem - The send/return setting is switched off on the tone studio for some of the tones that i had loaded into the Katana. It was just a case of switching this setting on then saving the preset once again with the new settings using the write function. Once again Thanks for the help Mark!
I'm getting a problem where I want to put an octave effect on my loop but as soon as I change to a channel without the octave fx it's lost on the loop. Anyway to go about making this work or is that just how the fx loop works on the katana?
The looper should record whatever the amp sends out of the speaker if you have it set up on the effects loop send and return as I have suggested.... is the octave effect recording? Can you hear it on playback if you don't change channel?
@@MarkFeaGuitar The looper seems to record the base channel preset crunch/clean/lead etc. but as soon as I change the effects it affects the loop. IU tried looking at the boss studio app for my katana but nothing seems to help.
@@MadTuber1 hey, I'm not near any of my gear at the mo but wondering if the signal chain has to be ordered in a specific way within the Tone Studio. Maybe worth a look? When I can, I'll have a look again.
@@MarkFeaGuitar yeah I tried messing arround with the signal chain but that just seems to dictate what effects the loop chanel to chanel, nothing ever just stays as i recorded it when i change the chanels
The looper pedal will work with the 50 but everything will have the same tone if you're using effects from the amp. The advantage of having the effects loop is if you want a different tone for your loop than what you're playing, you simply put it in the effects loop (if you have other pedals in the effects loop, put the looper last before the return jack), use the looper as normal, then if you want a different tone for what you're playing over top of the loop you switch it (footswitch is probably quickest way), and now you have a different tone to play over the looper, but the tone of the loop is unchanged. The 100 is obviously more expensive but I would recommend a used 100, they start at only about $20 more than a new 50.
Having a problem with fx loop,,when using a loop pedal ,,the looper picks up all the FX ,,chorus,, flange,phaser,,but it will not record the reverb or delay,,any suggestions to fix this ,,very frustrating,,
Go into tone studio, select chain 3. Then Kill the reverb. Your Amp/EQ (where the Effect loop resides) needs to be last in line. KATANA-100: FX LOOP SEND/RETURN SIGNAL CHAIN LOCATION The KATANA-100 FX Loop Send/Return is located within the AMPLIFIER EQUALIZER section of the KATANA EFFECTS CHAIN. This can be accessed and changed with the BOSS TONE STUDIO SOFTWARE. Options for CHAIN 1, CHAIN 2 and CHAIN 3 are available for selection. If you are using a LOOPER pedal (ie. BOSS RC-3/30/300) with the KATANA, use CHAIN 3 for the best functionality, REVERB will still be the ending effect but can be set to zero.
Well... you can definitely hear sone kind of "interference" or break in the sound when switching from the send and return loop.. I think Boss / Roland should sort a software update for this... it's annoying!!
OK, Reply to myself in case others have the problem and what they read isn't helping all the way. I followed all the settings in video here and still wasn't totally working with Katana artist mk2, ga-fc pedal, rc-10r pedal,....so i read all the responses and messed with stuff and for me it was definitely Going into TONE STUDIO and changing the CHAIN setting on each channel. At least chain 3 if not 4...i checked how each sounded to make sure the delay wasn't messed up too much if on 4 for some tones...anyway, set them all to either 3 or 4 and then it works fine. I can loop, record the first layer with clean, go back and overdub the next layer in crunch, so on a so forth, as intended. YAY lol ...thanks to Main video for getting me 90% there and all the people here who keep responding and adding to the conversation for bringing it home for me...
@@bryscorpio yes, I had the same issue originally and I think others have commented on here since. When I set mine up, for whatever reason, the first 2 channels were already set but when I selected one the others, the sound disappeared and... silence lol. So I did as you've discovered, go into the Tone Studio and found the problem. I think I've covered this in some of my tone studio software vids but thanks for your time commenting and hopefully helping others navigate this! Cheers mate
Is anyone experiencing this...? I have the Katana 100 head with Ver3 update, GA-FC, EV30 and a TC Ditto looper. I have recorded 3 loops but noticed that when I switch channels during my loop playback that the Delay/FX tone i have associated with that channel affects the playback on the loop. I'm not in record mode on the looper and the volume on the EV30 is at minimal. I have even disconnected both the GAFC and the EV30 to see if that affected the playback bleed through but it still occurs. Any help from the youtubers would be appreciated.
I haven't experienced that but I do get an annoying pop when I change channels when a loop is running. Hopefully someone can shed some light on these issues! Cheers, Mark
No popping or abnormal sounds. It's more like if I record a loop with a clean lead channel and then get ready to add another layer, let's say with a channel with a tremolo effect. While the first loop is playing back, when I switch to the new channel it automatically adds the effect to the play back... even tried it without any pedals in the effect loop but the Ditto only.
@@tinyzeroproductions6740 ooh that is weird. I would try a fresh install of V3 software and try it after that. Make sure you save your presets first and use the Tone Studio to store them in the library just in case!
So I've been doing exactly what you have been doing (with an RC-30) and... Once I change to Channel 2, the loop just mutes.. Seems like I HAVE to stick with one channel to keep the loop going.
Dude! I had exactly the same issue... you need to activate the send and return loops for the other channels in the Tone Studio Software for the amp. There's a little round "button" you need to switch 😉. Why is life so complicated !!! Lol. Good luck
@@MarkFeaGuitar Thank you so much for the info bro! If you can, do you mind sending me a screenshot of where its at? because I literally just downloaded the software and this thing is kinda complicated. I'm not much of a computer guy that can look shit up easily haha. Sorry if I'm treating you like a BOSS professional or something but it would absolutely help me out man.
@@victorjung9337 ok, I can't add a screenshot here, so... just open the software and hit the S/R square, where all the access to the delays and reverbs etc are. Once you are in that section, on the top left of the area that you adjust the outputs there is a circular button. Just turn this on for every channel and click save on them as you go . I did do a screenshot for you but just can't add it...
@@vincenzopellegrino7635 have you got the effects loop active for all those channels? They have to be turned to "on" in the Tone Studio software for each channel... other than that I can't think what would affect the system when you switch between the channels...
@@vincenzopellegrino7635 Not sure if you figured this out yet or not, but I was having the same problem and realized it's the "Chain" setting in the Tone Studio software that affects this. Your channel preset should be set to the Chain 2 or Chain 3 (effects after amplifier) in order for this to work properly (I think...).
oh ok but i wanna use with the katana and and i wanna use send return on the back of the amp like you did ,some of the loop pedals dont have that option , i had rc30 and 300 before mayne thinkin to get ditto looper x4 thanks
@@mrblues1981 hey ! It's nothing to do with the pedals. The send and return on the amp uses just the regular input and output of the pedals - any / all pedals! So you can use any pedals ok!?
hey man, thanks for this. what is the katana like on the 0.5w setting? i'm asking because i live in an apartment and want an amp that I can properly loop with. cheers
Hey, I live in an apartment now and it's totally fine. .5 watt setting, volume on like 1 and it still sounds great. Look me up on Insta and you'll hear a ton of my loop videos all recorded in my new little studio on the lowest volume!! Go for it!
You put the looper in the fx loop rather than in front of the amp. I'm honestly surprised people didn't know this. If you buy an amp with an effects loop, I would imagine you understand how one works.
