Touring with the Boss Katana Pedal Platform (free patch!)

[@timemerson2691]

You’re right. That sounds great. This is a real life demo with behind the scenes software settings. Thanks for sharing.

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Thanks Tim, Glad you liked it!

[@lucasdiasguitarrista]

Dude, it's cool to see a real musician tackling and documenting real road and touring problems, like hauling around a ton of gear and dealing with excess weight. Nowadays, with so many options - pedals, pedalboards, digital amps, plugins - it's nice to see other musicians' practical solutions in action. I was facing the same issue playing in São Paulo, Brazil, doing about 15/20 shows a month, lugging around a big pedalboard, two guitars, and two amps - exhausting stuff! I ended up stumbling upon the exact same solution as you with the Boss Katana, but I opted to get the Boss footswitch instead, now I only carry that along with my drive pedal - it's been the best solution I've found! I like to say guitarists have two phases: when they start playing and want the most professional outcome possible, which usually involves loading up on gear, and then the phase where they get tired of hauling all that stuff around and want to streamline, while maintaining the same level of quality and professionalism. I think I'm entering that second phase now, haha! Great video! Keep up the good work!

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Thank you! We'll said about those two phases of a guitar player. Definitely seen that many times 👍

[@alexthompson9662]

I have been using your AC15 and Deluxe Reverb patches for a few months and they are fantastic!! Thank you for sharing. Would love to try more of your patches.

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Cool, so far I have the Deluxe Reverb, the Vox, and the Pedal Platform. I'm hoping to have a new one out next weekend. Watch this channel for more.

[@user-et2fj8xm5l]

Finally!! A review of this amp that I can relate to. Much obliged..

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Thanks for watching J!

[@GJOToole]

Great video! It is great to see the Katana being used in a real world pro setting. Also enjoyed the grill customization - nice little touch. Awesome stuff! Subbed.

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Thanks Gary. I have a video on how to change the grill cloth if you're thinking of doing it too ... kzbin.info/www/bejne/qX2tfqCar8ifjJo

[@Dad-Gad]

Fantastic that you tried that out like that considering you're a pro player 👍

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Thanks 👍 it's a great amp

[@Mr.ColdNote]

This is great content. Just the info I need. There is a lot of snobbery in the guitar/amp community about amps like the katana, but I am convinced that the katana 100 mk 2 is a great gigging amp. It's relatively light, loud, and has all the tones you need for a gig without even using the tone studio. I only use the controls on the top of the amp for my tones and have had no complaints yet. Secret weapon of the boss Katana is the boost and gain. Everyone who has heard me play the clean channel with boost gain, reverb, delay and tremolo says it sounds "like butter". Crunch channel is great for slide with minimal reverb and delay and the lead channel works great for cutting through a mix. Trick is to keep it simple. Also, they're everywhere. You can find a katana anywhere and dial in the tones you need in seconds if just using amp controls. Plus it's cheap!! So if it gets banged up you're not going to be crying about how your expensive vintage got ruined.

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Totally agree. And that's cool to hear you use the boost as well. I have that boost in my settings as well. I think it really helps. But also, the sounds just straight out of the box are great. I'm not sure I would buy a tube amp anymore.

[@MatejKovacicIllustrator]

Thanks! Great to hear some real life experience!

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Thanks for watching :)

[@kane6529]

The way you say Katana is mind boggling 😂(Kah-Tan-ah)

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Really? Maybe it's my Canadian accent, I don't know 😊

[@davidsummerville351]

Thanks so much. Great info. Love my Katana 50.

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Thanks for the comment David!

[@iantaylor917]

Just finding your channel and really dig your content. Looking forward to going through the back catalogue!

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Thanks Ian! New lesson every Saturday

[@dakotahbrimmeier1038]

I have a Mark 1 212, and it’s a little more complicated with having to pick or choose what you want to use as far as settings and FX (for stacking), but does the job and sounds great. I really enjoyed the little EQ tweak when plugged into the computer where you can give it a Vintage, Modern, or Deep feel. Vintage is exactly what I needes

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Thanks! Yeah they are great amps. Would be curios to try the 2x12

[@familiarpurrson8744]

I'm just a 'bedroom' (living room, actually-it's become my studio) player, but I know what you mean about 'little' amps. I have my Artist up on a stand tilted back a tad so that the speaker is aimed at about belt-buckle level for me. The good side of that is that I don't wake up the neighbors trying to hear myself. The bad side is that I rarely get past the lowest attenuator setting because that thing hits me dead on. I don't know if it's the Artist's different cabinet from the 100 or I'm just delicate, but this amp is plenty loud for me up off the floor. This is opposed to my Peavey Delta Blues 115 30-watt, which can raise the roof if I'm not careful, stand or floor. It's kinda loud. :D Looking forward to trying your patches. I do use the Katana for its own effects, but I have a pedalboard set up for my Peavey that, weirdly enough, I thought at first, actually sounds better through the Katana on clean. And yes, I use an Orange Kongpressor on the board, so compression's not a problem. Also, thank you so much for the detailed explanations! It's one thing to download a patch and try it and quite another to hear the creator explaining what he intended his work to accomplish.

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Cool, thanks for posting!

[@MAX96MENDES]

That is great man! CONGRATULATIONS ! This goes to show that inexpensive equipment can also work very good on stage, if well tuned. Do you remember seeing those video's of a guy who took on a 100 day Tour using a cheap Harley-Benton guitar worth 100 dollars? It worked Very Good too ! I am subscribing to your cool channel - great content !. Thank you

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Cool I haven't seem that. We are lucky as guitar players to havecso much good inexpensive gear options

[@Crenom]

Whole new palette to play with thanks! You also really ought to look into the Airstep Kat along with the Katana librarian you get the tone studio through bluetooth wireless on the phone no laptop needed

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

I have been considering the Airstep. It looks great. And it's not expensive either.

[@lehmusic2675]

I have the Airstep it's a nice foot switch!

[@alexcinci74]

I love my lil kat 50w. Very loud!!

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Yeah, it's a good point. It really is impressively loud and plenty for most situations.

[@sirbaronvoncount4147]

New sub. No idea who you are but enjoyed the video. Your playing is great and the tones are amazing. Gotta get a Katana

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Thanks! More videos coming soon.

[@jusbe7]

very good video, helped me a lot ! thanks

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Glad it helped!

[@2bikemikesguitartopics145]

Blue, you just popped up in my recommendations. Nice to see Canadian content here. I see you're approaching the 1,000 mark also. You're about 50 ahead of me as it's taken me 5 years to get to this point. So I gave you one more to get you up to 967. Once you hit the 1,000 you can do some live streaming stuff has KZbin opens that door. Nice playing. This is the first time hearing of this stuff in Canada. I used to listen to country in the 90s when I thought it was really good but then it got two poppy for me and I let it go I went back to classic Rock from seventies in the 80s as I'm an old fart. Now I'm going to have to go back and research all the videos you put up to see what I like. All the best to you, Mike

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Thanks for watching and for the comment. I'll check out your channel. More coming here soon!

[@pocojoyo]

Great ! Is there a video online so we can listen to the result live ?

[@frankcrack777]

Awesome 🙂

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Thanks Frank!

[@estwrios3983]

can we hear some of your live stuff with the katana?

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Sorry there aren't any recordings of it. There were videographers but I don't have access to that audio and it would just be camera audio anyway, which wouldn't be good.

[@paulwatson9217]

I think it’s time that people accept that these little amp are good enough. As musicians we have all been conditioned into paying premium prices for decades, if it doesn’t cost a fortune it’s not good enough, and that’s me included! I’ve got many iconic amps but I’m finding them harder and harder to justify these days. I tend to use my Katana mk2 Artist now more than my blackface Deluxe Reverb or my Boogie Lone Star Special on the road. Do I love my tube amps like my Princeton oh yes I do, will I sell them no! Should I sell them? I know I won’t. Just got the Katana 50 mk2 and it’s great and a lot cheaper than some of my pedals. It’s hard to get your head round I know but I’m slowly coming round to it. Ok in retrospect years ago we had no choice cheap really wasn’t any good but today it’s a different story, just my thoughts on this subject for what it’s worth I totally agree with this video.

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Good point thanks for commenting. I think you are right, not long ago, inexpensive amps sounded cheap. But that's not the case any more 😀

[@paulwatson9217]

I think we are on the same page my friend, but converting others will take time if ever. I think where you got smart was putting the fender grill cloth on it because people don’t give it a second look. It’s sad that people listen with their eyes lol but it’s true. Can’t begin to tell you the stick I got off the lads in the band for using the artist but they’ve accepted it now :-)

[@Matthew_Scan]

Sounds great to me 👍 I have an Artist mk 2

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Cool, I want to get my hands on one of the Artist models soon.

[@TKDHB]

Hi! What's the name or type of stand that you used for your Katana in this video? It looks like a tilted mic stand but I'm curious. Great sound, great channel!

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Thank you. It's the Ultimate Support AMP-150 amp stand.

[@TKDHB]

@@GuitarLessonsVancouver Hey thanks!

[@maskiki0929]

What about your Noise Supressor settings?

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

I don't think I have any Noise Suppressor turned on, at least I didn't mean to. I'll have to check. I don't find it necessary for my guitars and pedals that I've been using with it.

[@James-kj9hw]

If the volume is an issue, you could probably just get a 100watt

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Agreed I find the 50 is enough for me.

[@hockeycanada18]

I have the 100 watt head running through a Orange cab. I play in a metal band and the 50 Watt setting is more than enough. It's super loud! I run the master all the way up and use the channel volume to control volume. It sounds mean af!

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

@@hockeycanada18 Cool, that's good to know that's loud enough :)

[@denmar355]

Are your delays and vibe/chorus/flange in front of the preamp, or in power amp in? What are your thoughts? Have you tried both?

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Hi Denis, sorry I don't remember where they are on the patch. Honestly I am not using those much. I have pedals for delay and phase ... I don't use chorus. So the delay and phase are both going straight into the front of the amp. Seems to work fine. That being said, I put those pedals after my overdrive pedal.

[@Jason-no6df]

Great video..gonna try this patch at my next jam. Is there a reason you left the solo “on” in the booster? Cheers.

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Good question... not sure to be honest. I'll have to look at that. I can't remember exactly what that setting does. I do find that the boost turned low makes it sound more alive, if you will, like a slight tube breakup that's barely there.

[@weasel6535]

Did/do you use foot pedals with your Katana, or just the GA_FC? I am confused if I want to buy foot pedals or get the GA-FC EX, leaning towards pedals.

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

I just use this patch and put regular guitar pedals in front.

[@weasel6535]

Ok, thanks. Really torn between using Katana with USB or dedicated pedals.

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

@@weasel6535 for me I already have so many pedals so that made sense for me. Also I find the amp sounds great with pedals.

[@lehmusic2675]

​@@weasel6535 I only had a few pedals before I got my Katana. After I got the Katana and foot switch I have no pedals now

[@gerrydeleon6711]

What model is that katana.. how come yours has a different color and no logo in front?

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Hi Gerry its a mk 2 50 watt. But it has been altered. Here's a video about it kzbin.info/www/bejne/qX2tfqCar8ifjJo

[@gerrydeleon6711]

@@GuitarLessonsVancouver lol.. man you put a lot of work in that!! I also checked your schedule you pretty busy. I was gonna do some on line lessons.. i live here in Greenville.south Carolina

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

@@gerrydeleon6711 Thanks Gerry! Yeah, I'm very busy these days, unfortunately teaching schedule is full and I have quite a waitlist so I can't take any more online students right now. I do have the Patreon group that has more lesson content, if that interests you www.patreon.com/guitarlessonsvancouver

[@JFK129]

Hi Blue , I hope this is not an inappropriate question but which amp do you think is better Fender Princeton Tone master or Boss Katana? Thanks

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

I haven't tried the Princeton Tone Master sorry. The katana will give you more options for tones.

[@makingmusiconline2309]

Trying to decide between a Katana, a Line 6 Catalyst and a Blackstar and it's getting to be a really difficult choice. But I love the sound you're getting from your Katana, so that adds another point that way. Any opinions (from anyone) on which way I should go? Fender Thinline Tele and a Tex-Mex Strat player playing country, blues, folk/celtic, and ambient ...

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

I haven't tried those others so I can't compare. But I live the Katana. No regrets especially for the price.

[@makingmusiconline2309]

@@GuitarLessonsVancouver That's got to be the best sort of recommendation ... so good, I have never needed to check out the competition, because the katana is *so good* :) Thanks for the reply and for your channel here.

[@markclearwater6592]

My mk11 has wah on red effects fx. Where is compressor in the panel?

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Do you mean where did I assign a compressor on my patches? This "Pedal Platform" patch doesn't have a compressor because I use a compressor pedal. However, my Deluxe Reverb patch has a compressor on FX green.

[@joachimlindback]

Boo Ya Boss

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Yeah, great amp :)

[@carlosprex]

Brand/model of that amp stand @12:40 please

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

It's the Ultimate Support AMP 150 amp stand. Purchased in Canada.

[@carlosprex]

@@GuitarLessonsVancouver Thanks! So then, It´s sturdy enough for Boss Katana MK2 50/100? i mean, it doesn't slip/slide to sides or front?

[@2000SkyView]

Covert Katana on tour 👍

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Thanks for watching :)

[@fancykarlmarx]

Why did you “stealth” the amp? Just wanting it to look cool is a totally acceptable answer btw.

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Normally at these types of gigs people have pretty expensive gear. I like that nobody can tell what it is. Also, I don't like the cosmetic design of the original.

[@fancykarlmarx]

@@GuitarLessonsVancouver if it were me, part of the fun would be them talking shit about my gear and then the silence after we’re done and my tone was way better. In the end though we know it’s 99% in the hands.

[@theleftymonster]

If Justin Trudeau and Norm MacDonald had a baby, it would have look like you! 😅. Nice video thanks for sharing.

[@r0bophonic]

Do you know what’s even lighter than a Katana? A Line 6 Helix Stomp :) Actually I bet with a Boss GX100 you could even reuse your Katana patches

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

Agreed I also have a UA Dream 65 which sounds great.

[@rmcf3972]

Why your boss katana mk2 is different in color, grey? I only see the black one.

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

I changed the grill cloth on the Katana to make it look different. So it's a "stealth" Katana... no one can tell what it is on stage. This video explains how: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qX2tfqCar8ifjJo

[@rmcf3972]

@@GuitarLessonsVancouver great, thanks!

[@jonatanfelipe1830]

​@@GuitarLessonsVancouver Maybe that is one of the reasons no one did question what you were doing with a "little toy" (I don't think it is).

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

@@jonatanfelipe1830 I agree, the grill cloth hides the fact that it's a $300 amp, so people can judge it by it's sound :)

[@accentontheoff]

They should sell the thing with a cheap laptop. Seriously.

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

I think there's a phone app you can use to connect to the Katana. I haven't tried it.

[@accentontheoff]

Will look it up thanks. It would probably need a Bluetooth adapter of some sort I presume.@@GuitarLessonsVancouver

[@doctorskull8197]

Vox Cambridge 50 is better and lighter.

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

I don't know that amp. I'll look it up, thanks!

[@SteveRockstein2]

Couple of thoughts - (1) The whole idea of the Katana was so you didn't need pedals. Seems like an odd choice for a pedal platform. (2) I know it is popular, lots of people rave about it, but to my ears... no thanks. Convenient? Yes. Soulful? No.

[@GuitarLessonsVancouver]

For me the Katana wasn't to replace my pedals, but to have a very lightweight but great sounding amp. I hardly ever use the effects on it, other than the spring reverb.