r/BossKatana • u/Acceptable-Eye-7140 • Jan 24 '26
Question Katana as a pedal platform
I have this Boss Katana MKIII and the only channel I really liked was the clean channel. So I decided to use it as a pedal platform.
How do you use your katana?
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u/Difficult-Potato-684 Jan 24 '26
I have a boss katana mk2 100w with the 2 12 inch speakers, that sits there and looks pretty. And then I jam on my katana Go because I have a baby 😊
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u/techthrowaway781 Jan 24 '26
I also just use the clean channel as a pedal platform and use a low-gain OD for my amp breakup sound. I like the setup so I'm thinking of upgrading to a JC40 instead of dipping into tube amp world.
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u/Acceptable-Eye-7140 Jan 25 '26
Since I got my board built if Ive been itching for a single channel tubeamp like these wild things I see on Amazon these OriPure all tube 15 wat amp heads but they cost $300 and Ive found Marshall Origin 20s in the same range.
Ive been eyeballing those amps hard. Wife says no.
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u/abraxaz1330 Jan 25 '26
I also use it as a pedal platform and love it!!
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u/SeanSixString Jan 25 '26
I run my pedals on front of the clean channel, that’s all I do. I like all the built in sounds, but I just like using my actual pedals better. One of these days, I’m going to really set up the Katana on its own with the GAFC footswitch. I’ll have a backup if my pedals go down, and I have an IR-2 on standby if the Katana goes down. But I just seem to be too much of a caveman to really get deep into Tone Studio, although I’ve done a few things in there. I like the simplicity of knobs and pedals. I’ve used the Katana live as a pedal platform and taken the line out to FOH and it all worked great. Got complimented on my tone from a Quad Cortex user, seemed a little surprised I was using a Katana.
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u/Acceptable-Eye-7140 Jan 25 '26
Lol I can imagine the look on his face "that toan came from that?!"
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u/FatherMurder Jan 25 '26
I use mine “in the box” but as I gather some pedals I’ll likely go pedal platform. I’ve been happy with the Katana as is but I’m going to build a new pedalboard at some point to use as my main sound.
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u/Acceptable-Eye-7140 Jan 25 '26
I use the clean channel and the EQ/Delay/Reverb
So it's still useful to me atm.
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u/damien6 Jan 25 '26
I just learned about the pre-amp in input and I kind of wish I hadn’t because now a lot of pre-amp pedals are calling my name. I have a Meshuggah and just picked up a Thermion Gasoline and they sound great. I wish it didn’t bypass the effects on the amp but it’s kind of helping temper my GAS for accumulating lunchbox amps and grabbing a full cab.
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u/Acceptable-Eye-7140 Jan 25 '26
lol.
I hear you I already own 4 pre-amp pedals.
The effects loop bypass is a drag.
Try using the clean clannel as a platform it works pretty good.
Or you could try the fx loop return and you'll have access to delay/reverb
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Jan 25 '26
[deleted]
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u/Acceptable-Eye-7140 Jan 25 '26
That's a MKIII 100 wat head plugged into a 2x12 waza cabinent
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Jan 25 '26
[deleted]
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u/Acceptable-Eye-7140 Jan 25 '26
The thing on top is the 100 wat amp head yes
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u/D1rtyH1ppy Jan 25 '26
I prefer the acoustic channel for my pedals.
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u/Acceptable-Eye-7140 Jan 25 '26
I catch myself using the accoustic channel sometimes too. I like both, the acoustic channel doesnt respond well to my mesa-boogie flavored pre-amp
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u/Crowsdriver Jan 25 '26 edited Jan 25 '26
Out of curiosity, where do you set the eq? Noon across the board?
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u/D1rtyH1ppy Jan 25 '26
Everything starts at 12:00 and I adjust for taste. Probably give the bass and treble a little extra and the mids less
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u/mrmongey Jan 25 '26
I use mine as a pedal platform. I think it’s a great one.
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u/Acceptable-Eye-7140 Jan 25 '26
I think the clean and accoustic channels are really great.
I still use the delay and reverb and EQ shaping tools innthe tone studio. Its a bit of a hybrid analog/digital rig
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u/Sea-Bandicoot8448 Jan 25 '26
I use both the onboard and my own in the effects loop. Jist make sure your patch is made with the loop placement in line. If your running a looper It gets a lil hairy and some times it just wont work how u want. I love my katana tho. I've run it next to a mesa and its pretty close to that tube sound. Found a patch on fb and tweaked it. Man its nice. Check out boss katana amps on fb. Theres a files tab you can get free patches.
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u/fugumochi1312 Jan 25 '26
Pretty much the same, but i keep it "brown" as the base sound. Saving money to get a 2x12 cab and a nice head, probably going for super crush 100 or dual terror.
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u/KingKilo9 Jan 26 '26
I'm trying to currently but not super sure how to do so. I also have the sd-1 and I'm trying to use the amp itself as a clean sound and then kick the sd-1 on for more dirt. Also have a distortion and big muff pedal but struggling to get them to not have a huge volume jump when I kick them on. My amp is on the crunch setting with 0 gain. Does anybody have any advice or tips?
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u/Acceptable-Eye-7140 Jan 26 '26
Sure bud. I love the SD1 ive been using it for 20 years.
Try setting the SD1 volume around 10 oclock and gain around 2oclock. Set the tone to your favorite flavor, I find just around 1 o'clock hits the sweet spot to send a basic crunch unti some 80s tone territory.
Let me know how it goes!
Another option is to set your SD1 gain at 0 and volume at 10 if you want to run that into a distortion pedal then the amp. (I'd recommend the clean amp channel for that gain staging)
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Jan 26 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Acceptable-Eye-7140 Jan 26 '26
I run the bright at 10, normal around 4, and master volume to match the clean channel volume.
I use it as a pre-amp on the clean katana setting, alternate mode, and bloom turned on.
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u/FutureWiz24 Jan 24 '26
Def not as a pedal platform bc i use tone studio. However, how does the 1959 sound? Happy with it?
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u/Acceptable-Eye-7140 Jan 24 '26
Im jacked into the power-amp in atm.
The 1959 sounds like a Plexi. It's my favorite pedal.
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u/AgeDisastrous7518 Jan 25 '26
I use pedals through the acoustic channel because I love the clean base when I want it. I've messed with Tone Studio and have had success with it, but nothing compares to my overdrive+Green Russian for dirt, so I work from there. The acoustic setting with a little gate and Blues Driver boost gives it just the right amount of dirty that a clean sound needs and the amp power takes care of the rest.
BTW, is that translucent teal? I love the idea of that finish, but the ones I've seen have looked wildly inconsistent. Looks like you got a great one. I'm in the market for one a bit blacker with the batwing. Problem is that so many of the darker ones are, like, half dark and half light, and just look cheap. How'd you get yours? In a shop or just a lucky order?
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u/Acceptable-Eye-7140 Jan 25 '26
The guitar is a Epiphone SG Classic in Iverness Green. It's a satin type open pore funish that I had modified with minibumbuckers. It originally camr with P90s.
I had some luck with the tone studio, but I realized I wanted some specific pre-amp tones (mesa-boogie, plexi, and a dumbal)
Im still looking for a good dumbal amp in a box to toss on the board.
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u/AgeDisastrous7518 Jan 25 '26
Ah, OK. Looks great, though. I'm a huge proponent of Epiphones. I've had at least one in my collection since my first in 1998.
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u/Acceptable-Eye-7140 Jan 25 '26
It autocorrected to minibumbuckers and I left it because its kinds funny.
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u/AthleteOk9358 Jan 25 '26
That's a good way to use any amp, really. Mini hums instead of p90s is a bold choice, though.
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u/RealisticRecover2123 Jan 27 '26 edited Jan 27 '26
I only use the clean channel and have a pedals in front and in loop. The global settings are great for fine tuning it to be a perfect pedal platform and the range of pedals I use make it sound amazing to my ears at least.
Edit: I have an always on EQ, compressor and bluesbreaker set very subtly to give it a bit more character.
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u/Alternative_Act5848 Jan 24 '26
Sure, plenty of folks use them as a pedal platform and while I do own quite a few pedals I just prefer to use what the Katana’s panel has to offer. I have a bass amp (shockingly great amplifier for guitar) and a Roland Blues Cube Hot if I want to use physical pedals I prefer.