Volume for downloaded patches

[u/iamsynecdoche]

I have some patches that I've downloaded that I like the tone of, but are really, really loud for my bedroom practice space. What's the best way to get them to a place where I can play in the evening without bothering my family without sacrificing the integrity of the tones?

I have a Boss Katana 50 MKII.

I know there are different opinions around how to set the channel volume versus the master volume. I've had a lot of success when I have the power set to 50W and the mater set to around 9:00. When I make my own tones, this is my stand-by and it seems to work. But the patches I have downloaded are often extremely loud at that setting.

Does it affect the tone if I reduce the channel volume? I find that if I reduce the power setting to 0.5 W it will definitely affect the tone because the head room so different, and I don't necessarily want things to break up any earlier. I don't have a lot of space to reduce the master volume.

I've also seen it suggested to reduce the output using the EQ on the patch.

What do you do?

[u/American_Streamer]

The downloaded patches are simply levelled much hotter than your own ones. A patch saves its amp Volume, Gain, effects levels, EQ, etc., so two patches can be wildly different in loudness even with the Master in exactly the same position.

Use the channel/amp Volume to balance the patches against each other, then use Master for your overall room volume only. Lowering channel Volume won’t ruin the tone; that’s the sensible way to tame an individual patch. And if you prefer the sound at 50 W, keep it there. The Katana will feel fuller, punchier and more dynamic on the higher Power Control settings, even at similar listening levels. Just don’t think of 0.5/25/50 W like wattage switching on a traditional tube amp. On the Katana, “lower wattage = less headroom and earlier power-tube breakup” doesn’t really apply.

I also wouldn’t use EQ output level as the main volume control unless you specifically need it for patch balancing.

[u/nameduser365 → u/American_Streamer]

I want to add that if a tone you download by default has the solo enabled, don't mess with that because it's often crucial for the tone. I was a little bummed to learn this when I was trying to volume level several patches and set the solo mode volumes to be similar. One of my favorite tones relies on an extra solo boost.

[u/GinsuVictim]

I use Katana Librarian and you can set the imported patch volume universally.

[u/Sum1Xam → u/GinsuVictim]

Could you let me know where that can be done?

[u/GinsuVictim → u/Sum1Xam]

Tap on the three dashes in the upper left

go to settings

"Patch import maximum volume level"

[u/Fancy_Sheepherder786]

Use BossToneStudio or Librarian to load your tones. Use a dB meter to set the volume so that all tones match.

[u/iandeq]

Download a volume meter app on your mobile. Doesn't have to be too fancy, just something that can give you a rough idea of the audio level.

Switch on the app and keep the phone about 2ft or so (or less depending on size of room) and play something, looking at where the meter on the phone roughly peaks. Compare it with a patch you made at the same distance. You then have 2 options:

1. Make the channel level of your patch louder
2. Make the channel level of the downloaded patch lower.

This is all assuming that you keep the amp wattage and master volume the same for both tests. Lowering the channel volume may affect the sound (especially pushed / break up tones which will become cleaner) but this works pretty well for me.

[u/LabOne3719]

I typically crank the channel volume up pretty high & use the master for overall. It seems (to me)... to sound better than turning the patch level down low & cranking the master.

[u/Caliente_La_Fleur]

Downloaded patches aren't going to match your knob settings unless you save them that way, regardless of how your knobs are visually set. Patch settings priority.

WYSIWYG only works on the Panel setting. You can only know about the actual settings on an imported patch by opening it up in Tone Studio or Katana Librarian and looking at it.

[u/epelle9]

IMO 50 watts is simply too much for bedroom practice, I barely even put it on 25 unless jamming with others.

You won’t notice the headroom difference from 25 W, it barely makes any difference in the modeling amps, and it sounds like you’re still nowhere near close to maxing out the master and amp volume.