Boss Katana 50 MkII Settings Guide
The most popular practice and gigging amp in the UK. Five amp characters, 60+ effects. Misunderstood knob layout confuses beginners.
The best Boss Katana 50 MkII settings start with: Character at 3/10, Gain at 5/10, Bass at 5/10, Mid at 6/10, Treble at 5/10, Volume at 3/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For Blues: Character 2/10, Gain 4/10, Bass 5/10, Mid 7/10, Treble 5/10, Volume 3/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Character | 3/10 | Clean → Brown |
| Gain | 5/10 | None → Full |
| Bass | 5/10 | Thin → Thick |
| Mid | 6/10 | Scooped → Forward |
| Treble | 5/10 | Dark → Bright |
| Volume | 3/10 | Silent → Loud |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
Crunch character, mid-pushed for blues cut-through. Keep gain under 5.
Crunch channel, moderate gain. Don't scoop the mids.
Brown character, high gain. Scoop mids, boost bass. Add noise gate in effects.
Clean character, low gain. Higher volume opens up the headroom.
Artist Settings
Documented settings used by professional guitarists on this unit.
Crunch channel, mid-heavy. The SRV approach is all about thick mids and push the front end with a TS.
Crunch into light OD territory. Keep mids up — Slash's tone is mid-forward despite the heavy gain.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- Use the Power Control on the back panel to reduce wattage — the amp sounds better at medium wattage than full power at low volume.
- The Tone Studio app gives access to 60+ built-in effects. Connect via USB to set up effects chains invisible on the front panel.
- For home use: Character 1-3 (Clean or Crunch), Gain under 5. The lead channels fizz at low volumes.
- The global EQ on the back panel cuts before the speaker — useful for matching the room.
FAQ
Boss Katana 50 MkII — Common Questions
Best starting settings for Boss Katana 50 MkII: Character at 3/10, Gain at 5/10, Bass at 5/10, Mid at 6/10, Treble at 5/10, Volume at 3/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For Blues: Character 2/10, Gain 4/10, Bass 5/10, Mid 7/10, Treble 5/10, Volume 3/10. Crunch character, mid-pushed for blues cut-through. Keep gain under 5.
For Classic Rock: Character 2/10, Gain 6/10, Bass 5/10, Mid 6/10, Treble 6/10, Volume 3/10. Crunch channel, moderate gain. Don't scoop the mids.
Character: Selects amp voicing: Clean, Crunch, Lead, Brown, Acoustic. Brown is the high-gain channel. (Clean to Brown). Gain: Amount of distortion on Crunch, Lead, and Brown channels. Has no effect on Clean channel below level 5. (None to Full). Bass: Low-frequency content. Cut to 3 for bedroom; push to 7 for live use. (Thin to Thick). Mid: Mid-range presence. Higher values = more cut-through in band mix. (Scooped to Forward). Treble: High-frequency sparkle. Low values with high gain prevent fizz. (Dark to Bright). Volume: Master output. Use Power Control (back panel) to reduce wattage before this. (Silent to Loud)
Use the Power Control on the back panel to reduce wattage — the amp sounds better at medium wattage than full power at low volume. The Tone Studio app gives access to 60+ built-in effects. Connect via USB to set up effects chains invisible on the front panel. For home use: Character 1-3 (Clean or Crunch), Gain under 5. The lead channels fizz at low volumes. The global EQ on the back panel cuts before the speaker — useful for matching the room.
Stevie Ray Vaughan settings: Character 2/10, Gain 5/10, Bass 6/10, Mid 7/10, Treble 5/10. Crunch channel, mid-heavy. The SRV approach is all about thick mids and push the front end with a TS.