Boss Katana 100 as a powered (almost) FRFR

  • OK so after a little bit of reading, tweaking, experimenting etc... I was sold on the Boss Katana amp. I read here of a guy that was able to use the acoustic mode of the amp and tweak the EQ to make it close to a FRFR powered speaker so I decided I was on the hunt and trackd a 2nd hand Katana 100 for a few bucks.


    ALL OF THIS IS AIMED TO USE THE PROFILES WITH CAB SECTION OF THE KEMPER-->BOSS KATANA INPUT -->ACOUSTIC MODE/CHANNEL
    (going into return of the amp is easy and great sounding, but you miss the cabs of your profiles)


    Mind the the amp itself is great, and I mean really great with amazing clean-crunch-lead-BROWN!! modes+ built in boss effects, so it is a solid backup.


    I started tweaqing the eq section in acoustic mode and did not seem to achieve anything close to what I wanted ( had a yamaha studio monitor to compare), then I read again about this guy and noticed he had been tweaking a parametriq eq of the amp, which is one of the many virtual stomps you can program in the Katana chain, so I started tweaking, I got close enough with that, the image attached is to show the settings of katana'sparametric eq.


    But still there was something quite not right, some high mids that I could not dial out, then playing with the cab section of the Kemper I found the sweet spot I was looking for: Character to be dialed out to -5 (far left).


    I perfectly know that a FRFR powered speaker would be the proper and accurate way to go, but if you have one of those amazing Katana as a backup try this trick and tell me what do you think of it


  • Hi @stonedzep ,


    I have the Boss Katana 100W 1x12 Combo, which I use as a backup/practice amp. I agree, the Katana is fantastic, and punches well above it's weight class. Incredible "bang-for-the-buck".


    Quick question about the PEQ effect in the Boss Tone Studio app.,,.


    Going by your attached pic/image, it doesn't appear that the PEQ stomp features either a Low Cut (High Pass) or a High Cut (Low Pass) filter. Am I missing something? A High Cut filter would be extremely advantageous, if the user was experiencing any high frequency harshness. I thought it was the exact same effect as in the Boss GT-100, which, according to the GT-100 manual, includes a Low Cut and a High Cut filter.


    Cheers,
    John

  • Follow up on using katana 100 as active speaker:


    Yesterday I carried my Katana100 at reharsal and HOLY S#*T!!!
    I used the preset I made on acoustic mode+parametricEQ, turned cab character all the way to -5 and used full profiles including CAB section.


    Great sounds, wide ranges and the cabs make all the difference in the world.
    Loudness was amazing, 100w mode was too much I switched to 50w mode, master at 11o'clock, volume&gain at noon, kemper master volume @6,5.(we play hard&heavy covers with loud drumming)


    Amazing with Kemper full profiles, amazing on its own but will have to try more OK Katana alone( target of the experiment was to male Katana100 as close as I can to a Frfr)

  • I looked around at the music store over the weekend at the QSC K8.2. After seeing the weight and feel of the QSC; I am thinking I might go Katan (for much cheaper) after all. Have you ran the kemper into the effects loop return to bypass everything but the power amp?

  • I looked around at the music store over the weekend at the QSC K8.2. After seeing the weight and feel of the QSC; I am thinking I might go Katan (for much cheaper) after all. Have you ran the kemper into the effects loop return to bypass everything but the power amp?

    Care to give a small review on the QSC K8.2? How did you like them - did you test them with the Kemper?

  • I didn't try it out. My gear was at the venue. The size was visually appealing but it felt almost as heavy as my Alesis. Close enough that I mentally crossed it off my list. Whether it was the right choice or not.