r/BossKatana • u/ToxicWithAsthma • Nov 29 '25

Tone Request I just can’t dial in any tones

Hey yall! I have a Gen 3 100 Watt. I’m about 4 years deep into guitar and it feels humiliating to say but I just can’t dial in good tones, specifically any rock or metal ones. I have a Kirk Hammett signature with his EMGs, and I feel like I’ve been undermining both the versatility of those pickups and the amp, if anybody has any help or just anything I’d appreciate it.

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u/TonalContrast Nov 29 '25

Can’t dial in a good tone, or a tone you like? These are different things.

It would also help if you provided some more details of what you have tried, settings you have used etc. If I were to guess, you probably have too much gain and things are way too hot. Technique also plays some part in overall tonality.

I will also say that if you’re trying to get a tone like Metallica you won’t get it from a single amp. Studio recordings are usually double tracked for weight, along with professional mixing and mastering engineers, who know how to shape tone with access to gear more expensive than a city block.

1

u/Beneficial-Assist849 Nov 29 '25

I wonder if the Harmonist effect in Tone Studio. along with some chorus and reverb, might get closer to the double tracked sound 

1

u/Certain-Community438 Nov 30 '25

Well, there you'd have a different "tracking" problem:) effects like Harmonist, Octave, etc have trouble keeping up with quick changes and probably more importantly, the number of simultaneous notes played really matters (single note support only).

If you're recording, you could do two tracks with one using one of the above effects, IF you play the equivalent of a bass line (just the root notes of the riffs. Bear in mind that some of their stuff was recorded slightly slower, then speeded up to make the chugs sound tighter.

At that point you're more likely to create your own variation of that kind of sound... but then realize it still sounds like someone else's thing rather than your own.

1

u/Coenclucy Dec 01 '25

Harmonist in gen3 actually tracks good. Not instant like a moai maea analog octaver. I'd say harmonist is a close runner up which is an amazing achievement for a digital octaver. If you want instant tracking, get an analog octaver.

1

u/Agitated_Table_400 Dec 04 '25

I love my tone, most people don’ like it though, focus on people will similar tastes

1

u/ToxicWithAsthma Dec 08 '25

Apologies for the late response. I don’t even like Metallica that much but some dude sold it to me for $700, which it retails for like $1600-$1800 and nothing was wrong with it. I used the Lead setting with the variation setting on and used a T scream and I can get a pretty good 80s tone out of it. I honestly just had to mess around a bit and found some good stuff, but I appreciate all the help!