Telecaster Boss Katana - Trebles too brittle, newby questions

[jpbrooks]

I am new to electric guitar. I've been playing acoustic for about five years. After a month of research, I got a great deal on a 2010 American Standard Telecaster. The I got an even better deal on a Boss Katana 50.

I am having a lot of fun, but I am also a little overwhelmed. I seem to spend just as much time adjusting the amp as I do playing. Is that normal?

My second issue is that when I play the high E and B strings especially up the neck, they are very high pitched and ear piercing. I have played with the tone control on the guitar as well as the treble and base knobs on the amp.

After a few years playing acoustic, I learned that Taylors were just not for me. I found that Martins and Gibson just seemed to have a more mellow tone that I prefer. In fact, I don't even like rosewood Martins due to too much sparkle.

So, My question is: Before I continue to try to adjust knobs all the time, is this just a situation where a telecaster and the Katana will have more harsh trebles?

Is there another amp (blues Jr. or Vox) that would give me more fat trebles?

Should I just move on to a Gibson Electric which I have read has a more mellow tone?

[Jaden]

I would move to a Fender Blues Junior for more manageable trebles, which although bright, can always be dialed back (reduced via guitar tone control), and are never brittle. Brittle I associate with “dry” which isn’t a characteristic I hear with the tube amps I’m acquainted with. Tube amps can be very bright (a good base to work from) but never coarse in texture to the ear that I’ve encountered - although I have noticed this with the solid state power output stage.

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by jpbrooks

I am new to electric guitar. I've been playing acoustic for about five years. After a month of research, I got a great deal on a 2010 American Standard Telecaster. The I got an even better deal on a Boss Katana 50.

I am having a lot of fun, but I am also a little overwhelmed. I seem to spend just as much time adjusting the amp as I do playing. Is that normal?

My second issue is that when I play the high E and B strings especially up the neck, they are very high pitched and ear piercing. I have played with the tone control on the guitar as well as the treble and base knobs on the amp.

After a few years playing acoustic, I learned that Taylors were just not for me. I found that Martins and Gibson just seemed to have a more mellow tone that I prefer. In fact, I don't even like rosewood Martins due to too much sparkle.

So, My question is: Before I continue to try to adjust knobs all the time, is this just a situation where a telecaster and the Katana will have more harsh trebles?

Is there another amp (blues Jr. or Vox) that would give me more fat trebles?

Should I just move on to a Gibson Electric which I have read has a more mellow tone?

Hi JP,

Part of what your hearing is the nature of a Tele, very bright at the bridge especially, but that's also where the grit and twang are too.

As far as the E and B being harsh and ear piercing - the pickup(s) may be a bit too high on the treble side and that can be adjusted.

As far as spending and inordinate amount of time adjusting the amp - part of that is being a newbie to electric and part of it is the nature of multi-channel modeling amps. They can be adjustable to the point of being distracting. Just the way it is.

I nearly bought a Katana because of its weight and highly adjustable volume, but found it a bit too sterile for me. Lots of guys love 'em though, and in fairness, i have been using tube amps for close to 3 decades now and I'm used to their tone.

As for different amps that will give a warmer, fatter tone - yeah, they are abundant. Based on your tone preference, I would guide you more towards Fender, not Vox. Tons of other great stuff out there too.

1) You can try lowering the pickup(s) on the treble side.
2) Cut the trebles on the amp setting a bit and add some bass.
3) Try using more gain and less volume (this gives you more of an "on the verge of overdrive" tone that is warmer, fatter and less sterile)
4) Try a dirtier amp setting. Numbers 2 & 3 still might apply.
5) A bit of delay and or reverb can make a guitar or amp sound less bright

Bottom line - don't give up on this combination yet.

If nothing else, it will be like giving yourself a tutorial on tone shaping that will benefit you later - regardless of guitar or amp.

Don't be impatient. Even if you are an advanced acoustic player (I'm not) - the world of electrics is MUCH different and can be daunting at first. Relax, experiment - you'll sort it out.

[robj144]

Did you try using the app to adjust the global EQ?

[Aspiring]

I have a katana 100 head and a couple of electrics.

There are a lot of tricks to pick up with it. One for a warmer tone is to try with your eq knobs at zero and adjust upwards for the parts that you want. Results in a warmer tone for sure instead of starting with all at 12.

You can also use the parametric eq to notch out around 4khz with a high q.

Another one is to include a light touch of delay and / or chorus in addition to reverb to get it to sound deeper / richer.

The katanas can be awesome. The upside is they are incredibly adjustable. The downside is it is easy to not make the right adjustments. Good news is that it doesn't hurt anything to experiment with settings.

If you haven't already explore the katana Facebook group and other online sites to try other people's patches.

Ron

[Goodallboy]

I own several electric guitars. The Tele has the most sharp, brittle tones on the bridge pickup and B and E strings of any guitar I own. It's a Tele, that's what it is known for. I roll off as much treble as I can and darken the amp as much as I can and roll on.

[harpspitfire]

from my understanding the tele is noted for it's twang, i was interested in the katana 50 seeing reviews on you tube, i later tried a used one at GC and found out it wasnt for me

[robj144]

Originally Posted by harpspitfire

from my understanding the tele is noted for it's twang, i was interested in the katana 50 seeing reviews on you tube, i later tried a used one at GC and found out it wasnt for me

As noted in a previous post, the Katana is not something you can try at a store to determine if it's for you. You really need to fool around with it a lot which includes plugging it into a computer and tweaking it with the app. With tweaking, it can sound good for just about everyone.

[Bob Womack]

The Tele will rip your head off easily with treble. I grew up with humbucker guitars (Gibsons) so I am used to a rounder sound. With the Tele I have learned to always roll the guitar's tone control back. There's a great spot back in there. Between that and rolling off the volume at times, there is where the magic is with a Tele. I can easily get a great Tele sound with my amp and pedals set for a Gibson by doing that roll-off and adding a little gain. I've reviewed my Tele HERE and I covered some of that. I use the Tele in recording sessions often.



Bob

[aknow]

Originally Posted by jpbrooks

I am new to electric guitar. I've been playing acoustic for about five years. After a month of research, I got a great deal on a 2010 American Standard Telecaster. The I got an even better deal on a Boss Katana 50.

I am having a lot of fun, but I am also a little overwhelmed. I seem to spend just as much time adjusting the amp as I do playing. Is that normal?

My second issue is that when I play the high E and B strings especially up the neck, they are very high pitched and ear piercing. I have played with the tone control on the guitar as well as the treble and base knobs on the amp.

After a few years playing acoustic, I learned that Taylors were just not for me. I found that Martins and Gibson just seemed to have a more mellow tone that I prefer. In fact, I don't even like rosewood Martins due to too much sparkle.

So, My question is: Before I continue to try to adjust knobs all the time, is this just a situation where a telecaster and the Katana will have more harsh trebles?

Is there another amp (blues Jr. or Vox) that would give me more fat trebles?

Should I just move on to a Gibson Electric which I have read has a more mellow tone?

That's why I got rid of the Katana. I think Katana means "twiddling" in Chinese. You'll discover that every guitar has it's own sound, and it may take a lot of experimenting to find exactly what you're looking for. Good luck.

[M Sarad]

Tubes.

Warm and wonderful.

Round and chewy.

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by roylor4

As far as spending and inordinate amount of time adjusting the amp - part of that is being a newbie to electric and part of it is the nature of multi-channel modeling amps. They can be adjustable to the point of being distracting. Just the way it is.

Oh, yes. You can consider regular guitar amps to be the RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) of the amp world. There are a small handful of knobs and thus a small handful of options. The only exceptions seem to be Mesa amps, which baffle most three-knob guys. But modelers like the Katana open up tremendous options and thus can lead to "analysis paralysis." You just have to STOP tweaking your modeler. It is a volitional thing. I wrote up a little discussion of this phenomenon HERE.

Bob

[mr. beaumont]

There's a hundred things you could try. I can tell you this, I guarantee you I could get a good sound with that combination.

What model are you using on the amp?

I'm a tele player for 20-odd years, with a modeling amp my go to "not piercing" tele tone is to take a model meant to be a "crunch" like channel (The Vox-ish channel on the old Roland Cubes was perfect for this, not sure what the Katana has) run the gain low and adjust the volume up to taste.

Midrange is also your friend.

Try this...

On a three knob EQ amp, set all three to zero. Play your low E and turn up the bass knob just until you hear a noticeable difference. Mark that spot, return the bass knob to zero.

Use your D string for the mids knob. Same process. Return to zero when done. Use your high E for the treble knob.

Those spots where the difference is first heard is truly "flat" for that amp/guitar combo. Try finding "true flat" and adjust from there.

[BallisticSquid]

Have you tried playing using the neck pickup rather than the bridge? The bridge is known for being quite trebly. The neck pickup will have a much more mellow sound. The middle position which used both neck and bridge gives an interesting sound also.

It takes some time to learn how to dial in any amp, not just an amp like the Katana.

Personally, I find the bridge pickup to respond best when used with some overdrive or gain. The neck pickup will give you the best clean sound if that is what you are after. Being a thicker tone, it doesn't respond to gain and overdrive as well since it can get muddy. Of course those aren't hard and fast rules, but they may help you get started.

[jpbrooks]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I am not interested in using the app or a computer. I am already sick of adjusting things and don't want to get into more of it.

I am planning to try some of the tips you guys have suggested and keep experimenting. Meanwhile, I will also be checking reverb and such for a great deal on a blues junior.