I bought myself a Katana Boss 50 Gen 3 for christmas and just decided to try using the Tone Studio software but ran into an issue.
I believe the Tone Studio program and driver are properly installed on my computer because I can open the program (image of the amplifier and controls) and when I connect the amp I get a message āYou are using an older version of Katana Gen 3 Upgrade to the latest versionā.
If I click the OK button, the message window just closes. When I click the āDownload pageā button (the only 2 choices on the message window), I get a BOSS page with instructions and the download for (what I assume is) the latest version.
I followed the instructions to set the USB driver on the amp and powering it up holding the TAP button, but when I connect the amp to the computer I donāt get a Katana3 drive appearing as the instructions say.
Is there a step I am missing, orā¦?
Hi Tony I am just here to welcome you to the community because I am old school peavey amp my friend but somebody will soon come along and help you so welcome and enjoy Cheers Hec
Welcome @TonyD to the community.
The Firmware update is the way to go. What computer are you using?
Have you turned the Master volume all the way down? After holding down the TAP button when turning on the amp, do the effects buttons flash as described in the instructions?
Cheers,
Keith
Hi Majik. Yes, I turned the Master down and the lights flashed.
Iām using an older laptop with WIN 10.
Iāve had problems in the past with Windows 10 not seeing external drives, and this might be the same problem.
Do you see external USB flash drives when you plug them in?
Have you tried rebooting the computer?
It may also be worth opening Disk Management and checking if the drive appears there.
Iām not an expert on Windows 10 as I only use it occasionally.
Cheers,
Keith
Yes, I use external drives occasionally. By ādisk managementā, do you mean āfile explorerā?
Iāll try rebootingā¦
Right Click the Windows Icon bottom left and you should see this with Disk Management listed as below.
Device Management should then display what is connected.
I seeā¦ If the Katana shows up, do I drag the files into that location per the instructions?
Iāll have to pass on that as not a Katana user. Mustang III and POD Go here at MMS.
no on this part. I donāt have a katana, so Keith can maybe show what to expect, but the device manager is letting you know the OS sees the drive, once you know that, Keith can help troubleshoot more, I expect.
As I said:
Iām also, currently, away from home and not near the laptop I can boot into Windows.
My understanding is, if it shows up in Disk Management, it should be possible to assign a drive letter to it by right-clicking on the devices. It should then show up in File Manager.
It should behave exactly the same as a USB flash drive, so whatever applies to those should apply to this.
Cheers,
Keith
Thanks for all the replies; Iāll continue working on it and report back.
OK, got to spend some time on this yesterday. Hereās the series of steps I took:
Plug amp in, connect it to the laptop, switch on standby and master knob at minimum, turn amp on.
Open BOSS Tone Studio
Message: Choose a device to connect with - KATANA3 - OK
Message: You are using an older version of Katana Gen 3, upgrade to the latest version - OK
I read somewhere that the USB driver on the amp needs to be set to KATANA3/Vendor; that statement is not in the KATANA 3 System Program (VER107) update instructions, but the driver selection instruction is. So I disconnected the amp from the computer and turned it off. I then held the BOOSTER button down and turned the amp on. Waited about a minute and turned it off again.
Master knob is still at minimum, hold TAP button, turn amp on. Effects lights flash approx once per second.
Connect amp to laptop - KATANA3 shows up as E: drive on file explorer.
In the meantime I downloaded the KATANA3_sys_V107.zip file and opened it to get the KATANA3_sys_V107 file folder.
Open E: drive in file explorer and drag KATANA3_sys_V107 file folder into it. āCopy completeā window shows.
Right click on KATANA3 E: drive, click on Eject - E: window closes. āSafe to remove hardwareā message.
NOTE: up to this time the effects lights are flashing approx 1 per second.
Disconnect amp from computer - effects lights now flash approx twice as fast.
The instruction step 7 says that the effects indicators ālight upā while the update is in progress and when finished they flash slowly, but that is not what I experienced.
I let it run about a minute and turned the amp off per step 8.
I then went through the first steps above and got the same āusing an older versionā message so the upgrade didnāt work.
I know this isnāt the place to request help for a software issue, but I do appreciate your help!
Tony, I donāt have a GEN 3 , but here is a video of someone doing the update, that shows how the lights should look when you do it, hope it helps. Sometimes it is helpful to see rather than just read. Note the pinned comment, which shows the light sequence with the October firmware update. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bterj1wlr8
Thanks! There are some differences between the procedure and what he did so Iāll try this when I get a chance.
Thanks again!
THAT WORKED!!! Thanks so much for finding and providing the video, I am up and running now!
BTW - I have now answered my questions as to the pre-programmed effects. they are:
Booster: Blues driver, overdrive, distortion (green, red, orange typ)
MOD: Chorus, Phaser, Flanger
Delay: Digital, Analog, Tape
FX: Tremolo, T. Wah, Octaver
Reverb: Plate, Spring, Hall