Quick answer
For the Sweet Child O' Mine riff on a Boss Katana-50 MkII, use the Brownamp type with Gain 6.5, Bass 5, Middle 7, Treble 6, Volume 6 and Master 5, a touch of reverb (1), and every other effect off. Play it on your guitar's bridge pickup with volume and tone on 10.
These are Tonafy's settings for an Epiphone Les Paul Studio into a Katana-50 MkII. With a different guitar or Katana, Tonafy adapts them to your gear.
What Slash used on the original recording
It helps to know what you're aiming for. Tonafy's research for the Appetite for Destruction electric tone points to this rig (research confidence: medium, so treat it as widely reported rather than confirmed):
- A handmade 1959 Les Paul replica built by Kris Derrig
- Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro humbuckers
- A modified Marshall Super Lead head (S.I.R. Stock #36, modified by Frank Levi)
- Amp-driven crunch on the riff: no drive pedal
- Tuned down a half step (E♭ standard)
The character is warm, mid-forward and singing rather than scooped. That's the target the Katana settings below are built around.
Boss Katana-50 MkII settings for Sweet Child O' Mine
This is the main riff (Tonafy's “Riff” part) with an Epiphone Les Paul Studio into a Katana-50 MkII:
| Control | Setting |
|---|---|
| Amp type | Brown |
| Gain | 6.5 |
| Bass | 5 |
| Middle | 7 |
| Treble | 6 |
| Volume | 6 |
| Master | 5 |
| Reverb | 1 |
Presence 6 is a digital setting: the Katana-50 MkII has no Presence knob, so set it in BOSS Tone Studio if you use it. Leave the amp in Panel mode so the front-panel knobs are what you hear, with Power Control at 50 W (or lower for home volume).
Effects and guitar settings
Keep the effects simple. The only effect switched on is a small amount of reverb (1) for a little ambience. Booster, Mod, FX and Delay stay at 0, because the crunch comes from the amp, not a pedal.
- Pickup: bridge
- Guitar volume: 10
- Guitar tone: 10
Common mistakes
- Too much gain.It's a crunch, not a high-gain metal tone. Push the gain much further and the riff loses its note definition.
- Scooping the mids. The original is mid-forward. Middle at 7 is what lets the riff cut through.
- Adding a drive pedal or the Booster. The original riff is reported as amp-driven, with no drive pedal.
- Using the neck pickup for the riff. The neck pickup suits the intro; the main riff is a bridge-pickup sound.
- Playing along in standard tuning. The record is tuned down a half step, so tune to E♭ to play along with it.
How Tonafy adapts this tone to your rig
Copying another player's numbers rarely works, because the same knob positions behave differently on a different guitar or amp. A Les Paul's humbuckers drive the Katana harder than a Strat's single coils, and every amp has its own gain structure.
Tonafy starts from the researched original tone, then works out settings for the controls your amp actually has. For this example, it chose the Katana's Brown voice, kept the mid-forward character, matched the bridge pickup, and turned off every effect the original riff didn't use.
Choose your own guitar and amp, including other Katana models, and you get settings for that exact combination. You can also see the Sweet Child O' Mine original tone and amp settings. For the full method, see the guitar tone finder guide, or try a high-gain example with the Enter Sandman tone on a Boss Katana. Using a multi-effects unit instead? See the Voodoo Child tone on a Line 6 HX Stomp or the Come As You Are tone on a Line 6 POD Go.
No settings will make a Katana sound exactly like a vintage Marshall recorded in a studio. Start here, play the riff at your normal volume, and fine-tune by ear.
Sweet Child O' Mine on a Katana: FAQ
Which Boss Katana amp type is best for Sweet Child O' Mine?
Brown. In Tonafy's result for a Katana-50 MkII, the riff uses the Brown amp type with moderate gain (6.5) and strong mids (7), rather than the higher-gain Lead type.
Do I need a drive pedal for the Sweet Child O' Mine riff on a Katana?
No. The original riff tone is reported as amp-driven crunch with no drive pedal, so Tonafy leaves the Katana's Booster at 0 and gets the crunch from the Brown channel's gain.
Which pickup should I use?
The bridge pickup for the main riff, with guitar volume and tone at 10. The intro is usually played on the neck pickup with a cleaner sound, which is a separate part in Tonafy.
Does the Katana-50 MkII have a Presence knob?
No. Presence is a digital setting on the Katana-50 MkII, adjusted in BOSS Tone Studio rather than on the front panel.
Will these settings sound exactly like the record?
No. The record was made with a different guitar, amp, speakers, microphones and studio processing. These settings are a gear-specific starting point that you fine-tune by ear.
What if I play a Stratocaster or another guitar?
Choose your own guitar in Tonafy. Pickup output and voicing change how hard the amp is driven, so Tonafy recalculates the settings for your guitar instead of reusing the Les Paul values.