Black Dog amp settings — Boss Katana 50 MkII
The Led Zeppelin guitar tone for “Black Dog”, dialed in for a Boss Katana 50 MkII with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Studio version, Led Zeppelin IV (1971) - main riff
1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard plugged direct into a Helios mixing console preamp and two UREI 1176 peak limiters in series (overdriven DI, no guitar amplifier)
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 6 |
| Bass | 4 |
| Mid | 8 |
| Treble | 5 |
| Reverb | 0 |
| Master | 5 |
01Onboard Booster (Muff Fuzz / Warm OD block)
Engage the Katana's onboard Booster button (set to orange/red fuzz or overdrive in Tone Studio) to recreate the hard-clipping console preamp
02Universal Audio 1176 / Compressor (Studio Comp block)
RECOMMENDED — not currently owned; heavy series compression provides the iconic squashed sustain
Because the original tone was an overdriven mixing desk and limiting amplifiers rather than a speaker cab, the Katana's Lead voice combined with the onboard boost mimics that direct fuzz-like preamp clipping. To compensate for the single-coil Stratocaster versus Page's humbucker, the mids are boosted to 8, the bass is trimmed to 4 to prevent low-end flub, and the guitar tone knob is rolled back to 7 to smooth off sharp single-coil presence. Keep reverb at 0 as the studio track is bone dry.
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These settings are for a Boss Katana 50 MkII. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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