Purple rain amp settings — Boss Katana 50 MkII

The Prince guitar tone for “Purple rain”, dialed in for a Boss Katana 50 MkII with a Gibson Les Paul Special. Original 1983 First Avenue live tracking with studio overdubs (iconic outro solo)

Original rig

Hohner MadCat Telecaster (single coils), Boss DS-1 Distortion, Boss BF-2 Flanger, Boss DM-2 Delay, Mesa/Boogie Mark IIB Clean into Bag End 4x12 cabs

Saturated, singing lead tone with smooth top end, thick sustain, and warm ambient delay

Amp settings — Boss Katana 50 MkII

CHANNELLead Amp TypeBOOSTon

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	6
Bass	5
Mid	7
Treble	5
Reverb	4
Master	5

Don’t have a Boss Katana 50 MkII? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Onboard Booster (Boss DS-1 / Distortion Type)

Engage the Katana onboard Boost block set to classic Distortion/DS-1

Drive 6 · Tone 5 · Level 7

02Onboard Delay (Analog / DM-2 Type)

Warm analog delay dialed for moderate repeats

Time 4 · Feedback 5 · Level 5

03Onboard Modulation (Flanger / BF-2 Type)

Subtle jet-flange shimmer for wide stereo movement

Rate 3 · Depth 4 · Resonance 4 · Level 5

Why these settings

The Katana 50 MkII uses the Lead voice paired with its onboard DS-1 style boost block to mimic Prince's Mesa Mark IIB driven by a real DS-1. Because your P-90 pickups are naturally fatter in the midrange than Prince's bright Hohner single coils, treble is slightly pulled back to 5 and the guitar tone is rolled down to 8 to avoid harshness while keeping the sustain fluid. Note that the Katana 50 faceplate physically lacks a presence knob, so it is omitted.

PRO TIPUse wide, slow wrist vibrato on sustained notes and dig in near the bridge pickup with a heavy pick to trigger the expressive vocal pinch overtones Prince used throughout the climactic solo.

Get this tone on your amp

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.

Get ToneAdapt on Google Play

More tones for the Boss Katana 50 MkII

You should probably leaveChris Stapleton I got betterMorgan Wallen Memory sure don't mess aroundJordan Davis GoosePolyphia Stairway to Heaven (Live)Led Zeppelin Dead Girl WalkingCarrie Hope Fletcher & Jamie Muscato

Find your amp

Browse

Boss Katana 50 MkII settingsALL SONGS FOR THIS AMP Purple rain on other ampsSAME SONG, YOUR AMP Prince tonesALL SONGS Gibson Les Paul Special tonesSAME GUITAR Tone libraryEVERYTHING

Song, artist and gear names are used to identify the tone being matched; ToneAdapt is not affiliated with or endorsed by the artists or manufacturers mentioned. Settings are AI-generated starting points — trust your ears.