On this episode of Dipped in Tone, Rhett and Zack are joined by Wales-born guitarist Chris Buck. Buck is gearing up for a string of US tour dates with his fast-rising rock band Cardinal Black, including a date at Nashville’s Basement East after the original venue sold-out within a few hours.
Luke Ottenhof HED: How Chris Buck Went From YouTube to the Royal Albert HallTEASER: From the tough economics of touring to building a personal style without theory, the Welsh guitarist talks about his journey from social media to sold-out shows.On this episode of Dipped in Tone, Rhett and Zack are joined by Wales-born guitarist Chris Buck. Buck is gearing up for a string of US tour dates with his fast-rising rock band Cardinal Black, including a date at Nashville’s Basement East after the original venue sold-out within a few hours.Buck starts off digging into the details of his custom Yamaha Revstar and why he chose the versatile guitar over better-known offerings from legacy brands. Buck’s rise has been nearly meteoric: He started off posting videos on Facebook and Instagram before his wife suggested he give YouTube a try. His channel now counts 226,000 subscribers, thanks to his popular Friday Fretworks videos. But as Buck explains, his content is a tool to help fund his original music—a very successful tool.
Still, it’s not all sunshine. Buck details how he and his band navigate the brutal economics of touring, including some horror stories of how they ended up losing money on merch sales. Later, we learn how Buck built his signature playing style—mostly by ear and by accident. “I don’t think anyone has ever ended up sounding like themselves through sitting down and going ‘Right, im gonna try to sound unique,’” he says. “It just happens over time.”
He’s gone from YouTube to the Royal Albert Hall, but Buck reveals a quiet concern that he’s peaked too early. What do Rhett and Zach make of that fear? Tune in.
Katana-500 Bass Head
The compact Katana-500 Bass Head brings serious bassists a next-generation sound experience backed by decades of BOSS R&D. This amp is incredibly clear, punchy, and responsive, realized with 500 watts of carefully tuned Class D power. Cab Resonance takes things further, using high-tech calibration to internally fine-tune the power output section for the user’s preferred speaker cabinet.
With a simple button press, the Cab Resonance feature in the Katana-500 Bass Head calibrates the amp’s reactive output stage circuitry to match the unique impedance and frequency properties of the connected cabinet. This proprietary BOSS process analyzes numerous elements, including the lowest frequency the cabinet can produce, high-end resonances, and many other factors. With this information, advanced processing dynamically enhances the output to provide superior feel and response, powerful lows, and high-definition overall sound.
The Katana-500 Bass Head offers a deep selection of controls to hone the primary sound. There’s a four-band active EQ with three adjustable frequency options for both the low-mid and high-mid controls. A Bottom knob tunes the low end for different stages, while three Hi Cut settings smooth the sound as needed. With the Shape button, users can instantly revoice the amp with mid-scoop, bright, and wide-range curves.
The Katana-500 Bass Head also includes sophisticated tone-shaping tools to refine the fundamental sound. Via the Amp Feel switch, the player can apply Modern or Vintage tonal characteristics for different styles if desired. Comp and Drive types are available to control dynamics and introduce grit and aggression, while the FX section provides three bass-tuned effects for color and inspiration. There’s also a Blend knob to dial in some direct bass sound for additional clarity.
The Katana-500 Bass Head integrates a versatile range of connectivity into its compact design. Two locking-style speaker outputs support high-current operation, and the XLR line output can be used to send a direct, pre, or post signal to a house PA. Players can shape the line output voice from the front panel with three mic’d speaker emulation presets and three custom settings. There’s also a dual-function output for headphones practice or analog recording, plus USB for capturing mix-ready tracks in computer music software.
With BOSS Tone Studio for Windows and macOS, players can edit amp parameters and access over 60 BOSS effects to swap alternate types for the Comp, Drive, and FX sections. Plugging in a GA-FC or GA-FC EX foot controller provides remote operation of numerous amp functions, including the front-panel user memory and two additional memories. The optional Bluetooth® Audio MIDI Dual Adaptor allows users to stream music from a mobile device and wirelessly shape tones via the BTS editor app for iOS and Android.
Katana Cabinet 112 Bass
The Katana Cabinet 112 Bass delivers big, punchy, and articulate sound for any professional bass amp. It’s an ideal match for the Katana-500 Bass Head, providing full support for the amp’s 500-watt output in a compact, space-saving footprint.
The Katana Cabinet 112 Bass features a two-way design with a 12-inch woofer and a high-frequency tweeter. It comes loaded with an Eminence Neodymium Series woofer, a highly regarded driver with powerful sound and reduced weight. Switches on the rear panel allow the tweeter to be bypassed or set to two preset levels. The cabinet features locking-style connectors on the primary speaker input and the link output for connecting a second cabinet.
BOSS KATANA-500 BASS HEAD | Outstanding Bass Tones with Innovative Cabinet Calibration
You can purchase the new BOSS Katana-500 Bass Head and the Katana Cabinet 112 Bass at authorized US BOSS retailers in May for $799.99 and $699.99 respectively.
To learn more about Katana-500 Bass Head and Katana Cabinet 112 Bass, visit www.boss.info.