Learn your amp as you use it.
Plain-English explanations sit beside the controls. Find out what a setting does, make a small change, and hear it in your playing.
On the App Store
Your Katana.
Smarter.
The modern companion for BOSS Katana amps.
Shape tones by ear. See what makes them work.
Name a song or describe a sound, and get a starting tone built for your amp and your guitar.
For iPhone, iPad and Apple silicon Macs. Works with Katana MkI, MkII, Gen 3 and GO. Android is in progress.
Full editor. Free.
Shape · Understand · Create
Built by gigging musicians, for gigging musicians and anyone who loves a good guitar tone.
Tone editing, evolved
Shape tones
by ear.
Brighter. Tighter. Cleaner. Edit in the language you already use. Shape adjusts the settings behind each nudge, so you can play, listen, and try again with Undo.
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Understand
your sound.
See how every part of your tone fits together. Sound makes gain, EQ, movement, and space visible, with controls grouped by what they do to your sound.
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Screenshots on iPad. All views edit the same tone and share Undo history. With a compatible amp connected, Hear on Amp lets you listen as you edit.
Go deeper in Classic.
The full signal chain is always close by. Gain, EQ, and effect amounts come first, with detailed settings inside each block. Switch views whenever you want.
Automated Tone Generation
Name a song.
Describe a sound.
Start from a song or the sound in your head. Save a rig profile with your guitar, pickups, tuning and what you play through, and Tone Ninja builds each tone around it.
Listen on your amp, then ask for changes or edit it yourself. Basic includes 5 generations, and Plus adds a monthly allowance.
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In-app tone browsing
From tone browsing
straight to your library.
Find a compatible Katana patch on BOSS Tone Exchange or Guitar-Tones.com and add it directly to your Tone Ninja library. Everything happens inside the app, without saving a download, using AirDrop, or importing from Files.
BOSS Tone Exchange and Guitar-Tones.com are third-party services. Tone Ninja is not affiliated with or endorsed by either.
Both browsers are shown inside Tone Ninja.
BOSS Tone Exchange
Search and filter Katana patches, then add compatible tones directly to your library. Roland account required.
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Guitar-Tones.com
Browse by amp model and add compatible Katana tones directly to your library. No account required.
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Choose patches for your Katana model and generation. The tone’s effects and settings still need to be supported by your amp.
Library & Perform
Every tone, organized.
Your library, in sync.
Keep your tones and Live Sets together. Basic keeps a generous number of tones on your device. Tone Ninja Plus adds unlimited tones with cloud backup and sync, so your library follows you from one device to the next.
Find your saved tones.
Keep individual tones, Live Sets, Song Packs, and Gig Packs together. Search your library, preview a saved sound, or open a pack. Import and export compatible .tsl files.
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Channels and effects in one view.
Switch channels and turn supported effects on or off. Channel names and selected effect models help you keep track of the current sound.
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Gig Mode.
Swing between songs on stage, and each song’s tones load to the spots you need them on your channel banks, ready for your footswitches. A Song Pack holds one song’s tones with your notes, key, tuning and capo. A Gig Pack is your setlist. Gig Mode, Song Packs and Gig Packs are part of Plus.
GA-FC ready.
Use a GA-FC or GA-FC EX with Tone Ninja, and set up footswitch and expression pedal assignments from the app.
Good to know
Availability &
compatibility.
Where can I get it?
Tone Ninja is on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and Apple silicon Macs. Get it here. Android is in progress.
Will it work with my Katana?
Tone Ninja works with Katana MkI, MkII, Gen 3 and GO, and each one has been tested on a real amp. The Katana Air isn’t supported. The GO has Bluetooth built in. MkI, MkII and Gen 3 connect through a Bluetooth MIDI adapter such as the BT-DUAL. On a Mac you can also connect by USB with BOSS’s driver installed. Some features depend on your amp’s firmware.
What’s free, and what does Plus add?
Basic is free, with no trial and no time limit. It includes the editor, amp memory, the tuner, Live Sets, .tsl import and export, 5 tone generations, and a generous number of tones on your device. You don’t need an account. Tone Ninja Plus adds unlimited tones with cloud sync and backup, Song Packs, Gig Packs, Gig Mode, backward and Katana GO conversion, and a monthly tone generation allowance.
Can it build a tone from a song or description?
Yes. Name a song or describe a sound, and Automated Tone Generation builds a starting tone for your amp, using your rig profile if you’ve saved one. Listen on the amp, then ask for changes or edit it yourself.
Is there a tuner?
Yes. On a Katana GO, Tone Ninja uses the GO’s own tuner. On other amps it listens through your device’s microphone.
Where should I start if I’m new to amps?
Start in Shape with a small nudge such as Brighter or Cleaner. Play a few notes and listen. Sound helps you see the settings behind those changes. Open Classic when you want the full signal chain.
Can I use my existing patch files?
Compatible BOSS Tone Studio .tsl files can be imported and exported. Conversion is available for supported generations, with differences shown along the way. The patch’s effects and settings still need to be supported by your target amp.
Is this an official BOSS app?
No. Tone Ninja is an independent product developed by ESG Ventures LLC. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Roland Corporation, BOSS, BOSS Tone Exchange, or Guitar-Tones.com.
Contact us
Drop us a note.
Bug reports and ideas are welcome. Tell us which Katana you play if it’s about your amp.