XSONIC Airstep Kat Edition User Manual
- June 10, 2024
- XSONIC
Table of Contents
XSONIC Airstep Kat Edition
Quick Start
The AIRSTEP Kat Edition is a footswitch designed for use with KATANA amps. The footswitch has five buttons labeled A-E from left to right. The LED lights on the footswitch indicate the current channel, effect status, and tap tempo.
Function List
In Channel Mode, the footswitch LED indicates the current channel via solid
blue. In Effect Mode, the footswitch LED indicates the on/off status of the
effects via green color/off.
When DELAY is on, the footswitch LED indicates the tap tempo via blinking. Tap
FOOTSWITCH D to change the speed of tap tempo.
KATANA 50 MKI & MKII
Use the footswitch to change channels and turn effects on and off. In
Channel Mode, press the footswitch to select the desired channel. In Effect
Mode, press the footswitch to turn effects on and off. To adjust the tap
tempo, tap FOOTSWITCH D.
KATANA 100/Head/Artist MKI & MKII
The footswitch can be used to select channels and banks. In Channel Mode,
press the footswitch to select the desired channel.
Long press to switch to the same channel in another bank. The LED of
FOOTSWITCH E indicates BANK A/ B via off/solid blue. In Effect
Mode, press the footswitch to turn effects on and off. To adjust the tap
tempo, tap FOOTSWITCH D.
In Channel Mode, the footswitch LED indicates the current channel via solid
blue. Long press to switch to the same channel in another bank. The LED of
FOOTSWITCH E indicates BANK A/ B via off/solid blue.
In Effect Mode, the footswitch LED indicates the on/off status of the effects
via green color/off. When DELAY is on, the footswitch LED indicates the tap
tempo via blinking. Tap FOOTSWITCH D to change the speed of tap tempo.
Charging
The footswitch can be charged using a 5V USB charging cable or a 9V standard pedal power.
Upgrade Firmware Mode
To upgrade the firmware, hold FS D (the 4th footswitch from the left) and
turn on the power.
There’s no official BTS App on iOS or Android for KATANA 50/100/Head/Artist
MKII &
I so far, and these amps do not have Bluetooth Module. However, with AIRSTEP
Kat Edition’s magic, you can use BTS for KATANA-AIR to wirelessly edit these
KATANA Amp!Before the steps below, make sure AIRSTEP Kat Edition has been
connected to KATANA Amp, and both of them are power on.
- Download BTS for KATANA-AIR iOS: Click Here To Download Android: Click Here To Download
- Turn on the Bluetooth of your smart device that uses BTS App for KATANA-AIR. If it is an Android device, please turn on the location, too.
- Enter the BTS App, enter the “Bluetooth MIDI Device”, then choose AIRSTEP Kat in “CONNECT”, click “OK”. After the parameter editing page shows, it means successfully connected.
The differences in parameters of BTS App and KATANA Amp
The patch differences
For KATANA 50 MKII&I users, because BTS for KATANA-AIR has 6 patches except
the panel, while KATANA 50 only has 4 patches except the panel, the 1-4 patch
on BTS App indicates the CH 1 BANK A to CH2 BANK B of KATANA 50. And the 5-6
patch on BTS App repeats the 3-4 Patch(CH1 BANK B and CH2 BANK B) of KATANA
50.
For KATANA 100/Head/Artist MKII&I users, because BTS for KATANA-AIR has only 6 patches except the panel, while KATANA 100/Head/Artist has 8 patches except the panel, you can only save the front 6 patches(CH1 BANK A,CH 2 BANK A, CH3 BANK A, CH4 BANK A, CH1 BANK B, CH2 BANK B) via BTS App. For CH3 BANK B and CH4 BANK B, you need to use AIRSTEP Kat/KATANA AMP to enter the patch, and use the button on KATANA AMP to save.
The differences in parameters of BTS App and KATANA Amp
MKII differences
For KATANA MKII users, MK II has some new effects and slight differences in controlling designs compared to KATANA-AIR/KATANA MKI Series.
Patch import difference
You cannot import patches from BTS App, also there is some important info that
you need to know:
The patch differences:
- KATANA 50 MKII&I users: BTS for KATANA-AIR has 6 patches except the panel, while KATANA 50 only has 4 patches except the panel.
- KATANA 100/Head/Artist MKII&I users: BTS for KATANA-AIR has only 6 patches except the panel, while KATANA 100/Head/Artist has 8 patches except the panel.
MKII differences: Because MK II has some new effects and slight differences in controlling designs compared to KATANA-AIR/KATANA MKI Series, you cannot import patches from BTS App.
Note: The controlling design is different, BTS for KATANA-AIR’s BST/MOD knob
and DELAY/FX knob only actually control and indicate
the BOOSTER and FX Knob on MK II. However, it doesn’t mean you cannot edit MOD
and DELAY. You can enter the effects page to edit all the effects.
Main Page’s Control Knob differences
Because the controlling design is different, BTS for KATANA-AIR’s BST/MOD knob
and DELAY/FX knob only actually control and indicate the BOOSTER and FX Knob
on MK II. However, it doesn’t mean you cannot edit MOD and DELAY. You can
enter the effects page to edit all the effects.
Take the BST/MOD knob in BTS App as an example(The DELAY/FX knob is under the
same rule) , here’s the corresponding relationship:
BST/MOD Knob Position in BTS for KATANA-AIR| BOOSTER Knob’s Position on KATANA
MK II
Minimum Value(BOOSTER OFF), (Pic 1)| Minimum Value(BOOSTER OFF)
In the range of BST, (Pic 2)| First half range
MOD OFF, (Pic 3)| Middle Point
In the range of MOD, less than 48 (Pic 4)| Second half range
48-50 of the MOD,(Pic 5)| Maximum Value
The new effects on KATANA MKII that BTS for KATANA-AIR doesn’t support so far:
| Type | Name | Description |
|---|
BOOSTER
| HM-2
METAL CORE
| ****
These effects’ names cannot be shown in BTS App, but the parameters can be edited.
MOD/FX
| Heavy OCT
WAH 95E DC-30
| ****
These effects’ names cannot be shown in BTS App, and the parameters cannot be edited.
DELAY
| PAN
STEREO
| ****
These effects’ names cannot be shown in BTS App, but the parameters can be edited.
MKI differences
For KATANA MKI users, since the MK I’s Parameters are nearly the same as
KATANA-AIR, you can use the BTS for KATANA-AIR directly. Also, you can use the
AIRSTEP Kat
Edition to unlock from 3 effects to 5 effects. Also, you can import the
patches from the online librarian of BTS App.
Advanced Third-Party Option for wirelessly edit the KATANA Amp(So far Android
Only)
Katana Librarian is a more advanced and powerful third-party app to wirelessly
control KATANA 50/100/Head/Artist MKI & MKII with AIRSTEP Kat Edition. It has
more available parameters, but so far only has the Android version. The
developer is working on the iOS version but hasn’t released yet.
Check it here: KATANA Librarian
Connect between KATANA Librarian and AIRSTEP Kat
Open KATANA Librarian, enter “ ”, and enter setting:
Scan and connect “AIRSTEP Kat”, after the successful connection, there will be an amp icon shown after the “AIRSTEP Kat”
Back to the Main Page of KATANA Librarian, and enjoy!
Firmware Upgrade
Preparation:
Download the AIRSTEP Updater.
iOS Click Here Android Click Here
AIRSTEP Special Edition
- Press and hold the footswitch D(4th footswitch from the left) of AIRSTEP Special Edition, and turn on the power switch. When the second footswitch LED from the left is on, it means upgrade mode has been entered.Edition, and turn on the power switch. When the second footswitch LED from the left is on, it means upgrade mode has been entered.
AIRSTEP Updater
- Please allow the AIRSTEP Updater to use Bluetooth.
- Select and click the product model that needs to upgrade(Slide left/right to find the AIRSTEP Kat Edition) .
- Select “AIRSTEP” in “Device”.
- elect the firmware that needs to upgrade in “File”.
- Click “START UPDATE” to start the upgrade.
Video Tutorial of firmware upgrade
Take the other model as an example. For AIRSTEP Kat Edition, you need to
choose “AIRSTEP Kat Edition”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2lsI9dKaA8
-
FAQ The device list is empty?
Please allow the app to use location permission and Bluetooth permission. -
Can’t find the AIRTSEP on the device list?
- a. Please press and hold the D footswitch then turn on the AIRSTEP.
- b. If you sew DfuXXXXX on the list, this happens when some earlier versions of AIRSTEP enter the upgrade mode, which is normal. Please select this DfuXXXXX to upgrade.
-
Failed to load due to network problems？
Click click to refresh the page, if it doesn’t work, restart the APof AIRSTEP Updater