Fuzzystump

I am so glad you asked this question and also grateful for the time rd2rk has spent answering. I have an original Catalyst 100 and have also done the update and have been really confused with the banks/channels/amp voicing settings. I think what finally "clicked" in my mind is that the Bank/Channel setting is nothing more than a PRESET that could have any amp voicing/effects saved to it. In retrospect the manual is pretty clear that the there are 6 BANKS, each with 2 PRESETS saved to Channel A or B but it just didn't click. Also --and I'll bet I'm not alone here --but sometimes our brains just get lazy and don't want to sort through a pile of information and instead we just start noodling with our fingers while switching knobs. I'm sure there are many others with this same confusion that will eventually find their way to this thread and the lightbulb comes on.

When someone asks if it sounds like an AITR, I *assume* they are using common vernancular to mean does it have the characteristics you'd normally attribute to a guitar amp VS. a pure FRFR speaker, PA, or studio monitors. I think it's an easy and clear "YES".

Thank you for all that information. This is one of those instances that I didn't even know that I didn't know :D . Guess I need to go "undo" all the amp models I set to 0.0db yesterday.

I realize this board is not well traveled, but there are at least a couple of you that I see respond to many of the posts and have extensive experience with both products I'm evaluating. Quick Background: I have been playing with a Helix at church for about 3 years, and we use a silent stage. At home I generally practice with my HS8's (running tracks, and sometimes Helix Native via my Scarlett Solo interface). Sometimes I will plug my guitar into an amp and play along with the tracks coming out of my HS8's. A few months ago I purchased a PC112+ after wanting one for years - it was great, but I started to 2nd guess the nearly $700 I spent on it when I could get a Catalyst 100 for just over half the cost, and it was a stand alone amp to boot. I ended up buying a Catalyst 100 and tested it side by side with the PC112+. Ultimately I prefered the PC112+ but couldn't justify how expensive it was relative to the Catalyst, so I returned the PC and kept the Catalyst. Fastforward to now and I recently picked up a used PC112+ for $400. I'm pretty sure I am going to take a loss on the Catalyst and sell it to keep the PC112+. As I'm testing them out, I've read that many people feel the Catalyst works as a great companion to the Helix, and people leave the Helix patch alone and plug into the poweramp in on the Catalyst. When I do this, I'm dissapointed with how it sounds. I've tried disabling IR's or cabs in the helix, and on some things this can sound "ok" and other amps it sounds like trash. Am I doing something wrong or is this really just an "ok" solution that those with a Catalyst are doing when it actually doesn't sound good at all and a purpose built FRFR (or Powercab) works much better with the Helix? I feel like I MUST be missing something how many times I've read folks praising the Catalyst paired with a Helix.

Oh my goodness, I'm glad I read this as I was perusing the board. Just yesterday I was fooling around with my recently used PC112+ purchase and going back and forth between it and my Catalyst 100. (Helix -> Catalyst via 1/4" out to the power amp in; and Helix -> AES out to the PC112+). I had a basic amp setup in the Helix and noticed that utilizing the default PC speaker emulations they were set at -14db or so for all of them. I had the Amp in the Helxi (I think I was using the US Small Tweed) set pretty hot, and did NOT use a gain block or boost the helix output in anyway. To get a good sound on the PC (or get the input levels correct) I ended up boosting the speaker to 0.0db. Sounds like if I were to then output my PC112 to a soundboard I would be WAY too hot. If I'm understanding correctly, this means I would need significant +dB in the form of a gain block, or the output block of the Helix to get my PC112 input into the good range.

Wow. The Powercab can get such a huge range of sounds via IR's or the built in speaker models I'm surprised you think you can somehow improve it by changing the speaker out. My opinion (probably not worth 2c) is that the current "system" was designed to work in a specific way and changing the speaker out will most likely degrade performance.

This is just my opinion, and I will say that I don't have near the experience some of the folks in here do. FWIW - I bought one new (PC112+) months ago ($691 after tax) and compared it directly with a Catalyst 100 for a few weeks. Personally, I preferred the PC112 sound but it's not as versatile as the catalyst (new it was <$400 for me) so I ended up keeping the Catalyst and returned the PC112. Fast forward many months, and I saw a PC112 pop up on FB Marketplace for $400, so I picked it up. At this point not sure if I will keep it, and sell the Catalyst, keep them both, or re-sale the PC112. All that said, I think the PC112 will work well with any modeler now and in the future. It's design is such that it's going to have more capabilities with Line 6 stuff, however.