What's NOT in the Pilot's Guide Pt 2

[rd2rk]

Line6 Catalyst

What’s NOT in the Pilot’s Guide

Part 2 – The Footswitch and overall Control

 

Not all footswitches are created equal where the Catalyst is concerned.

I started with a generic momentary footswitch.

To describe all the weirdness that resulted would be pointless.

Suffice it to say that if you have one and want to try it go ahead. Maybe it will work.

 

I quickly purchased the L6 LFS2. Twice the price and not a perfect solution, but at least predictable.

The problem is the way Channel Switching works in relation to the FS2 button.

 

Catalyst does not employ true channel switching as it’s done in the analog world.

Each Bank has two Channels. Each Channel is actually a Preset. That’s why they can be totally different from each other.

 

Catalyst provides for three methods of switching channels.

Panel Switches;Footswitch;MIDI

 

In my examples I will assume that BOOST has been assigned to FS2, but what I describe applies also to FX.

 

Assume that Bank 1 Channel A is saved with BOOST OFF, and Channel B with BOOST ON.

 

Using the Panel Switches or MIDI with or without the LFS2 connected works as expected (A=BOOST OFF;B=BOOST ON).

 

With the LFS2 connected and FS2 OFF, using the Panel Switches or MIDI the BOOST reacts as expected (A=BOOST OFF;B=BOOST ON).

 

If you turn ON FS2 on ChA (saved status OFF), switching channels with the Panel switches results in A=BOOST ON;B=BOOST ON). Always.

 

If you then turn OFF FS2 on ChB switching channels with the Panel switches results in A=BOOST ON;B=BOOST OFF. Always.

 

In either case, switching channels via MIDI ALWAYS returns to the SAVED preset/channel configuration (A=BOOST OFF;B=BOOST ON)!

 

Furthermore, switching channels using the LFS2 ALWAYS applies the FS2 setting regardless of the saved configuration!

 

Finally, using MIDI to control the BOOST works in ALL circumstances. However, the LEDs might not reflect what’s happening when using Snapshots.

 

CONCLUSION: If you want FULL CONTROL over the Catalyst, using a combination of methods is the way to go. There’s no simple, one-size-fits-all solution.