Newbie Question Cat w/ HX's

[BSByrdman]

Good day!  Long time since I have been here.  Looking at a 2x12 200w Cat to buy between now and the end of the year.

 

I'm pretty familiar with Line 6 and had a Duoverb and Flextone III in the early/mid 2000's and looking to get back into amp modeling for practice and the occasional gig using FS presets & effects.

 

Obviously, I think I need to buy the amp, play with it a little then decide what additional accessories will be needed, but I have a few questions in the meantime to cut down on the rabbit-hole research activities.  I play some alternative 80's & 90's stuff along with other classic rock/grunge/etc, so more than one effect will be needed at a time to be accessed by FS's, so I was thinking about combining this amp with either the HX Effects + additional midi FS, Stomp + additional midi FS, or Stomp XL. 

 

Questions:

Does anyone use the Cat with the HX's listed above and can give a bullet-point +/-'s of using it like this for what I want to do? 

Are additional amp modeling with Stomp & XL really needed with this amp?  If not, can an HX Effects with a midi FS for effects and presets work well?

Should a POD Go be a consideration?

Any other options I should be looking at?

 

I have about $1200 budget to buy what I need for a one and done setup so Helix is out of the question even though I know this would probably be the best route.  Plus, I don't want to be stuck with wasted $$ on a ton of gear that collects dust.   

 

Thanks!!

Byrdman

[rd2rk]

Ask yourself - do I need every amp under the sun, or will the following six amps fill the bill:

 

Clean - Fendery, edge of breakup when you crank the gain

Boutique - nice almost clean, more gain on tap than the Clean

Chime - Like the Clean, but Voxy

Crunch - I liken this to a JTM45 Marshally sound

Dynamic - truly it's own thing, my favorite alongside Boutique. More gain, edge of Metal

High Gain - Very gainy, but if you're a death metal dude, it doesn't chug enough for you

 

If that'll get it for you, on to FX.

 

I have a Helix and an HXS. In 4cm it's a natural pairing with either of these OR an HXFX if you don't need the amps.

TBH - to save some money you could probably get great sounds out of this with one of the older L6 FX units like the M5 or M13.

That's a consideration, as you're getting close to your budget and you'll want a decent MIDI box. BUT - see below.

The 12 preset slots are accessed using MIDI Program Change messages.

The way I use my Cat100 is to have the LFS2 control the A/B Channel switching (does that by default) and the BOOST. I always have at least some Room Reverb on so I just leave that ON and use Channel B as a LEAD Channel with Delay or whatever. I use Helix/HXS for the rest. I have a switch that activates a different Reverb on the Helix while deactivating the Catalyst Reverb. Same can be done with the Delay if desired, but it gets complicated when using Snapshots.

I use Snapshots to switch the Banks. Using it this way I don't need a separate MIDI box.

 

If you get an HXFX you're limited to 9 FX blocks minus the FX Loop Block if using 4cm, so practically speaking 8 FX. The 2 FX in the Catalyst give you potentially 10 FX, more than I usually need. There's a lot you can do with MIDI and CommandCenter, so it's possible that you won't really need a MIDI Box if you use HX Snapshots to switch the Cat's Banks/Channels, and the extra buttons on the HXFX and HXSXL add a lot of options.

 

SUMMARY - Look for a good deal on an HXFX if you don't need all the amps, otherwise get an HXSXL.

You'll also probably want a WAH or, depending on the FX box you get, at least an expression pedal.

I use a Mission Engineering Line6 pedal with a toe switch with my HXS, but it doesn't work (the toe switch) with the HXFX. If I had an HXFX I'd get a real WAH.

 

As to the PodGo. Helix sounded great when I got it in 2016. Every year it's gotten better. The PodGo is the sonic equivalent of Helix up to v3.0.

In v3.1 they improved the oversampling and, while I couldn't really define the improvement that made, all I can say is that it made Helix much mo' betta!

Some folks can't tell the difference and many people perform with the PodGo. The audience can't tell the difference.

Considering the sonic improvements and what the HXFX/HXSXL add in terms of the MIDI capabilities, I would not get the PodGo for use with the Catalyst.

 

Hope that helps!

 

 

[Kilrahi]

Right now a new HX Effects is $100 off, so it's a good time to jump on one if you're going that route. 

[BSByrdman]

On 10/14/2022 at 12:14 AM, rd2rk said:

Ask yourself - do I need every amp under the sun, or will the following six amps fill the bill:

 

Clean - Fendery, edge of breakup when you crank the gain

Boutique - nice almost clean, more gain on tap than the Clean

Chime - Like the Clean, but Voxy

Crunch - I liken this to a JTM45 Marshally sound

Dynamic - truly it's own thing, my favorite alongside Boutique. More gain, edge of Metal

High Gain - Very gainy, but if you're a death metal dude, it doesn't chug enough for you

 

If that'll get it for you, on to FX.

 

I have a Helix and an HXS. In 4cm it's a natural pairing with either of these OR an HXFX if you don't need the amps.

TBH - to save some money you could probably get great sounds out of this with one of the older L6 FX units like the M5 or M13.

That's a consideration, as you're getting close to your budget and you'll want a decent MIDI box. BUT - see below.

The 12 preset slots are accessed using MIDI Program Change messages.

The way I use my Cat100 is to have the LFS2 control the A/B Channel switching (does that by default) and the BOOST. I always have at least some Room Reverb on so I just leave that ON and use Channel B as a LEAD Channel with Delay or whatever. I use Helix/HXS for the rest. I have a switch that activates a different Reverb on the Helix while deactivating the Catalyst Reverb. Same can be done with the Delay if desired, but it gets complicated when using Snapshots.

I use Snapshots to switch the Banks. Using it this way I don't need a separate MIDI box.

 

If you get an HXFX you're limited to 9 FX blocks minus the FX Loop Block if using 4cm, so practically speaking 8 FX. The 2 FX in the Catalyst give you potentially 10 FX, more than I usually need. There's a lot you can do with MIDI and CommandCenter, so it's possible that you won't really need a MIDI Box if you use HX Snapshots to switch the Cat's Banks/Channels, and the extra buttons on the HXFX and HXSXL add a lot of options.

 

SUMMARY - Look for a good deal on an HXFX if you don't need all the amps, otherwise get an HXSXL.

You'll also probably want a WAH or, depending on the FX box you get, at least an expression pedal.

I use a Mission Engineering Line6 pedal with a toe switch with my HXS, but it doesn't work (the toe switch) with the HXFX. If I had an HXFX I'd get a real WAH.

 

As to the PodGo. Helix sounded great when I got it in 2016. Every year it's gotten better. The PodGo is the sonic equivalent of Helix up to v3.0.

In v3.1 they improved the oversampling and, while I couldn't really define the improvement that made, all I can say is that it made Helix much mo' betta!

Some folks can't tell the difference and many people perform with the PodGo. The audience can't tell the difference.

Considering the sonic improvements and what the HXFX/HXSXL add in terms of the MIDI capabilities, I would not get the PodGo for use with the Catalyst.

 

Hope that helps!

 

 

Thank you so much for the information!  This really cleared up a lot of questions.  

 

Being familiar with Line 6, I know I will be able to do everything I need with those 6 amps + HXFX.  Plus the tone sharing page looks like it will help to get started as well.  If I need additional options, I can always add them later with a midi FS.

 

Thanks again for all the info!  I will probably have additional questions soon.

 

 

[BSByrdman]

On 10/14/2022 at 12:43 AM, Kilrahi said:

Right now a new HX Effects is $100 off, so it's a good time to jump on one if you're going that route. 

 

Great to know!  I will check it out.  I think over the next few months, we may see some more items on sale industry wide to clear out year end inventory. 

[BSByrdman]

I forgot to ask, do any of you use HX Edit software to set everything up?  Or do you just use the unit to do everything?  

 

 

[rd2rk]

On 10/14/2022 at 6:51 AM, BSByrdman said:

I forgot to ask, do any of you use HX Edit software to set everything up?  Or do you just use the unit to do everything?  

 

 

 

When I'm making bulk changes, experimenting with complex CommandCenter configurations or performing file system operations I use HX Edit.

When I'm playing and need to change this or that or set up a simple preset on-the-fly I use the HX UI.

It's good to be comfortable with the UI because when you're out jamming or at a gig you won't have the crutch of HX Edit.

[Kilrahi]

On 10/14/2022 at 6:51 AM, BSByrdman said:

I forgot to ask, do any of you use HX Edit software to set everything up?  Or do you just use the unit to do everything?  

 

 

 

On 10/14/2022 at 9:26 AM, rd2rk said:

 

When I'm making bulk changes, experimenting with complex CommandCenter configurations or performing file system operations I use HX Edit.

When I'm playing and need to change this or that or set up a simple preset on-the-fly I use the HX UI.

It's good to be comfortable with the UI because when you're out jamming or at a gig you won't have the crutch of HX Edit.

 

Same. In my opinion, it's best to know how to use both. 

 

With that said, HX Edit is the easiest way, though the device is pretty smartly designed as well. 

[BSByrdman]

On 10/14/2022 at 11:26 AM, rd2rk said:

 

When I'm making bulk changes, experimenting with complex CommandCenter configurations or performing file system operations I use HX Edit.

When I'm playing and need to change this or that or set up a simple preset on-the-fly I use the HX UI.

It's good to be comfortable with the UI because when you're out jamming or at a gig you won't have the crutch of HX Edit.

 

On 10/14/2022 at 3:46 PM, Kilrahi said:

 

 

Same. In my opinion, it's best to know how to use both. 

 

With that said, HX Edit is the easiest way, though the device is pretty smartly designed as well. 

 

Sounds great guys!  Thanks for the info!  I know some may not like doing things on the computer, but I dont mind at all.  I'm currently using a NUX MG300 and I always build my patches with the software then tweak it on the MG300 if needed.

 

Looks like I may be getting that Cat 200 sooner, it seems to be on sale out there with a few resellers.

 

Thanks again!

Byrdman