KKBAMG Posted November 17 Share Posted November 17 Hello all. I have rejoined the Line 6 community. I bought a Spyder when I started playing again back in 2003 or so. I have been gigging since then. I went from the Spyder to a Peavey Vyper Hybrid to a Carvin V3M, to a Mesa Boogie MV35, and to a Friedman Dirty Shirley 40W. I play in a band doing southern and classic rock. I wasn't getting the cleans I desired from the Friedman so I bought a Fractal FM3 and had a couple of 112 FRFR cabs built for it. I am not a tweaker and so I bought presets for the FM3. All was good but it still just wasn't there so I went back to gigging with the Friedman and all has been better (for me) since then. But since putting the FM3 up for sale, I don't have an amp at the studio for practice with the band. I brought my little Fender Frontman 65R but it doesn't sound good and when I use the OD channel it sounds terrible! So I started a search for a practice amp that could possibly double as a backup gigging amp. THEN I got an email from Reverb, from Line 6, with a deal for a Catalyst 100 that I could not refuse! So now I am waiting on delivery. It strikes me that essentially it is no different from the Fractal only in that it too is digital So my first question is: Is the 12" speaker in the Catalyst actually a guitar speaker or is it an FRFR? Seems to me to make sense that it would be an FRFR. The answer to that question will in fact dictate the answer to the second question. If the amp is good enough to gig with; I am used to using a 212 cab. I could add my Mesa B. mini slant 112 and then essentially have 212's for gigging or if the Catalyst has the FRFR then I could use 1 or 2 of my FRFR (passive) cabs and gig with two or three 12" speakers. The possibilites are exciting. I look forward to your thoughts. Thanks, KKB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rd2rk Posted November 18 Share Posted November 18 It's an Eminence speaker designed by L6 to sound good with all of the included amp types, from Fender-ish clean to 5150-ish hi-gain. It is NOT FRFR as it does not have a tweeter, neither coaxial (like the Powercabs) nor separate like the Fender TM FRFR cabs and most other guitar oriented FRFRs. I sometimes use mine with my ToneX pedal, with full (including speaker) captures, and it sounds fine. I also use it with my Helix, the presets on which have either the L6 IRs, or York IRs. All sound very AITR-ish with the Cat. Not at all like using those through, for example, my VHT Sp6 with a Celestion, which sounds awful with IRs. I suspect that it's a bit wider frequency than a typical guitar speaker without being truly Full Range, and it's definitely not Flat Response, it's tuned for guitar. IOW - it's special! I can't honestly comment on gigging, as I haven't used it for that. I can tell you that my Cat100, on the 100watt setting, EASILY blows past 100db. I'd get evicted if I tried to dime it, and I'd need ear surgery if I tried that w/o earplugs! If that's not loud enough to get you thrown out of your local bar, then just connect the XLR out to your FOH rig. The on-board speaker emulations (1, 2 and 4x12 cabs) and 16 mic choices sound really good through my 1000watt HR FRFR112 (which I sometimes use in combination with the Cat for a fuller sound at lower Volume) or my studio monitors, even if you can't move the mics around. Your audience will not be disappointed. If that's not good enough, like, for recording, disable the speaker emulations and run it through an IR loader with the IRs of your choice. The bad news - it does not have an external speaker out, so your standard guitar cab ain't gonna get it. To use your FRFR112s you'd need a power amp such as a Duncan Powerstage or the like, as the XLR Out is Line Level and separate from the Master Volume. XLR Out Volume is controlled by the Channel Volume, which is interactive with the Master for the physical amp's output level, so I just use the Channel Volume to level the presets and then control the XLR Out level at the power amp. The additional EQ on the Powerstage would help with fine tuning the FRFR112 rig for different rooms, but any Class D or PA power amp will do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKBAMG Posted November 18 Author Share Posted November 18 Thank you RD2RK for a great answer that is technical but not so much that it went over my head :D (a low bar indeed!) While half watching football I did a random search on my phone and found another forum that answered a similar question. That's when I learned that there was no extension speaker output. I think that will be ok though. The band recently went to IEMs (still not a fan though) so they want stage volume down. Being that the CAT is not a tube/master volume amp I have a feeling that may work in my favor. Connect the XLR to the FOH and let the sound guy control the volume. If all goes as I suspect it might everyone should be very happy! I appreciate that the speakers are not FRFR. I have my Fractal FM3 for sale and so will no longer need my FRFR speakers, but I had the brilliant thought that if the CAT had them I could keep them. If not though I can sell them. Although selling 112 FRFR cabs locally is hard and I don't feel like shipping on REVERB so I was thinking of removing the FRFR speakers and swapping them with good guitar speakers and selling the FRFR speakers only which I should have a better chance at! I can't wait to get the amp! I have a good feeling that it is going to definitely work really well for practice and hopefully for gigging too! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rd2rk Posted November 18 Share Posted November 18 For use with IEMs/silent stage you can put the Attenuator switch on the 0watt setting. That cuts out the Cat's speaker so that the only output is the XLR. NOTE: I have seen many complaints that the XLR Out is too hot for some less than talented FOH "engineers" to deal with. Indeed, if your presets are optimized for max volume when using the Cat by itself, it is VERY HOT! To accommodate this situation I have one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002J1JKY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 Works great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKBAMG Posted November 18 Author Share Posted November 18 Thank you again, very cool piece of equipment! I don't think we (I know I'm not!) are quite ready for a silent stage, but that's really good to know! We actually have a dedicated, very well experienced FOH guy (he'll be the first to tell you!) so thankfully he is on top of things. The bulk of the gigs we do around here pretty much always have experienced FOH guys if it's not ours. But this is excellent information. I do have a Seymour Duncan Power Stage 170 but if the CAT isn't FRFR than I won't run it that way. Again. looking forward to this. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandiboy Posted November 19 Share Posted November 19 On 11/18/2024 at 8:48 AM, KKBAMG said: Thank you RD2RK for a great answer that is technical but not so much that it went over my head :D (a low bar indeed!) While half watching football I did a random search on my phone and found another forum that answered a similar question. That's when I learned that there was no extension speaker output. I think that will be ok though. The band recently went to IEMs (still not a fan though) so they want stage volume down. Being that the CAT is not a tube/master volume amp I have a feeling that may work in my favor. Connect the XLR to the FOH and let the sound guy control the volume. If all goes as I suspect it might everyone should be very happy! I appreciate that the speakers are not FRFR. I have my Fractal FM3 for sale and so will no longer need my FRFR speakers, but I had the brilliant thought that if the CAT had them I could keep them. If not though I can sell them. Although selling 112 FRFR cabs locally is hard and I don't feel like shipping on REVERB so I was thinking of removing the FRFR speakers and swapping them with good guitar speakers and selling the FRFR speakers only which I should have a better chance at! I can't wait to get the amp! I have a good feeling that it is going to definitely work really well for practice and hopefully for gigging too! Thanks! on reverb theres a device called katcab that allows you to add a speaker out to any combo amp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rd2rk Posted November 19 Share Posted November 19 On 11/19/2024 at 6:58 AM, mandiboy said: on reverb theres a device called katcab that allows you to add a speaker out to any combo amp Catalyst is 4ohm. Being SS vs tube, it might not matter, but I would contact support at both L6 and MT before attempting this mod. https://musician.tools/boss-katana-mki-mkii-combo-amp-external-speaker-mod-v2 The KatCab V2 External Speaker Mod will allow your Katana combo amp to have an option to use the internal speaker and connect external speaker cabinet(s). KatCab V2 options: 1. Internal speaker 2. External speaker 3. Internal & External speaker 4. External & External speaker Will work with: • Katana 50 MKI, MKII, MKII EX & Gen3 • Katana 100 MKI, MKII & Gen3 • Katana 100 212 MKI, MKII & Gen3 It is wired in Series. Example, built-in speaker 8 Ohms, external speaker 8 Ohms, total 16 Ohms. Total Ohms for all connected speakers should be between 8 Ohms to 16 Ohms. Check manufacturer technical specs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandiboy Posted November 20 Share Posted November 20 On 11/19/2024 at 11:31 AM, rd2rk said: Catalyst is 4ohm. Being SS vs tube, it might not matter, but I would contact support at both L6 and MT before attempting this mod. https://musician.tools/boss-katana-mki-mkii-combo-amp-external-speaker-mod-v2 The KatCab V2 External Speaker Mod will allow your Katana combo amp to have an option to use the internal speaker and connect external speaker cabinet(s). KatCab V2 options: 1. Internal speaker 2. External speaker 3. Internal & External speaker 4. External & External speaker Will work with: • Katana 50 MKI, MKII, MKII EX & Gen3 • Katana 100 MKI, MKII & Gen3 • Katana 100 212 MKI, MKII & Gen3 It is wired in Series. Example, built-in speaker 8 Ohms, external speaker 8 Ohms, total 16 Ohms. Total Ohms for all connected speakers should be between 8 Ohms to 16 Ohms. Check manufacturer technical specs. There may be an issue if you use both internal and external cabs but if you use external only yhe internal speaker is disconnected and would simple operate ate reduced power - an 8 ohm cab would Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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