In partnership with Line 6 Australia
Line 6 has released its Catalyst series of guitar amplifiers, merging the wizardry of digital technology with the sonic quality of classic tube and solid state tones. Available in 60, 100 and 200 watt versions, the Catalyst not only boasts Line 6’s legendary amp voices, effects and usability, it does so at an entry-level price range – giving new or young players an affordable way to attain world-class results.
Before we get into it, let’s get some things out of the way. If you are buying this as a gift for someone, or you have just started playing guitar (congratulations, you won’t regret it!) then you probably don’t know – or care – about all the tech talk. The simple question is: is this amp good? Well, there is little this amp can’t do. From practising to playing live, it’s perfect for all styles of music.
The Catalyst has all the tone in the world, comes with six reverb types and 18 built in effects, has a tuner, has XLR, MIDI and USB connections, aux in, headphones out, can be used as a powered speaker, and can be volume attenuated to suit the playing environment. It comes with a handy app where you can edit, backup and restore settings on every desktop or mobile device, but it can also be operated without anything other than the amp itself. It is, in short, a guitar player’s dream.
But enough pillow talk. Let’s take the love hearts out of our eyes and look at some specifics…
Catalyst 60, 100, 200 – which one to buy?
There are three sizes of Line 6 Catalyst to choose from, each in basic combo format. Both the 60 and 100 watt versions come with 1 x 12” speaker, while the 200 watt version dual-wields 2 x 12” speakers like a traditional twin amp. If you are wondering which one is right for you, then there are two basic considerations: budget and application.
Budget is perhaps the easiest restriction to work within. Buy what you can afford. In terms of application, then forward-thinking never hurts. Learning guitar is a progressive endeavour. At some point, the player is likely to migrate from the bedroom to the rehearsal room, and from there hopefully to the stage. For this, the Catalyst 200 is king. So, while the Catalyst 60 or 100 may be better suited to playing at home or at small gigs (in terms of size and volume capacity), if you have the budget to scale up then definitely consider it. If you are simply looking for an amp for practice, rehearsal or small shows, then the 60 will give you everything you need.
Line 6 Catalyst guitar amplifiers in use on stage. Credit: Yamaha
Six Original Amp Designs
The Catalyst has six Original Amp Designs to choose from, each offering distinct voices. Clean (Clarity) delivers pristine clean tones at any volume; Boutique (Aristocrat) is inspired by iconic hand-crafted tones; Chime (Carillon) is a bigger/deeper take on classic chimes; Dynamic (Kinetic) offers very touch-sensitive mid-gain; and Hi Gain (Oblivion) is a contemporary-style amp with saturated gain and extended lows.
This makes the Catalyst incredibly versatile – capable of summoning tones reminiscent of any classic amp imaginable; from classic American clean and British Invasion jangle, to Tweed crunch, Plexi bite, or a high-gain Cali stack. There are many excellent presets to choose from, or you can enter Manual mode and dial in your specific sound (which you can then save). Like traditional amps, there are two channels, which can be assigned any configuration you wish, and toggled via the amp or an optional footswitch.
Six dedicated Reverb types + 18 Effects
There are six Line 6 Original Reverb types built in to the Catalyst: Hot Spring, Hall, Chamber, Plate, Ganymede and Plateaux. There are six types (each) of Modulation, Delay and Pitch effects, as well as an onboard Noise Gate, and a send/receive loop at the back of the amp. Again, versatility is key here. Aside from the Line 6 Original Effects in each category there are also effects based on icons like the Maestro Echoplex EP-3, Fender Optical Tremelo, and EBS Octabass – allowing you to toy with classic sounds with just one piece of kit.
Yeah, whatever… how does it sound?
Obviously this is the point where the written word starts to fail us. You need to hear the Catalyst in order to judge for yourself. So, without further ado, head on over to the Line 6 website and the Yamaha website (the company’s official Australian distributor) to take in the many videos that walk you through the Catalyst’s glorious tones and specific features. If a local store in your area has a Line 6 Catalyst in stock, head on down to try it for yourself. Don’t be shy if you are just a beginner… the staff were beginners once too, and they will be able to give you a real life demo of what could turn out to be the best amp you ever own.
Happy playing!
Find out more about Line 6’s Catalyst guitar amps. Line 6 is proudly distributed by Yamaha Music Australia
