GUITAR SHOWCASE 2022: Earlier this year, Line 6 introduced the Catalyst® family of guitar amplifiers, comprising the Catalyst 200 2x12 combo and the Catalyst 100 and Catalyst 60 1x12 combos. These dual-channel amplifiers look and perform like traditional amplifiers – while offering the increased versatility of modern amps.
Catalyst amps
From the 200-watt Catalyst 200, capable of holding its own on nearly any stage, to the 60-watt Catalyst 60, which is perfect for practice, recording, and performing in small venues – there’s a Catalyst amp for every player.
Catalyst amplifiers feature controls that will be familiar to any guitarist, including standard Bass, Mid, Treble, Presence, Gain, and Master volume knobs. There are also knobs for the dedicated Boost and Reverb sections, as well as an Effects level knob. What guitarists won’t find are LCD screens and menus.
The Reverb section offers a choice of six reverb types: Spring, Hall, Chamber, Plate, and two Line 6 original reverbs that provide shimmering spatial effects. Additionally, there are 18 Delay, Modulation, and Pitch effects, six of each type.
The reverbs and other effects are all drawn from the Line 6 HX and Legacy effects libraries. The tempo for time-based effects may be set using the Tap/Tuner button, also used to engage the onboard tuner.
HX Stomp XL
“HX Stomp has been a very strong product for Line 6,” said Eric Klein, Chief Product Design Architect, Line 6. “Thanks to its Helix-quality tones, immense flexibility, and tiny footprint, it’s found its way onto countless pedalboards all over the world. However, the HX Stomp pedal's size dictates how much realtime control one has, and many users have added third-party footswitches and MIDI controllers to push its limits.
“HX Stomp XL adds five additional capacitive-touch switches to not only preclude the need for external control, but also turn HX Stomp XL into a master controller itself, all in a box smaller than two HX Stomps.”
HX Stomp XL comes loaded with more than 300 amps, cabs, and effects, including world-class polyphonic pitch-shifting effects. The 128 factory presets include both vintage and modern sounds, and there are also presets created specifically for bass players, as well as individual bass amp and cab models.
Additional features include a choice of true bypass and DSP bypass with trails, a stereo effects loop to integrate external devices or employ 4-Cable Method, a jack for two external footswitches or an expression pedal, third-party IR support, and a multichannel 24-bit/96kHz USB audio interface. The free HX Edit app lets you create, save and load presets, and customize nearly all pedal parameters. It’s also a preset librarian and IR loader.
