Line 6 Catalyst vs a REAL Vox AC15

[@ashtynmciver6119]

The Catalyst sounds unbelievable for it's price and considering that it's solid state! Amazing how far musical instruments have come

[@slelliott14]

Just got the Catalyst and it sounds even better in person. So far, I really like it, and the fact you can fine tune via the app makes it even better.

[@KartikHariharan]

Yes sounds like 2 real amps in the room! Thanks for doing this John!

[@Blueshack1871]

Firstly got to say I love your tasteful playing and can’t believe you don’t have more subs. Also top marks for trying to match the 2 grill cloths with your socks. As someone who currently owns 6 valve amps but also got into modelling when the first POD was released and currently has an HX Stomp, the question for me is more of “does it feel like a tube amp?”. I love modellers but there’s some magic that happens when playing a valve amp out loud in a room.

[@johnnathancordy]

To me personally, I have been really enjoying the way the Catalyst sounds and feels in the room. I actually ended up selling this Vox.

[@albertplaysguitar]

@@johnnathancordy nooooooooo!🤯😢. I love my vox amp, but I also love my spider classic, 8 inch speaker. 12 inch versions never felt quite right (spider 3, 4, flex tone...). Never liked the spider 5. Still have an pod X3, though I prefer my RP360 by digitech...bought an M5 used, $89... man, what a reminder that Line 6 ten years ago is pretty amazing still. I guess I just need to try a Catalyst!

[@ismailhassan9038]

The treble for the Vox sounds more pleasant but the Catalyst has a nice low end. All about use at the end of the day

[@rickharrison4722]

The inherent warmth and smoothness of the Catalyst does it for me...

[@jacobpittman1996]

Good comparison, BUT the question we all REALLY want answered is which SOCK was doing it for you moreso: the left or the right.

[@christopherblair6636]

I own a A30 and line 6 helix, not surprised how good Catalyst sound. nice demo !

[@auxorion]

Hey maybe try decoupling the amps from the floor with some kind of thing like a GRAMMA. It really does make a difference when you're assessing the low end of the amp - for example amp x might have really good decoupling, while amp y might be really crappy at that, so you get more boominess.

[@jrcfishon7362]

I'm a Vox player and fan but I gotta admit the Cat ain't bad and it comes down to feel. In your hands it sounds really good!

[@jorgepalos1901]

El sonido del catalyst está muy bien logrado es algo difícil para muchos distinguir pero siempre les hace falta un poco de cuerpo contra el amp real el ac 15 tiene más cuerpo. Tu trabajo es increíble y bien hecho

[@JosePineda-jn8jk]

I think line6 was smart to not mention any amps they copied and instead went with more generic explanations. I think most of the time people get caught up in does it sound exactly like X or Y but, that is because so many companies try to say they are copying something directly. When you leave it more ambiguous you then can only compare types of amps and say does it sound similar rather than does this sound like a 1:1 replica?

[@n8dawg85]

Agree with this. Modellers are still caught in the world of pretending they are something else. I think they could move forward and just have great sounding amps with different characteristics for certain genres. Don’t have to pretend it’s a Marshall or a deluxe forever 😂

[@amirshahar4275]

Hey John, amazing work! Keep up the good work :) Can you make the same idea of the video but with the Powercab and maybe recreate the amps and their respective speakers and compare them to the real amps that you have. Would be great :)

[@chaz__]

IMO, the AC15 sounds squishier sounding on the attack of the note, especially when driven, if that makes sense. Something that seems to be more unique to valve amps. Have you tried playing with the power amp settings on the Catalyst? Maybe playing around with the "sag" could bring it a bit closer to the feel of the AC15. The Catalyst does sound really good and looks like a serious competitor to the Katana. Good price as well. Superb playing btw, really helpful when doing comparisons.

[@johnnathancordy]

Yeh, good point, you've got Sag settings in the editor!

[@mikespadafora9077]

considering the price and versatility of the Catalyst, it's hard to argue against the Catalyst. I want one!

[@steverliu1886]

The catalyst sounds around 3:50 really impressed me. It does sound good. My main concern would be repairability in the future but I suppose you could just buy a new one or a used one instead of repairing it.

[@peterkelly8357]

John, great demo as always. Could you do a video about how the Catalyst amp sounds using the various power output options? Also using the Catalyst as a powered speaker for Helix? Apologies if you've already covered these topics in previous videos.

[@niteriderband4713]

The VOX sounded sparkler than the Catalyst but the Catalyst is only $299. I have a Blues Deluxe that sounds awesome and I cant see replacing it with the Catalyst. So my take is if you want a do it all amp and low price is your requirement then Catalyst is the way to go.

[@spider5001]

I had to edit lol. I was really liking the Catalyst in the beginning. Once you put the tube screamer on and turned them up louder I preferred the vox though. I am waiting for the catalyst to get back in stock though

[@rgbplumbinghilton]

The Catalyst sounds ok. Bit too mushy to cut in a mix unlike the vox. Still a pleasant sounding amp. Great demo

[@JosePineda-jn8jk]

I think a different eq or boost pedal could change that.

[@rgbplumbinghilton]

@@JosePineda-jn8jk probably but that is not the idea of buying an all in one. Add the £150 for a quality drive to the budget and you might as well buy the Vox 🙂

[@joeltunnah]

​@@rgbplumbinghilton huh? You can adjust the EQ onboard. And the Vox is 3x the price.

[@rgbplumbinghilton]

@@joeltunnah that's why it sounds 3x better and is designed for live use not bedroom 😉

[@joeltunnah]

​@@rgbplumbinghilton it doesn't sound 3x better to me. Did you watch the same video I did??? Look, I love tube amps, I build and repair them... but let's stop pretending that there's a enormous difference. It's just not true anymore.

[@myhapylife]

Is this 60 or 100w version? Amazing demo. I personally don't care what's inside, rather does it sound good or not. And to me catalyst sounds good here.

[@countyfair74]

He has the Catalyst 100.

[@bgrierofficial]

I prefer the Catalyst - that low end is key for me on an amp.

[@markjohnson3632]

I like the fact you have a vox sock and a catalyst sock!

[@felobo33]

Hi Johnnatan, nice vid! for me the Vox is gonna sit much better in the mix, which is expected, it is also way more expensive. one advice to make this kind of video, you can use the helix or HX stomp to make an AB pedal and not have to switch the cable each time. You can set two paths without any blocks but just the output set to 100% left or 100% right and connect each output to one amp. With snapshots you can switch the volume of the output to 0, so that you can AB

[@earlteigrob9211]

Fantastic Demo. I thought A was the Tube and B and C are Catalyst. I would rate them A, C, B. Amazing how close these are but the tube still has a special character to the sound...a more fuller, rounder sound and it tended to blend notes a bit better. Was amazed how well the Catalyst took the tube screamer. The Catalyst could certainly be a pedal platform and in most live settings I doubt anyone could tell the difference.

[@davidbarlow431]

As a stand alone amp, the catalyst seems pretty decent. However it is clearly designed to go toe to toe with the katana, and I just don't see it succeeding with its one effect at a time limitation. I have an AC15 and a katana 100, and while my AC15 is my favourite amp by far, my katana gets probably 70-80% of the usage. The convenience at home is unbeatable, I just lift it out of its corner. Switch on and go - no setting up effects and having leads snaking all over the living room floor. For anything I'm trying to learn or write, I have an arsenal of decent boss effects right at my fingertips, and rarely have to resort to the computer. I sometimes use it at rehearsals either again for convenience or just to make sure I know what I'm doing with it should I need to use it at a gig - which I'm 100% confident it could do without external effects. The catalyst could not do this for me so for me, and I suspect a lot of people, the katana will continue to win the day.

[@jdwild1698]

Katana is a workhorse , I did a speaker upgrade in my 50 mii and it is about as good sounding as my tube amps

[@captainfruitbatify]

Totally agree. I don't see a direct comparison between Catalyst and Katana. I'm a Line6 user (Helix Floor + Variaxes) so not being anti Line6 here, but if all they're doing is trying to take on the Katana's market then they've missed the mark; the single effect (+ reverb) at a time, compared to the Katana's 5, and only two footswitchable channels instead of four make it a completely different animal. Catalyst has a place for sure, and sounds pretty good, but it's not the all-in-one amp-and-effects unit that that Katana is.

[@davidbarlow431]

@@captainfruitbatify I think the main interest here will come from existing line 6 users, then people who don't want an all in one solution but want a decent light weight amp. It would be really interesting to see how well catalyst works with other line6 products like pod and helix.

[@davidbarlow431]

@@jdwild1698 I agree - I call it a Swiss army knife and my Vox a scalpel. The wife understood that 😂

[@jdwild1698]

@@davidbarlow431 😎👍

[@cloudburst1215]

Could you please let us know what your Catalyst setting were on this demo?

[@simonhall2682]

A is catalyst, sounds great. B sounds more mellow. Just an eq tweak.

[@johnnathancordy]

What is C?

[@jbonillaguitar]

would love to hear a wet/dry set up with these two amps. I'm really leaning into getting a catalyst to compliment my ac15

[@BobbyCulpepper.srv3fender]

Mine shipped out yesterday, I'm gonna be heartbroken if it ends up sounding like a spider

[@johnnathancordy]

Do let me know how you get on? I honestly have been really enjoying playing it, I spent hours jamming on it over the weekend - the "Clean" channel in particular I really love...

[@animatedarliss]

I'm also curious if it sounds that much better than a spider lol

[@BobbyCulpepper.srv3fender]

@@animatedarliss imagine a spider with helix modelling

[@animatedarliss]

@@BobbyCulpepper.srv3fender so I take it that you like it?

[@BobbyCulpepper.srv3fender]

@@animatedarliss not really, I gigged with it a couple times and then returned it. The direct out works really well, but the amp it's self fell on its face so to speak. Its hard to explain but there is not enough low end and in a mix it's not very loud. Kinda like a spider IV

[@john808welk]

I wonder if you could change the speaker in the catalyst, or if the models need that speaker. I love the alnico gold in almost anything so I would throw that in there. Edit: I was team cat until the TS came in. The cat sounded a bit more boxy in the recording. Another edit: Low volume Vox is killer. Thanks for that segment.

[@johnnathancordy]

Yeh - I felt like the low Volume Vox was way more my thing...Weird. I don't think the models will be speaker dependent?

[@john808welk]

@@johnnathancordy I feel like el84 amps always sound good in recordings or low volumes, but cranking one in a room is not a pleasant experience. Must have something to do with that Fletcher Munson chap.

[@billrand4138]

yes it will be a flatter responce curve on the modeler, so it does not colour the dsp modeling

[@johnnydrydenjr]

I wish I knew what your settings were on the catalyst.

[@domizidor]

Whatever video Im watching where tubes and solid state amps are compared, the main difference its always MIDS. Vox is quite strong contender with that hi-mid thing, but if you are able to set the EQ of catalyst with more punchy mids its gonna probably fine in band enviroment.

[@ashtynmciver6119]

What is the "Chime" model? I'm not familiar with that. I know there is a 60 watt, 100 watt, and 200 watt.

[@rickgagliano852]

Line6 employee here - "Chime" is one of the 6 Amp voicings on the Catalyst amps; all three models (60, 100, and 200) have 6 different amp voicings ranging from a pristine clean up to a very hi gain. In this video, John is demoing the Chime voice compared to a Vox (very nicely I might add!).

[@ashtynmciver6119]

@@rickgagliano852 Oh wow thanks for responding man. Really helped me out.

[@brads4606]

You're forgetting about one very crucial element in a combo amp and that's the speaker. That Celestion is a huge part of the sound. The Line6 can't touch it.

[@liamirwin9933]

The Vox is more present and articulate. But the difference in the two isn’t as stark as it once seemed to be with tube vs. modeling amps. Big upsides to making the slight tonal sacrifice. Thanks for posting.

[@Crabfather]

The vox is shrill. It would be absolutely horrible loud.

[@clausmadsen6754]

Box sounds great with the screamer. Catalyst not so much.

[@steverliu1886]

Which AC15 is this? The AC15HW1 or AC15HW1X? Psionic Audio (amp repair/mods) on YT thinks the stock HW isn’t that great, but after a LOT of work and mods can become the best of the modern AC15’s

[@DavesGuitarGear]

Night and day differences. I’m not saying the Catalyst sounds bad, it has a great tone. The thing is in a band situation with all the frequencies from other instruments your guitar amp needs to be able to cut through. The low mids and bass can end up muddying your sound, thus making you try and compensate by turning up louder. I have had valve amps, solid state and modelling amps, and have used all types in recording and live situations, but I haven’t found a non valve amp which can cut through the mix like valve amps can. The closest I have got is my Roland blues cube artist which is a fantastic sounding amp.

[@joeltunnah]

"Night and day"? LOL. You must have watched a different video than I did.

[@DavesGuitarGear]

@@joeltunnah alright calm down! First of all, depends what you are listening through. I’m using high quality headphones. Second, and I have definitely found this to be true, also evidence backing this, is that every individual has slightly different hearing (ear shape, ear canal shape, skull shape, ear drum size etc) Also how our brains interpret the electro signals. And some people are more naturally ‘gifted’ in this area. It’s like some people have incredible senses of smell, such as perfumers, Sommeliers, food design technicians etc. Others have attributes in other areas and this includes sound. Engineers, producers, audio specialists can be in this category. These abilities along with training can separate a persons ability hugely to a person who has an average ability in these areas. I do have a pretty good audio sensitivity and can balance, mix, setup live sound with very little formal training to a very good level. With trained engineers agreeing with only very slightly adjusting my mixes to their taste. So yes I can tell a big difference between these two amps!! If you can’t maybe try upgrading what you are listening through, or try some auditory training! Hope this answers your blunt retort! 😂

[@joeltunnah]

@DavesGuitarGear ah, you have Golden Ears! Why didn't you just say so.

[@simonhall2682]

Got to say the catalyst sounds great here. Im surprised.

[@Youtubemademeaddahandle]

Is the mismatched sock look a "trend" or a sociological statement? If it's simply part of the comparison mindset I prefer the stiped one. And Catalyst may be peaking over that tube/ss barrier whispering "you need need hear what I've got".

[@solonasdeimezis1004]

......but the real question is how they feel 🤔...

[@kudtarkarsandroid2500]

Yes. The attack, feel, thump and feedback are all what inspires an electric guitar player. The instrument includes fingers, amps, cabs

[@johnnathancordy]

Yeh it feels great

[@pb25193]

I like when he says CHOOB amp like a British person

[@robmcd]

He should be saying valve amp.

[@fernandes5986]

To me the Vox sounds better. More articulate, more headroom, clearer sound, and when it starts to step on the edge of break tone, the Vox it's on a league of its own compared to the Lune 6.

[@benhagan]

Hey Johnathan...I have been trying to purchase your pod go patches...but PayPal doesn't work in my country...is there any alternative way to pay for them??....thanks

[@johnnathancordy]

Hey Ben! Just grab something from johnnathancordy.bandcamp.com - and I'll fire you them over

[@benhagan]

Alright done...just purchased the 7 good days a year album

[@markbenson2986]

speakers will have alot to do with the sound...

[@earlycuyler8719]

Line 6 sounds ok in a bedroom but in a live mix doesn’t hold a candle to even a middle of road tube amp

[@Crabfather]

Catalyst sounds more round and full. The vox is kinda yuck to me.

[@joibjalla]

I seem to like the Vox AC15 from what I've found on youtube and it's one of the amps I'm considering buying as my first amp. Will my Sire T7 sound great through it? 🙂

[@chrispannygolf1601]

anything will sound great through it my man it’s a vox :)

[@craigsmith9456]

You could EQ the catalyst if you really wanted to get that awful Vox ear splitting shriek

[@mattgilbert4122]

Do they sound the same? No... but the Catalyst sounds pretty GOOD! I don't love the typical Vox sound, so the less bite, the better for me :) But with the Tube Screamer, the mud of the Catalyst does get a little worse.

[@roybenson955]

Great video ! I would point out, however, that Voxes don't play very nice with Tube Screamers. Mine absolutely loves the Pro - Co Rat2. Super thick sounding.

[@franklinslamo]

I like your little helpers :)

[@MrTelecosta]

That dog ❤️

[@JCleggy]

Apologies if this has been addressed already, but would a helix/powercab plus accomplish the same “real amp” feel with the speaker simulations?

[@robfuentes2029]

Only if you load IR's of what you are trying to simulate into the power cab. Been using live for over a year now. love it.

[@JCleggy]

@@robfuentes2029 I guess I'm referring to using it without an IR and loading one of the built-in speaker simulations. Isn't an IR always impacted by the microphone? I'm not the most knowledgeable on this stuff

[@marksvideochannel3592]

@@JCleggy I love my Helix and Powercab 112+ and I use the inbuilt speakers mostly. However on the thegearpage we are discussing how some people thinks they are amazing and almost identical to the speaker in question versus others who think they sound terrible.....almost as if there is a series of PC's that have a fault. Best bet is to try it yourself.

[@JCleggy]

@@marksvideochannel3592 I like mine. I guess I'm curious how the Catalyst would sound different from the power cab speaker sims.

[@robfuentes2029]

@@JCleggy yes the IRs are impacted by the mic used or mics. most major IR companies cover most instances. i found that the Power Cab speaker simulation were a little harsh. more speaker options with IR. Having said all that i have used my power live for two years now. very versatile. covers alot of ground. i use the XLR out to front of house out of the power cab. also, the built-in speaker simulation can change the mic and distance and EQ.

[@2speedy4u22]

No contest, definitely worth the extra $ for the AC15.

[@rlledesma8474]

Both are Asian made even the ac15hw is Asian made Id get the Catalyst and save the cash

[@2speedy4u22]

@@rlledesma8474 I don’t care so much where it’s made, just how it sounds. But I definitely have a vox bias.

[@Joormode]

Did you have the boost on for the Catalyst here ?

[@nuclearguitar779]

John Nathan Cordy It's not a good idea to have your dog in the room with a loud amp, dogs have a keener sense of hearing than we do, there ears are more sensitive to sound.

[@tonystartup3817]

You.... shook me all night long....duh Der dur Der da Der dur!

[@newstuff1107]

The catalyst sounds voxy, and BOXY.

[@dylanthomas389]

Did I miss something or did you not reveal the identity of A, B, C??

[@johnnathancordy]

Exactly, you have a guess?

[@auxorion]

@@johnnathancordy Ugh I am here trying to find it in the comments, I rewatched the video a few times. Why have an A, B, C test without results??

[@johncordy4189]

@@auxorion A is catalyst, B is vox, C is catalyst

[@auxorion]

@@johncordy4189 Thanks (if that's actually you, John)

[@johncordy4189]

@@auxorion it is just on my phone which isn't logged into my proper account for security reasons!

[@jeffgoings3239]

A & C are the Catalyst?

[@mikevanleeuwen2858]

do you have a katana ? Please make a side by side wih a katana. Awesome playimg skills btw

[@fluxahelmi]

Both sounds good, the on like a tube amp, the other like a modeler amp, :-)🤣

[@glenncohen4023]

Thanks John! I have been trying to get into modelers for 2 decades now. For me, something has always been missing. The highs and attack you get from a tube amp is lost IMHO. Your video shows this void perfectly. Not to say that the modeler sounds bad, but something is clearly missing, IR’s work well, but the amps are lacking. If I run a head through (place your favorite amp top box here) I still have the transients and high end intact. I would love to learn more about the tech that companies like fractal and l6 use, if anyone knows the language please let me know here and send me down the rabbit hole. Do theses companies model the transformer properties? Just gain staging and eq? I have hope we will get there!!

[@johnnathancordy]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/oWG7eaibq9qSldE - hmm but this video isn't really comparing like for like: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oWG7eaibq9qSldE this one is - can you spot which is which? kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXalZKqepM-LrcU - or this one? The amp modelling from Line 6 and Fractal is incredibly close in my experience

[@wckoek]

The thing is, modelled amps sounded like recorded and nicely processed amp, but the other amp is real deal with warts and all

[@rockstarjazzcat]

Doggie!!! 🐶🐾🦴

[@Crabfather]

First thing i noticed too.. And the severed hand under the catalyst which proved not to be severed after all lol

[@ardyjan035]

poor doggy gonna go deaf :(

[@Bobby_Digital37]

The vox sounds like a vox. The catalyst doesn’t sound like a vox, but doesn’t sound bad either 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@JayTheLane]

Doggo.

[@bikeman1x11]

vox highs to sharp catalyst sounds better

[@Arthur_My_Dear]

The Catalyst sounds a lot woodier to me

[@franklinslamo]

A lot of the difference here is probably the speaker. What speaker is in the Vox?

[@profd65]

Utterly pointless, and a waste of time. Don't call this a "competition" or "versus" when it's not a blind test. As soon as you show people the amps they stop listening, and prejudice takes over. Looking down at the comments, all I see is people damning the Calalyst with faint praise ("it ain't bad"), and preferring the Vox, and this absolutely would not have happened if it had been a blind test. I'm not saying a majority would have preferred the Catalyst, but many would have and we wouldn't have the retarded and utterly predictable feedback in the comment section that we do.

[@juandoming6688]

Catalyst cleans sound american. The catalyst is fine.

[@igolfjtweetler4097]

Vox is clearly better but l6 still vg

[@jamesweber5616]

Despite your best effort to push the Vox over the Catalyst, you so conveniently left out the price difference. And you downplayed the versatility of the Catalyst. I am disappointed with your review, I thought you were a fair guy.

[@johnnathancordy]

James. I think you might be new here. No-one has ever accused me of having a bias against Line 6. Ever. I sold the Vox AC15.

[@jamesweber5616]

@@johnnathancordy In looking back at this post, apologies for the tone. I do see you are not anti-Line 6 -- I stand corrected. In conversation now, I still wonder why in these reviews (yours and others, the immense price difference is barely if at all mentioned. For this comparison too, the singular advantage the Catalyst holds in sheer versatility. And not so incidentally, you are a hell of a player, hands down. Best,

[@storeymark]

His socks don't match!

[@MarkJones-fw3mo]

Tube amps are for cave dwelling Les Paul lovers.. Catalyst 60 and a Ibanez Steve Vai model.

[@cancersevero]

can the vox do metal?