NEW Boss Katana 100 Gen 3 vs. Line6 Catalyst CX 100 | Gear Check | Thomann

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Hey, I want to address 2 things: 1. we use the Catalyst CX100 in the video, sorry for the confusing "CX60" on your screen. 2. True, the BOSS Katana 100 has 8 presets, not 4 like we said in the video. Thanks for the correction in the comments, we honestly didn't find this info when we did our spec checking research before making this one. Apparently this is a common misunderstanding, like other guitarists (and guitar channels) we also didn't find out about the additional 4 presets in time. Sorry, definitely our bad. Thanks for the comments and for spreading your experience and knowledge on these two awesome amps. Best community ever!! 💛 Cheers //Kris

[@justmehere6094]

The CX also has more than 2 presets, even without using a MIDI footswitch. It has 6 banks of 2 channels, or 12 total presets. THESE can be selected from the panel. Granted, you can not switch these with the analog footswitch, and do need a midi pedal to do so.

[@jbognap]

The Catalyst 60 does not have the 5 pin MIDI jack.

[@johnalfieri1613]

Lol you guys are forgiven. Your videos are always extremely helpful and thorough. I look forward to your demos and comparison videos every time something new comes out. Thanks

[@MrJingles021]

I have the original Catalyst, which upgrades to the CX for free, and I love it. If my amp broke, I'd absolutely go for another Catalyst.

[@randomname2505]

Could you please tell me how you dial in the second effect on the amp? Does the second FX button (reverb) change colours like the CX version or is it always one colour?

[@Ri_Guy]

@@randomname2505I got you. Plug it in to your computer. It’s the only way to use the amp properly.

[@jenton70]

I bought a Gen 3 Katana 50 as I needed a quick grab for a light and low-volume friendly amp and the shop had it in stock. I love it and it's quickly becoming my main amp. I haven't had to mess around much. A few tweaks to suit the guitars I use and bang there's the sound. Low-cost and not as glamorous as tubes but it's working for me!

[@OttoVonRaz]

After watching many KZbin videos comparing these 2 amps I finally tried them both out at my local Guitar Center. The only way, I believe, to make a real decision is to play them both. Sit there and fiddle with the knobs and try out different guitars as well. In the end I really connected with the Catalyst sound but liked the Katana design. Go figure 🎉

[@jbognap]

An important feature of the Katana is that you can have up to 3 EQs per patch, which allows you to sculpt the sound in endless ways.

[@WeekendWarrior92]

5:40 you forgot to mention how well it transitions from Bonkle to Scringo

[@davemoore843]

Your comparison is spot on. They both sound (I have played both) good. They have differences because they are different! I think you are right, If you are a line 6 customer maybe go for the catalyst (my helix sounds good through the Catalyst. If you like and are familiar with Roland systems maybe go for the Katana. The one thing I like about the Catalyst is the immediacy of the tone shaping in manual mode. Like amps they need some patience and time to dial in the right sound to suit you and what axe you are using.

[@yetimatzenightcat8702]

Kettensägenmassaaaaaaakkkeeeerrrr, sehr schön, danke 👍🛸

[@ajlukelepuke]

I've owned a Line 6 spider in the past and really liked it. I recently picked up a Boss 50w. Sounds great and think it offers more for the $$.

[@sorenahlback]

I sold my Katana 50MKII and bought then new 100 Gen3, both are great but three plus for the 100 watt is 8 presets, better speaker and GA-FC EX works. I have today put around 50 songs on Spotify only using Katana Amps, also the Bass 110, and have atm around 25000 monthly listeners. And that on short instrumental music I write and play only for my own pleasure. Boss Katana are great amps for sure! I guess Catalyst are too, never tried though.

[@justmehere6094]

The CX also has more than 2 presets, even without using a MIDI footswitch. It has 6 banks of 2 channels, or 12 total presets. THESE can be selected from the panel. Granted, you can not switch these with the analog footswitch, and do need a midi pedal to do so.

[@SpunktAlex]

The Katana on Lead/Overdrive sounded way better to my ears. Clean and Crunchy the Catalyst sounded amazing, but in the end for me the heavier gain channels would be the more important ones. If I'd play more clean or edge of breakup Catalyst it would be.

[@pharaohgnomes]

I have a Boss Katana 100 and find the crunch usable but not so satisfying. Your comparison seemed to confirm to my ears the Catalyst sounded better. I also have a much older Line 6 amp that sounds good but it is heavy and I am completely over lugging 14:01 heavy gear around. I think II'll buy a Catalyst and keep the Boss as a backup. Both amps are really well thought out products. Thanks for the video.

[@kerkuss]

I just wanted to add, that I've just upgraded my Catalyst 100 to new soft 2.02 and the sounds (especially heavy) are much better. The clean always has been good. But you can't go wrong with either of these amps to be fair. And still there are hidden trasures like VOX 40xt with some great sounds.

[@michaelschneider7590]

Enjoyed your detailed comparisons! I have a Catalyst CX60 and love it for the clean and crunch channels especially. But, there are very few additional tones available via Line 6’s Customtone utility (many are redundant copies of one another, and many others are poor). It would be great to be able to draw on the rest of the Line 6 “ecosystem,” like the many Helix presets, other than by buying a Helix HX Stomp in addition (roughly twice the cost!) and then using the Catalyst merely as a powered speaker. Why not enable using Helix native plugins on the Catalyst??

[@indigos290]

In my earbuds the catalyst kills it! The simplicity of the tone is amazing!

[@AT-wl9yq]

When you are using headphones, you're bypassing the amp and preamp. All you're hearing is the dsp and the headphone amp.

[@joeltunnah]

​@@AT-wl9yq I think he was talking about watching the KZbin video.

[@antalantal2366]

I have a catalyst and it is excellent for clean and crunchy sounds and for the effects. The other settings are OKish but nothing more than that.

[@GabrielSkolderblad]

What amp group did you use on the Catalyst? Group 1 or 2 that is new with the CX?

[@robertshamansky1912]

They both sound great. I’m a Line 6 Helix Guy so I would buy the Catalyst to avoid learning a whole new ecosystem.

[@jasminduncanson2520]

Great video 📹

[@karnbroad8504]

For me, the Katana seems to have significantly more processing blocks and foot switch control eg. both a boost at the front end and a solo option too (foot switchable with the GA-FC) as well as foot FX (was etc), 2 effects choices plus delay and reverb (ie 4 effects) and these can be foot switched on/off inside a patch live too. The options and ability to foot switch things live with the Katana made it a no-brainer, the Catalyst would frustrate me too much. I do also use a small tube amp & pedals I use for one band which gives a tonal quality for country, blues and rockabilly these really don't match, but costs way more in total to be fair!! More than double.... so these are great value.

[@KimmyR3]

the Katana has 8 presets, A/B for each channel plus the variation button

[@BababooeySoundEffect]

I came here just to say that I had a chance to test the new katana and the catalyst myself not too long ago. I REALLY wanted to like catalyst. I was biased towards it because I have Katana ver 2 and I wanted a new amp, simple as that. I'm not a fan of Boss Katana, for me it has 2 usable sounds. But those 2 sounds are better than anything catalyst has. I really feel sorry for line 6 but that amp just has no soul. Also the biggest turnoff is how bad is amp type switching in catalyst. You have to press two buttons at the same time. If you fail it loads a preset and wipes out anything you've just set with the knobs. Both are fair, budget friendly amps with loads of features but one is superrior. Even if in ver 3 boss added almost nothing when Line 6 changed all the amp models it is still more musical than the catalyst.

[@kenthhamner2641]

Sounds like a user problem😂

[@leonardofigueredo2913]

Good video guys.

[@TheToneWork]

Very hard to tell from KZbin's special "magic" and really just preference, but... the Catalyst sounded thin and nasal to my ears compared to the Katana. I've played both in person and ended up with the Katana. The Catalyst excels in the scooped sounds more like the Boogie, but that's not really what I like. Great video.

[@stefpenfield5918]

But can we talk about that Larry Carlton? I really don't need to be buying a new tstyle and a new amp this month.

[@Sick_Dude-l1w]

YA Mahala, which one do i choose

[@nickguitarrist750]

I wish there were some modern metal tones with a high output superstrat

[@nightworkband7715]

I have seen some videos saying that the Gen 3 with all the settings set the same as the earlier models has a drop off in volume. Did you guys notice this in your comparisons? Thank you!

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

We haven't noticed that, but even if it's the case, these still can get super loud. I'd still recommend the 50 for at home and smaller / quieter events and the 100 (and above) for gigs and louder rehearsals. Cheers //Kris

[@nightworkband7715]

@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses thanks for the response. I am in a working band and currently have the Artist MK2. Some may say I'm crazy but I have already pre-ordered the Artist gen 3 and will be trading in or selling the MK2. The MK2 is great for live shows but I am intrigued buy the new Pushed amp and the bloom feature not to mention Bluetooth Etc. However I seem to be in the minority regarding trading an MK2 for the Gen 3. Lol. oh well.

[@PooNinja]

So get em both and run them in parallel?

[@PooNinja]

I’m planning on getting the Katana head and buying the midi dongle and it’s still a hyper affordable option for my moon bucks.

[@deschwann]

I think the katana has 8 presets. A and B versions of the 4 channels. Hold the panel button.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

True, thanks and sorry for the false info. I pinned a comment regarding this. //Kris

[@horschy4856]

I had the Katana 100 and it sounded great! But I couldn't resist tweaking, and tweaking, and.... tweaking. So it had to go for something more straight forward. About to test the Baroni Afk 150 😊

[@kkkkkk8350]

Nice carpet guys

[@sejtaridiss]

For me: clean -> Line6. Crunch -> a draw. Metal -> Boss

[@manfredworner8528]

The spider line I had a lot off the catylist is the worst of them all

[@Zeeawon]

Boss = rock Line6 = pop

[@revcanada2147]

The Line 6 is a Millions times better here!

[@chipchiperson679]

Why are you comparing bosses modeling Amp to Line sixes basic strip down jon modeling amp. The oatana should’ve been compared to the spider five. The boss nextone should be compared to the catalyst

[@GCKelloch]

I think the Katana speaker sounds better. The amp is also class AB vs D in the Line 6.

[@Dnell-tb1yd]

I’m not sure you can hear difference in amp topology with solid state components?

[@GCKelloch]

@@Dnell-tb1yd It's a completely different sound delivery method. A class AB SS amp can produce some natural harmonics when driven close to clipping-- mostly odd ones depending on how it's biased. The Katana amp section transistors are configured in a way to mimic the transfer function of a tube amp. Boss may have made custom ASP chips with internal components configured as the different parts of a power tube/output transformer reaction to emulate tube amp sound. Anyway, that's one way of doing it. A Class D "power switching" amp functions like a DAC. Multiple transistors switch on and off at very high speed (maybe 1MHz) to generate a varying V level at least as quickly as the highest freq it can reproduce. The design is lighter weight, much more efficient, and generates less heat than a Class AB SS amp. Ideally, a Class D amp has no effect on the sound-- virtually "transparent", but early designs by Peavey were very noisy. All of the sound character of the Line 6 Catalyst comes from the software running on DSP chips b4 the amp section. DSP chips have no effect on the sound. They just run software. The sound comes from the software algorithm.

[@GCKelloch]

@@Dnell-tb1yd Different types of power transistors also distort more or less smoothly, and can have more or less high freq response limitations, but the low Z output of a SS amp is not affected by the guitar speaker Z curve when it distorts, which is otherwise a considerable aspect of a tube guitar amp sound.

[@joeltunnah]

There's so much NFB wrapped around a modern transistor amp that "AB" vs "D" makes no audible difference, especially played through a guitar speaker. There are hi-fi amps made now that are class D, so it's not a budget thing. Neither of these amps can ever exactly replicate a tube amp sound and behavior because they don't have output transformers. But I think Roland/Boss is very good at marketing.

[@GCKelloch]

@@joeltunnah London Power, Quilter, and Pritchard have SS amps that emulate the guitar speaker reactance effect. A Quilter video shows the effect on an oscilloscope--- maybe a reactive load circuit after a Hi-Z MOSFET or something. OT saturation could be done in a preamp stage with a small transformer, or possibly with one of the many complex V controlling SS devices by London Power. Not sure if the same thing can be done with a class D design, but I don't think any of those amps are Class D. I don't know if Boss has achieved the same thing, but what would be the point of the variable power switch if the amp section isn't part of the tube amp emulation, and why does it compress like a tube amp when driven?

[@Crabfather]

I waiting for you to press the groogle button

[@ntomatas1]

but that's the CATALYST X 100 not the 60

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

True, so sorry, it's corrected where ever it was still possible (title, time stamps, etc). Cheers //Kris

[@ntomatas1]

@ThomannsGuitarsBasses no need to apologize Kriss. Keep rocking guys.

[@nightworkband7715]

GUYS!!!! Come on! How can you not know the Katana can save 8 presets??? You and Andertons both said the same thing. Kind of baffling that you ( and they) would give incorrect info. on such a key feature. Still you guys are great!

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Hey, true and sorry for that. Actually it's not that easy to figure that out, unless you own it and read all the infos or the manual. There's no hint on the amp itself, the product infos didn't mention the "hidden" extra 4 presets and apparently a lot of others miss this feature too. I guess Boss doesn't focus on this fact that much, they advertise the Katanas much more with the other features. The only place I found that it has 8 presets is on the official Katana product page, somewhere in the middle of the page and written small somewhere in the middle of a sentence, haha. //Kris

[@nightworkband7715]

@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses I was messing with you little bit. Like I say you guys are great and I enjoy your videos. Your demos and comparisons are some of the best on KZbin. Speaking of which a lot of people are saying that the katana Gen 3 is not as loud as the previous models using the exact same settings across the board. Have you guys noticed a drop off in volume?

[@rickhill6277]

How does the PUSHED setting sound on the Katana??

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Hi, we showed the new pushed setting in our review on the gen 3 Katanas: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3K6ZZmilq5ojbM Cheers //Kris

[@mdp303]

You should draw conclusions or what’s the point. What’s the price difference if you are saying they are the same then buy the cheapest

[@DebowyMocny]

Am I missing something? Katana 100 can store 8 presets (2 banks of 4) and not 4 as you state.

[@nightworkband7715]

EXACTLY!! These guys are not the only ones to make the mistake. Andertons did too!! As knowledgeable as all these guys are I can't believe they would make such a stupid mistake

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

You're right, we are sorry for missing that. Actually, the only place I've found the amount of presets was on the Boss product page, somewhere in the middle of a section. It's not written on any of the product ads, not shown on the control plate of the amp and not listed as a feature anywhere. I believe that kind of explains, how multiple channels forget about those extra 4 presets. This is not an excuse, it's on us for sure. But it's definitely an explanation as of why we all oversaw it. Cheers //Kris

[@DebowyMocny]

@@ThomannsGuitarsBassesno problem Kris. I thought this was important to point out because I think the biggest selling point between the 50 and the 100 is the fx loop and extra preset slots in my opinion.

[@gertkriel6080]

You guys must do the comparisons “blind”.

[@jasminduncanson2520]

Katana is the best,better sound no contest 🎉 in my opinion plus it's the clear choice

[@karltraunmuller7048]

Will there ever be a time when Thomann considers looking at Hiwatt?

[@chuckpon4910]

My Peavey Vypyr X2 sounds better than both of them . I can get any sound imaginable from it .

[@daddio307]

It's funny that on almost every channel that demoes the Gen3, the only thing they always play is the new 'push'.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think we even played the pushed setting in this video. 😅 Oh wait, G might have used that in the intro playing. But for the 3 rounds we went for clean, crunch and high gain. //Kris

[@eman7422]

Boss artist mk ii

[@brattmoore]

For me : too much talking, not enough sounds 😥

[@georgiagreen1340]

The Katana is a solid state amp. Not a digital amp. It has digital effects. The Catalyst is a digital amp.

[@AT-wl9yq]

There's no such thing as a digital amp. Its impossible. Both units have analog amps and preamps. The analog power amp in the Katana runs the output transistors in class ab and the analog power amp in the Line 6 runs the transistors in class d. I understand some manufacturers advertise class d as digital, but they're not being honest. They twist the facts and hope no one will notice. The only thing that's digital in both of these amps is the dsp functions. After processing, the signal is converted to analog, and is sent to the preamp. There's so much bad information out there, I highly recommend you don't take anyone's word for anything, including mine. Do some fact checking to verify I'm giving you good info. I am, but you should still check. You can't amplify a bunch of 1's and 0's.

[@joeltunnah]

They're both transistor amps, as the excellent reply above explained.

[@janbuyck1]

False dichotomy: Fractal , etc.

[@JanLawicki]

I think in general katana wins here.

[@bennyharderguitar]

The effects switching on the Line 6 is awful

[@mikaelbergman9108]

Crap vs crap

[@davidschaer]

just buy a bloody tube amp..

[@deluxeedition46]

Lol why? So they can buy something expensive breakdowns and 95% of people dont even gig (pub gig these more than enough) just snobby crap most ppl under 40 dont use tube amps dont want/think of it when these amps do so much at this price, it like some moron going "my 6 grand custom shop strat better than yours.." am like what kind of misinformed moron would even pay 6 grand on a guitar in 2024 unless you millionare i and people more qualified than me say same, kurt cobain would buy 2nd hand japan fenders when he in his prime as usa priced stuff gets bashed up people afraid to use equip meant to be used not like gibson (art musem decor peices at these prices) where guitars so expensive now people afraid to play them to devalue them you dont play you dont improve so inconclusion f""k you and your tube amps you got money to burn ya pro level musican fine 95% of ppl dont want expensive tempermental stuff just stuff affordable and useable, bingo.

[@RICO_SUAVE21]

Line 6 just needs to come out with a helix amp! Enough of the catalyst trying to be a better katana… 🥸 all in one helix stomp with power amp and frf speakers in one box unit 😊

[@JohnShalamskas]

HX Stomp or Stomp XL and a pair of PowerCab 112 FRFR speakers with TRS-XLR cables would be an excellent stereo setup. If you don't need stereo, then you only need one speaker. I think that the PowerCab FRFR sounds much better than the Catalyst or Katana in speaker-only mode. So I bought a PowerCab 100 to use with my Stomp XL when I am away from home. At home, I hook the Stomp XL into a home theater amp and 2 large speakers for left and right channels, plus a 12 inch subwoofer. The Stomp XL is also my computer's USB sound interface.

[@joeltunnah]

I made my own "Helix amp"... HX Stomp into a Yamaha HS8 powered monitor. Sounds great, is compact, and better frequency response than any PA, "FRFR" guitar cab, or modeling amp. HS8 costs the same as a Catalyst.