FYI: Review of new Atomic Amps Reactor 112-50

Kewlpack

Just finished up my review on this very fine amplifier. I know it will be of interest to more than a couple GNX'ers. 8)

http://www.thestompbox.net/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=40

Good combo!

iliace

Kewlpack - the up-and-coming master of digital modeling gear reviews. Thanks!

Kewlpack

LOL... we'll see. Now, if I could only make a living out of this!!! 8)

ACWild

Uh oh. Gas attack coming. Man, I'm all ready to get a new guitar too. Thanks for the review.

partch

Thanks Kewlpack 8) I think I'll be stuck with my Crate Power Block for some time to come Which is O.K. I dig it & sounds pretty good very portable 8) For what I do it suits me

God Bless!!
Partch

ACWild

Wrong Partch. The lord deserves to be praised by no less than a Bogner Ecstasy. Get on it.

Kewlpack

\ACWild\ wrote:

Wrong Partch. The lord deserves to be praised by no less than a Bogner Ecstasy. Get on it.

ROFL... nicely done. Of course, you need gold plated everything and 12 layers of marble inlays on the guitar necks. 8)

Cobaltblooz

ROFL... nicely done. Of course, you need gold plated everything and 12 layers of marble inlays on the guitar necks.

...\"DROOL\"....

flynsqurl

hey kewl

great article. i've been thinking about the Atomic for awhile. one question for you though. you mention that it works as an acoustic amp because its a fairly Full Range setup. in my current setup i play a Les Paul, a Chet Atkins SST, an acoustic with a piezo, and occasionally a Fender Jazz Bass. i just run everything through my GNX4 into my buddies' PA. but i'm thinking about getting my own amp to make the sound a bit more consistent from gig to gig (instead of relying on the house PA which is sometimes too small). do you think the Atomic could handle a bit of bass now and then? certainly nothing deep, i play more slap and funk lines to compliment the bassist during certain songs. thanks for the insight and great article.

e

Kewlpack

According to the information I've received from Tom at Atomic, yes - you can use the Reactors for bass applications. I dunno how they handle extreme bass scenarios, but for general purpose - sure.

Hope that helps.

flynsqurl

excellent! now i know what to ask Santa for.

kirkbauer1

Thanks Kewlpack for the review…I just bought mine today…The only bad thing is I want another one so I can keep getting that stereo image that I am so used to…Maybe I can talk to the wife…Hi hon, if I wash the dishes for the next ten years…

flynsqurl

considering my addiction to the Leslie and the Uni-Vibe, 2 is the only way to go.

btw, has anyone tried out Boss's Leslie sim, RT-20? i really like the Rotary sim in the GNX4. in the headphones the swirling effect is spot on. but a lot of the Doppler effect and swirl is gone when going through a PA or stereo amps. after spending a lot of time playing with the effect with headphones, i was quite disappointed when i tried to use the effect during band practice through a PA.

e

Dark Wolf

Thanks for that excellent review!

I doubt I'd get one of those specifically, but I'm thinking along similar lines.

Get a nice tube power amp - maybe a Mesa 2:50 or 2:90, something with 6L6s and some headroom.

Get a nice ported 2x12. Maybe Ear Candy?

Put in some Eminence Modelling 12s.

There you go. Tube power, balanced output, stereo, portable, and great for my GNX3K and my 7-string.

partch

\Dark Wolf\ wrote:

Thanks for that excellent review!

I doubt I'd get one of those specifically, but I'm thinking along similar lines.

Get a nice tube power amp - maybe a Mesa 2:50 or 2:90, something with 6L6s and some headroom.

Get a nice ported 2x12. Maybe Ear Candy?

Put in some Eminence Modelling 12s.

There you go. Tube power, balanced output, stereo, portable, and great for my GNX3K and my 7-string.

Rock on Dark Wolf 8) Sounds like a great set up

God Bless!!
Partch

insideout

I've been playing my Atomic 112-50 for about 2 weeks now. I must say that this thing really is amazing. Very few bells and whistles - by design. You already have all the bells and whistles you need on the GNX, so this amp just takes the GNX output and adds thick, warm, juicy amplification without coloring it. I think my rig is complete now. Compact, easy to transport, and sounding oh so sweet. Kewlpack is the one who turned me on to the Atomic, and if I could reach him, I would kiss him :shock: .

iliace

How is the output volume?

insideout

\iliace\ wrote:

How is the output volume?

Plentiful! I haven't really REALLY pushed it yet, because I want to let the speaker break-in a little, but with the master volume at 50% and the GNX3k 1/4\" output at 40% it's LOUD! I haven't had a chance to play with a live drummer yet, but I think that volume would keep up, with 60% on the GNX to spare 8) . I'm sure it would be even bigger sound if you had the 212, or chain another 1x12 speaker to it. I'd like to try this eventually as funds become available .

70chip

Hey inside, and all other Atomic owners:

How does the atomic 112-50 sound at low volumes for noodlin' after the midnight hour?? .....I hate to drop $600 on it, if it loses all it's sparkle at low volume and I can't use it when everyone else is sleeping.

Does anyone know how the Atomic stacks up against the Tech 21 Power Engine 60? The tech 21 is solid state w/ an open back cabinet so it'll obviously sound different,.. but at 1/2 the price it's tempting.

partch

\70chip\ wrote:

Hey inside, and all other Atomic owners:

How does the atomic 112-50 sound at low volumes for noodlin' after the midnight hour?? .....I hate to drop $600 on it, if it loses all it's sparkle at low volume and I can't use it when everyone else is sleeping.

Does anyone know how the Atomic stacks up against the Tech 21 Power Engine 60? The tech 21 is solid state w/ an open back cabinet so it'll obviously sound different,.. but at 1/2 the price it's tempting

Why not a decent set of Headphones right into the GNX4 Headphone out?? I\"m getting to like playing the GNX4 that way Stereo & great tone Low Volumes & no interuption to wife & Kids At late hours 8) Just a thought. By the way welcome

insideout

Hey there 70chip. Welcome to the forum 8) . Here's my take so far. I think the tones are still sweet even at \"my family is in bed\" volume. That's the great thing about the master volume. You still \"push\" the amp some, but can control the output volume by dialing back on the GNX. However, like with any guitar amp, there is a minimum threshold where it just starts to lose its punch and character, but that's pretty low. The fact that the Atomic doesn't have a headphone jack/speaker bypass is probably the only thing I would suggest for improvement. But, like Partch said, you can always use the GNX headphone jack if you want a little more late-night volume.

70chip

Thanks for the replies.. I've been using studio reference headphones since I bought the 3K last winter.. they do reproduce the best sounds I've heard out of the unit so far... I just don't have a live solution yet.. It doesn't sound very good through the line-in on my Mesa/Boogie Mark III head...

Anybody have any experience with the Tech21 PE60?

jer

Hey Kewlpack

Its been a while, still using the 3k and atomic?

What are your thoughts now?

Kewlpack

Heh - yeah it has been a LONG time. I had the GNX3000 for quite a while. Then I switched over to a ToneLab SE. I kept that for about a year and a half. I just got rid of it this last week (and the Atomic last month).

I've gotten pretty burned out on MFXs in general. Nothing sounding like I want it to. I need(ed) to significantly simplify and get away from them for a while. So that's where I'm at.

In fact, the only gear I have is mostly up for sale:
http://forum.thestompbox.net/showthread.php?t=5968

Of course I'm keeping at least one electric and one acoustic. But the only amp I have is a humble Crate Power Block & 1x12 cab with a C90 speaker.

I'm moving my family to Colorado in about a month so it'll be next spring before I have cashflow to try other new things. I'd love a great, very low wattage, 3 channel, all tube amp. That sort of thing is gonna cost me a pretty penney though (ala Lone Star Special for example).

Love the Atomic - that is something I should've held on to, but what's done is done.

I let the GNX3K go back when I was trying to find the right setup for playing in a church P&W band. NO matter what I tried, I couldn't get the GNX3000 to cut through - I eventually just stepped down from it (long long story).

I like the AudioDNA2 modeling better than the older stuff in the GNX series to date (had an RP350 for a short while). I will be VERY interested to see what the flagship based on the new chip turns out to be!

jer

thanks for the info!