Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR - UPDATED 7/27/09

Re: Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR

Are there any plans to make some sort of rackable tube power amp as opposed to a combo amp? I think that's what a lot of people here are looking for...

I looked at the atomic site and the 2x12 is listed at 79 pounds...without the Axe! I would need a dolly to move that thing around.
 
Re: Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR

OverAmp said:
Are there any plans to make some sort of rackable tube power amp as opposed to a combo amp? I think that's what a lot of people here are looking for...

I looked at the atomic site and the 2x12 is listed at 79 pounds...without the Axe! I would need a dolly to move that thing around.
Click to expand...

the combo that is being made for the axe fx is going to be 40 lbs.
 
Re: Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR

Hey!
I've am ready to buy a poweramp and cab to run my Ultra. I want to mic the cab in the studio since I can achieve better results micing with my ribbons over going direct.

I just stumbled to this thread and am a bit confused...Is this new Atomic product basically a power amp and cab specialized for use with the AxeFx?

Is it meant to be used with the AxeFx, by itself, or both?

So should I hold off on purchasing a power amp and cab??

Can I bypass the speaker in this unit and run to another cab?

Thanks a lot!
 
Re: Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR

All of these questions (and more) are answered in this thread...I know it seems a little painful, but read through it and it may answer any followups you have.

I would hold off and see if you can get a Fractal...I suspect that it will be *very* soon when they are available.

P.S. Get on the waiting list.
 
Re: Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR

electronpirate said:
All of these questions (and more) are answered in this thread...I know it seems a little painful, but read through it and it may answer any followups you have.

I would hold off and see if you can get a Fractal...I suspect that it will be *very* soon when they are available.

P.S. Get on the waiting list.
Click to expand...
The Fractal/Atomic amp is a 2-way FRFR design -- I'm not sure if this is what the OP is after, since he believes he can achieve better results with his own ribbon mics. The Fractal/Atomic is really intended for those who want to go direct while still having an in-room amp for monitoring/"feel" purposes.
 
Re: Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR

Thanks Steve!
That's exactly correct...I will not be going direct, but using mics to capture what's being pushed by the Axefx.

I need the best option for micing a speaker being pushed by an Ultra,
and am confused on whether or not the Atomic Reactor would be a better solution than a really good power amp and cab.

So is the Reactor more of a conjunction tool with going direct, or is it meant to sound better than power amp + external cab setups, since it may be more specialized for the Axefx?

Any recommendations please?

Thanks again!
 
Re: Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR

If you want to mic the cab, you can't use the Atomic FR, or any 2-way (or 3-way) monitor. You're limited to traditional guitar cabs. You may prefer this, given what you've said.

The mic, even the best ribbons, will add their own character. What you're really choosing between is either a very specific sound that you like (traditional cab, cab sims off) or versatility (FRFR monitor, direct to FOH, cab sims on).
 
Re: Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR

Brian G said:
If you want to mic the cab, you can't use the Atomic FR, or any 2-way (or 3-way) monitor. You're limited to traditional guitar cabs. You may prefer this, given what you've said.

The mic, even the best ribbons, will add their own character. What you're really choosing between is either a very specific sound that you like (traditional cab, cab sims off) or versatility (FRFR monitor, direct to FOH, cab sims on).
Click to expand...
Actually you can turn of the tweeter in Atomic FR and then it should be like a traditional cab, and then you can also mic it. But there hasn't been much discussion on how the Atomic FR performs as "traditional cab" and is it on par with real cabs.
 
Re: Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR

knoll said:
Brian G said:
If you want to mic the cab, you can't use the Atomic FR, or any 2-way (or 3-way) monitor. You're limited to traditional guitar cabs. You may prefer this, given what you've said.

The mic, even the best ribbons, will add their own character. What you're really choosing between is either a very specific sound that you like (traditional cab, cab sims off) or versatility (FRFR monitor, direct to FOH, cab sims on).
Click to expand...
Actually you can turn of the tweeter in Atomic FR and then it should be like a traditional cab, and then you can also mic it. But there hasn't been much discussion on how the Atomic FR performs as "traditional cab" and is it on par with real cabs.
Click to expand...

I guess without destroying the amp, you could always replace the internal speaker by sth like a celestion gold and disable the tweater if you'd wanna do that?
 
Re: Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR

Thanks guys!
I'm still not sure what the best option would be for micing a speaker. If I disable the tweeter from the Atomic, will I be missing some balance of highs? That sounds like a good idea to swap the speaker in the Reactor, maybe a Century...Would this be a compatible option? Or should I just forget about the Reactor and go for a power amp + cab setup??

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!
 
Re: Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR

rcd said:
Thanks guys!
I'm still not sure what the best option would be for micing a speaker. If I disable the tweeter from the Atomic, will I be missing some balance of highs? That sounds like a good idea to swap the speaker in the Reactor, maybe a Century...Would this be a compatible option? Or should I just forget about the Reactor and go for a power amp + cab setup??

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

If you use the Atomic FR, with the tweeter engaged (I believe it's got either an on/off switch or an attenuator) you'll want to use the AFX's Cab sims and feed the same signal to both the Atomic and the PA.
The Cab sims exist so that you don't have to mic the amp when playing live (or when recording).
If you want to mic the Atomic FR, I suppose that you could. It's tweeter is right in the middle of the woofer's dust cap, so unlike most FR speaker systems with separate woofer and tweeter locations, a single mic should be able to capture the sound of the cab. But it porbably won't sound nearly as good as feeding the AFX's Cab sim signal right to the PA.

If you turn the Atomic FR's tweeter off then it should sound and behave somewhat like a regular power-amp + guitar speaker. You then have the choice of mic'ing the Atomic and/or running a Cab sim to the PA (or both).

Personally speaking, I'm of the opinion that, if I'm using a guitar speaker on stage, it makes more sense to have it mic'd than to try to match the sound of that speaker with one of the AFX's speaker sims. You can be relatively confident that if the sound guy mic's your guitar speaker that what comes out of the PA will sound fairly similar to what you hear on stage.

And if I do want to use the AFX's cab sims into the PA then I'm of the opinion that I should probably be using a FRFR rig on stage too. That way my stage rig and the PA get the exact same signal and will sound relatively close to one another.
 
Re: Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR

joegold said:
If you want to mic the Atomic FR, I suppose that you could. It's tweeter is right in the middle of the woofer's dust cap, so unlike most FR speaker systems with separate woofer and tweeter locations, a single mic should be able to capture the sound of the cab.
Click to expand...

This is not true of the AtomicFR.

It is indeed a separate two way woofer and tweeter...as well as a port.
 
Re: Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR

joegold said:
You can be relatively confident that if the sound guy mic's your guitar speaker that what comes out of the PA will sound fairly similar to what you hear on stage.
Click to expand...

In an ideal world ... may be ... My experience on many gigs was just the opposite. And actually once I took time and setup direct patches it always sounded superior FOH. And I do enjoy a good cab actually don't get me wrong.

Mik.
 
Re: Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR

joegold said:
You can be relatively confident that if the sound guy mic's your guitar speaker that what comes out of the PA will sound fairly similar to what you hear on stage.
Click to expand...
In all of my experience dealing with close-mic'ed guitar, the most common outcome is that what comes out of FOH sounds only vaguely like what the guitar player hears on stage. The technique itself causes serious problems in this regard, because the response of the speaker/cab a few inches from the cone is completely different from its farfield response. In order for the sound guy to come close, he has to a) give a shit, b) do some careful listening on stage, so he knows what the guitar player is hearing, c) know enough about mic placement and sound system setup to be able to approximate the stage sound in FOH. If any of the above three elements is missing, you can fuhgeddaboudit. I'll go with a line out every time. At least then I can be totally confident of what's in the signal that's going to FOH. That doesn't mean the sound guy won't still screw it up, but it's at least a good start.
 
Re: Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR

joegold said:
You can be relatively confident that if the sound guy mic's your guitar speaker that what comes out of the PA will sound fairly similar to what you hear on stage.
Click to expand...

Having played live countless times I can say that I completely disagree with this statement. A close mic'ed guitar cab never really sounds the same as the amp sounds when standing a few feet in front of the cab.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not against close mic'ing a guitar cab (I do it all the time)..........but I've spent considerable effort learning how to dial in my rig to get the sound I want to hear coming out of the PA (or onto tape in a recording environment). To get the results that I want I had to learn to be less concerned about what is coming out of the cab itself (because that's not what anyone else is hearing anyway), and to concern myself with what comes out after the mic........it's just totally different.

p
 
Re: Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR

joegold said:
You can be relatively confident that if the sound guy mic's your guitar speaker that what comes out of the PA will sound fairly similar to what you hear on stage.
Click to expand...

I have not had the same experience. It used to really upset me when someone would mic up my old 2x12...right in the center of the cabinet.
Right in the center of the cabinet. :shock:
With the mic touching the cloth - right in the center of the cabinet :shock:

Reason #4098 why I love the AxeFx so much.
 
Re: Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR

-<MACHINE>- said:
joegold said:
If you want to mic the Atomic FR, I suppose that you could. It's tweeter is right in the middle of the woofer's dust cap, so unlike most FR speaker systems with separate woofer and tweeter locations, a single mic should be able to capture the sound of the cab.
Click to expand...

This is not true of the AtomicFR.

It is indeed a separate two way woofer and tweeter...as well as a port.
Click to expand...

Yikes. You're right. My bad. Sorry.
I appear to be mixing up various gear reports/reviews/info in my mind.
I could have sworn that I saw a post from Tom King talking about the Atomic FR using a coaxial speaker. But upon reviewing his posts in this thread I'm *WAY* off. It actually uses a separate *horn* for highs.

Sorry.
 
Re: Announcement: Atomic Reactor FR

mik said:
joegold said:
You can be relatively confident that if the sound guy mic's your guitar speaker that what comes out of the PA will sound fairly similar to what you hear on stage.
Click to expand...

In an ideal world ... may be ... My experience on many gigs was just the opposite. And actually once I took time and setup direct patches it always sounded superior FOH. And I do enjoy a good cab actually don't get me wrong.

Mik.
Click to expand...

#1. I used the qualifier "fairly" in my statement.
#2. Evidently your's and Jay's experience is much different in this regard than mine.

Then again, I'm always using a single 12" open back cab on stage.
If I was using something with more speakers (which then becomes harder to mic properly) my experiences might be different.

Also, since there is no IR in the Axe that sounds anything like the speakers I like to use (EVM-12L) I don't feel confident using the EV on stage while sending some other cab sim to the PA.
 
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