Axe XL + Atomica Reactor 112 - 18 watt

crg123

Experienced
I posted this in the lounge by accident:

Hey guys I wanted to consult the experts on this one.

I've been offered a trade which I think is a pretty good one but I wanted to see if any one could guide me in the right direction. I have a Carl Martin XII chorus pedal that I got in a trade for a ISP Decimator I. A really good trade on my part.

Now I was in talks with someone on another forum and he'll trade me my CM Chorus for his old Atomic Reactor 112 18 watt amp with JJ EL84s and a
JJ 12ax7 power inverter tube. It'd be a straight trade plus we'd split the cost of the shipping. He said it would be $35 on my end for shipping.

Right now I'm just using 5" JBL Studio monitors to play through with my Axe XL so a 1x12 with tweeter I would imagine would have a much fuller sound. Although can I even use cab simulation with this kind of rig? Excuse my lack of experience with it. Not sure if I can since it's FRFR?

Anyway. Do you think this would be a good trade in the long run? Since I'm getting it for so cheap.
It's one of these:
IMG_1268_zpsyqtrywvr.jpg
 
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If I remember right, Atomic Reactors were designed just for Fractal and are FRFR. That means yes you can use cab sims. Like everything else, they had their moment and were highly reviewed and then something else became the favorite. Search -- using google not the forum, it works better -- for fractal audio atomic reactor and you should find a lot of reviews.

Chorus pedal for a 112 seems like a no brainer trade to me, especially if you have an AXE for FX but I don't know the market value of a Carl Martin. If you don't play out though and only play at home, studio monitors are stereo and can work really well. I only use my 112 when playing out, otherwise it's Adams A3 monitors.
 
I think that this was the earliest version before the fractal version. Its the one that you could drop in a moduler like the POD into the case itself.

Hopefully that version works ok with cab simulation. I think I might go for it. Like you said its a no brainer considering its a trade for a chorus pedal. The Carl Martin goes for around $300 new but obviously I could get anywhere near that for how used it is.
 
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Right now I'm just using 5" JBL Studio monitors to play through with my Axe XL so a 1x12 with tweeter I would imagine would have a much fuller sound. Although can I even use cab simulation with this kind of rig? Excuse my lack of experience with it. Not sure if I can since it's FRFR?

The Atomic Reactor 112 18w doesn't have a tweeter, it's just a 12 inch speaker and a front facing port. I have one sitting behind me under a blanket as I type this. I used to use it with a Pod-XT but I haven't touched it since I started using Fractal stuff in late 2010. In all that time I've never bothered to see what it sounded like with an Axe-Fx as I had a vocal PA that I could use. I should plug it in and check it out.

It's not Full Range, so it won't sound the same as using a true FRFR solution, but it was Atomic's first design for amplifying modelers, so cab sims on would be the way I would approach it to start with. There's no reason why you shouldn't be able to get useable tones out of it if you dial them in for the 112.
 
Did you go for the deal ?

I picked two up in UK - one with the amp unit intact / working and the other is passive as amp unit has removed - played powered unit for an hour last night and for what I paid then its a significant improvement over what Im using to practice with my covers band .

I have a gigging rig consisting of a Matrix GT800FX power amp / Zilla ( think Boogie oversized ) 2x12 with Celestion v30 / CL80 - but this is too much to carry for small rehearsals / house jam sessions hence the purchase , I will test the passive with matrix at some stage n see if its a reasonable take on FRFR ..
 
There is generally a reason why someone would trade something away for the price of a fairly inexpensive chorus pedal, and that is you get what you paid for/trade for

Not an awful device (I remember having one for my POD way back in the day) but stuff has come a long ways since. I'd say you'd be better served going from something like a Xitone active or a CLR if budget allows, or a EV or Yamaha DX, even a K8 if you don't have as much budget. More volume, FRFR so you can use cab sims, and better projection.

I actually stopped using mine in favor of a Tech21 Power Engine which I thought sounded better, and actually was a fair amount cheaper
 
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