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* EDIT: Up-to-date information is available in Yek's Guide to the Fractal Audio Amplifier Models *
Atomica: based on Cameron Atomica
The Cameron Atomica was built to reproduce the legendary “brown sound” of an mysterious Super Lead Plexi, modded by Jose Arrendendo, and supposedly sounding like the best thing ever (that is: if you are a fan of the “brown sound”). That Plexi had a label on it reading “Atomica”. Before it got lost, amp modder Mark Cameron had his hands on it and examined its insides. His findings led to the creation of the Cameron Atomica. Well, that’s the story anyway... There was a long waiting list for this amp but it was built for a short time only. The whole thing turned into an ugly financial mess. People’s orders weren’t fulfilled, people lost money etc. Cameron and others involved fought it out online, it’s all on Rig-Talk.
The Atomica is a 100 watts head with EL34 tubes. It has L(ow) gain and H(igh) (additional gain stage) inputs, which are available as separate models.
I haven’t found a good use for the Low model, but maybe I haven't tried hard enough.
It’s an amp with a Master Volume. This means that the amp’s distortion is created in particular by the preamp tubes, not the power amp. The Master Volume, which works in the power amp section, is still very important to the tone and feel. You have to decide for yourself what setting in the model works for you best. The default setting is a good point to start of course, but don't hesitate to turn it up.
Cliff:
The controls on the original amp are: Thump (model: Depth), Bass, Middle, Treble, Master, Gain model: Input Drive), Edge switch (model: Bright switch, defaults to off), Presence. Plus a Gain Style knob at the rear which selects between three voicings.
Presence at default is set pretty modest. You might want to turn that up. Or: just turn up everything. Tone tips from Paramore's Justin York (@JustinYork).
Both models feature an engaged Saturation parameter. This attributes to the mean sound, especially in the High model. This model cuts like a knife and adds a nice agressive growl to it. The Cameron CCV-100, which will be discussed later, sounds even meaner (and much brighter) than the Atomica. A side-product of these cutting tones is that you may not like them as much for single notes high on the neck; they can sound thin. All IMHO of course.
By the way, you can NOT select the Atomica High model and NOT play Van Halen. Try it. You simply can’t, it's impossible.
This cab head is often used with 4x12 cabinets with G12H speakers. You’ll find the list of stock G12H cabs here. Alternatively you can use the EVH stock cabs with these amp models.
A selection of YouTube videos:
Atomica: based on Cameron Atomica
The Cameron Atomica was built to reproduce the legendary “brown sound” of an mysterious Super Lead Plexi, modded by Jose Arrendendo, and supposedly sounding like the best thing ever (that is: if you are a fan of the “brown sound”). That Plexi had a label on it reading “Atomica”. Before it got lost, amp modder Mark Cameron had his hands on it and examined its insides. His findings led to the creation of the Cameron Atomica. Well, that’s the story anyway... There was a long waiting list for this amp but it was built for a short time only. The whole thing turned into an ugly financial mess. People’s orders weren’t fulfilled, people lost money etc. Cameron and others involved fought it out online, it’s all on Rig-Talk.
The Atomica is a 100 watts head with EL34 tubes. It has L(ow) gain and H(igh) (additional gain stage) inputs, which are available as separate models.
I haven’t found a good use for the Low model, but maybe I haven't tried hard enough.
It’s an amp with a Master Volume. This means that the amp’s distortion is created in particular by the preamp tubes, not the power amp. The Master Volume, which works in the power amp section, is still very important to the tone and feel. You have to decide for yourself what setting in the model works for you best. The default setting is a good point to start of course, but don't hesitate to turn it up.
Cliff:
"The Atomica can tolerate high MV because it is a "Jose-style MV". The Jose-style MV imparts a very high source resistance to the tone stack which causes much more insertion loss and therefore lower drive level into the power amp."
The controls on the original amp are: Thump (model: Depth), Bass, Middle, Treble, Master, Gain model: Input Drive), Edge switch (model: Bright switch, defaults to off), Presence. Plus a Gain Style knob at the rear which selects between three voicings.
Presence at default is set pretty modest. You might want to turn that up. Or: just turn up everything. Tone tips from Paramore's Justin York (@JustinYork).
Both models feature an engaged Saturation parameter. This attributes to the mean sound, especially in the High model. This model cuts like a knife and adds a nice agressive growl to it. The Cameron CCV-100, which will be discussed later, sounds even meaner (and much brighter) than the Atomica. A side-product of these cutting tones is that you may not like them as much for single notes high on the neck; they can sound thin. All IMHO of course.
By the way, you can NOT select the Atomica High model and NOT play Van Halen. Try it. You simply can’t, it's impossible.
This cab head is often used with 4x12 cabinets with G12H speakers. You’ll find the list of stock G12H cabs here. Alternatively you can use the EVH stock cabs with these amp models.
A selection of YouTube videos:
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