How Loud is 1 x Atomic Reactor FR?

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etherbrooklyn

New Member
I'm looking to pick up a shiny new Axe-Fx and a single Atomic Reactor FR powered cab.

I was wondering what kind of volume I'd get out of this alone.

In the short term I'm looking for something sufficient for a rock three piece (+ vocals through small PA) in a typically shabby rehearsal room.

Later on I may pick up a 2nd cab for live use, but I'm wondering how much air 1 FR will push on it's own.

Any tips rockstars?
 
The Reactor can do that. But it won't fill a room with 50 people, without a PA. At its peak the lows and highs make the speaker/tweeter 'fart'.
 
Yeah...'fart', that's exactly the sound I'm after ;)

Hmmm... if 1 ARFR cab won't fill a room with 50 people, how many people in a room will 2 x active cabs not fill?

Interested in what I'm going to get away with with just cabs, before I start relying on the PA, as opposed to typical guitar combo amps.

My Peavey Classic 50 4x10 combo (now dearly departed) gave me a nice stage sound, and had plenty of volume for small clubs ... say 50-100 people tops, depending on the venue. My Vetta II can tear the roof off most places this size, but it sounds like ass most of the time (some nice nasty sounds, can't find a nice simply clean sound I like yet).

Total noob question, but is the FRFR cab idea really about personal monitoring more than anything? A great sound and tone for MY ears, then let the FOH deal with the rest? ie am I barking up the wrong tree worrying about how loud the Atomic cabs are?
 
Like most things in life... it depends. There are a couple of schools of thought (and about a gazillion threads) on the FRFR discussion.... When you play thru a traditional setup, you are typically micing up a speaker. This means that the speaker cab, mic, room size etc. impart various sonic qualities on your sound. This may be a good thing. It may not be. Regardless, what you hear on stage (ie. through your guitar speaker) will be different than what the audience hears. Furthermore, you're limiting you're sound. Even if you have a 1x8 speaker sim on, it's still going to sound somewhat like a 4x12 cabinet if you're playing thru a 4x12 cabinet.

Some guys want to hear exactly what the audience hears. For that, you want a FRFR setup. The idea is that what comes out through the FOH sounds like what is coming out of your FRFR speaker. My personal preference is to let the FOH provide the audience with the guitar sound and use my speaker for my own monitoring purposes.

And now for an overkill example... in most places, I have a monitor with a FOH feed and then I bring my FRFR along and put it on the other side of me. I like to set my monitor mix so that my guitar is almost loud enough in the monitor speaker and then use my speaker to make up the difference. I then can lean a little bit closer to my speaker if I want to hear a bit more of my guitar.

So, tying this back to your OP.... IMHO 1 Reactor will likely be enough if you use it in conjunction with the FOH system.

Hope this helps!

-AL
 
fastgokart said:
The quick and honest answer is "not loud enough" :evil:
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Glad you have the definitive answer for everyone here :roll:

Atomic has literally thousands of happy customers who would beg to differ. Please refrain from posting you opinion as fact.

-TK
 
Thanks for the info all. Pretty much what I expected. Especially the "it depends" answer from Al.

I'm somewhere in the middle camp I think. There are times when I just want a loud valve amp behind me, and there are times - typically when using more complex, "modern", software based FX - that I want a much more transparent FRFR sound behind me.

I think I'm actually leaning towards having 2 separate rigs:

Variax 700 -> Vetta II (with FBV floorboard)
and
Tele -> NI Guitar Rig and / or AxeFx -> 1 x Atomic Reactor FR (or 2 in future)

So many toys. So little time... :ugeek:
 
To put it in perspective, 50 people is a pretty small club. Hardly larger than a rehearsal space. If an amp can lift a guitar over the acoustic drums it should be able to fill a club that small. Keep in mind the Atomic has a wider spread than a normal guitar amp.
I read the Atomic could hang with a loud drummer. Then again someone said it couldn't. I guess it depends on the drummer. And the tweaking of the Axe-FX that drives it... Providing all the Atomics are created equally.
 
i just did a gig with +- 800 people in the audience, and used the atomic as a stage monitor, and i was surprised at how loud it could go. The band i play with gets pretty loud, so i was pretty impressed. i wish they mad a 100 watter, though. that would do the trick for sure.
 
pdouds said:
i just did a gig with +- 800 people in the audience, and used the atomic as a stage monitor, and i was surprised at how loud it could go. The band i play with gets pretty loud, so i was pretty impressed. i wish they mad a 100 watter, though. that would do the trick for sure.
Click to expand...

How did you have your 1 Atomic situated on stage? Off the ground...tilted?

jp
 
Dutch said:
I guess it depends on the drummer.
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If your giging this is paramount as well as speaker placment if you are depending on the Reactor to be used as a back line. The Reactor has really good lowend content and can withstand some hight off the ground without sacrificing it.

If you have a drummer that beats the snot out of his drums you will be hard pressed to keep up with just a 112 cab 50 or 100 watt unless it's pointed at your head. The Reactor has a place and is a great pice of gear. If your drummer has good stick technique you shouldn't have any issues with beeing heard in the mix.
 
etherbrooklyn said:
is the FRFR cab idea really about personal monitoring more than anything
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In my opinion... absolutely not. It's a proper amp and it keeps up with no trouble. Sometimes, I am the one who's too loud.
Though I own two, I have used mine one at a time in rooms that hold far more than 50 people with no problem. I do put it on a stand however.

I also want to point out that you could have a million watt amp in a small space and still have dispersion and beaming problems if you are playing through a single 12" cabinet. The Reactor gives me a best of both worlds scenario in this case in that I can have it behind me for an amp experience, and send the THRU to the PA to add a little extra dimension for folks in other spaces.

-m@
 
I use a single Atomic FRFR and it is great for rehearsals and I have used two onstage and they worked fabulously there as well. It all comes down to music style. I play progressive rock (pretty loud sometimes but not blistering) and jazz fusion and I just love the tone and consistency I get from my rig. I highly recommend them. You also have two weeks return it if it doesn't work for you. My bet is that you will keep it.
 
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