Atomic Reactor 112-50 Guitar Amp POD X3 Live Demo (Rowbi)

[ThePabloreeves]

Hi Rowbi. Nice work! I'm looking for a TUBE amp that I can use with my Line 6 X3 Live. I would also like to use the amp by itself in my living room.  Do you have an recommendations?

Thank you.

[Zhorellski]

These Atomic reactor are discontinued? I could not find there website besides the AxeFX.

[rowbi12345]

@Zhorellski atomic and fractal (who make the axe fx) have joined together as 1 company. this model of atomic is no longer made, you can only get the ones shown on fractals website now

[Gyro911]

YOu got a funny rythem guitar style. It sounds like something that would go on a childrens tv show

[rowbi12345]

@Gyro911 lol, you guys crack me up.

[666guitarfreak]

hey, whats you opinion on the X3 live with the reactor,

i have an X3 live, and i have a marshall valvestate, will my sound get MUCH better if i play it through an atomic reactor?

[livio1396]

@666guitarfreak lol dude i have exactly the same problem... i have played with full transistor amps, and it improves a little, but i was told reactors are the best choice, but then again they have tubes and shit and theres powered and passive and... aah crap hahah

[rowbi12345]

@livio1396 in my opinion any tube power amp will work... but it's best to get something that's fit for purpose.

[rowbi12345]

@666guitarfreak marshall valvestates are great amps on their own. but a pod simulates amp sounds just like the valve state does with a preamp valve. so a pod needs some cleaner less coloured kind of amplifier. so yes the atomic will make a pod sound better than a standard guitar amp will... there's some debate about using an FX loop return though... so it depends on the amp.

[666guitarfreak]

@rowbi12345 i recently order a new tube head. so im gonna use my x3 for the fx only, using the 4 cable method. thx anyways:P

[Sweeper5]

I use a POD X3 as well, because of the ease of use in recording. But I also have a Marshall tube amp, and there's a huge difference. I just couldn't imagine putting that POD in front of the Marshall. No matter what. :-)

[gatler05]

Sounds really digital lol, never liked line 6 pod shit.

[Sweeper5]

@gatler05 I agree...wonder why you'd demo a tube amp, and stick a digital amp modeler in front of it?

[theallmightyham]

@ Sweeper5 and Gatlero5 :because it's designed to be used with digital modelling preamp..... like an Axe Fx, Pod, Eleven, etc. There is NO pre amp, meaning it won't work by simply plugging it in. The only reason this sounds "digital" is because he doesn't no how to EQ his pod very well. People confuse the words digital and bad tone way to often now adays. I've heard ENGL's being called digital.... despite the fact all of there amps have tubes.

[Sweeper5]

@theallmightyham No pre-amp in an all-tube combo? What a zany idea, at least to me. There's such a bullshit aura around "tubes"...it's kinda silly to put tubes in the power section of an amp, and use digital stuff in the pre's. Prolly marketed to folks who want to "brag" that they have "real tubes" in their signal chain...and yet have no clue why that "should make it better".  I doubt that it would actually. What's in there...EL-34's or sump'n?

[theallmightyham]

@Sweeper5 This models uses 6l6's I'm pretty sure. It helps the digital modelers alot, by bringing out some warmth and dynamics that are missing in lower end modelers. Power amps are really were the dynamics come in tube amps so it makes sense. Tube Preamps aren't really were that "tube" sound comes from.

[Sweeper5]

@theallmightyham I'm sorry, but you are wrong...the preamp is precisely where most of the tube warmth is generated. Pushing the power tubes will also (of course) cause overdrive of a different character (and will be loud as hell), but the preamp tubes are easily overdriven without pumping the power tubes. I've stuck pods in front of several tube amps, and that won't make them warmer. Actually PODs are pretty good modelers and result in good tracks. But tube snobs can spot the difference.

[theallmightyham]

@Sweeper5 I don't think you have any idea of whats actually going on, tube pre amps have very little to do with warmth. They do sound awesome, but they do sound awesome but that just isn't were the "tube" sound comes from. I've also found myself to be wrong about there being NO preamp tubes, there are in fact pre amp tubes they are just voiced to have a flat EQ curve. This is why when you plug your pod into a regular power amp you don't get the same effect as you would with an atomic.

[theallmightyham]

@Sweeper5 I'm not wrong, I'm sorry to say you are a little misinformed. Pre amps don't do much to add to warmth, or dynamics more so coloration and voicing. It has some to do with warmth when your talking about mid gain settings and this has a lot to do with the way tubes break up as opposed to solid state. I also forgot that there are in fact pre amp tubes, but it is voiced to be flat and not to colour the sound, something that goes wrong when you put your pod in front of your tube amp.

[theallmightyham]

@Sweeper5 woops.... basically gave you the same reply twice, but i'm not very good at explaining things. Just check up on how the atomic works, i'm tying to insult you by saying your stupid or wrong. But pre amps are mostly for sound coloration, and in the atomic they are used as a buffer of sorts.

[Sweeper5]

@theallmightyham If you really think that, go on ahead believing it, dude. I'm not insulted and don't mean to insult you either. But your information is not correct. Marshall, Mesa, and a host of others make tube pre's that will record straight to the board with no power section at all...full of tube warmth and saturation. Why do you think there is a 12-AX7 or a KT-88 in the preamp section in the first place? Those premier amp designers aren't designing tube circuitry just for fun.

[theallmightyham]

@Sweeper5 I know what you are trying to say, but i think a tube power amp is just as important. For the most part modelers are good at producing pre amp distortion, but usually not mid gain. Pod's can do a VERY good job at recreating these sounds. I've NEVER seen a KT88 in the pre amp section though. I know what you are trying to say, but the power amp is he missing piece of the puzzle for the some modellers (unless your talking Axe FX). Did you possibly mean EC83's (also known as 12AX7)?

[Sweeper5]

@theallmightyham Ooops you are correct about the KT88...my bad. *blush* EC83 is correct for the preamp tube I was trying to refer to. I also know what you mean...the power section of an amp will be better sounding with tubes. I just don't agree that the pre-amp tubes don't have much of an impact. No question that EL84's will sound vastly different than 6L6's (and yes, I know those not pre-amp, but power amp tubes). Having said that, I do think that we are on the same page here. :-)

[theallmightyham]

I think it was more a misunderstanding than anything (I am very bad at explaining things!). I can see where you are coming from with the pre amp thing, but it's really only noticable in mid gain (when the preamp tubes produce a rounder sounding clip). Anyways noice gear chat!

[Sweeper5]

@theallmightyham A friend of mine is a GREAT guitarist, with a hard-rock tone that everyone would die for. He gets that tone through a Digitech 2120...of course he is a genius at programming the thing. But still...that pre is tube-powered, and he records direct with it...also pumps it out live through his amps when playing live (Marshall tube full-stacks, I think JCM-800's) It's true that the Marshalls' power tubes make it sing...but the direct recording is also phenomenal.

[theallmightyham]

wow, the direct recording really does sound great with the some magic EQuing. I wish I knew the secrete :( I'm a very new to recording.

[rowbi12345]

@theallmightyham this isn't direct recording, it's the atomic mic'd. look at the video again.

[theallmightyham]

@rowbi12345 Wow, I actually never remembered writing that, and I don't know why I would because it was obviously mic'd... possibly taken out of context? The comment is old...

[Sweeper5]

@theallmightyham Anyway...good talking to you...I didn't think you really knew anything about tubes vs solid state vs digital, but it appears you really do. Much enjoyed!

[Ollster]

where can you get these in the uk?

[XxBlueAlertxX]

you can order them online

[rowbi12345]

@Ollster a company called G66 ships these to all of europe. google them.

[skatekickflip123]

nice man

i have that white ibanez rg thats hanging on the wall

[wjm123]

Honestly speaking I could'nt hear much of a difference in the tones here compared to what i hear when doing USB recording with my own Pod X3. Hows the amp with the pod x3, is there a significant improvement in tone as compared to using a solid state amp or something? How much did you get your Amp for?

Thanks man, good video though I wished you've played more lead stuff.

[robwarde]

hey, what was the riff at 36second??

great playing too!

[DeanBaco]

Therapy's Screamager ;)

[rowbi12345]

@DeanBaco yep!

[rowbi12345]

@robwarde therapy? Screamager

[ometwalli]

Hey Rowbi

have you connected an external cab to the atomic amp yet ? I have one and I'm confused by the impedance thing. The manual says not to exceed 8ohms. But everyone knows that more impedance means less power exerted on the amp. Now the opposite is true, if you go below a ohm rating, less impedance means more power that your amp may not be able to handle and you fry it, right ? I'm confused, and atomic amp company hasn't replied in weeks :(

[ChrisW12208]

You can rewire your cab for different impedance. Depending on parallel or series wiring, the impedance will either double or half.  Look it up on a search

[PrsFenderJackson1980]

Is it the full breed set or just the bridge? And if just the bridge pickup, why do people not get the full set?

[rowbi12345]

it's just the bridge.

on your 2nd point... the breed pickups were designed for steve vai, for a specific guitar.

it's obvious to me (and most other people) that you may want to pick and choose what pickups to get, for your own sound...

if a full breed set works for you, then that's great, if not, then who cares. get whatever pickups you want, surely that's the whole point of pickups that you can replace, and also why there are many different models to choose from.

[vomae]

You think the 50w atomic sounds good at bedroom levels? (I live in an apartment)

Thx

[rowbi12345]

yes it can go really quiet. but obviously you'd use it with a POD or something, and I prefer headphones with my POD for bedroom playing. sennheiser HD280 Pro are good.

[johnnyboyserbia]

hy, what for do you use toneport? , you have x3 and it can be stand alone recording thru USB ?!

[rowbi12345]

because I was demoing the X3L with a real amp... and I wanted to record the performance of the amp also. I used the toneport because it is an audio interface with microphone inputs, and I was using a microphone to record the amp.

[nodtomc]

where did you get that amp in the UK? I can't seem to find one

[rowbi12345]

you can only get them from the european distributer. search for a company called G66 that's where I got it from. very good service and it only takes 2-3 days to ship to the UK.

[bcrichboy06]

k cheers man

[bcrichboy06]

hey rowbi man so i c ur lucy enough to own an atomic and a sv. wat amp out of the 2 woud u say is better for amplifying the x3 live.

cheers man

[rowbi12345]

the atomic. but at the moment my favorite live setup is the SV (with mods and an M13). the X3L is my choice rig for headphone and recording use mostly now.

[XIIIX]

what guitar is the one hanging on the wall?(black one?) has a pretty neat shape.

btw nice vid.

[rowbi12345]

it's an epiphone SG Xtreme. it was a limited edition a few years ago. occasionally you see them pop up on ebay, but you're not having mine :-)

[bcrichboy06]

hey rowbi wat output mode do u se

cheers

[rowbi12345]

combo power amp. although stack power amp is also worth trying.

[DareBear2099]

Great Video Rowbi, Question though. I'm about to sell my Flextone III XL to get the 2X12 Reactor. Thing is, which unit do you honestly think sounds better, the POD XT or the X3? I'm considering the XT because I'm a guitarist and really have no need for the vocal processing on the amp, then again I don't know the sound difference with the XT and the X3.

[rowbi12345]

X3 uses higher sample rates of the same samples. so same sounds but they sound better... if that makes sense. the vocal bit is kind of an extra that you're hardly even paying for.

[SixStringMasterPiece]

hey man would you be able to do a video of this amp on its own by any chance. if you can in the style of Melodic death metal (At the Gates- ish style) or Melodic Metal-core (trivium-ish style) because im looking to get an amp and can not for the life of me find a retailer around

[rowbi12345]

i think you've got the wrong idea about this amp. it's just a tube power amp, there's no preamp, so without something like the POD it would just sound very clean and very quiet... so in other words, totally the opposite to what you've asked... but I know you could get the tone you want from a POD X3.

[SixStringMasterPiece]

alright rowbi thanks... you seem to know alot about amps by looking at that link what amp would you recomend.. thanks

[rowbi12345]

like I said, the POD X3 with an atomic would give you what you want, or a line6 spider valve, but you'd heed to use a different speaker in the spider valve, somethine like a celestion G12K-100 would do the job!

[chriscoooley]

that rythm tone could use a mid boost. but pretty good

[rowbi12345]

thanks man... i don't like too much mid... so I guess that's just a difference in what guitar tone we like.

[LightOfTruth777]

Hmm. I"ve got a general question. Does it work when I hook up my POD into a Peavey 5150 for example in the FXLoop? Will I get a same tube sound like you? So will it work? xD

[dead0boy]

hey my mate is selling this guitar on ebay for cheap he's only had it two months and has hardly used it.

type in RG370DX on ebay

[Schwampz]

Hey, I'm about to get the Breed Bridge humbucker sometime, do you think it's good for metal too?

[rowbi12345]

lol... the song I'm playing is Screamager by Therapy? who are a metal band from the late 80's and through the 90's... so in a word, yes as you can see from the video it can do high gain metal tones... if you want more thrash/hardcore tones, just turn the gain up on your amp... the breed is great if you want a good thick tone.

[Schwampz]

Cool, thanks.

[spaterman]

how would it be in the neck?

[thatguitarguy97]

Im about to get the same Ibanez

[rowbi12345]

nice1... you're lucky to find one as ibanez stopped making them 8 months ago :-)

[cgbb353]

Good :D

Hey

I will be glad if, you will do some more demos! :)

Is it a good amp?

[rowbi12345]

i might be doind another atomic demo in a month or so.

i think you know the answer to your question... is it good?

[luisgarciaalanis]

how doed pod + amp compare to the blackheart in terms of sound? dose the atom sound digital? or does the tubes make it sound better?

[rowbi12345]

the atomic doesn't sound digital at all...

just remember that my mic'ing skills aren't good at all... the atomic sounds more tube like than the blackheart when used with a POD... I've actually converted my blackheart back to a normal tube amp because I never used it with my POD, the atomic and spider valve were always picked for amping my POD... the blackheart is an amazing amp on its own, especially with an OD stomp in front of it.

[luisgarciaalanis]

great

[Magister528]

great tone :D

[rowbi12345]

thanks man

[guitarpaol]

pod x3 live or boss gt 10?

[rowbi12345]

WTF?? if you're asking what I'm using... the title of this video should give you a clue... if you're asking what a prefer... isn't that also obvious?

[LightOfTruth777]

That sounds like.. AMAZING! I'll check out this amp. :) So you used the POD X3 and plugged in into the amp. Was it on the effects loop? Is the amp on the clean channel or on a gain channel? I"m going to check this out. :) Thanks!

[rowbi12345]

yes, POD X3 Live (or X3 would be the same) plugged into the effects loop return. if you ger a POD x3 you can dock it in the top of the amp because atomics are specially designed for modellers. for this reason the atomic only have a clean channel, as the gain comes from the POD.

[Tozunualiraminakorum]

Hi Dude...Pod x3 live have a drum machine?Thx for answer...

[rowbi12345]

no it doesn't. check out line6's website for the X3 Live specs. I used a program called riffworks standard, which is made by Sonoma Wireworks, and I was also controlling riffworks with a foot pedal. riffworks provided drums and the recording functions.

[deanouk1987]

Hey Rowbi, got a quick question about the Atomic Amp... where did you buy it from as i cant find any retailers in the uk selling it.

Cheers.

[gibsonlp23]

Hey Rowbi, what is that guitar that looks kinda like a black sg in the background, is it a splittail?

[rowbi12345]

it is an SG!! :-) it's an Epiphone SG Xtreme if you do a search on google then you'll fine one or two listed but they're quite rare now, as there wasn't many made and they've been discounted as low as £199 to sell them off in places I've seen... so good luck finding one!

[gibsonlp23]

thanks a lot!

[nickheartmel]

hey i was just wandering if you could post another video playing with a light/heavy overdrive sound so i can see how it would sound cause i think i'm gettin an atomic...

[rowbi12345]

do a search on youtube for hamfistuk as he has a video called atomic amp rig demo that demo's what you'll want to hear. he also has another atomic video describing his whole rig.

[raybaro]

Hey rowbi, do you think the Atomic Reactor 212 - 50 Watt will be enough to play live without mics?

This is edrod from the Line 6 forum

[rowbi12345]

well that really depends on how big the venue is... if it's a staduim cencert, then no it wont be enough, but if it's a club gig where a head and 4x12 would normally be enough, then the 2x12 atomic will be enough... it's really loud and because it's a closed and ported cab, it gives the impression that it's a much bigger cab, like a 4x12... also the speakers are rated at 200 watts so you could turn the amp up to max and still not thrash the speakers... great

[raybaro]

Awesome, thanks for the response. I doubt I'll play in any stadiums anytime soon lol.

I'll start raising my money.

First atomic amp and then I will finally get my left-handed music man JP6 :)

[davidekdebilek]

Hi, I wanna ask you...at 0:36 you are playing some part which is almost the same like an interlude from song "V Bumbaru" from Czech band Alkehol...is it really taken from it or some coincidence of the same melodies?:)

[FFXGuitar]

I'm getting a Epiphone les Paul Standard Plus Top and two pickups for next christmas. I'm thinking about adding a breed bridge p/up to warm up that signature les paul tone even further, and add a evolution neck p/up to add a hot, melty, and sharp tone to my lead sound.

What do you think?

[heheimfunny]

i was thinkin of buying the breed pickup... you sure convinced me

[rowbi12345]

it's cool... as I have the evolution in my other ibanez, I can certainly see where Steve Vai was coming from when he asked for the breed to be made.

[xXsankoXx]

dude whats your god damn problem?

he did it great!

[rowbi12345]

cheers man

[pcarpernet]

holy shit, wtf are you saying , ugly fuck, go eat a buger

and the powerchords, hellez ye fag

[rowbi12345]

What's your problem pal? I don't see you with any videos...

oh, and try learning to spell. ;-)

[atakannnt]

nice !!! guitar model ?

[rowbi12345]

Ibanez RG370DX in Blue Haze. they've just stopped making that colour so I bought one before they all sold out (at xmas) you may still be able to find one though.

[Tzollverein]

I like it.

[destroyer1of1senses]

THe tone still sound flat and artificial, nothing like a tube amp which this Atomic reactor is supposed to mold the amp modeler's sound into

[bowo89]

honestly i tried a atomic with my POD, i think it's no better than pluggin straight to the PA or keyboard amps..

[houbahop]

damn, I was thinking to buy one...

you are putting the trouble in me.

[1Love2Customs]

the tone of the atomic is what you make of it through the setup of your modeler. Garbage in means garbage out. When I first got my atomic I was also getting only half-decent tone, but after I learned to really tweak the pod and get the most out of it, the atomic gives me incredible tone.

[1Love2Customs]

This was supposed to be in response to the "atomic is no better than plugging into a PA" comment. Youtube always messes up where the replies go...

[WarmothGuitarist]

Sweet playing Rowbi

[rowbi12345]

thanks ;-)

[GiGaMoG]

The biggest question still remains: Does this amp color the sound coming from POD in anyway? That what makes this one interesting, isn't it?

I'm thinking of getting one just becuz it looks so damn sexy ;D...

[rowbi12345]

well every amp or PA colours slightly. it's impossible to get a totally flat speaker unless you pay $1000's but it's as close to no colouring as you want, with perhaps a little bit of tube sweetness at volume. you just can't beat it!

[satcheee]

sounds like offspring !!!

[rowbi12345]

the first riff is Screamager by Therapy?

or were you talking about the cleaner riff at the end?

[rowbi12345]

Search for "Therapy? - Screamager" on here (youtube) and watch the first video, and you'll know where it comes from.

I saw Therapy? play live in 1999 or 2000 and they were great...

[narutosshuriken]

Nice! Is that an Ibanez RG360DX on the wall? i have the same one :D

[rowbi12345]

it's an RG350DX on the wall (with a dimarzio Evolution bridge pickup). also a limited edition Epiphone SG Xtreme. the guitar Im playing is an RG370DX BLH (Blue Haze) which was only made up until Last year so I've just bought it while I could still get one. it has a Dimarzio Breed Bridge and a PAF Pro in the Neck. it's also wired with a twin humbucker pickup selector for some parallel single coil tap sounds, and a push pull to switch on the middle pickup if needed...

[YourGuitarPlace]

Nice tone Rowbi!

[rowbi12345]

cheers