Introduction, Product Summary, Amplifier / Speaker

Introduction

Congratulations on your purchase of an Atomic Reactor 112, a major step in bringing vacuum tube analog musicality to the digital world. The Reactor 112 is an extremely versatile musical instrument that provides a live performance platform for your modeling tools and instrument processors. The Reactor 112 is clearly different from other guitar amplifiers. What we would like to accomplish in the following pages is to bring you up to speed on exactly how and why we made it that way.

Product Summary

The Amplifier / Speaker

The Reactor 112 is made up of two systems: the main system which can stand alone is an 18 watt RMS tube audio power amplifier that is joined with a very high efficiency 12” tuned speaker system. The power amplifier employs top grade components like all polypropylene capacitors, a tube phase inverter (12AX7) plus two top-grade, EL-84 tubes to deliver full-rated power over a very wide frequency response, flat out past 20 kHz at very low distortion. It won’t color or alter the tone created by a modeler, preamp, processor or effects device.

Coupled to the Reactor’s amplifier section is Atomic’s own, high efficiency, custom designed, 12- inch speaker. The speaker is mounted in a precisely tuned birch ply cabinet. This gives the Reactor 112 a speaker system that is wide range and smooth (no sharp peaks or ragged response). The cabinet features a unique dual flared port and a closed back. The unique design of the speaker cabinet coupled with the dynamic abilities of both the amp and speaker can give a level of performance that you would expect to hear from an amp with two to three times the power capabilities of the Reactor 112. More importantly, the way the amp and speaker system have been designed, they are able restore to the input signal, especially a digitally created model, the musical dynamics and feel that we usually expect to hear produced by a well designed analog tube amp.

Docking System

Early in the development of the Reactor 112 we decided that in addition to providing a world class sonic solution for taking digital amp modeling tools live, we would also tackle that other monster inherent to all digital technology. Having seen what happens to the value of all things digital, we designed the Reactor to be able to easily adapt to changes in technology or modeler brand popularity. This is the motivation behind the second part of the Reactor 112, The “DS-1” docking system (Patent Pending). The DS-1 acts as a universal mount for many types of modelers and preamps. The principle components in the DS-1 are the docking unit, the docking bay and the Reactor Series Template Kits.

Combined with the appropriate template kit, the DS-1 can accommodate most popular desktop modelers that are available today. As new modelers are developed, we are able to make available new template kits. Once a modeler is installed in the DS-1, all of the signal input and output as well as the power supply connections are made. No wall wart or external power is required, the Reactor automatically selects and sends the correct power / voltage to the modeler loaded DS-1. Installation and de-installation is quick and requires no tools. The DS-1 is then easily loaded into the Reactor 112. A blank template is also available for people who wish to use rack mount modelers and other choices for preamps, including the growing number of people using floor based “pedal style” amp modeling products. The Reactor’s classic design will long outlive current digital technology with value, versatility, and the elegance of a classic.