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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.