Atomic Amps Reactor 112 Combo

Not a lot of features, but very slick looking. Simple power switch on top and effects loop in the back. Amp is not too big and not too small. Very sturdy construction. It's simple, but I like simple!

Finally!!! I can hear what these POD sounds are like amplified. I have used the POD many times for recording, but it's so cool to hear all of these sounds through an amp. I've been able to mess with the POD more and find some more interesting sounds that I may not have been able to find without the amp.

This amp can get LOUD! Would definitely hold its own if the amp was not miked during a gig.

Works great with effects, like most other amps, either straight from the POD or with pedal effects. Although, I do prefer pedal effects.

You can use just about any guitar with this amp because of the variety of tones you get out of the POD. It's easy to have a lot of fun with this amp.

Would bring this amp to any gig. As long as you maintain it and take care of it, there should be nothing to worry about. I tend to maintain all of my equipment anyway.

Any time I inquired about the amp, the owner contacted me right away. When I finally decided to buy it, he called me directly the same day. Extremely friendly and helpful!

I am extremely happy with my purchase. I can't wait to get more use out of it. I'm definitely interested in seeing what new products they come up with in the future.

I do a lot of session work in the NYC area. In the few times I have played out with the amp, I've had people, including friends and fellow session musicians, come up to me asking about the amp. Haven't used it for recording yet, but I can't wait to try it out.

You know this one already, little if any features. I'm giving it a high number as I'm a guitar player, not a Knob Turning Engineer by trade ... simple is the goal and this is smple!

Tube power amp - you supply the preamp, there's your features.

I've tried for years to figureout but it's clear that tubes anywhere in the path HELP your tone. I've got setups now that have tubes in the preamp and none in the power amp and with this setup it's the opposite.

I like both, but not too many power amps offer effects and versatility so it was important and SMART o allow the tubes to be the power source. Nice!

It makes all 3 of my modelers sound as real as a tube amp as my tube amps sound, so I like the sound very much.

I'm high gain modern rocker and it's difficult to get that tight gritty grungy overdriven tube drive hat Lamb of God and COC, Down and Pantera get out of this but if your good and you know where to look ... you CAN get it.

Never had any issues, but if I do then I feel confident that their customer support is without a doubt the best possibe solution (just by reading every possible review on these units). I'm a Electrician so I'd probably perform a 'Look-See' on her before shipping it back just yet. LOL!

Never needed it, but How cool is it that he calls personally!! That deserves a 10 by someone who owns one, but never has needed it. That's the tits!

In a digital world, it's the closest possible answer! If you're like me you HATE turning knobs and spending hours looking for that sound, so you bought one of those all-in-one modeler units and it's the way it's suppose to be, BUT NOW you have to find a way to amplify it, however everything else seems to miss the heart and soul of the music. It sounds dead (someone said it earlier), kind of like having a Zombie singing and everyone asking why your sound is so dead!

I'm not going to tell you my gear, because I'm in a category where people call me crazy, because I own one of everything! I've been playing since I was sporting Huggies and I'm almost 30 now. I own 42 various types of guitars, I own 19 different amps (combos and heads) and 11 different styles of JUST speaker cabinets. I'm not going to count how many little stomp boxes are in that closet (wife said it's now between 70 - 80) ... but I play 6 - 8 times a week in 3 different bands, 1 plays beach music covers, etc. 1 plays college bar covers (top 40, rock, pop, blues, etc.) and 1 that plays Metal covers and we're dishing out our original stuff now, too. I've been all over North America and if you've got one, I've either returned it or I still have it! Tone is subjective and I play on this thing EVERYDAY! This unit is considered my morning coffee, one of my reasons for waking up and my reason for sleep walking in to my "guitar room" at night and playing for an hour and not remembering the next day. I'm getting help with that.

I play for a living! I even play in my sleep. There is said to be 24 hours in a day ... I'm usually playing during 22 of them.

And I like this unit alot. It's roughly 3 years old now? Not a scratch on it. Plays like it was just opened up and turned on yesterday. It'll always be in my house ... unless it causes the house to catch on fire. If you're looking for that magical piece of equipment that filters out what you just played and plays what you meant to play ... this might be it!

see my original review 10/03/06

see my original review 10/03/06

see my original review 10/03/06

I should update my previous review, which was quite negative towards customer service from Atomic. Someone apparently notified Atomic about the post and they have since bent over backwards to make sure I have received all assistance.

We're still working through the fix to my amp problem, and I still don't know what happened to all my earlier e-mails to Atomic. However, Tom (the president) has done a great job at trying to make sure that we're on the right track now.

I would still have preferred a telephone number listed on the website so I didn't have to keep sending e-mails (which apparently disappeared into the electronic ether). But, customer service is ultimately all about recognizing when a problem exists and doing what is possible to rectify the situation. Tom & Atomic have certainly responded well in this regard.

Please take my new rating into account instead of the "3" from my previous review.

see my original review 10/03/06

This amp has no features (save for tubes, a speaker and a box). But that's why i bought it! I use a tonelab SE as a preamp. The tube on tube combo is just amazing. No knobs to screw around with. Just Simple, creamy tone. The amp was made for Your effects processor.

The quality of sound rivals any Fender made Tube amp. Clean, it will melt you... you can litterally tastwe it. Distortion is a little bottom heavy. But with an adjustment of the preamp, Vwala, sounds great.

Had it for two years, never changed a tube or anything.

Never needed customer support.

The one downside to this amp is the power. For such a large piece of equipment, it should be at least 30 watts.

Not many features, but what features do we need in this amp concept...? I think only a master volume would be necessary. Just imagine yourself tweaking the pod and then tweaking the amp... what a waste of time.

I use it hooked up to a Line 6 Pod Pro v.1.0. I do it all in the pod, and then just play and listen... that's the deal!!!!

Goooood! Just hear the tubes right there...just one word: ORGANIC!!!

Warning! Please read the pod manual CAREFULLY and learn how to hook it up properly. The first time I used the 112 sounded really crappy! and you may ask why? That was because the cab emulation does not suit realy good with 112. I learned how to bypass it and set the right live config to 1 12" speaker... and heaven came to me!

112 excels in clean sounds much better than distorted ones. Let me drop some words on this issue. You will hear the tubes working in the clean and not very overdriven sounds. Try soloing through a Black face patch and you will understand what I mean... I felt like Knoffler!!!

Distorted sounds: Not excellent but enough good. Rectifier settings keep quite clean but rather powerless and I find some problems to get a really good hi gain soloing tone, but my quest in the 112 is not over yet.

Yes reliable at home ;P

I'm not going to tour with it, I am waiting for the 212 - 50 watt model. It's gonna burn!!!

Never used

I play modern rock styles: from Peppers to Tool, from 'tallica to Satriani.

I feel this is a awesome amp for pactising but not enough power to tour with. Tubes work fine and the speaker is really clear and the overall looking is sweet!

World wide modeller users: try 112 and rock!

Not many features, but that's not what this amp is about. It's about the quality of sound, and how well it reproduces what's coming out of your modeler. To that end, it is fantastic. I purchased the 18 watt, which -unlike the 50 watt models - doesn't come with any volume knob. That took a bit of getting used to.

The sound is very true to my Pod XT Live. At least as good as the sound coming out of the headphones, if not better due to the tubes in the amp warming the sound a bit. I played for hours when I got it, and was extremely impressed with the tone I got from the Atomic.

I use the Variax in tandem with the XTL and Atomic, and the combination is beautiful. From clean to distorted tones, I'm consistently amazed at the sheer high quality tones that come of this amp.

My only issue with the amp in my band, we're extremely loud, and putting this amp at its highest setting will overdrive it to the point that the cleans become distorted. But with an 18 watt amp, that is to be expected. If you mic it at mid-volume, that problem goes away. But I like to keep an amp onstage as a monitor. No problem though, as Atomic is letting me send my 18 watt back to get the 50 watt for the difference in price.

I've only had it for a couple of weeks, but I can't see that it would have any problems that any other amp wouldn't have.

Customer support for me has been nothing short of stellar. Before I was ready to purchase, I was able to talk to Tom King, the owner of Atomic Amps, and make sure that this amp was going to suit my needs. S

I've been playing for about 20 years, and I'm surprised how much I enjoy playing the Variax with the XTL, considering I've always been a purist. I had tried my Marshall, my Crate and even going direct to the mains to get a good sound at clubs, but the Atomic has whipped all of their butts. I can't wait until the 50 watt arrives, as it's supposed to have even more headroom for clean tones, which is what I need.

Well made, could do with casters and two carrying handles, (heard the new ones have these..also new ones have seperate power and volume) is very basic but well built

Is only limited to your modeller, my podxt sound great..a lot warmer and richer.....have found that is better on casters or of the floor (bass is far better and clearer(may just be my dodgy floor)

Only just bought it so don't know yet

Asked a few questions via email got prompt reply from owner...and usefull replies too

Is great, tried fender deville, twin etc....also own a marshall jtm....and this blows most away

Purchased 2006 october
This amp is design to be an extenstion of your amp modeler and bring it's tone and complexcity to a higher level of sound, making you more confident in using your modeler to play live.
I play classic rock/ blues.... style is really irrelevent... the better question would be what modeler do you use... The Atomic Reactor 112 is built to accomadate a multitude of modelers but mores so the more common ones described on Atomic's web site; V-amp; POD; POD-XT; VOX Tone Lab; and various floor modelers.
I use a V-Amp2 and am very satisfied with my options.. the amp actually warms the sound of any preset... some minor adjustments will be necessary (with any modeler) to fine tune your end result in sound due to modelers are devised to be used as a recording device or used with headphones and computer.. and therefore there is no need for the added room effect reverb etc...
I use this mainly just at home in a very large carpeted room.
Controls are very responsive and every setting comes through clearly exactly as intended.
The Cabinet it good size... large and confident, the construction is good.. very solid.. feels like it could take a beating but at the same time looks so nice that you'll baby it..
DESIGN...I couldn't have thought of a better concept or physical construct. I'm proud to own it..
It's also a lot louder than what you'd expect your getting.. it would easily fill a small bar room with no problem... If you sprung for the Twin they offer you'd be capable of giging small concerts.
For quiet practice or headphone use you do have to remove the DS-1 Docking Unit to be able to plug in your headphones and plug in your original power source... I've drilled a hole the size of a nickel on the side of the dock where the headphone plug is so I can keep the V-amp2 modeler in its docking station, so it can be easily plugged back in...Not a big deal.. if anything it's an adder protective for my modeler.

sound quality is unlimited or limited to your use of modeler.. what ever you have it can handle and more than likely make better..

I use noisless lace neck and middle and a seymour duncan pearly gates at the bridge... accompanied with a mid boost slector switch all on a 2004 fender strat.

I have it owned it long enought to rate this faily but accornding the the warranty it doesn't matter... it's good for up to 5 years...
If you take care of it, atomic will take care of you.

Support is phoniminal!... excellent!! Tom is the man.. he practices traditional Public relations... This man will call you on the phone personally and answer any questions you have and help you with anything you need...
I've had exceptional experience dealing with him

If it were stolen or lost I would replace immediatly with the same or the next larger version...

It has a great look to it... love the retro styling and logo..

I had a VOX15VR amp and it didn't sound a fraction as good or loud as this amp... now having it, it's not even a thought which is better..
I'd put this amp up against much much more expensive amps in the $1500 - $2000 dollar range... IT'S A CLASSIC TUBE AMP!!!!

The amp is very simple which is great... let the modeller do all the work. I do wish that there was a master volume on the amp so I could also use it as a monitor amp when I'm playing acoustic, but that's using the amp not for how it was designed, so I can't complain too much.

I play an Epiphone AlleyKat into a PodXT into the Atomic. My most common modelled amps are the Vox AC30TB, the Fender Blackface, and the Fender Champ ("tiny tweed"). I usually play mid-gain settings (a little distortion but not much) and everything sounds very natural... a friend who plays a real Fender Champ recognized the sound of Champ right away when I was playing that setting.

Now, I don't mean to make it sound like it perfectly recreates the tones--refer to the myriad PodXT reviews to discuss that--but the Atomic does a great job of rendering the sounds generated by the PodXT into a nice warm sounding audible tone. I'm not sure how much is the "tube" sound vs. how much is just good amplifier design, but it works well. The Atomic sounds better to me than the PodXT over headphones.

I can get plenty loud without hearing undesirable distortion from the Atomic, but I also usually mic the amp, because I like the sound from the amp better than direct out of the PodXT.

I've never had a problem with the amp, though I am concerned about how much the modeller gets jostled around. I'd rather see some kind of rubber shock absorbers as part of the modeller insert.

When I first received the amp, the vendor sent me the wrong modeller template (for a Pod instead of a PodXT). Turns out the packaging was labelled wrong. I e-mailed the vendor and Atomic directly and Tom e-mailed me right back and send a new template right away from the factory. Good service there.

However, I've also discovered that--for some reason--the power from the amp is not getting through to the modeller (that is a nice feature to have only one power cable going to the amp). I've done my own checking on it with no solution. I have e-mailed Tom at Atomic about 10 times over the last 10 months for help with zero response. I can find no telephone number for Atomic. I'm stuck with an amp that requires some kind of repair but nowhere to send it and no support from the company and no means of recourse. Terrible service here.

I was very impressed by the early reviews on the Atomic regarding service. The more recent reviews seem to indicate that something has shifted over at Atomic and they've stopped supporting the amp the way they should. My own experience (from good to bad) is consistent with this shift.

I have been playing guitar for 13 years, only picking up the electric in the last 2 years. I play mostly rock (U2 types of sounds) and blues-pop (John Mayer type).

I probably would not buy one again, but only because after a few years of playing around with my PodXT I keep coming back to the AC30 as my "primary" model and I'd just buy one of those. The Atomic has done a great job of helping me sort through my options!

I do, however, intend to keep it for as long as it stays with me.

I hate to say it, though, but as much as I love the sound of this amp I have to recommend against purchasing it if you think you might ever need warranty service or any other kind of support. Atomic's sterling reputation for service seems to have been completely abandoned. It freaks me out that I have no support for this amp right now... at least I don't make my living off music or I'd really need to get something with manufacturer support.

If you are a "tinkerer" or would want to have it serviced at some other shop, though, don't hesitate to get one.

Brilliant! This is the main section I'm sure you lot will be interested in.

I'm using it with a Pod XT and Variax 300 guitar. Had previously been using the same set-up through a vox valvetronix amp which sounded good but this takes it to the next level. Effects sound much richer, the guitar amp sims have more character, smoothness and variety tonally.

The amplifier packs a punch, would easily cope with quite large gigs and if it wasn't loud enough, the places that you would be playing to warrant this amp not being able to cope with the volume demand would definitely have a PA system. It shifts air, a lot of air! Great bass response, really weighty...like being hit by Ricky Hatton (google him if need be ;)

Only criticisms is that is should have 2 handles to make carrying easier and a standy switch would have been handy but these are just minor criticisms.

Apart from that I honestly cannot fault it!