Atomic ARFR-AC, ARFR-AW, ARFR-PC, ARFR-PW, MB-50 Owner's Manual

REACTOR SERIES

OWNERS MANUAL

THE WORLD’S FIRST AND LEADING LINE OF

TUBE-POWERED FULL RANGE AMPS/MONITORS

www.atomicamps.com

ARFR-AC

ARFR-AW

ARFR-PC

ARFR-PW

MB-50

ACTIVE CAB
ACTIVE WEDGE
PASSIVE CAB
PASSIVE WEDGE
POWER AMP

WARNING!

TO PREVENT FIRE OR SHOCK HAZARD,

DO NOT EXPOSE THIS UNIT TO RAIN OR

MOISTURE.

NO USER SERVICABLE PARTS INSIDE,

REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED

PERSONNEL ONLY.

SERVICE BY PERSONS OTHER THAN

ATOMIC AUTHORIZED SERVICE

TECHNICIANS MAY VOID WARRANTY.

THIS UNIT MUST BE
EARTH GROUNDED.

Atomic Amplifiers, Atomic Reactor Series, and Reactor FR are trademarks of Atomic Amplifiers LLC.

Any other product names, trademarks or names are the property of their respective owners

which are in no way associated with or affiliated with Atomic Amplifiers LLC

© 2010 Atomic Amplifiers LLC. All rights reserved.

Atomic Amplifiers LLC • [e-mail] • www.atomicamps.com

REACTOR SERIES

USER MANUAL

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2 The Atomic Reactor Series

3 Summary of Components

4 Panel Diagrams and Features

6 Using the Reactor Power Amp

8 Rig Diagrams

10 Maintenance

11 Service

10 Troubleshooting

13 Specifications

18 Warranty

1

THE ATOMIC REACTOR SERIES

T

HE ATOMIC REACTOR SERIES is a range of professional audio products from

Atomic Amplifiers including the world’s first and leading tube-powered

full-range guitar amp/personal monitor offered in both CAB and WEDGE

formats, plus passive versions of the same products (without power

amplifiers) and finally, a standalone version of the power section called

the MB-50, a 50w tube-powered full-range mono block amplifier.

Products in the Reactor Series are designed and built with the performing

or studio guitarist in mind, but are also extremely effective for acoustic

guitars, vocals, keyboards and other electronic instruments, and any

other application where a full range powered speaker system is needed.

The Reactor Series represents a superior-sounding solution for the

modern digital guitar rig. These products ensure that preamps, modelers

and simulators will sound their very best by imparting the best qualities

of real tube amplification: power, presence, and punch. Even as guitar

tone processing technology advances, the Reactor Series products will

remain a viable and valuable investment in tone.

The Reactor Series is engineered to withstand the demanding conditions

of life on the road or in other professional environments, whether on

stage, in the studio, or in a standalone setting.

2

SUMMARY OF COMPONENTS

The Reactor FR Powered Cab and FR Powered Wedge are comprised of

a 50-watt RMS tube audio power amplifier section and a very high

efficiency tuned speaker system installed in a high quality speaker

cabinet.

The power amplifier employs one 12AX7 and two “JJ” Brand 6L6GC

vacuum tubes to deliver full-rated power over a full-frequency response,

with high headroom and very low distortion. In other words, this is an

amp “without an opinion” which amplifies without coloring the tone.

The speaker system consists of a 12” driver, a tweeter/horn, and a

crossover network. Its range is wide and smooth, without peaks or

notches. The high efficiency of the cabinet design, coupled with the

dynamic abilities of the amp and speaker, provides a level of performance

that one would expect from more powerful and expensive systems.

Through the use of the speaker jack and switch, the powered cab or

wedge may be used to drive an external speaker, or the internal speaker

may be used with an external amplifier. See the annotated Panel

Diagrams (p. 4-6) for more information.

The Passive Cab and Passive Wedge offer the same construction and

speaker/crossover systems as their powered counterparts, differing only

in that their power amplifiers have been removed and replaced with a

jack plate/control panel.

The MB-50 Mono Block Power Amplifier uses a power section similar

to that of the powered cab and powered wedge models but with an

active presence control replacing the passive tweeter level. It is housed

in a conveniently compact enclosure with no speakers and may be used

with our passive cab/wedge models or any appropriate speaker system.

3

POWERED WEDGE & CAB PANELS

Figure 1 (above): Controls & Connections of the FR-AC Active Powered Cabinet Model.

Figure 2 : Controls & Connections of the FR-AW Active Powered Wedge Model.

The models have identical controls, described on the facing page.

4

e Unbalanced (¼") Input – Unbalanced input of the amplifier. The ¼”

input overrides the balanced XLR input if both are connected.

r Balanced (XLR) Input – This female XLR-type connector accepts a

balanced or unbalanced line level signal.

t Balanced ( XLR) Thru – This male XLR connector passes any signal

sent to the balanced XLR input jack (whether or not the amp is switched
ON). Note: THRU passes ONLY the XLR input and NOT the ¼" input!

u Power Switch – Switches the amplifier ON or OFF.

i Standby Switch - Standby controls high voltages to the tubes. Allow

60 seconds after powering up before setting standby to the ON position.

o Ground lift – When your system produces a hum or buzz from ground

loop, the lift switch can often eliminate it. Works on all inputs.

p Master Level Control - Adjusts the amplifier’s overall volume.

a Tweeter Level – Adjusts the volume of the high frequency component

of the amplifier’s sound.

TONE TIP: The high-frequency response is “flat” with the Tweeter Level at 12 o’clock. The
“sweet spot” will vary depending on your listening environment and the position/placement
of the unit. Turn the control downwards for a warmer darker tone or increase for added
brightness and sparkle. (NOTE: The MB-50 has active presence instead. See p. 6)

s Speaker Switch – Sets the function of the Speaker Jackd as follows:

Switch Setting

ON:

OFF:

EXT. AMP:

*WARNING: Do not operate the internal amp with no speaker or load connected!

†

NEVER connect an external amplifier to the speaker jack when the speaker switch

is not set to Ext. Amp as doing so could damage both amps. When using the
Powered Cab or Wedge as a passive cabinet, the amps should always be switched
OFF and UNPLUGGED.

Internal Speaker Jack Function

ON ON

OFF* ON

In this position, the jack is converted from an output to an
input for the internal speaker allowing the use of an
external amplifier.*

†

f Cooling Fan - Operates quietly when the amp is powered on.

g Power Input - Connect the supplied AC line cord to provide power to

the amp. The power inlet also houses the Fuse Compartment which
must be opened to replace the fuse. In order to convert the power amp
from 115v (US) to 230v (EU) operation (or vice versa) change the fuse to
the appropriate value (see specs on pp. 13–17), then rotate and replace
the fuse compartment.

5