Atomic Amplifire

Started by Alec Lee, February 06, 2015, 07:41:56 PM

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Alec Lee

The thread about the Digitech Trio got me reminiscing about NAMM and my GAS pangs for an Atomic Amplifire.  As part of my NAMM coverage for TGP, I got to spend a couple hours with Tom King (Atomic Amps CEO) and got some hands-on time with the pedal.  I did a write-up for TGP's Webzine but for those who don't feel like reading the full article, the key points are

  • Very nice amp modeling (based on Studio Devil's algos).  Its response to dynamics is right up there with the top shelf digital amps.
  • Cab sims use Impulse Response (can load custom IRs--stereo 1024 samples)
  • Full complement of FX (dirt, reverb, delay, mod)
  • Small and light: can fit in the front pocket of a gig bag
  • $599 intro price
I'm on the reserve list for one and plan to use it as the centerpiece of my live rig when I don't feel like bringing out the AxeFx.  With this and a MIDI controller, I figure I can pretty well cover my bases.  If I feel extravagant, I might later add an Eventide H9 in the loop for fancier FX. 

IMO, the amp sim quality and IR-based cab sims are something we haven't really seen in the sub-$1K market.  I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on one for more than a couple hours. :)

polaris20

Mine shows up tomorrow; can't wait!! I've been waiting for something better than a POD HD, but not as expensive as a Kemper or Axe.

Elantric

#2
QuoteMine shows up tomorrow; can't wait!! I've been waiting for something better than a POD HD, but not as expensive as a Kemper or Axe.

Post a review - but these days my GP-10 is my go to processor for gigs  - great Amp modeling ( far better than Line 6 ) , and "B -Bender pedal ( Not possible with any Variax ) GP-10 delivers what I need - straight PA

SOS review
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/atomic-amps-amplifire


Alec Lee

#3
Quote from: Elantric on March 18, 2015, 07:48:36 AM
Post a review - but these days my GP-10 is my go to processor for gigs  - great Amp modeling ( far better than Line 6 ) , and "B -Bender pedal ( Not possible with any Variax ) GP-10 delivers what I need - straight PA
I own a GP-10 and have had an Amplifire for a couple weeks now.  I greatly prefer the Atomic's amp/cab modeling.  It's not even really close, really.  The Roldand/Boss modeling has a signature sound that doesn't sit well with my ear.

One of the Amplifire's killer features is use of convolution for cab sims.  It allows you to load 3rd party impulse responses (IRs) which open up a lot of tonal possibilities.  There are a lot of free IRs out there as well as some commercial impulse libraries.

polaris20

Quote from: Elantric on March 18, 2015, 07:48:36 AM
Post a review - but these days my GP-10 is my go to processor for gigs  - great Amp modeling ( far better than Line 6 ) , and "B -Bender pedal ( Not possible with any Variax ) GP-10 delivers what I need - straight PA

It's good to hear it's better than Line 6, as I'll be getting one of those too. However, based on past experience with Boss/Roland modeling, I'm hoping the Amplifire is a shade better still. I primarily want the GP-10 for it's guitar and analog synth modeling.

Elantric

#5
Quotehave had an Amplifire for a couple weeks now

On the Amplifire during patch to patch changes, are they fast?  -or is there a discernible mute / drop out / lag ?

QuoteThe Roland/Boss modeling has a signature sound that doesn't sit well with my ear.

Everyone's ears are different  -

For example here is my short list of DSP Amp emulators whose Amp/Cab modeling characteristics irritate me so badly that and I find the only relief is they must be unplugged ASAP .     

* Avid Eleven Rack
* POD HD500/HD500X
* POD XT

* Digitech GNX3
* Zoom G9.2tt


and

Here is a short list of DSP Amp emulators I enjoy playing through

* Kemper profiling Amp

* Boss GP-10

* Vox Tonelab SE/LE

* Fender Mustang Floor

* Digitech GSP1101 with Beta C63 Firmware IR cab models
http://www.frugalguitarist.com/post/2012/03/16/Digitech-GSP1101-Beta-C63.aspx

vablows

I played with the Amplifire at NAMM through the CLR (which I use as well) and it sounded, and more importantly to me, felt pretty close to my Kemper.
Excellent for $600!
I am on the reserve list and it will be my backup or B rig when I don't want to use my Kemper.


whippinpost91850

#7
Alec, glad you like the Amplifire. I almost ordered one 2 weeks ago after Tom emailed me, but decided to hold off untill my Kemper remote arrived. I may still order one soon as I want something to back up my Kemper, and I am still on the fence about the GP10

Elantric

#8
Atomic AmpliFire Owners Manual is here
http://atomicamps.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Atomic-AmpliFire-Manual-V1.0.pdf


Rather bummed that in order to use external Expression Pedals ( for Wah) , you loose the FX loop. ( seems likely Amplifire will respond to hardware mods

Wonder if a drill and a pair of  1/4" jacks and some soldering  can correct  this?


whippinpost91850

Yeah  I saw that as well. That was another thing that has kept me on the fence as far as ordering

Alec Lee

Quote from: Elantric on March 18, 2015, 09:10:23 AM
On the Amplifire during patch to patch changes, are they fast?  -or is there a discernible mute / drop out / lag ?

Everyone's ears are different  -

For example here is my short list of DSP Amp emulators whose Amp/Cab modeling characteristics irritate me so badly that and I find the only relief is they must be unplugged ASAP .     
I feel the same about a number of those devices.  I've been playing an AxeFx in my main rig for the past 5 years and in terms of amp/cab sims, I don't feel like I'm making a sacrifice going with the smaller/lighter Amplifire.  I am holding on the the AxeFx for recording and general home use.

Quote from: Elantric on March 18, 2015, 10:08:40 AMRather bummed that in order to use external Expression Pedals ( for Wah) , you loose the FX loop.

Wonder if a drill and a pair of  1/4" jacks and some soldering  can correct  this?
I don't think so.  They're electrically the same connections.  Also, there's very little space available to add more jacks.


Jim Williams

I have been following this pedal for some time now and I see it as the center piece of a great pedal board set up. placing some pedals to the right for some wha, overdrive and compression. Then putting some other pedals to left for some time based effects. All the demos I have herd sound amazing and I am only interested in the amp and speaker sims the effects are just icing on the cake.
Skype: (upon Request)

Everything from modeling to the real deal, my house looks like a music store.

Alec Lee

Quote from: Jim Williams on March 19, 2015, 04:26:15 AM
I have been following this pedal for some time now and I see it as the center piece of a great pedal board set up. placing some pedals to the right for some wha, overdrive and compression. Then putting some other pedals to left for some time based effects. All the demos I have herd sound amazing and I am only interested in the amp and speaker sims the effects are just icing on the cake.
in my conversations with Tom King, that seemed to be the original intent.

hippietim

I got my Amplifire a few days ago.  It's a great sounding unit.  The effects and functional capabilities have plenty of room for improvement but the fundamental amp/cab modeling is really top notch.  Atomic is already working on an update which is encouraging.

hippietim


admin

How is the patch change time?
Any mutes / gaps during patch changes?

QuoteI got mine yesterday and fired it up with one of my favorite gigging guitars. I just hooked it up to my QSC Touchmix running into some studio monitors.
Amp models sound very good. The Plexi sounded a bit flubby until I applied Jay Mitchell's trick. Once I did that I just jammed for a good long time. The cleans are great. I didn't spend much time on the high gain stuff but my initial impression was favorable.
The effects are unremarkable. They don't suck but there is clearly plenty of room for improvement. The Phaser was the most "meh" effect of them all.
I really dislike overloading the effects loop jacks for expression pedals. It should at least have one dedicated expression jack.
The effects block should support auto off like the wah - I use this all the time for modulation effects on the Axe-FX.
Given the sheer number of effects that are not there, it would be really useful to be able to place the effects loop in the pre section rather than fixed in the amp section.
Here's the real obvious effects that are missing for my use: Vibe, Rotary, clean boost, octave fuzz
The EQs and filters are very effective.
There's no way that I discovered to activate the tuner with a footswitch!
Given that there are only 3 footswitches it would be really useful if you could overload the behavior via press+hold.
As a backup, this is fantastic. As an main rig, the important stuff is there - nice amp tones and usable basic effects.

I'm tired of hauling around a rack so my Axe II is going in my home studio rack. So I want to use the Amplifire as my main rig until the Fractal AX8 comes along. To pull that off, I'm going to need some sort of small MIDI channel switcher (wish I had kept the MIDI Mouse) and a couple pedals - at least a vibe and tuner. I'm thinking I could probably just use my Zoom MS100BT in front of it for effects and tuner. It would be really sweet to fit this all on a Pedaltrain Mini.

I'll post more once I've had a chance to work with it more.

PS - if anyone wants to unload a Tech 21 MIDI Mouse, hit me up

Alec Lee

Quote from: admsustainiac on March 20, 2015, 08:47:37 AM
How is the patch change time?
Any mutes / gaps during patch changes?
I haven't noticed any issues with preset changes.

hippietim

I recorded a few more clips while I was noodling around and working on some guitars.  Recording was done with a Zoom H6 and I'm playing through a Tech 21 Power Engine.

Cheesy strumming in all 3 positions with a PRS Hollowbody II and the Amplifire factoroy Twin patch.
https://soundcloud.com/hippietim/prs-hollowbody-amplifire

Bad jazzy noodling with a PRS Hollowbody II and the Amplifire factory Twin patch.
https://soundcloud.com/hippietim/prs-hollowbody-amplifire-twin

Misc noodles with PRS Brent Mason and the Amplifire factory Twin patch.
https://soundcloud.com/hippietim/prs-brent-mason-amplifire-twin

Kiss tune intro and cheesy noodles with PRS Brent Mason and the Amplifire factory Boosted Brit patch.
https://soundcloud.com/hippietim/prs-brent-mason-amplifire-3

Lenny Kravitz solo backing rhythm with PRS Brent Mason and the Amplfire factory patch that's a Marshall with a flanger (forgot the name).
https://soundcloud.com/hippietim/prs-brent-mason-amplifire-2

Embarrassingly sloppy lick with PRS Brent Mason and the Amplfire on some bad heavy patch.
https://soundcloud.com/hippietim/prs-brent-mason-amplifire-on

Finger picking with PRS Brent Mason and the Amplfire factory Clean Room patch.
https://soundcloud.com/hippietim/prs-brent-mason-amplifire-1

Bryan Adams intro with PRS Brent Mason and the Amplifire factory Clean Chorus patch.
https://soundcloud.com/hippietim/prs-brent-mason-amplifire

Alec Lee

Here's a pic of the latest iteration of my board. Everything including the wireless is powered by a Voodoo Lab 4x4 under the board.


cgarlie

Quote from: Alec Lee on March 29, 2015, 06:37:07 AM
Here's a pic of the latest iteration of my board. Everything including the wireless is powered by a Voodoo Lab 4x4 under the board.

Alec -- I see you use the H9 -- I've heard great things about it but was wondering if (or how well) you can combine effects (algorithms). In particular, I'm looking to string two or more delays (a la Hank Marvin) in a chain.

Thanks,
Charlie

Alec Lee

The H9 only allows one algo at a time. It does have some multi delay algorithms that might meet your needs. There are also some combination algorithms that combine modulation and delay effects.

Panthersn

#21
! No longer available

! No longer available

To be honest I hadn't heard of this product before this morning.  Dual DSP at $600, wow!!  This could have some serious potential, given its small footprint it could fit nicely on your pedal board & speaker emulation straight to the board.  Looks similar to the Nova System with an easier UI and more options.

From the Manufacturer:

    Unparallaled Tones

    All new, state-of-the-art amp modeling based on Studio Devil's highly acclaimed and patented technology!
    Effects, Effects, Effects

    Robust effects selection including drive, modulation, delay, reverb, eq, gate and more!
    Intuitive Control

    3 configurable and rugged footswitches
    Not a 1-Trick Pony

    Easy to use as a pedal or connect it to your desktop interface for recording

    Incredible DSP Power

    Blazing dual-DSP powered hardware allowing for complex and detailed algorithms
    Take Control

    Dedicated, physical amp control knobs for intuitive tone adjustments
    Presets Galore

    128 MIDI controllable presets (yep, you can plug a midi controller into AmpliFire for extended control)
    Desktop Connected

    PC & Mac destop editor

    Detailed Cabinet Models

    Stereo 1024 point cabinet impulses with ability to upload 3rd party IRs
    Connect Your Way

    Versatile I/O options including ¼" Hi Z input with proprietary processing, separate stereo ¼" and XLR outputs and user programmable effects loop
    EASY TO UPDATE

    Field upgradeable firmware
    Expanding All the Time

    We are constantly expanding the capabilities of AmpliFire – check back often!

imerkat

not really a sleeper per se. I was on the waiting list since February of 2014 and the Digital gear section of TGP is essentially a dedicated forum. I made an announcement back in June last year here:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=10759.0

There is still a waiting list for this so it has made quite a buzz. here is my rig now;


Elantric

I merged this with existing Amplifire thread.

Panthersn

Ive been playing the Atomic for the past 4 hours.......... Amazing pedal!!!!!  I had my Redwire IRs at the ready but found the Studio Devil IR's were a very good match to the amps, I tried a few of the Redwire SM57's but quickly switched back.  The Amp Factory presets are awesome as well as the "Singtall preset superpack", I found myself really not tweaking any of the amps just adding effects.  So far the Atomic plays very well with drive stompboxes in front of the unit and I added a few Mods in the loop.  The editor is very easy to use, it does lack some of the eyecandy of the Bias FX or other editors but it's an easy sacrifice when you hear the great tones. Overall a great value!! I Might get beat up for this but.....  I would take it over the Helix or Theta pro.  Its a keeper for sure!!  :D