Introducing REACTOR — Your Imagination Deserves an Amplifier

There's a question every guitarist eventually asks themselves mid-session, usually while scrolling through amp sims or fiddling with pedal chains at midnight: what if I could just describe the sound I want and have it actually show up? Not scroll through presets hoping something sticks. Not spend 45 minutes on YouTube trying to reverse-engineer a tone from a live clip. Just... say it, and have it be there.

That question is basically what REACTOR was built to answer.

Positive Grid's REACTOR is a 1x12" combo amp powered by something called Amp Intelligence, a tone engine unlike anything that's been in a guitar amp before. It comes in two versions, 50W and 100W, and it's the kind of release that's hard to explain in a single sentence because it's not really doing one thing. It's doing several things that guitarists have wanted for a long time, all in one box. So let's get into it.

What Is Amp Intelligence, Exactly?

This is the part that takes a second to sink in. Amp Intelligence is the tone engine at the core of REACTOR, and it was built by going deep on over 200 amp designs at the circuit level. Not just capturing how they sound, but actually decoding the gain stages, transformers, bias points, and harmonic behavior of the most iconic amps ever made. The result is tone that is dynamic, responsive, and alive under your fingers. It's the difference between a photograph of a fire and an actual fire.

Build Tone from Scratch, Right from the REACTOR App

Here's where things get fun. The REACTOR app is where tone creation actually lives, and the centerpiece of it is the Creator Hub — specifically a feature called Tone Capture that gives you three completely different ways to build tone, none of which involve turning knobs until something sounds okay. You can type a description, something like "late 70s British crunch, slightly dark, a little loose in the low end," and Amp Intelligence figures out the signal chain and makes it playable. You can snap a photo of an amp you saw at a show, or a pedalboard on Instagram, and REACTOR builds a tone to match. You can even upload a reference clip from a song and have it recreate the guitar tone from it.

And yes, you can snap a photo of yourself. Seriously. Let REACTOR look at you and decide what you sound like. It's either going to be deeply accurate or something you never thought you'd hear coming out of a guitar amp. Either way, you're playing it.

The Creator Hub in REACTOR goes further than just matching sounds too. You can build amps that don't exist anywhere else — combine characteristics, shape deep parameters, and create something entirely your own.

We also know there are plenty of you who'd rather build everything out manually, and that option is absolutely here too. The Creator Hub is there when you want it, but it's not the only way in.

Beyond the creation side, the app gives you full control over your rig. Eight effect slots, full parameter access, drag-and-drop signal chain routing, and 24 amp models to start. Unlimited preset saving, 8 onboard slots for instant recall from the amp panel, and a ToneCloud community where you can share what you've built or just download what someone else spent hours on. REACTOR also has a Tone Memory feature that remembers how you work and starts closer to where you want to be every time you open it. For anyone who's wanted this level of signal chain control without lugging a rack around, the app is where REACTOR really earns it.

Two Switches You Won't Find on Any Other Amp

Most amps give you Gain, EQ, and Master. REACTOR has those too, but it also has two switches that don't exist anywhere else. Push/Smooth moves you from a laid-back rhythm feel to a cutting lead tone without touching your distortion. Heat adjusts feel and harmonics without significantly changing your volume. Both are powered by Amp Intelligence, so they're doing something more considered than a simple EQ bump. If you've ever been mid-song wishing you could just shift the feel of your tone without a full tap-dance on the board, that's exactly what these are for.

Same Tone at Any Volume

Selectable wattage sounds like a spec-sheet thing until you actually use it, and then it becomes one of those features you can't imagine living without. REACTOR runs at full power (50W or 100W), 25W, or 1W, and the point is that it sounds like itself at all three. Most amps lose their character when you turn them down, which is rough when you're playing in a bedroom or a small rehearsal space but your whole tone was dialed in for a stage. The wood cabinet and custom 12" speaker help a lot here too. It doesn't sound like a compromised version of the amp. It just sounds like the amp, at a volume your neighbors might tolerate.

Optional Footswitch: REACTOR Control

For live players, there's a dedicated footswitch called REACTOR Control that connects wirelessly or by cable. Six footswitches, an expression pedal input, hands-free preset and effect switching on stage. It's optional and sold separately, but if you're gigging with this thing it's probably going to end up on your board pretty quickly.

The Build

REACTOR is a proper combo amp, wood cabinet, custom 12" speaker, and a full I/O setup that covers USB-C direct recording, Bluetooth audio, FX loop, line out with cab simulation, MIDI in, headphone out, and power amp in. There's a built-in tuner, Wi-Fi for OTA updates, and two models to choose from. The REACTOR 50 leans into feel and immediacy, the REACTOR 100 gives you more headroom, punch, and projection. Both are the same amp. Just depends how loud your world gets.

The Bottom Line

REACTOR is a 1x12" intelligent guitar combo amp that builds tone from text, images, and audio — powered by Amp Intelligence, a tone engine trained on over 200 amp designs at the circuit level. It comes in 50W and 100W, runs at 1W, 25W, or full power, and gives you full signal chain control through the REACTOR app. If you've been chasing a sound you couldn't quite name, this is the amp built for that.

Explore REACTOR and start building tone from whatever's in your head.