The definitive Atom thread!

[troykennedy]

For all you Atom owners!

Tips, tones and tricks! Pickup and setup tips! Pics! Likes and dislikes!
All things Atom!

Ready....go!

I'll start. I just got a beautiful tiger eye 3 pickup Atom that I am trying to figure out- tones, applications etc...love it!

Let's talk about your experience with Atom and any changes you may have done for your context!

[chriswhite]

well I have had my Atom CT for almost a year now. I have wanted an Atom for a while and I went to Tom and told him what I was looking for. I wanted a TAG that sounded better than a Gibson and played like an Anderson and before the CT was available he kept telling me about it and told me to wait a little while and as soon as it was ready I borrowed one had it for less than a week and went in and ordered one of my own.

I love this guitar sooo much. I had a Mesa Lonestar for a long time that this guitar was amazing on every setting. I have since sold the Lonestar and am looking at maybe getting a Dual Rect or now an Electra Dyne. But I also play mostly through my Dr Z MAZ 38 and its amazing through that as well.

It has the great Humbucker crunch like a Gibson but still sounds so sweet through whatever cleans you put it through.

[X - Road 28]

Can't pass up an opportunity to show off "Rush". I couldn't be happier with her, tonally she covers pretty much everything. Currently playing thru a Mojave Sidewinder, and looking at the Mesa Boogie Mark V.

The only changes I made were Locking Tuners, set-up on the dot from TAG, Oh yea, I change the strings - nothing else needed.

In short, it's my #1 and most likely be buried with me or passed on to my youngest which is starting to like guitar, my oldest is a Drummer ( a good one at that ).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/yagidara2/TAG%20Gold%20Top/IMG_0184.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/yagidara2/TAG%20Gold%20Top/IMG_0194.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/yagidara2/TAG%20Gold%20Top/IMG_0185.jpg

[troykennedy]

Wow! That is a beauty! I bet it sounds great!

[Rhys]

This was my first Atom; it started it all:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/Rhys227/P4010042.jpg

Sold the quilt-top and got Goldie:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/Rhys227/PC150011.jpg

Sold Goldie and picked up this Atom Special which I still have:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/Rhys227/atom_body_side.jpg

And the newest acquisition is this incredible CT:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/Rhys227/ct1.jpg

Sadly, it looks like the CT might have to go soon. I love the Atoms though!

[chriswhite]

why do you sell them so often?

[troykennedy]

Man that goldtop is sweet too. So, why do you sell them?

[Rhys]

why do you sell them so often?

I've kept most of them for at least a year. But I guess I just get in the mood for something different--wanted a bigsby, then decided 2 pickups was more my style than 3. I'd love to keep both the ones I have now but the economy sucks so one will probably have to go, and since I dropped the special and put some nice dings in the finish, I'll probably be hanging on to it for a while.

[troykennedy]

Played my new Atom in the services at my church this weekend. Really fun. Very different form what I have been playing. Clean sounds are really nice. I like the way the bridge pickup pushes the clean channel of my PT50. Full and clear with some nice grind. Well defines on the dirty channel. I will let yoiu know how it sits in the mix tomorrow when I review the video.

Man, these pickups are dead silent, even with a ton of gain.

[lairdy28]

I have a hollow atom in tobacco fade and it is definately my go to guitar. It's the guitar I take if I don't know what the gig is going to throw at me ...it just does everything well, doesn't break ya back, stays in tune....and strings don't break on it either.

I would love to try a carve top but due to the fact I live in Sydney, Australia it near impossible to try . I'm guessing they sound a little more thick? les pauly (if there's such a word:D ) Though I love the way the hollow sits in the mix very balanced ....

[troykennedy]

I have a hollow atom in tobacco fade and it is definately my go to guitar. It's the guitar I take if I don't know what the gig is going to throw at me ...it just does everything well, doesn't break ya break, stays in tune....and strings don't break on it either.

I would love to try a carve top but due to the fact I live in Sydney, Australia it near impossible to try . I'm guessing they sound a little more thick? les pauly (if there's such a word:D ) Though I love the way the hollow sits in the mix very balanced ....

Very cool!

[troykennedy]

I have been a strat guy for a long time. But the Atom has me re-thinking some things. If I want real vintage strat, I have my Suhr. But most of the time I actually want a little fatter version of those sounds. And that is what the Atom delivers. I really like the M1 pickups. Very cool. Interestingly you can play that neck pickup with quite a bit of gain and it still stays defined without being brittle when clean. That is quite a trick.

[troykennedy]

OK, I used my Atom for a bunch of services for the last couple of days. I also did some soundchecks and one of the services with other guitars of mine. One is a really nice 2 bucker guitar with coil splits and a floyd. Another is a really nice super strat with the right splits, vintage single coil sounds and a paf type in the bridge.

These are really nice guitars that I have been very happy with and intend to keep for different purposes.

My Atom is the 2 M1 and H2 combination plus the kickback. We did songs where I had full blown humbucker into marshall. Bridge/middle quack into pushed Fender. Clean strummy neck pickup. And a variety of other sounds.

Interestingly, it made the split coil combo's on my other guitars sound a bit thin and small. The bridge/middle quack was really nice and big sounding. Neck pickup sounds full without being dull on clean stuff. Bridge has a great grind without being too metal. Sit's in the mix very nicely. Also, the bridge was really nice when doing a pushed fender/strummy Tom Petty type thing.

I didn't end up using the kickback too much. Although last week I used it quite a bit.

This is a very flexible guitar that sounds big and 3 dimensional on all settings. Plays great. Looks very cool as well. My only struggle is with the tuning. I though it would be a little more stable in it's tuning. It probably needs some adjusting as I bought it used. That aside, I am really happy with what this guitar does. It makes you rethink things. It's a modern guitar with it's own thing that will cover the more classic sounds without cloning them. In many ways, it does them better.

Very, very, cool!

[marsodude]

I use mine in service. M1C & HC2. Extremely versatile.

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t271/marsodude/TAG%20Atom%20Special/IMG_5294.jpg
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t271/marsodude/TAG%20Atom%20Special/IMG_5270.jpg
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t271/marsodude/TAG%20Atom%20Special/IMG_5290.jpg

[troykennedy]

good looking guitar! Does Tom ever make Atoms out of other woods? I wonder what alder would sound like.

[X - Road 28]

marsodude

If yours didn't have a bigsby, I would ask to borrow it, if not sell it. Stunning...

[Big Harry]

Maybe the right place for a question ....
I am looking for my second TAG specs , something different , Short T and Atom is on the list , since I have 4 super strats already ...
Can someone help me with Atom specs for" ultimate" Gibson sound ?
Thanks ,
Zoran

[marsodude]

marsodude

If yours didn't have a bigsby, I would ask to borrow it, if not sell it. Stunning...

Dude, The Bigsby is what makes it! It's AWESOME!

Tom helped me on this one. I actually tried to by his which was slightly different...but he wasn't biting!

He and his whole crew are just amazing.

[Rhys]

Maybe the right place for a question ....
I am looking for my second TAG specs , something different , Short T and Atom is on the list , since I have 4 super strats already ...
Can someone help me with Atom specs for" ultimate" Gibson sound ?
Thanks ,
Zoran

I'm guessing by ultimate Gibson sound you mean Les Paul (not SG, etc)?

Of the ones I've owned the CT seems the most LPish to me--it's got a tighter low end, more of the chunk sound, and the feel of the carve top. So if you're wanting the Anderson package in the LP direction, I'd go with a CT. Just keep in mind it's still and Anderson; it's not an LP clone. The CT definitely has its own thing going on.

[Big Harry]

Yes ,Rhys , you're right , LPysh tone ,but not clone . :D
So Carved Top might be the way to go , thanks .

[marzzz]

Just keep in mind it's still an Anderson; it's not an LP clone. The CT definitely has its own thing going on.
Which is, of course, the most wonderful thing about it!

I gravitated toward telegibs and then ultimately a Cobra, because I wanted an SG/LP-ish kind of tone, but I absolutely abhorred LPs- I couldn't even stand to wear it let alone never liked playing one, the whole guitar just doesn't work for me. The Atom CT has completely changed my mind with regard to "this type" of guitar....!

[chriswhite]

I had spent quite a bit of time with Tom talking about getting a guitar that was really LPish (this was before the CT was out) he told me to wait until he had finished the CT and once he did I played it and was in heaven with the tone. Its LPish but its Anderson LPish. In other words its EXACTLY what I was looking for.

[lairdy28]

Men of all things Atom, I'm wondering whether anyone has fitted (or maybe this is WAY left field) a VA Booster to the Atom ?

The reason I ask is I saw a TAG Tele with a HC1 in the neck position and it was fitted with the VA Booster ....

[mslugano]

For you guys that have tried both, what is your verdict on the Bigsby? Does it make the guitar too heavy? Change the tone? Stays in tune? Pain to change strings?

I have been considering an Atom and I like having a trem but mayeb on an Atom I could do without.

Thanks.

[tom]

the bigsby is only half a pound so it's not significant, on an already pretty light guitar.
with our mod, it's no harder to string than anything else we do.
i would say that tonally it's a little softer with the bigsby. there's a little less tension on the saddles so feel like the attack is not quite as immediate. probably most noticeable on the plain strings.

[mslugano]

Thanks Tom. I guess the main thing then is that I couldn't do a quick drop D tuning when needed like I could with a stop tail, right?

[tom]

i do drop d all the time. if the song is all in drop d i'll check tuning on all strings before the song and make adjustments, but if it's just for part of the song it stays close enough to work for me.

[mdrs]

Don't forget the new Bulldog, if you're looking for "LP-ish".

[mslugano]

i do drop d all the time. if the song is all in drop d i'll check tuning on all strings before the song and make adjustments, but if it's just for part of the song it stays close enough to work for me.

Really!? That's very cool. I didn't know that (and haven't played a Bigsby in dog's years).