Yes, separate channels would be the ideal. I'm not against pedals, I just found myself buying a couple of Strymon pedals that were worth more than my amp! Which felt a bit backwards.
Anyway I ended up throwing my toys out of the pram, Thomann had simply stopped answering emails, so just told them to cancel the order (actually not replied to my cancellation request
)
The only dealer in the UK is GuitarGuitar.co.uk and they were only just about able to confirm that they expected some in before Christmas.....so have decided to order the Badger.
I hope I don't regret missing out on the Atma, but can always revisit in a few years!
Hope you lucky few continue to enjoy..