UNIVERSAL AUDIO UAFX AMP EMULATORS

103
SEPTEMBER 2022 GU ITARIST
UNIVERSAL AUDIO UAFX AMP EMULATORS
UNIVERSAL AUDIO UAFX AMP EMULATORS
£339 EACH
CONTACT Universal Audio PHONE [phone] WEB www.uaudio.com
Some are factory presets, while some have
been created by pro guitarists including
Tim Pierce, Nels Cline and Cory Wong,
among others. The app has other functions,
too, like allowing you to configure different
footswitch assignments, such as having a
footswitch to turn vibrato on and off.
While the pedals are ideally placed to be a
substitute for a real amp for recording or for
sending a signal to FOH or an FRFR speaker
for onstage use, they can also be used with
your own amp. It’s easy to disengage the cab
simulation, and there’s a setup that allows
you to use the four-cable method whereby
F
ollowing last year’s pedal debuts,
Universal Audio’s UAFX range
continues to grow with these new
Amp Emulators, which the company says
emulate the best vintage guitar amps of all
time. Each pedal represents one particular
amp type: Woodrow ’55 Instrument
Amplifier is based on Fender tweed amps
from the 50s; Dream ’65 Reverb Amplifier
represents the later black-panel Fenders
with an emulation of the Deluxe Reverb;
and Ruby ’63 Top Boost Amplifier channels
our homegrown Vox AC30.
Providing various stereo and mono
options, each pedal offers the actual amp
emulation plus a choice of six speaker
cabinet emulations – you get three as
shipped, but registering the pedal entitles
you to another three. Each pedal also has
three toggle-switched variations on the
sound that only become active on turning
the Boost switch from fully anticlockwise.
A single preset can be instantly recalled with
the right-hand footswitch, while the other
footswitch accesses the Live mode, which
gives you the sound determined by the
current positions of knobs and switches. If
you want to make a preset that is an instant
snapshot of the knobs and switches, you do
it with a simple flick of the Store switch.
There is another source of presets via the
UAFX Control mobile app for iPhone and
Android, which lets you beam a preset into
the pedal. There are a bunch of them out
there already with meticulously dialled-in
sounds to suit a range of musical scenarios.
What You Need To Know
Doesn’t Universal Audio specialise
in plug-ins and studio gear?
Correct, but the company branched
out into guitar pedals last year with
the Golden Reverberator, Starlight
Echo Station and Astra Modulation
Machine units.
Are these more of the same, then?
They may look similar, but these are
not effects pedals as such – they
provide full-blown amp and speaker
simulation. Each pedal represents
one particular amp type.
Just one amp! There are usually
multiple amps in these things…
Yes, but by dedicating all of its DSP
to a single amp type, each pedal
ought to be able to offer a really
detailed and nuanced emulation of
that amp and can also reproduce
the exact same set of knobs the amp
has for some familiar tweaking. So if
it means increased sonic accuracy
and playability, we’ll take it!
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2
3
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1. The left-hand toggle
switch scrolls through
your speaker cab options
– three with a red LED,
three with a green one,
and speaker cab emulation
disabled (unlit LED)
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