UNIVERSAL AUDIO TAKES THE STAGE
By Doug Doppler
There are few brands whose history is as rich and or whose gear sees as much use as does Universal Audio . ‘ UA ’ founder Bill Putnam , Sr . was a recording engineer and inventor whose innovations include the mixing console , multiband EQ , as well as the vocal booth . In addition to being the first engineer to use artificial reverb in a commercial session , he was also responsible for bringing the iconic 1176 and LA2A limiting amplifiers to market . Re-founded by his sons in 1999 , UA crafts modern renditions of its iconic designs in its California-based custom shop , and also produces an ever-growing array of audio interfaces and plug-ins used and loved by top recording professionals and home enthusiasts alike . UA has led the way crafting plug-in emulations of not only their gear , but officially authorized versions of the most sought-after gear from brands including Neve , Lexicon , DBX , Ibanez , and Electro- Harmonix . In so doing , UA has played a huge role in making modeling emulations so good that they ’ ve not only silenced the nay-sayers , their plug-ins have quite probably been used on more recordings than the devices they were based on .
A few years back I was hired to do a number of demos for the UAD platform for guitar and bass gear that included officially authorized plug-ins for the Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer , EHX Big Muff Pi , Friedman BE-100 , and Ampeg SVT . So , it came as no surprise to me when the company started releasing ‘ hardware ’ for guitar players . The OX was one of the first reactive load boxes on the market , and the only one to incorporate UA ’ s famed plug-ins . Next came the Astra , Golden , and Starlight UAFX pedals . The ’ 65 Dream , Ruby , and Woodrow amp pedals are the latest addition to the line , and in many ways reflect all the things UA has brought to the table in regard to modeling , be it amps , cabs , effects , mics , and rooms .
In this review we ’ ll be going over some key features for the line , offering some starting places especially for worship musicians , as well as sharing some real-world experience from some of our team members who ’ ve been able to crank their amps at church using the OX ! Since a number of features from OX have been incorporated into UAFX pedals , we ’ ll start there before heading to the pedals !
OX AMP TOP BOX If you ’ ve been itching to bring your favorite amp to church , OX has got you covered . Unlike most of the reactive load boxes which feature a single set impedance , OX lets choose between 4 , 8 and 16 ohms . It also sports 22 cabs , 6 close mic and 5 room mic options , as well as 4-UA effects : 4-band EQ , 1176 SE compression , Precision stereo modulated delay , and stereo plate reverb . OX feature ’ s UA ’ s Dynamic Speaker Modeling and Dynamic Room Modeling to drive the virtual speaker cabs to taste with the added dynamic response like you get when you play a speaker in a room . OX stores these parameters in ‘ Rigs ’, and you can store up to 6 rigs in ‘ Rig Sets ’. The iPad enables you to select the Rig Set of your choice for recall from the face of the unit . In addition to a wide array of output options for FOH and recording . OX also features an all-analog speaker for stage volume . While this output leverages OX ’ s attenuator and onboard power amp , it does not feature any of the digital processing , effects included .
Now that we ’ ve covered the key features , let ’ s hear from some of the [ WM ] family on their experience using OX at Church !