Worship Musician Magazine November 2022 | Page 51

OX POWER USER Brian Wahl ( Worship Tutorials ) The Universal Audio OX allows me to integrate my amps into a digital rig with essentially zero compromises in tone . OX solves a number of inconveniences associated with traditional tube amplifiers and offers several benefits that would be very difficult to replicate with a traditional analog rig .
The first problem that the OX solves is a quiet / silent stage . Many of us who play at church have been asked to run our rigs direct into a sound board . This allows sound engineers to have better control of the overall sound of the worship experience , and it solves the problem of amps simply being too loud when dialed in to their sweet spot . Players using traditional amp rigs have had to solve this problem by putting their amps in isolation boxes , backstage rooms , or just turning them down to almost zero . The OX allows me to play my favorite amps and run direct to front of house . In my in-ear monitors I can ’ t tell the difference . The OX also offers a much more consistent tonal experience compared to placing microphones on guitar cabinets . It sounds the same every time .
Additionally , the effects processing included in OX is stellar . On top of the cabinet and microphone modeling , Universal Audio includes world class EQ , delays , modulation , reverb , and compression . Replicating these effects and signal processing with analog or outboard gear would be prohibitively expensive , and UA ’ s modeling sounds and feels amazing . UA has also managed to package it in an extremely intuitive interface and app , making dialing in tones fast and easy .
As a guitar player who still loves tube amps but who also loves digital modeling , the UA OX has become an essential piece of gear in my rig . Honestly , I can ’ t imagine getting by without one ( or two ).
OX POWER USER : Chris Griffin ( Church of the Highlands ) Few things are more terrifying than being a solo accompanist in a large room in front of a large audience . You need to be in lock step with the featured performer , accenting their phrasing , supporting their artistic vision while providing a solid musical foundation for the moment . You want the best tools around . The ones that give the extra few percent , to make the moment reflect the hard work and preparation put in .
That pure , intangible tone of your favorite friend : the Twin , the AC30 , the Marshall , the Matchless . The one that gives the ‘ mojo ’ every time you turn the volume knob to that perfect spot . The spot where the magic lives , right at the break-up point between clean bliss and when every note gets an extra bump of soul .
I love some Fractal , and I love some Kemper ! But when your find yourself having nothing to hide behind or blend in with , you need the intangible , the OX from Universal Audio . Pure tone , straight from your amp , delivered silently to the house P . A . Every nuance and goodness
represented in its truest form . Flexible , portable , and perfect . Why blow out the front row turning your combo amp up , when you can have the best of worlds with the highest rated amp attenuator on the market . I ’ ve had many opportunities to run the OX through its paces in a live setting at my church . Per the below video , we were so impressed with the unit . Shortly after this performance , we decided to order a few more OXen to replace all the sound treated ‘ amp boxes ’ we were using , opting to run every amp at our broadcast campus through the OX .
OX POWER USER : Jeffrey B . Scott ( Church of the City ) The Universal Audio OX Amp Top Box is the digital version of everything in a recording chain after the amplifier head . It takes the signal from your favorite amp and not only replicates the speaker cab but also , the microphone , mic placement , EQ , compression , delay , and reverb ! Not to mention its ability to serve as a reactive load box , allowing you to run your live speaker cab at a comfortable volume ( or even completely silent ).
Set up of the OX is very straightforward . In a unique twist , connections are labeled for reading from above and below . So , no matter if you ’ re looking at it over the top of the amp or from the back , every connection is clearly marked . Plug your amp ’ s speaker output into OX “ From Amplifier ”, set the impedance knob ( 4 , 8 , or 16 ohms ), and plug in your speaker cab using the “ To Speaker ” jack . One big note : the OX does not send any signal processing to the speaker cab output . As far as the live cab sound is concerned , OX is just a conduit ; its real job begins when you plug in the Line outputs to your recording gear or live audio console . With your amp as the driver , now you can play with all the Rigs ( how UA refers to presets ) via the iPad app or Mac / Windows app . There are
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