Universal Audio has released a new series of four affordable UAFX pedals: Orion Tape Echo, 1176 Studio Compressor, Heavenly Plate Reverb, and Evermore Studio Reverb.
Let’s stay with FX pedals. In 2021 Universal Audio entered the pedal business with its first-ever UAFX lineup (Golden Reverberator, Starlight Echo Station, and Astra Modulation Machine). More pedals followed, including three new ones for NAMM 2023.
So far, all of them are rather high-priced pedals, and are stereo and feature-dense. Universal Audio has today unveiled four new UAFX pedals for its young portfolio. These are more affordable but more feature-focused and in mono.
Four new pedals. It is immediately noticeable that all are based on the same platform since the layout is the same for all four: two knobs on top, a switch, three knobs in the center, and a foot switch on the bottom.
Orion Tape Echo
First up is the Orion Tape Echo which emulates a vintage Maestro Echoplex EP-III tape echo in a compact stompbox. This tape echo was famous for its dirty tape results with a very characterful gritty sound. One of the core elements was the preamp.
According to Universal Audio, they perfectly captured the analog preamp for fat-boosted tones and effects. The pedal has three selectable tape types: mint, worn, and old tape, each with different color and texture.
You can adjust the delay time, add modulation via the wonk parameter, and set the mix, feedback, and rec level. The latter controls the level that goes into the FX. On the back, Orion also comes with a selectable true/buffered bypass and switchable on/off preamp functionality.
Heavenly Plate Reverb
The second new pedal is called Heavenly Plate Reverb and features authentic emulations of three vintage 195os studio plate reverbs sourced from The Plant Studio. It offers selectable Vintage Bright, Vintage Dark, and Modern Full plate settings for endless reverb textures.
You adjust here the decay, mix, mod, pre-delay, and sculpt the sound with an onboard EQ. On the back, you have a selectable true/buffered bypass and an analog dry-through.
Evermore Studio Reverb
More reverbs? Yes, there is another new reverb pedal from Universal Audio. The Evermore Studio Reverb features an authentic emulation of a vintage 70s digital studio hardware. According to UA, it comes with grainy ambient rails and lovely modulations.
It offers “bit-for-bit” emulations of the iconic room, small hall, and large hall programs.
On the control side, you get a mod control that introdues lush, grainy “early-digital” textures. Then, you can adjust the mix, and the vintage-corrected bass, mid and treble decay. On the back, it has selectable true/buffered bypass, short/long pre-delay, and analog dry through.
1176 Compressor
Lastly, the 1176 Compressor brings the Universal Audio 1176 compressor to an affordable pedal with same punchy, expressive tones of the original. More precisely, it emulates the 1176LN Limiting Amplifier.
It hosts three modes: single, dual, and sutain modes. and with five controls: input, output, attack, release, and ratio settings. The Ratio knob includes the infamous “all buttons in” mode for squashed, gritty textures
Further, it also includes a parallel compression mode, and true/buffered bypass on the back.
First Impression
Four beautiful new UAFX pedals. No ground-breaking new ideas, but high-quality pedals that take you in the vintage effects world. Particularly tempting is the Orion Tape Echo which sounds excellent.
The new four Universal Audio UAFX pedals are available now for $199-$219/219€-239€ each.
More information here: Universal Audio
Available at my partners
Obv high quality but boring vintage FX emulation.