[Not Nice (Deluxe Limited Edition) WAV FLP Presets
Gifford Brickley
Unboxed it a few hours and I'm sitting in my control room with a Deluxe and running the 1x12 Deluxe speaker sim. Going between the amp in the room and the line out coming through my JBL monitors and it's 99% the exact same sound - a better job at mic'ing a cab then I've done over the last 30 years. I was skeptical and waited for some "non marketing" reviews before I spent the cash but for once the marketing hype was for real. Hate to be a fan-boy but the sound is the real deal. Won't add to my live rig until there's a flight case for it but for the studio it's a no-brainer.
I am a touring guitarist and I switched to using a Kemper some years back to have an efficient touring/recording rig. While I still love my Kemper for live use, it is as of late usually in transit in the band trailer, so I wanted to have another option for home recording.
I am using it in conjunction with a UAD Apollo Quad, and I had an issue with some digital noise when I first plugged it in. It turns out I had a sample rate mismatch with the Apollo being at 48k and the OX running at 44.1k. If I have one complaint so far it is that it is limited to 44.1k as far as I know.
Tone? Pretty blown away. I am using my old 80s 50 Watt Marshall JMP which I rarely use because of the volume issues. I am currently working on a really heavy death-ish metal project and have been experimenting with different ways of achieving a really crushing tone (Note: The UAD Engl Savage model is pretty awesome, too). The front end gain is courtesy of Fender's new Full Moon Distortion. I got an early model of the pedal because I created some music for Fender that goes with these insane animations that will be released soon to promote the pedal line. A great pedal as well.
Anyway, I dialed up what I thought was a pretty killer tone, and then started messing with the presets. That's when s&*t got real! It was amazing that even with the same settings on my pedal and amp, the factory presets made things so radically different. You have a choice of mics, cabinets, room, EQ, 1176 Compressor, a delay/mod unit, and a plate reverb. All of the effects are up to UAD high sonic standards.
Anyway, I am spending some more time with it tonight and just wanted to give my initial impressions. Thanks, UAD for making me love tube amps again!
First off, I've tried a lot of different amp sims and fx units/software over the years, and currently have the Axe FX II Ultra which is great in its own way, but I've always felt the sounds weren't quite real enough or present like recording a live amp. That has all changed with the OX. Using the output of your real amp and running it through their cabinet/mic/fx models is definitely the best I've ever heard. It will be amazing to try different amp heads on this as I slowly collect them! My only complaints: 1) They should have implemented the USB ports to hook directly to computer although the wi-fi does work fairly well. 2) If they did implement the USB, the unit could have MIDI in to sync the delay unit to your daw which makes things a lot easier 3) The quality of the processing is amazing but more would be nice. 4) Since you can't save your 'Rigs' or 'Presets' to your computer, a better filing system would be great. These are things that can all be worked around and hopefully with additional firmware/updates in the future, these things will be addressed. The bottom line is the unit sounds amazing so take the plunge!
I have been a frustrated "purist" for so, so long. I have great amps and guitars. I'm outfitted with an Apollo 8p, some great mics, and a Mac Pro. I'm a good musician and songwriter, and I'm technically savvy. All the ingredients for killer recordings, right?
Despite my every effort, I've never been able to get guitar tones to tape (disk) that represent (and enhance) the tones of my amazing amps. It's been maddening! I've tried isolation cabinets, normal attenuators, even tried going all digital using amp modeling stuff that so many people have tried to convince me are as good as the real thing. There's always been something missing. However, with real mics and speakers, I haven't been able to get it to sound like what I know people have achieved many times over.
Maybe it's some weakness in my skills as an engineer, or that I tend to get frustrated and need to get moving before the musical energy is sucked out of me. So many times I've gotten stuck going down the rabbit hole of thinking the tone isn't right, and it just drains my inspiration. With modeling software, again, I've heard so many people get great tones, but even with the lowest latency (latency is the bane of my existence), it just doesn't feel quite right and doesn't respond to my playing the way I'm used to.
I've got a long history playing live and recording situations (in real studios, with professional engineers). On my own, I've never been able to recreate the bliss that is the right amp through the right gear
I had all but surrendered to the cold reality that I was never going to be able to achieve what I know is possible on my own...
Never wanting to give up, and loving my other UA gear, I thought I'd give the OX a try. As I type this I am still vibrating with excitement. I plugged my guitar straight into my favorite Marshall, which I then plugged in into the OX, and plugged a good pair of headphones into the jack on the front...
From the first chord, I knew this was it. This is what has eluded me for so long. It feels REAL. My amp is my amp! And it's like I'm playing it through the best mics, pres, into the best board, in the best sounding room, with the best engineer, and I'm in Abbey Road!
I have to go to work now, and I am thinking of calling in sick. I can't believe this is happening! I want to go back a re-record so many tracks! And, I'm so inspired to create new ones!!!
The OX is absolutely outstanding. It's a fantastic attenuator, yes, but the sound quality out of the box is simply stunning. I never thought anything could rival mics in a room, but this truly does it. Makes me second-guess my abilities as an engineer. It's also ridiculously simple to use. Seriously, seconds after plugging everything in, you are off and running. This is an absolute home-run. I can't tell you how skeptical I was until I heard it and played through it. It won me over instantly. Just an outstanding unit.
So I got mine in January among the very 1st ones shipped and have had time to get to know better. I'm using 1.0.1 software now.
The stepped attenuator function is outstanding (used it with vintage brown face 6G2 Princeton, 60's Vox AC10 Twin and an AC15, a Savage Rohr (2x 10) and a Studious Selye). The 6 preset cabs (some with effects such as reverb and delay) sound nice via headphone jack for practice or thru my Apollo via SPDIF.
Now that I've gotten to spend a good amount of time with the OX software - I've created many of my own cab/mic presets since some all of the included ones were directly in my wheelhouse. Overall this produces very usable guitar tones using your amps. My own sonic preferences lean toward cleaner Vox and Fender sounds - and there are no shortage of usable sounds in here once you start tweaking. I've mostly used the digital out into my Apollo devices to record keeper tracks on demos.
Two minor complaints - one far is poor quality of the SPDIF Toslink input/door - Despite exercising genuine caution on my part when plugging/unplugging the cable, the "shudder" or door broke off on the very 1st insertion and now the Toslink cable connection is no longer as secure/tight as it should be. It's a pain to have to get this repaired on a brand new unit. This is minor but kind of annoying. I've decided to live with it.
The 2nd complaint is the stereo only output. It would be nicer to be able to separately send to your interface all three output sources (Mic 1, Mic2, and Room). Its fine to blend the mics and pan L and R, but it would be nicer to have the flexibility.
Overall this is an outstanding box with lots of uses for guitarists and a unique tool in my studio!!
I have received the OX Box today hooked it up and the first chord blew me away. I use the Two Notes Live and it sounded great but now? The OX sounds more alive, the highs are crisp, the effects... amazing. I couldn't be happier. The perfect match for my Bogner XTC and Mark V. The price is ok if you consider how much work they did spend in development. The hardware is 1st class nothing looks and feels cheap. Great work UAD.
The Ox Box is such a great piece of gear for us here at McPherson Stompboxes New Zealand. We build effects pedals + repair musician's backline gear and the Ox is proving to be very useful.
First off, now we can get great (and accurate) recordings of our pedals for online content. The Ox is definitely the best sounding way to get our Artisan effects pedals heard. Over the last 10 years we have tried a lot of different options and many do sound great but the Ox does sound the most convincing (vs standing in the room) + it is also the most convenient.
Secondly, when musicians want to try out our pedals they can now jam happily with headphones on through a cranked amp, while I'm am free continue working in the workshop. They really get to hear what our units sound and feel like at stage volume, their reactions are always enjoyable to watch.
Before the Ox cranking amps in the workshop would have caused problems with nearby residents....they should lighten up, it's just Rock & Roll!
Lastly, we do loads of Tube amp repair work and being able to test an amp through a great reactive load means, that not only can we tell that the amp is sounding how it should but also that it feels like it should.
No doubt I will find more uses for this great piece of gear, at the moment it gets used everyday!
All round great product, I've opened it up and the build quality is also very good, nice work Universal Audio, you should be proud of this one, it really does fill a big need!