Universal Audio Enters Guitar Effects Market With UAFX Pedals
January 28, 2021 · 3 sources
Universal Audio announced its entry into the guitar effects pedal market with the UAFX line, a trio of full-sized stompboxes: the Astra Modulation Machine, the Golden Reverberator, and the Starlight Echo Station. Each pedal puts multiple modeled vintage effects in one box, with analog dry-through, stereo or dual mono operation, and deep editing through the UAFX Control app over hardwired USB or Bluetooth123.
The three pedals and what each one models:
| Pedal | Effect type | Modes |
|---|---|---|
| Starlight Echo Station | Delay | Tape EP-III, Analog DMM, Precision1 |
| Golden Reverberator | Reverb | Spring 65, Plate 140, Hall 2242 |
| Astra Modulation Machine | Modulation | Chorus, flanging and doubling, tube-driven tremolo3 |
Starlight Echo Station
The Starlight Echo Station is a delay pedal offering emulations of tape echo, bucket-brigade analog delay, and digital delay in a single unit. Its Tape EP-III effect is based on vintage early-'70s tape echo units, with selectable New, Used, and Worn tape machines for varying repeat color and texture. The Analog DMM effect draws on vintage American bucket-brigade delay units from the late-'70s and early-'80s, and the Precision effect serves up pristine repeats with flange and chorusing textures and ping-ponging repeats. Universal Audio described the pedal as a way to "get unmatched authentic vintage and modern delay effects"1.
"featuring jaw-dropping emulations of classic tape echo, bucket-brigade, and digital delay units in a single"
Golden Reverberator
The Golden Reverberator is a reverb pedal built around three modes: Spring 65, Plate 140, and Hall 224. Spring 65 models three "golden unit" spring reverb tanks handpicked from vintage amps, with tube clipping character captured through UA's "whole amp" modeling approach. Plate 140 is based on three vintage German studio plate reverbs sourced from The Plant recording studio in Sausalito, California, with analog modulation available. Hall 224 uses what UA calls "the exact, bit-for-bit algorithms" of a late-1970s studio digital reverb, and a free Hall 224 Chamber & Plate effect is downloadable at product registration2.
Astra Modulation Machine
The Astra Modulation Machine rounds out the line as a modulation stompbox covering classic chorus, flanging and doubling, and tube-driven tremolo effects3.
Shared features and connections
Key features shared across the UAFX pedals:
- True bypass via mechanical relays, or buffered/trails bypass, switchable in the UAFX Control app12
- Analog dry-through with 0 ms dry-signal latency, input to output12
- MIDI over USB via a rear-panel connection, receiving preset changes and BPM clock sync12
- UAFX Control app for customizing, saving, and managing effects over USB or Bluetooth1
- USB Type-C for registration and firmware updates12
- 2 x 1/4" unbalanced TS inputs and outputs, with jacks 2 for stereo connections12
All three pedals run on an isolated 9V DC center-negative supply drawing 400mA minimum, using a 2.1 x 5.5 mm barrel connector of the same type as standard Boss connectors. That current draw rules out battery power and means each pedal needs its own isolated output rather than a shared daisy chain12.
Sources (3)
- Starlight Echo Station Pedal, Universal Audio
- Golden Reverberator Pedal, Universal Audio (www.uaudio.com)
- Astra Modulation Machine Pedal, Universal Audio (www.uaudio.com)