I dug pretty deep into trying to emulate an ac30 last year- I did a Queen theatre show (full vid on my channel) and needed to nail the Brian May thing. I ended up with the Wampler Ace Thirty pedal and I was psyched with the tone. I’d love to do an A/B shootout with this pedal against the Wampler- I’m pretty sure the UA pedal would blow the Wampler out of the water, but I’d like to hear it for myself. Give this comment a like if you’d like to see a vid of these 2 pedals A/Bd and I’ll try to scrape up the $$$ to make it happen
Personally, I'd just buy an AC30. They're only $1,000. Especially if you ended up buying lots of pedals to find the right one. Even if you only used it once, you'd have an iconic amp. Or if it was a one off gig, rent or borrow one from a friend. No testing tons of pedals or tones out just to find something that's good enough.
It's a reasonable thing to say. I just don't have room in my life for 2 large tube amps so I gotta find a way to get the tones out of the 6L6 style amp that I have @@columbiajones1534
Most folks dont know this but Ritchie Blackmore used and uses the AC30. He used on ALL Deep Purple albums up to and including Machine Head. The original ‘Marshall Major’ made for him by Jim Marshall was actually the AC30 preamp married to a 200-300 watt Marshall power stage as heard on ‘Made in Japan’. He used Marshall Majors after that but returned to the AC30 in the studio for ‘Perfect Strangers’ on, using Marshalls and later ENGL live. Purple reunion the last few Rainbow albums and all of Blackmores Night (when appropriate) is an AC30.
@@columbiajones1534 Oh they're not $1000. The last sought after desired AC30 circuit produced was the AC30TB and AC30TBX (blue alnico speakers). They fetch $2000-$3000. The current AC30 CC and CC2 are not really AC30 circuits.
Inspired by the legendary 2 x 12-inch combo amplifier that powered the British invasion, Universal Audio’s Ruby ’63 Top Boost amp pedal sports Brilliant, Normal, and Vibrato channels that deliver everything from chimey cleans to all-out crunch. Shop it today at Sweetwater 👉 imp.i114863.net/rnoRRB
Great pedal I will be paying this I just wish in the demo I could have heard some chime clean with some delay to see if it will do that edge Tom petty thing everything in the reviews heaven which sounded great
Sounds amazing but until I hear its cleans with a strat in the 4th pickup switch position I can't buy it. To me that's why I love VOX. The chime you get in that scenario
Has anyone tried this into a clean Fender amp without an effects loop? I know this is not it’s intended use but wonder if it would work as an amp in the box style overdrive
Thanks for sharing ... Rory Gallagher was a true influencer and the proverbial Triple threat who could Sing and Dance while playing amazing Guitar ... I will need one of these!
Is it normal for the boost knob to have a dead spot near the off position? I get signal at fully counterclockwise and as turning clockwise the pedal cuts out and then cuts back in.
9:16 That's not how the treble and bass controls work in the brilliant channel. They raise their labeled frequency ranges as you turn the knobs clockwise, but lower midrange as your do. They don't work as the cut knob does as the demo dude stated.
I was gonna say! My RI AC30’s treble and bass DEFINITELY didn’t work like that! I hope he’s wrong about this. That would be really confusing for those of us who know AC30’s.
love the tones coming out ov that pedal but sounds more like a marshall then a classic ac30 to me , i mean i know i herd angus/malcolm young's tones in there , sure the sg played a part in it as well , regardless sounded great ...
Most interface line-inputs are 1/4” plugs for either TS or TRS, both of which can be used with these pedals. If you wanted to run them into a mic-pre you could just use a TRS to XLR cable. If you wanted XLR outs for stage use, again, just use a TRS to XLR cable. XLR outputs would be completely useless.
@@tomwaite5127 Well I could be mistaken, but to plug a pedal into a pre-amp, you can't just use a TS to XLR cable. You have to flip a switch somewhere to go from instrument-level to line-level. Or line-level to mic-level. Or something like that.
@@tortillaman2491 Yeah, ideally you'd go straight into a line-input. Going straight into a mic-pre wouldn't have the most ideal impedance match, but you could use a DI box like you would with a keyboard etc, especially if you're running very long cable lengths. Most stage keyboards, even high end ones, don't bother having XLR outs just your standard unbalanced 1/4" TS because it's just not necessary. I think the one reservation people have with these pedals are the lack of MIDI to control presets for live use etc, but I don't think UA are necessarily trying to compete with other products that can do a million different amp, cab, mic and effect sims in one box. Instead, it's a fairly niche product for recording classic amp tones, if that's your use case then a lack of XLR outs aren't going to be of much concern. My issue with the product would be, like all UA products, that the price is pretty steep. But the quality, again, like all UA products, is pretty high.
@@tomwaite5127 For sure UA is top-notch and high-priced. I have the 3 UAFX pedals, the Golden reverb, Starlight delay and Astra. Love them! But for these new amp simulator pedals cost, they should be do-it-all FX that you can plug into whatever. You shouldn't have to buy a separate DI.I It should at least have TS DI out. Other than that, I think these new pedals are just expensive overdrive FX with built-in speaker/room emulation. Which is too bad. I like the way these new pedals sound. But I won't pay $400 for it. How about $300 and $100 for the XLR DI?LOL.
@@tortillaman2491 You said UA had “dropped the ball” due the fact the pedal was for “recording direct and there’s no XLR line-out” which confused me because if you’re recording direct you would simply go from the 1/4” outs on the pedal into the 1/4” line-inputs on any recording interface. If you’re in a studio with nice mic-pres and you wanted to get the tone of hitting the front end of those mic-pres a DI would help you get the right impedance match; if you’re in a pro or even home studio and you have a setup with standalone outboard preamps it’s almost guaranteed that you will have a DI box or two to spare. I 100% agree that for live-use these products are not at all flexible, or versatile, given that it’s just one amp per pedal with no midi capability. But in your comment you said the shortcoming is in its use-case as a recording device, which puzzled me, as these pedals seem tailor-made for that particular use. I guess that’s the point I was trying to make, I appreciate the product is not for everyone. I’m not trying to blindly defend UA, although I use a lot of their plugins when mixing, they are a strange company. I think the overall criticism these “amp-in-a-box” pedals are going to get is due to the fact that they’re entering a very large and over-saturated market of pedals for guitar players, when I think these are more geared towards recording engineers and producers.
That's right - the Stones bought a set of blackfaces in 1964 , I think their first US tour - they couldn't WAIT to get their hands on them. The Beatles often played vox but only because they had an endorsement deal. Despite the myth, not many 60s groups used Vox; the blackface sound is the true '60s sound (particularly the princeton & deluxe reverb - almost all recordings were done on them)
Not quite 99% 😂. You’re discounting Marshall, Orange, Sunn, Hiwatt, WEM, Ampeg, and so many more of the extremely common amps back then - Vox may not have been a standard for provided backline but the impact they had on records of the day simply cannot be overlooked. Blackface amps are iconic (and my personal favourite) but the AC30 is easily the most influential combo amp of all time - in and of that - it was the first of its kind in Britain and therefore made louder stage volumes possible in the British isles for the first time - and we all know where that lead…
Why pay $399 for a Strymon Iridium, when you can pay nearly $1200 for three UA pedals! Seriously, I loved my Golden Reverb, but they’re out of their minds on this one. I can get a Fractal FM3 for less than these three pedals.
Would have been nice to hear some clean/jangle/chime sounds on a pedal that emulates an amp that is known for clean/jangle/chime sounds. Sure it is also known for a classic breakup, but honestly this video is one-dimensional and a disservice to a good amount of it's potential market. That said, dude seems like a nice guy
I'm pretty good at playing the guitar but pretty hapless when it comes to all the electronics. Right now I'm working with my Spark amp, which is handy for all the presets, but I find the Brian May/Queen ones just aren't good enough. Can you explain how and where you plug this pedal in and whether it can be used with the Spark amp, especially to access the Bluetooth presets? Thanks.
Hi Phyllis, great question! You could use this pedal with the Spark amp but you would want to use it with a relatively clean setting on the Spark. It is best used with an FRFR speaker, though - give us a call if you need help putting this together. Thanks! Jason Filloramo, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1281, Jason_Filloramo@sweetwater.com
I run it straight into the clean channel on my Katana Artist and it sounds killer! I don't do the 4 cable method either, sounds better straight into the front of amp mono or splitting it in stereo with another amp.
Hey there! No, you will only have access to one channel at a time, there isn’t an option on this pedal to combine channels. I hope this helps! Nick Pasquino, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 3230, nick_pasquino@sweetwater.com
Hi and thanks for your message, hope you're well and safe. There is no dedicated headphone out on this series of pedals. You can combine the outputs with a "Y" cable and they will drive most headphones. Please contact us direct with other questions as you have them! Robert Williams, Senior Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 2371, robert_williams@sweetwater.com
I wish people would demo these VOX AC30 pedals like most of us use them. Most of us are not generally cranking up an AC30, we are front loading them with pedals into a relatively clean AC30 amp.
Hi, hosoiarchives4858. Yes, the Ruby is a digital modeling pedal. In case you’re not familiar with them, Universal Audio has the most respected collection of analog modeling software in the world of recording and they’ve brought that technology over to the amp modeling world. The Ruby is a great option for someone wanting to go direct with a Vox-style amp sound. Thanks for your interest! Charlie Davis, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1320, charlie_davis@sweetwater.com
A 17 minute video and he never even gets close to the famous Vox jangle chime of The Edge, Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Radiohead and the classic Vox players...but rather just plays it like a Marshall the entire time. Good information on the pedal controls, but AWFUL ham-handed playing demonstration.
It’s a great attempt on emulating the amp. But some things about it are just like - WHY? The very first thing is - the mobile app. It is awful, everyone complains about it - why would there be no desktop app? No midi and only one preset is something everyone seems to complain about as well. If no midi is “to stay true to the thing” - then why adding boosters and other speaker emulations? Also - it’s quite noisy on its brilliant channel which is probably by design - I don’t get it why all the reviewers not disclaiming it - are you using some kind of a noise gate in your videos? Also - 2 years after when it’s clear that it could have had a noise gate (ANTI has one) and more speakers (Enigmatic has 9) it’s clear that this is all part of a great business plan and it could have been/will be sold as one unit (or even plugin) at some point. The plan actually works because I bought it. Modern world is fascinating. And sad.
Love the idea but it would’ve been great if it had an internal power amp to drive a cabinet. I mean, I don’t see why one would go with such a great unit just to use it with a computer. There’s a lot of great companies making great plugging of digital amps (neural dsp…) already
I love this dude, he looks like he smoked all the smokes and drank all the Jack!
All the jack
He would definitely sleep with your wife while your band gets it's set.
Indeed, he did.
Nick bowcott , of grim reaper I believe.
He sure did.
Better stay out of the men’s room in that bar.
You could go blind.
Kudos for talking about Rory! He's so amazing.
This dude is a total goof ball and I'm here for it haha
this fellow is the best guitar gear vid guy, ever!
excellent demonstration!
I dug pretty deep into trying to emulate an ac30 last year- I did a Queen theatre show (full vid on my channel) and needed to nail the Brian May thing. I ended up with the Wampler Ace Thirty pedal and I was psyched with the tone.
I’d love to do an A/B shootout with this pedal against the Wampler- I’m pretty sure the UA pedal would blow the Wampler out of the water, but I’d like to hear it for myself. Give this comment a like if you’d like to see a vid of these 2 pedals A/Bd and I’ll try to scrape up the $$$ to make it happen
Personally, I'd just buy an AC30. They're only $1,000. Especially if you ended up buying lots of pedals to find the right one. Even if you only used it once, you'd have an iconic amp. Or if it was a one off gig, rent or borrow one from a friend. No testing tons of pedals or tones out just to find something that's good enough.
It's a reasonable thing to say. I just don't have room in my life for 2 large tube amps so I gotta find a way to get the tones out of the 6L6 style amp that I have @@columbiajones1534
Most folks dont know this but Ritchie Blackmore used and uses the AC30. He used on ALL Deep Purple albums up to and including Machine Head. The original ‘Marshall Major’ made for him by Jim Marshall was actually the AC30 preamp married to a 200-300 watt Marshall power stage as heard on ‘Made in Japan’. He used Marshall Majors after that but returned to the AC30 in the studio for ‘Perfect Strangers’ on, using Marshalls and later ENGL live. Purple reunion the last few Rainbow albums and all of Blackmores Night (when appropriate) is an AC30.
@@columbiajones1534 Oh they're not $1000. The last sought after desired AC30 circuit produced was the AC30TB and AC30TBX (blue alnico speakers). They fetch $2000-$3000. The current AC30 CC and CC2 are not really AC30 circuits.
I have a hard time deciding which speaker type I like the most. Great demo Nick
I'm a fan of James Santiago and all the cool stuff he does. Nice video!
Inspired by the legendary 2 x 12-inch combo amplifier that powered the British invasion, Universal Audio’s Ruby ’63 Top Boost amp pedal sports Brilliant, Normal, and Vibrato channels that deliver everything from chimey cleans to all-out crunch. Shop it today at Sweetwater 👉 imp.i114863.net/rnoRRB
The boost options are so good
Thoroughly enjoyed this demo. Thank you
Please take my money! I cannot wait to own this; it's all I'll ever need!
Classy demo Nick !!!
Great pedal I will be paying this I just wish in the demo I could have heard some chime clean with some delay to see if it will do that edge Tom petty thing everything in the reviews heaven which sounded great
I fucking love this guy.
I've heard and seen this pedal in person and in a mix. Universal Audio is gonna sell hundreds of these in the genre of music that I do.
Great demo.
I'm getting one, and I'll be using it with my Vox Continental organ and Eventide H9 Max.
Cheers!
@16:58 . Where’s is riff from? Can u please tell me the song name ?
Thanks, I’m sold it will be on my mixing desk in 2 days.
Awesome demo. I love this guy.
Sounds amazing but until I hear its cleans with a strat in the 4th pickup switch position I can't buy it. To me that's why I love VOX. The chime you get in that scenario
I have one and run it with a Les Paul and a Strat. It chimes big time. Sounds just like the real deal.
Has anyone tried this into a clean Fender amp without an effects loop? I know this is not it’s intended use but wonder if it would work as an amp in the box style overdrive
I love this demo guy!
Thanks for sharing ... Rory Gallagher was a true influencer and the proverbial Triple threat who could Sing and Dance while playing amazing Guitar ... I will need one of these!
Nick is awesome!
When he said "no talent" at 5:52, I felt like I was looking into a mirror.
Awesome demo Nick! See you in….
Is it normal for the boost knob to have a dead spot near the off position? I get signal at fully counterclockwise and as turning clockwise the pedal cuts out and then cuts back in.
Nice pedal, speaker sim.
9:16 That's not how the treble and bass controls work in the brilliant channel. They raise their labeled frequency ranges as you turn the knobs clockwise, but lower midrange as your do. They don't work as the cut knob does as the demo dude stated.
I was gonna say! My RI AC30’s treble and bass DEFINITELY didn’t work like that! I hope he’s wrong about this. That would be really confusing for those of us who know AC30’s.
love the tones coming out ov that pedal but sounds more like a marshall then a classic ac30 to me , i mean i know i herd angus/malcolm young's tones in there , sure the sg played a part in it as well , regardless sounded great ...
even better!
Well said all around. Good on ya.
I think UA dropped the ball on this pedal. It's got amp/speaker/room emulation for recording direct and there's no XLR line-out?
Most interface line-inputs are 1/4” plugs for either TS or TRS, both of which can be used with these pedals. If you wanted to run them into a mic-pre you could just use a TRS to XLR cable. If you wanted XLR outs for stage use, again, just use a TRS to XLR cable. XLR outputs would be completely useless.
@@tomwaite5127 Well I could be mistaken, but to plug a pedal into a pre-amp, you can't just use a TS to XLR cable. You have to flip a switch somewhere to go from instrument-level to line-level. Or line-level to mic-level. Or something like that.
@@tortillaman2491 Yeah, ideally you'd go straight into a line-input. Going straight into a mic-pre wouldn't have the most ideal impedance match, but you could use a DI box like you would with a keyboard etc, especially if you're running very long cable lengths. Most stage keyboards, even high end ones, don't bother having XLR outs just your standard unbalanced 1/4" TS because it's just not necessary. I think the one reservation people have with these pedals are the lack of MIDI to control presets for live use etc, but I don't think UA are necessarily trying to compete with other products that can do a million different amp, cab, mic and effect sims in one box. Instead, it's a fairly niche product for recording classic amp tones, if that's your use case then a lack of XLR outs aren't going to be of much concern. My issue with the product would be, like all UA products, that the price is pretty steep. But the quality, again, like all UA products, is pretty high.
@@tomwaite5127 For sure UA is top-notch and high-priced. I have the 3 UAFX pedals, the Golden reverb, Starlight delay and Astra. Love them! But for these new amp simulator pedals cost, they should be do-it-all FX that you can plug into whatever. You shouldn't have to buy a separate DI.I It should at least have TS DI out. Other than that, I think these new pedals are just expensive overdrive FX with built-in speaker/room emulation. Which is too bad. I like the way these new pedals sound. But I won't pay $400 for it. How about $300 and $100 for the XLR DI?LOL.
@@tortillaman2491 You said UA had “dropped the ball” due the fact the pedal was for “recording direct and there’s no XLR line-out” which confused me because if you’re recording direct you would simply go from the 1/4” outs on the pedal into the 1/4” line-inputs on any recording interface. If you’re in a studio with nice mic-pres and you wanted to get the tone of hitting the front end of those mic-pres a DI would help you get the right impedance match; if you’re in a pro or even home studio and you have a setup with standalone outboard preamps it’s almost guaranteed that you will have a DI box or two to spare. I 100% agree that for live-use these products are not at all flexible, or versatile, given that it’s just one amp per pedal with no midi capability. But in your comment you said the shortcoming is in its use-case as a recording device, which puzzled me, as these pedals seem tailor-made for that particular use. I guess that’s the point I was trying to make, I appreciate the product is not for everyone. I’m not trying to blindly defend UA, although I use a lot of their plugins when mixing, they are a strange company. I think the overall criticism these “amp-in-a-box” pedals are going to get is due to the fact that they’re entering a very large and over-saturated market of pedals for guitar players, when I think these are more geared towards recording engineers and producers.
He's southpaw - just like Hendrix!
Actually, 99% of the live footage of mid 60s bands, including The Rolling Stones, nearly always had a backline of Fender amps.
That's right - the Stones bought a set of blackfaces in 1964 , I think their first US tour - they couldn't WAIT to get their hands on them. The Beatles often played vox but only because they had an endorsement deal. Despite the myth, not many 60s groups used Vox; the blackface sound is the true '60s sound (particularly the princeton & deluxe reverb - almost all recordings were done on them)
Not quite 99% 😂. You’re discounting Marshall, Orange, Sunn, Hiwatt, WEM, Ampeg, and so many more of the extremely common amps back then - Vox may not have been a standard for provided backline but the impact they had on records of the day simply cannot be overlooked. Blackface amps are iconic (and my personal favourite) but the AC30 is easily the most influential combo amp of all time - in and of that - it was the first of its kind in Britain and therefore made louder stage volumes possible in the British isles for the first time - and we all know where that lead…
Matchless HotBox sounds good too.
I live for the Vox AC
What about a FOH demo?
Why pay $399 for a Strymon Iridium, when you can pay nearly $1200 for three UA pedals!
Seriously, I loved my Golden Reverb, but they’re out of their minds on this one. I can get a Fractal FM3 for less than these three pedals.
IR loader?
I would have paid another $50-75 for an effects loop on these pedals. Missed opportunity or some kind of strategy?
This is probably about 5% better than the Joyo Vox Sim pedal which costs $30.
This pedal really sounds the business..
Would have been nice to hear some clean/jangle/chime sounds on a pedal that emulates an amp that is known for clean/jangle/chime sounds. Sure it is also known for a classic breakup, but honestly this video is one-dimensional and a disservice to a good amount of it's potential market. That said, dude seems like a nice guy
They got the rocker guy for the demo
Are we hearing this DI'd into a mixer/recorder or into another amp in this video?
@05:38 he said a UA interface straight into Pro Tools, with nothing else added
I'm pretty good at playing the guitar but pretty hapless when it comes to all the electronics. Right now I'm working with my Spark amp, which is handy for all the presets, but I find the Brian May/Queen ones just aren't good enough. Can you explain how and where you plug this pedal in and whether it can be used with the Spark amp, especially to access the Bluetooth presets? Thanks.
Hi Phyllis, great question! You could use this pedal with the Spark amp but you would want to use it with a relatively clean setting on the Spark. It is best used with an FRFR speaker, though - give us a call if you need help putting this together. Thanks!
Jason Filloramo, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1281, Jason_Filloramo@sweetwater.com
I run it straight into the clean channel on my Katana Artist and it sounds killer! I don't do the 4 cable method either, sounds better straight into the front of amp mono or splitting it in stereo with another amp.
Can you "boost" or process your guitar signal through the normal and top boost channels simultaneously?
Hey there! No, you will only have access to one channel at a time, there isn’t an option on this pedal to combine channels.
I hope this helps!
Nick Pasquino, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 3230, nick_pasquino@sweetwater.com
Glad to see someone demoing a pedal playign the 'correct' way..... southpaw's rule....
Can I plug headphones into the pedal directly?
Hi and thanks for your message, hope you're well and safe.
There is no dedicated headphone out on this series of pedals. You can combine the outputs with a "Y" cable and they will drive most headphones.
Please contact us direct with other questions as you have them!
Robert Williams, Senior Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 2371, robert_williams@sweetwater.com
Now that's a voice
I wish people would demo these VOX AC30 pedals like most of us use them. Most of us are not generally cranking up an AC30, we are front loading them with pedals into a relatively clean AC30 amp.
Is it digital?
Hi, hosoiarchives4858. Yes, the Ruby is a digital modeling pedal. In case you’re not familiar with them, Universal Audio has the most respected collection of analog modeling software in the world of recording and they’ve brought that technology over to the amp modeling world. The Ruby is a great option for someone wanting to go direct with a Vox-style amp sound.
Thanks for your interest!
Charlie Davis, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1320, charlie_davis@sweetwater.com
12 o'clock is nice 3 o'clock has a wider spread nice
Geez, I would have loaned them my `64 AC-30TB
A 17 minute video and he never even gets close to the famous Vox jangle chime of The Edge, Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Radiohead and the classic Vox players...but rather just plays it like a Marshall the entire time. Good information on the pedal controls, but AWFUL ham-handed playing demonstration.
Who is that person trying to impersonate Tore! Sounds like him, but… why doesn’t it look like Tore? 😳
It’s a great attempt on emulating the amp. But some things about it are just like - WHY? The very first thing is - the mobile app. It is awful, everyone complains about it - why would there be no desktop app? No midi and only one preset is something everyone seems to complain about as well. If no midi is “to stay true to the thing” - then why adding boosters and other speaker emulations? Also - it’s quite noisy on its brilliant channel which is probably by design - I don’t get it why all the reviewers not disclaiming it - are you using some kind of a noise gate in your videos? Also - 2 years after when it’s clear that it could have had a noise gate (ANTI has one) and more speakers (Enigmatic has 9) it’s clear that this is all part of a great business plan and it could have been/will be sold as one unit (or even plugin) at some point. The plan actually works because I bought it. Modern world is fascinating. And sad.
I got super confused when he said “across the pond”
Not one single clean sound demonstration so clearly not for a Beatles fan, the very reason Dick Denney sold the Top Boost!
it cleans up nice but not much headroom, which is fine by me . I love the edge of breakup to full blown Fuzz you can get from this.
More toys ; )
Love the idea but it would’ve been great if it had an internal power amp to drive a cabinet.
I mean, I don’t see why one would go with such a great unit just to use it with a computer. There’s a lot of great companies making great plugging of digital amps (neural dsp…) already
Ugh, no single coil tones…..
Should be priced under $200. UAD is high.
No midi......
Good!
Too much bla bla....
Maybe you should get someone who can play guitar a little better to show gear capability.