“The world's most authentic amp models, no UA hardware required”: Universal Audio takes its Edge-approved amp pedals to the digital realm for the first time with $299 plugins

Introducing UAD Lion ‘68 Super Lead Amp – YouTube

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Universal Audio has announced three new amp plugins, which take a trio of the firm’s highly praised UAFX amp pedals to the digital realm for the first time.

Notably, Universal Audio has elected to digitize three of its most well-known UAFX pedals – the Dream ’65, Lion ’68 and Ruby ’63 – two of which were famously favored by The Edge during U2’s residency at the Las Vegas Sphere late last year.

In November, The Edge ended speculation that he’d ditched tube amps for amp sims by confirming he had in fact rewired his pedalboard to fit in UA’s flagship UAFX amp pedals. Along with the physical Dream ‘65 and Ruby ‘63, he also used the Woodrow.

Now, two years after the physical amp pedals arrived, Universal Audio has made two of The Edge-approved UAFX units available as native DAW plugins for direct recording.

Introducing UAD Ruby ‘63 Top Boost Amplifier – YouTube

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On paper, the Dream and Ruby models are recreations of Fender and Vox amps, while the Lion ’68 – which arrived shortly after the first three – seeks to recreate the tones of a Marshall.

The physical units have all received rave reviews from Guitar World over the years, and so to see their applications be extended to hardware-free direct recording via digital means is pretty neat.

In the firm’s own words, these three are directly based on their physical counterparts, and use the same algorithms. They offer “the timeless sound” of a Fender, the “prized vintage Top Boost” of a Vox, and “all the gorgeous cleans, aggressive breakup, and hot-rodded roar” of three 100-watt plexi amps.

Introducing UAD Dream ‘65 Reverb Amplifier – YouTube

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Each plugin offers a range of amp-specific tones and add-ons, including a variety of tube-powered spring and vibrato effects, Rangemaster-inspired boosts and Maestro-style preamps.

Not only that, they offer a range of mic and speaker pairings, as well as a host of “expert presets” that let you dial in some previously curated tones, which can all be accessed within your chosen DAW.

There is, however, a slight catch: the UAD plugins all cost $299. To put that into perspective, the physical UAFX pedals will set you back $399. That’s only a $100 difference between pedal and plugin, which is rather bold. And you have to remember, with the exception of the Lion (which offers three amps), you only get one amp style per plugin.

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To further contextualize that price, Neural DSP offers plugin packages that comprise a bunch of amps and effects for considerably less. Its Matchless Suite, for example, is less than €100.

Not only that, IK Multimedia’s AmpliTube 5 Max – which has five amps and a huge range of effects – is currently available for just $99, and is by comparison usually around $299 at full price. Having said that, you do get the prestige of Universal Audio’s algorithms, and the knowledge that the tones have been literally approved by U2.

Plus, they’re currently at an introductory offer of $149, which lasts until December.

Visit Universal Audio to find out more.