NAMM 2023: Universal Audio debuts 3 new UAFX pedals, taking on the Space Echo, classic compressors and the greatest hits of reverb and delay

NAMM 2023: Universal Audio has announced three new pedals for its high-end UAFX range, including the Galaxy ‘74 Tape Echo and Reverb, Max Preamp and Dual Compressor and Del-Verb Ambience Companion. 

UA has an almost unrivalled reputation as a studio brand and in 2021 launched the UAFX range, bringing some of that high-quality audio nous to the guitarist’s pedalboard, using digital processing to create stunning emulations of analog effects. Now three new units join the UAFX lineup.

UAFX Galaxy ’74

The Galaxy ’74 Tape Echo and Reverb is essentially a take on the classic Roland Space Echo unit, with the year of being a tip of the cap to its 1974 debut. It’s described as “warm, warped and relentlessly analog”, though it is of course, digital. 

Slap-back/tape echo tones are therefore its bread and butter, emulating the consistent volume of three tape plate heads, alongside the Space Echo’s lauded preamp. You can select from 1, 2 and 3 heads to feed into the repeats and there’s a Tape Age knob to capture that much-loved ‘wow and flutter’ of the original. 

Then there’s the spring reverb circuit, plus a heap of extra control options available by flicking the ‘alt’ toggle switch – for instance, holding the tap tempo button for an infinite repeat. 

UAFX Max Preamp and Compressor

The Max Preamp and Compressor is an attempt to offer a three-in-one tonal toolkit, supplying “the colorful sound of three legendary limiters and an iconic tube preamp”. 

The first of the emulations is an MXR Dyna Comp compressor pedal sound – the 1970s standard that was beloved by Nashville session players in particular, who used it to thicken up Tele tones. It has also been found on the pedalboards of David Gilmour, Adrian Belew and John Frusciante. 

UA brings in a take on Teletronix’s 1960s LA-2A tube amplified optical compressor at the second slot. The firm should know this circuit intimately, having purchased the patents and reissued the physical unit from the 2000s. 

For the third and final emulation, Universal Audio has turned to its own back catalog, incorporating the FET 1176 rack compressor – a studio staple first launched in the ’60s that is beloved for its warmth and, when pushed, harmonic distortion tones.

This is all then underpinned by an emulation of UA’s 610 tube preamp (controlled by the big red dial) and you can also kick in two comps at once, or switch between them, using the Comp 1 and Comp 2 footswitches. 

UAFX Del-Verb Ambience Companion

Last on the list, but perhaps the most ear-grabbing, is the Del-Verb, which is described as an ‘ambience companion’ and is a greatest hits of delay and reverb in one box.

The left side of the control bank offers three delay-types (drawn from the UAFX Starlight) including the EchoPlex-style Tape EP-III, the Memory Man-like Analog DMM and cut-glass Precision digital delay. 

On the right, you have a bank of three reverb choices (drawn from the UAFX Golden Reverberator), including the Spring 65 (inspired by Fender’s built-in spring reverb amps), the EMT-140-style plate reverb and a take on Lexicon’s game-changing digital reverb, the 224.

Things can be further tweaked with the Color and Mod controls, which open up new tonal range and modulation options on each of the delays.

All of the new UAFX pedals can also be partially controlled and even access custom voicings via the UAFX app, which opens up even more functionality. Check out the excellent Sweetwater clip above to hear them in action, alongside an explanation from UA’s resident guitar geek, James Santiago.

Expect to pay around $349 for each of the new units. Head to Universal Audio for more information.