UAFX OX Stomp Dynamic Speaker Emulator

Hot off the heels of the 1176, Evermore, Heavenly, and Orion pedal releases, Universal Audio is back again with the UAFX OX Stomp Dynamic Speaker Emulator. This pedal is a powerful cab modeler that brings a pro studio’s worth of setup and tone options to your pedalboard—all without needing a whole pedalboard’s worth of space.

Continue reading to learn more about the OX Stomp’s features, how it’s different from the original OX Top Box, and why it might be the best (and most board-friendly) cab modeler out there.

The UA OX Amp Top Box

For those who aren’t familiar, the OX Stomp is a close relative to the UA OX Amp Top Box. So to best understand the Stomp, let’s get to know the original OX first.

The OX Amp Top Box is part speaker attenuator and part high-performance emulator. The box was designed to solve a classic tube amp conundrum: having to crank the volume to ear-busting levels just to get that coveted edge-of-breakup tone. With the OX, you can hook up your favorite tube amp head (or combo like a Fender Deluxe Reverb) and naturally reach that tonal “sweet spot” without making your entire house shake.

There are no pedals or plugin trickery involved, either—what you hear from the OX is your amp’s natural, driven tone, just at a much more reasonable output level. You can even mute the speaker completely and run it just through headphones for discreet tracking or practice sessions.

On the emulator side, the OX sports UA’s patented Dynamic Speaker Modeling technology and supports the UAFX Control App for a massive amount of tonal versatility. To improve upon conventional impulse response systems—which generally sound fine but lack a certain “realness”—the OX’s Dynamic Speaker Modeling system produces highly accurate emulations that cover every detail behind an amp’s tone, from the style of circuit to the speaker cone material.

Using both the OX’s Rig and Room controls alongside the UAFX Control app, you can dial in your room tone, mix and match six different virtual mics for mono or stereo tracking, and select between 22 true-to-life cab emulations.

To quote Bryan Reilly’s 2017 Vintage King review, “With the OX, you are truly getting your money's worth with all the extra features included in the app, and knowing that OX is using the highest quality effects, speaker cabinet, and microphone emulations available, all designed by Universal Audio.

The UAFX OX Stomp

The OX Amp Top Box made waves upon its release, and now the OX Stomp is poised to do the same. The OX Stomp adapts the best features from the OG OX—including all 22 cab eumations—for a pedalboard setup, making UA’s Dynamic Speaker Modeling tech more accessible than ever onstage or in the studio.

The main difference from its predecessor is that the Ox Stomp is designed for instrument and line level only. In other words, it’s not a speaker loader or power attenuator like the Top Box, and isn’t designed to be a pint-sized replacement for it.

In reality, the OX Stomp functions somewhat closer to UA’s much-lauded “amp-in-a-box” pedals like the Dream ‘65, Ruby, and Woodrow. But whereas those are amp emulators, the OX Stomp is a cab emulator, meaning that you can use it alongside these pedals (or with your amp or amp modeler of choice) for a fully digital—but incredibly authentic sounding—amp setup.

Controls

Similar to the UA amp pedals, the OX Stomp features a six-button control layout that packs a surprising amount of versatility. The three top knobs are straightforward: Room sets the levels for your room sound (which you can program via the UA app), Speaker Drive adds the breakup and analog grit you’d expect from pushing an actual tube amp, and Output sets your overall levels without affecting your tone.

The lower controls are where things get interesting. The Mic 1 and Mic 2 knobs correspond to the pedal’s mic toggles, which let you independently mic your virtual cab with dynamic, condenser, or ribbon mics. You can run your cab in mono or blend between the two mics for a wide array of stereo blends. The Rig knob works exactly the same as it did on the Top Box, letting you assign up to 6 of the 22 cab emulations via the UAFX app for multiple tone profiles on the fly. You can also configure the pedal’s B footswitch to trigger additional effects, cabs, or room sounds.

The UAFX Control App

Using the UAFX Control App alongside the OX Stomp unlocks its full potential, giving you access to a whopping 100 curated presets within an easy-to-use control layout. As if someone gave the key to a professional studio’s gear closet, the app lets you try out and compare all of the cab presets, mics, and room tones to your heart’s content. Plus, you can save your favorite presets and load them straight onto the pedal.

The UAFX app makes the Ox Stomp fully customizable to suit your needs and playing style. If that wasn’t enough, the app also gives you access to a comprehensive library of UA effects like 1176-style compression, shimmering plate reverb, immersive stereo delay, and more.

If you’re interested in purchasing the OX Stomp or have any questions about other Universal Audio products, contact a Vintage King Audio Consultant via email or by phone at 866.644.0160.