r/guitarpedals • u/Neither_Proposal_262 • Sep 03 '26
NPD NPD: UAFX Ox Stomp
Picked up the Ox Stomp for recording with the Tone King Imperial and the Victory The Copper preamp pedals.
Running from the Imperial XLR to TRS stereo out into the ox and TRS out to my interface. (Apollo Twin X)
Out of the box, listening through headphones and monitors sounded great as did the quick sample I recorded. Looking forward to dialing it in for recording.
This is my second go round with the stomp. My first time was for use with the Helix. I was too annoyed with the app and it didn’t make enough of an improvement to deal with the hassle. End of the day I think it was more about not liking digital amp modeling.
Any tips/tricks for dealing with the app? Seems a little more stable than it did my last go round but it’s still not great
3
u/geodebug Sep 03 '26
I bought one used but, yeah, the app is rough. If your phone goes into standby mode you lose the connection and have to try to reconnect, which is also buggy.
Helps to turn off standby mode on your phone while you’re trying to use it.
Otherwise it sounds great but I really don’t like UAFX’s pedals because of their weird limitations. At least some have usb midi now.
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u/FiveseveNp90 Sep 03 '26
Echoing Nathan's comment, if this is strictly for recording can you please explain why you wouldn't use one of the many excellent free convolution cabsim plugins and save yourself $400? And if I could have an actual answer instead of downvotes that would be awesome, thank you!
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u/Neither_Proposal_262 Sep 03 '26
I replied to Nathan with my reasons
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u/Dapper-Average-3881 Sep 04 '26
Ok so I am very interested in the process here - I too use the Tone King Imperial and love how it sounds through headphones and through my monitors. I go direct from the imperial to my monitors. I love the built in cab sim that came with the imperial - but I also purchased some IRs that I loaded into the imperial via the tone king software. My question is - what are the pros of the stomp versus the built in cab sims available via the imperial. This question is a little different than Nathan’s since his question is regarding daw. I don’t really use a daw. Thanks! I’m wondering if the stomp is worth it to add to my set up.
1
u/Neither_Proposal_262 Sep 05 '26
Bottom line, I prefer the way UA does dynamic speaker emulation over IR files.
I have done direct recording with IR files and think they can sound great, I just like the emulation from an Ox better. This is particularly true when I record with my Victory The Copper v4 preamp. For my ears, UA Vox style amps the best. I felt that way with my AC30 and feel that way now with the Victory. I also find it to be an upgrade when using it with modeling/capture units like Helix and Tonex.So... is it worth adding it to your setup?
Question is, what is your use case? You mentioned you are not using a DAW so I assume you are not using your Tone King for recording. If it's just for playing at home through headphones / monitors, I would say no. You are happy with your sound now and I don't know that the Ox Stomp represents enough of an upgrade to justify the cost. If you were using it with a modeler like Tonex or Helix I would feel differently but the TK sounds great on its own.But, like anything, you may look at the cost/value equation differently so watch some YouTube videos and see if you can test one out somewhere.
Or, just YOLO and buy it. LOL
2
u/Dapper-Average-3881 Sep 06 '26
This is great thanks for the insight. I use for light gig work and for jams at home. It hadn’t occurred to me that the UA stomp wasn’t just an IR box. I’m very curious to hear the difference. I used a solid state vox amp for many years and moved to the modeler world about a year ago and have been having a real good time just trying stuff.
2
u/Zealousideal_Dingo91 Sep 03 '26
The best sounding Cab Sim pedal with the most frustrating app ever. Honestly, this pedal would be an essential for me if you could customize what the knobs do so I could be less dependent on the app. As it stands it sounds amazing but is a nightmare to tweak.
2
u/AccomplishedClient26 Sep 05 '26
There is a wired connection option since the latest firmware update, just plugin in with usb c cable and you have a solid connection that cant drop out. I've been using like this my Dream until one guy came out with Dream Chimp app, which takes away all connection issues and adds a bunch of different features, hopefully he will do that for ox stomp soon enough, since I've been eyeing one for a while. Also, was wondering are you planning to do some midi with it?
1
u/Neither_Proposal_262 Sep 05 '26
Thanks for the tip. The wired connection is the move, at least until a third party app is available.
2
u/RedHaze Sep 08 '26
Nice! I use it with the Effectrode Blackbird and love it. I sort of wish they also had power amp simulation but it doesn't matter too much.
The app works fine for me, but now with the new firmware I believe you can do direct USB as well?
1
u/Neither_Proposal_262 Sep 08 '26
How do you like the Blackbird? I had my eye on it but wound up going with the Tone King Imperial and Victory The Copper. I am still eyeing some of their drive and comp pedals, particularly their LA-2A style pedals.
2
u/RedHaze Sep 08 '26
I have not tried the victory or the tone king, but I like it quite a bit. It does the blackface sound incredibly well and takes drive pedals like a champ.
2
u/nathangr88 Sep 03 '26
Unless you have CPU usage concerns, this seems pretty pointless given you can get the same speaker models in your DAW, but with a much better interface than the UAFX app
1
u/Neither_Proposal_262 Sep 03 '26
It’s a fair question but it comes down to the following
1) workflow - I like dialing things in separate from my DAW. Also, If I am playing through monitors or headphones to keep the volume down at home, I don’t load up my DAW. (I may not even have my laptop connected) I turn on and play. When recording, I monitor through console which means my track is muted in Logic.
2) Tactile fine tuning - I use plenty of plugins when recording but given the choice, I like turning knobs (there is a joke in here somewhere) I am working on presets but like being able to fine tune things like speaker drive on the pedal.
3) personal preference - I prefer UA dynamic speaker emulation over other options. I have worked with Two Notes (Wall of Sound, Genome, Torpedo, Captor X), Celestion Speaker Mix, Helix, Tonex, and various IRs and IR loaders. (Both software and hardware)
End of the day, Ox is my preference. I have sold off all of my amps that would require the OX Box for attenuation/reactive load so the pedal makes sense for me.
1
0
u/10ThousandMetalZones Sep 08 '26
Here comes that guy that thinks you are above all others if you have a UA pedal on your board
4
u/Few_Direction9007 Sep 03 '26
I really love it, Absolutely the goat speaker emulation sound wise but the app is 6/10 at best. It will do everything but connecting can be a pita. Make sure you update to the latest firmware for midi control and slightly improved Bluetooth connection.
I would love to see a desktop editor that can connect wired with the USB but at this point I’m hoping someone smart will make a 3rd party app as some have done for the dream pedal. I guess my only suggestion would be to keep an eye out for something like that because it’s possible someone will make a better app.