Overall, the Simplifier sounds the most musical to me. The Irridium seems to have it own great character, versatility, and more mid range. UA models are just spot on emulations of the amps they are trying to capture.
I have a vintage deluxe reverb sitting in my studio and I still use the dream 65 pedal more often when tracking. Sounds perfect every time and indistinguishable from the real thing in a mix!
Strymon being an earlier model wanted to compensate for the “thin” sound associated with most amp-less or DI tones by beefing up the lows and low-mids, which ended up being too much. Simplifier is thinner sounding but beautiful in the case of a simple clean tone with drive pedals before. The Dream is a good compromise between both. For the simplicity and XLR outs I would pick the simplifier.
Totally with Pete on the argument about the different amps. I played a wedding band gig with the ACS1 and all I used was the Marshall-Sound kind of clean, an overdrive in front for some crunch tone and a boost in front for more overdrive. Added some compression/delay and chorus for two or three of the 30 songs and that’s it. Also played everything on the Duesenberg Caribou. And now I’ll do the same thing with the Dream65 🤘
Absloutely in terms of live gigs. (in a wedding I also just used a Zvex Box of Rock, a Boss GE-7 and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe). BUT...in terms of bedroom guitarist, you would probably like to try those 27 different guitar amps. RIP wallet
I've played in settings like that with a regular 2 channel amp (mesa boogie maverick, great clean sound), a pedalboard with a wah, fuzz, delay and chorus and some 1 off effects (pitch shift tremolo, things like that) for specific songs and an HH guitar with coil split/phase switch and I got close enough for most songs. You don't need to sound spot on for every song, because that's not what's being asked. That'd be similair to having a different singer for each song..
The UAFX pedals make a lot of sense to me for the person who has built a signature sound around a vintage amp but doesn’t want to deal with the issues of vintage hardware on stage. They seem to be the best replacement so far in that situation. For me, I don’t so much want the sound of a Deluxe so much as I want my pedals, which are mostly designed to expect something Deluxe-like, to sound like they’re meant to. Add to that the Simplifier giving my pedal board the things that are missing compared to a multi-FX unit (headphone out, XLR outs, etc.) and the Simplifier is perfect for me.
I agree with Pete you 100%. I bought the Nextone for the versatility and different amp sounds and now hang out on the EL-34 and never change any settings.
And they should have used an Overdrive with the woodrow ^^. But i think they wanted a dry comparison which is more useful to the vast majority. At the conclusion i was thinking puzzled:“But, but… but the woodrow isn‘t supposed to be a Marshall, it‘s supposed to be a an old Tweed“😂. I like the woodrow as a Crunched versatile Blueslike amp or as a clean plattform. I really would like to See an in depth Video of Ruby, Dream and Woodrow from Andertons :). @Andertons thx for this comparison anyway it‘s like an evening Couch Guitar Show to me 😁!
The discussion at the end debating real world scenarios is spot on - I have the iridium and exclusively use a Vox sound with some aftermarket IRs (which make a HUGE difference btw). Occasionally I enjoy playing with the other amps but the reality is you wouldn’t cart around 3 different amps to switch between when playing live.
I agree. I use all the models as well, but I tend to gravitate more to the Marhall model. I have upgraded all my IRs to York Audio. It really made the Iridium come alive, and I was able to get what feels right and sounds right from a mic'd up amp. Do u mind sharing which IRs u are using?
I switched all of my Iridium IR’s to York also. It just seems so much of an improvement to me. I mostly use the Vox 2x12 and a couple Fenders on the round. I just purchased the M25 and Mesa 2x12 to start on the Marshall punch sounds also. Which York IRs do you prefer?
I use the mixes folder and find the ones that have the 57 Mics. For the mesa 2x12 that I use on the punch, I use mix 10 which is 2 sm57s. I also like the "FRED" mixes which also have 2 sm57s. It's just my preference though. U really cannot go wrong by trusting your ear and finding the right feel for your tone
@@michealrodriguez157 thanks for the tips! I will definitely try that mix out. I usually just start on mix 1 and it works but I need to spend some time and get deeper into the files.
Turning up the resonance control on the Simplifier helps to beef it up. Pete mentions in the Vox style demo section that the Simplifier sounds thin and DI-ish, but the resonance knob is at noon or lower. I keep mine set closer to 2 or 3 o clock and it sounds much nicer. Plus, putting a reverb pedal in the effects loop does wonders for adding a touch of space.
The Simplifier has two big wins (at least on my pedal board) over the Strymon and the UAFX: the effects loop and the XLR outs. The effects loop also addresses some of the “issues” here. In particular, you can throw the reverb pedal of your choice in the loop. I also put a Bearfoot Putting Green Compressor in the loop to soften(?) the sound a bit more. (Now, what I need to figure out is a simpler reverb set up since right now I am running a Wetter Box with a Nova Delay on one side and an Avalanche Run into an old MXR Stereo Tremolo on the other. Lovely sounds, but four pedals feels a bit excessive.)
My stereo effects loop is a Julianna, into Line 6 DL4, into Hall of Fame, into Ditto X4 looper.....all stereo. I've been pretty satisfied with the setup. I run through the Fender sim 6L6, presence and resonance around 3 o'clock , 1X12 off center, 2X12 centered....dual XLR out to front of house. Let's see the Iridium do that...
i have been gigging with the simplifier on my board for the last 6 months and boy do i love that little thing, it compresses great and sounds amazing in the mix. Yes i miss having a huge 100W tube amp onstage with me sometimes, but still it does its job to “simplify” my rig and save me from back issues lol. gotta have it!
Lee asked the rhetorical question, "What if you're playing a gig, and you have to play a Stevie Wonder song and then a Led Zeppelin song?" implying that you would need different amp sounds. You really don't. The audience is just humming to the melody. They have no care in the world what the specific guitar sounds like (unless it's really bad). Pete's previous comment about just needing one good sounding amp to play clean, some dirt, distortion, delay and tremolo.
I think from an audience point you’re correct but lots of guitar players are particular about their tone for their own on stage enjoyment and confidence
With the Simplifier I’ve found that on most amps (particularly Vox) dialing up the presence, treble and mids, up resonance most the way THEN dial back the mic placement and bass for setting your treble and bass taste give it a “better” live cab sound to my ears. Opens it up a bit. Also keep the volume under 12 o’clock or you get weird fizz and I like the feel of the kt88 setting. Use pedals for anything more than slight breakup. Running at 12v sounds a bit better to me also. Hope that helps some :)
I ordered the Dream '65 from Andertons as soon as I saw the original demo - and it totally lives up to all my expectations. If I had to choose just one pedal to keep, this would be it, because it handles everything I want to do from crystal cleans through to fully overdriven, plus it has top quality reverb and tremolo. Thankfully, I don't have to make that choice, because I also have Neunaber's Neuron - another stunning pedal, and for totally the opposite reasons! Whereas the Dream '65 delivers painstakingly accurate vintage Fender tones, the Neuron allows total flexibility, letting you dial in the tone you're chasing without getting hung up on matching any particular amp. They're both invaluable for my setup and complement each other beautifully.
I've been running the the Ruby and Woodrow straight into Logic for the past couple of weeks and am wondering if I ever need to mike up an amp again. Astonishing.
If you hear all 3 UA (Dream, Ruby, & Woodrow) Ruby seems 1st to buy and possibly Last to die beside 😮😆🧣 Always something to be said for having live onstage a matchless chieftain moving your bottom pants 👖 legs but recording etc. Ruby!! I still may stick by my Line 6 PODs…😆I’ve got 3…. Pod pro rack. XT pod kidney bean, and Flextone III 2x12 amp w/shortboard.. 😆😮Not really sure I need Ruby !! 😮 I haven’t even mentioned my Pearce G2 amp straight out through Pacific 1/12 pair speakers 🔊 or Pearce PreAmp out the Boogie/295 power amp to pacific 1/12’s (see Jerry McPhersons Pacific Woodworks 1/12 cabs rundown) UA Ruby is cheapest starting now + plug-ins forever tho… send me one UA!! I’ll demo it😆🔊🤤😮
The best way to get a great sound out of the Iridium is to use the Chime (Vox) or the Punch (Marshall) settings. The Round setting is a bit flat sounding, but I found it's better when gained up a bit through a Greenback IR which you can install for free with the Strymon Impulse Response Manager. No doubt that the new UA pedals sound fantastic!
With the Dream there are 6 cab sims and then you could either put it through the FX loop and bypass the preamp or go through both amp stages with your own amp. That's quite a range... if a Fender reverb is more or less your sound. I like the simplicity because you can concentrate on playing and not so much on the technical stuff. I'll watch this again guys.
The Simplifier sounded a bit smoother to me compared to the other two. I like the Marshall tones in the Simplifier. Those EQ knobs can add some sparkle, not just the mic placement knobs. Great video. thanks!
I have the Iridium and used mostly the chime and a bit the punch with my own IRs. Now I have ruby and have to say its a far more detailed Vox Amp Sound. The dynamics are alone stunning💜🤘🎸 didn't comared them side by side jet
UAFX😎👍 After finding out these pedals are replicating actual amps (we've heard on many famous artists music), provided for them by a famous studio...gotta say...very impressed. They nailed those amps😎👍
The UA amp pedals are superb. They cost me around £1000 but that is still way cheaper than three equivalent vintage tube combos. They really do show up the limitations of multi-fx units and/or anything which uses cab lR's (as opposed to UA's much better proprietary system which nails cone howl and breakup brilliantly).
I've used the Kemper, Helix, Iridium, Walrus ACS, TwoNotes C.A.B. M+ and now the UAFX Dream 65 on tour. Oh wait, way back when the Korg A3, Didgitech 2101, all line6 stuff since the original POD. I've been doing the DI thing live for over 30 years. Backline amps are always a crap shoot. In my experience it's best to stick a one or two amps/cabs/reverb/delay during a show. In the studio it's another story... For me now, the UAFX stuff is tops.
@Emilio Conesa how does the Dream 65 cut through with a live band? I have iridium and it cuts well but RUclips of UAFX are really nice. I bought the Golden and thinking of swapping Iridium for Dream but not sure how it will cut through. Thanks
@@adyuriar funny you should ask. I did a gig last night. I asked the foh how it sounded and he said that it cut through really nice. The stage mix was fantastic too. That’s with three keyboard players , sax, bass, drums and lots of BGs. I’m using really clean settings on the Dream 65. There’s a lot more twang and detail compared to the Iridium. The Iridium is the Deluxe normal channel, the Dream has many more options.
Hello gentlemen… My take on it is on the cab simulation. We really don’t know what speakers are in those cabinets so when you’re switching between each one, I hear a different sounding speaker for me I’m all about the Simplifier. It’s has a Class A boutique vibe to me… I been following you guys for quite some time now thoroughly enjoy your videos awesome sense of humor thank you for that.
I really like my Iridium, but I'd love to see them do a software update that improves the amp models a bit, or perhaps use the IR software to add more amp models? maybe, maybe not?
Can confirm as a former amp purist and someone who tried and hated the iridium. The Simplifier is a magnificent beast. It doesn’t sound *exactly* like a Fender/Vox/Marshall, but damnit it FEELS like I’m playing through a real amp and to keep that matters tenfold over sounding like a classic amp. To top it off, I get regular comments from folks on social media asking about my tone, and are shocked when I tell them that it’s the simplifier, a pedal rather than an amp!
I’ve had the simplifier for a couple of years now. I really like the cleans with some verb in the loop, but it falls apart when driven. Used it to run my signal to front of house once and it sounds odd when pumped into a big room. The effects loop stopped working recently, which was a bummer. I leave my rig at my practice space and use the simplifer on a “home board” to practice and record ideas. I’ll probably get a UA next instead of the next gen Simplifer.
Not fair to the Iridium. He never turned the bass down. And the treble never above 1 o clock. That pedal would have sounded better and much closer to the others with a simple flick of the knob.
I love these guys but it's more of a comedy/guitar thing for me. Definitely not my first or last stop for a true out and out gear review. I can think of quite a few times where they didn't read the manual or even glance at it quickly and had no idea what a pedals controls were actually doing or just made a very nice pedal sound bad and then after 2 minutes with the presence and treble cranked while the bass set low they give each other a look and move on. This really isn't a criticism though I think they have a totally different formula then most gear review channels and with the big pedal shootouts they do there's no way your gunna keep 1,000 knobs straight and remember each pedals intricacies and it would take hours and hours to do. I have more gear than I need anyways, haven't been in buying mode for a year and a half but I still watch most there videos and they are somewhat informative, keep up on new gear coming out and they are funny whether they are knowingly doing it or it's them fumbling around with a high gain pedal. I also think in this video they are more looking at the UA pedals, anyone who cares to know what the strymon sounds like knows what it sounds like at this point but yes I agree could wiggled a couple knobs and had a totally different sound.
PS. Pete's a killer guitar player and I love listening to him when he really digs an amp or pedal. The capt has gotten a lot better in the past few years as well.
I gotta say the Iridium is great but the dream 65 has a more realistic fender tone. UAFX Ruby 63 is the best AC30 modeler ive ever played. So if you have the budget I’d recommend getting both of those before the Iridium. Haven’t tried the UAFX lion yet but I’m looking forward to seeing it compared to the Iridiums Marshall.
The Two Notes Revolt might be interesting too when released. I tried to make my own bedroom setup with an AMT F1 and a Mooer Radar. Works ok enough for me with a boss sd-1 and keeley compressor before the F1 and carbon copy and digitech polara before the mooer.
I play in a wedding band very often... use only the Marshall from iridium.. and ocasionally the fender....and two or three pedals to get other colorations... a tremolo, a delay and reverb...EXACTLY like Pete pointed out.... The UAFX and the Iridium both sounded great. I myself love that mid bump you guys didn't on the Fender take of the Iridium.... All it's very subjective...
Great review! The UA Dream 65 Amp pedal is the clear winner for me. I believe one can get differing amp tones with very good overdrive/stacking as well as compression, eq, modulation and time based pedals. The UA would be the superior pedal platform to achieve that.
Only because they set the knobs on the iridium to make it sound deliberately bad. Iridium comes alive with the mid knob, they kept it low the whole video to sell more UA units. Disappointed.
Guess they didnt have a simplifier dlx in the shop to use instead of the base simplifier. I feel like the additions made to the dlx would have made it a tighter competition between it and the UAFX
The DSM Deluxe might have been a better match in this comparison, honestly. But, TY for doing it 👍🏻 And now, having watched and heard the whole thing, I’m rather happy with my Simplifier Deluxe.
Really feel drawn to the DSM Humboldt out of these. I'm not knocking digital at all, I love my digital effects, but there's just something nice about having all of the controls right there and not hiding behind a software layer.
The Ruby sounds frankly amazing. I’ve heard a lot of these amp sim pedals sound pretty decent in various demos, but this is the first one where I really find myself questioning whether I would prefer the real thing (for recording purposes, anyway).
just get a ZOOM G2: the FD Clean is a goodn clean Twin 65, aass Im getting older not hurrying to DIE!, Im preferring better tone, so I Simbly( thats my always on coating clean,pedal) stomped from 0/Clean to Fender Clean, which I a bit younger was a bit dull/dark, NOW NO! in my chain....never you mind, Oh recording for I have 6 ZOOM G2s and one Joyo Am Sound and 2 Behringer GItar Straight Blues.....
for me, these kinds of amplifiers (yes, they all are amplifiers) are for recording. that you can have a whole arsenal of amps to use for songwriting is a godsend. now someone do a good hiwatt pedal (oh, sansamp just put released one? - NICE!).
I wonder how good these would sound through a power amp and actual guitar speaker with the Speaker setting turned off. We have pedals like the milkman The Amp which I believe uses one 12ax7 with solid state power amp and that thing sounds just like a fender twin imo. Using this with a small power amp and 1x12 would be a quick gigging mans setup
I think the set at 12 mindset when dialing in the DSM is a major flaw in this shoot out. if you look at the rcommemded settings the Simplifier for each amp setting, they are never at 12. That said, damn the these pedals are all really good.
When I gigged a floor multiFX modeler it was a doddle to have four levels of gain, represented by four completely different amps. With four presets per bank, I could bank up or down, have the same four amp selections, each the epitome of a clean, semi-clean, crunch or lead amplifier with associated settings, but with modifications and variations. For example my crunch amp in Bank A has a compressor available under a footswitch, but in Bank B, it's already on, when the preset is selected, or maybe there's a fuzz where the compressor was. That's an insanely cool feature to give up, in favor of a pedalboard where that amount of flexibility either doesn't exist or requires a metric poo-ton of tap dancing. Lately, I'm moving in the direction of a hybrid approach, blending custom-selected pedals with more generic multi FX models. For example, having a UA amp (or two) as the heart of the rig, but adding an HX Stomp XL, a specialty drive pedal or two and maybe a parallel delay/reverb in the loop of the HX. That said, I theenk UA will have to bend to meet market demand; there's no reason any of these new pedals can't run ALL the UA models and mix/match dynamically modeled speaker cabinets, which to my ears at least, are superior to IR snapshots.
Sold the Iridium recently. I own the Dream, and Ruby and it's not even close how much more fun the UA pedals are to play compared to the Iridium. Recording is so much easier with the UA pedals too. For anyone going direct and still wanting to use pedals this is by far the best option.
Yeah I'm selling my iridium for a dream but I don't think I'll buy the ruby or the Woodrow. Not they don't sound great but I can't justify paying another 500$ if I don't absolutely need it.
I did the same, also bought the Woodward. I’m on the fence about the Woodward. Finding it much harder to dial in. Dream and Ruby are great. Also- try running the Ruby in preamp mode into the dream and blend to taste.
I agree that the Iridium can feel and sound fairly flat (especially on the Fender setting). But I have found that putting a Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop (or any OD with a sag setting) in front of the Iridium realllly improves the feel. Running the Barbershop basically clean at 18v, it importantly has a sag feature that when slightly engaged, gives you more of that tube amp feeling of dynamic "layers" that Pete was describing. Many reviews of the Barbershop hail it as excellent for this amp like response. It also helps create that sound of the low end blooming and then matching the rest of the sparkle (like the Dream does so well). It is honestly the thing that has kept me from selling the Iridium for the Dream.
I really enjoy Anderton's videos, but I always take their comments with a grain of salt since the point is of course, sell stuff, this vids are very informative to make your own mind and agree or disagree with what they say/do, for instance I still think the less value for money is in the UA units, as well as the sound quality and built in effects is not as good as other options. Iridium is really good within its limitations, if you add a Flint you have 3 amps 3 reverb and 3 tremolo effects for a fraction of all the UA pedals.
With the Iridium "Chime" option the middle knob becomes a Vox style high cut control so that would have probably helped this comparison as it's set higher than the others. But I actually preferred it's tone when driven as it's a bit smoother and so on. If you had used the same cabinet simulation on all of these, you could probably get surprisingly similar results. The UA pedals definitely comes with the best cab sims out of the box but a little bit of extra spend on some 3rd party impulse responses for the Iridium can really elevate its sounds, including the "Round" Fender voice. With UA you better like the options provided because you can't do anything about them without adding extra gear. UA really drops the ball when you look at the features of their pedals. No MIDI control, no expression control, single preset...that's not what I want to see on a 2022 digital pedal!
I’m a BIG Kemper man. I have a performance set up with 5 “core rigs” I use in a typical night in a cover band (60 ish songs). they are a AC30, HC30, jcm800, triple rectifier, and a nirvana specific tone with a bass man, od1, etc. Then I have a couple others that drop tune, or have a specific sound for a certain song. Where I start tinkering is in studio tones recording.
Now hearing this video on good speakers, if I'm playing and recording, I want the UA. If I am running sound for a band, I want them on the iridium because the low end isn't over super prevalent so it'll take less time to get rid of it. And if I'm playing in a band with no in ears, the simplifier has that "trashy" gain that you hate until you're in a room with players who are too loud, all of a sudden that trash top end becomes touch sensitivity you need to feel what you are doing when players are playing too loud for you to hear it properly. All in all, I think strymon, and UA are both accomplishing what they're going for. And if I kept it clean, which is how id use it for pedals, id probably take the DSM bc of $ and the fact that I lean more on my pedals bc that's what my hands know :) Great video guys! Thanks from San Antonio!
I was just thinking about one of these pedals when this video came up. You're right guys. I only ever play with one amp. I tempted by the UA pedals. Not having to lug a 2x12 combo around.
Thanks for doing this! I will say the Simplifier was put at a huge disadvantage by not having reverb in the effects loop. I picked one up last week, and have a Dream 65 on the way also. One of them will be going back. I love the fact that the Simplifier has an effects loop, so I can set it to edge of breakup and not worry about the verbs and delays being affected. It also handles pedals very well. Initially I thought the sound was more "direct" as well, but after taking a bit of time to dial in the eq, I'm super happy with the way its taking pedals. I honestly don't expect the Dream 65 to be able to compete in that regard, but I'll be happy if it does :)
Would have loved it if you guys included some more relatively affordable pedals in the shootout as well: SansAmp makes some great stuff, and my personal favourite, the Joyo range. Those things slay.
Joyo American Sound together with Joyo Cab Box works really well for me. I have no idea how it compares to the Dream or the Iridium because I've never tried them but it sounds good to me and it's a much cheaper set up.
As a general statement, a world without guitar pedals would be a very sad place. I generally divide human history into two phases: the Pre-Pedal Era and and the Pedal Era (pedal obviously means guitar pedal). The trick is finding the exact year when pedals appeared...
For the way I use these type boxes, a headphone jack is more important than the difference in tone/feel. If the Dream had headphone out, I'd sell my ACS-1 and get it. As it is..I need the Headphone port. Oh well.
Great review. I love Pete's comment on Deja vu when playing the Ruby. That was exactly the feeling I got, when I played Ruby normal channel with gunned volume. At the end Pete and Lee mention they would go to Brian May Top Boost sound - but correct me if I am wrong , May uses normal channel not the brilliant channel, in his AC30s - always full volume and also full cut (ie the most cut).
i dont think people realize how important the cab IR is when it comes to its impact on the sound. as someone mentioned already- the fact that you can't use 3rd party IRs in the UAD stuff means they probably went all out on providing the very best sounding IR's. I think you can most likely make the iridium sound just as good by upgrading the stock IR's.
I have been using the iridium for a year. I love the chime setting. I basically set it and forget it. The only thing I’ve done is change the speaker cab IR. Even with that I spent hours and hours downloading new IRs for each amp variety. I rarely if ever even change the amp from whatever setting I currently have it on. I’ve thought about switching out for the Ruby because it looks like it would take up less space on my board and it seems to sound better in these videos. I’m not sure it would be worth it or not.
These pedals are so cool! I do agree that the UA pedals sounded the most realistic. Its funny, but when i first heard about these I incorrectly assumed you would actually use it in place of an amp and run it straight to a speaker… but then I saw the 400mA current requirement and knew that wasn’t the case. So you still have to run it into some kind of power amp- either a powered speaker or PA, a clean guitar amp, etc. I think I would buy one of these just to keep in the gig bag and bring as a spare amp. If Im in a pub and my tube amp blows up, I can set this up after my pedalboard, then directly to the PA and get through the gig. That being said, if they really sound that good ( they might! ) then why not use it on every gig or even in the studio? As guitarists we want that interaction between the guitar and real guitar amp on stage so for me it would be a backup!
One thing to note about the Iridium and UAFX are that you'll need DI boxes if you want to run direct in (most of the time) and good direct boxes ARE NOT cheap. This is something that I never see mentioned in reviews.
@@tendingtropic7778 You're right about the audio interface. I was thinking in terms of using one in a live setting. Many (most?) interfaces have 1/4" inputs that will accept the unbalanced inst/line level signals that the UA and Iridium output. Most of the stage boxes and snakes I've seen only have balanced XLR inputs.
@@fluidparadigms6719 In most venues they'll bring you a DI that takes an unbalanced 1/4" jack input. That's what they do for synths or stage pianos anyway so why not for guitar ? You can also plug 1/4" in most mixers. So, correct me if I'm wrong but I think the balanced XLR and DI are only needed when you need to cross a bigger distance and protect from interferences. I don't think the DI adds to to the signal or tone, other than balancing it with the inverted copy, does it ?
I have the Simplifier and used it live in a five piece band but have now bought a Roland JC-40 instead and it’s much better when others are using traditional amps. You need really powerful monitors to compete with the Simplifier. The JC-40 costs ca750 USD which comes with two ten inch speakers. With a modeller or pedal amp you still need a FRFR monitor or Cab which won’t be much cheaper when you add everything up.
@@marcelfok2561 For sure! Both are stereo, so would allow for some interesting setups. The JC-40 sounds great on its own but for driven sounds it makes sense to try the simplifier. Also, I suspect the hiss that some find annoying with the JC-40 is mainly from the preamp, so possibly makes the amp quieter as well, not sure though.
@@onionkeeper indeed the stereo thing is awesome. I do have drive pedals in front at the moment and an H9 (also stereo). Really love the JC-40. Don’t find the hiss bad. It’s an unbelievably powerful amp for a transistor. I never have it beyond volume level 3. I reckon it would shred flesh off the bone, if turned up much higher!
This video is spot on what I needed to watch. They are so right, if you know what your favorite amp is then get the UAD pedal, it sounds incredible. For me, Im building a guitar pedal rack and I want to use it for recording guitar (obviously) but also to re-amp with PT to make some creative sounds on other instruments. If I had the money I would buy the all the UAD pedals but since I'm on a budget I feel like the Iridium is the way to go so I have more option of amps to choose from for whatever the tone of the song requires.
I had the ruby and dream. I totally thought they’d replace my iridium. They did not. The UAFX pedals were really difficult to dial in for live playing and they did not take pedals as well as the iridium.
@Maverick92 Totally my opinion! You are right. But I tried hard to dial it in for 2 weeks. I really wanted to like it. I don't purchase things like this often and I love UA. Without a doubt, both the Ruby and the Dream feel more like real amps. I had three issues: 1)There was an insane, unexpected amount of bass in the Ruby which is not my experience with my guitars running through the actual Vox amps I have in my studio. There was a lot of treble available as well, but that could be controlled via the cut and treble knobs. The bass knob was problematic for me. 2) When I play live, it's usually at church. In our building there was something with the Ruby's harmonics that created really harsh and unpleasant vowel-like sounds. The offending frequencies were 2k and 4k. I had to reduce those by 9db just to get things to feel like my head wasn't going to explode. The problem is, those frequencies are important to the character of a vox amp and so the tone suffered. 3) When it comes to pedals, I'm talking specifically about drives and boosts. When I play the iridium, I set it at edge of breakup. Then I use a Mythos Mjolnir (klon clone) to slam the front end with mostly clean boost. When I do that, I get a bit of a volume increase and the amp overdrives with all the extra signal. When I used the Ruby, I'd set it up at edge of breakup, turn on the Mjolnir and would get no volume boost (even though the Ruby had tons more gain on tap) and the overdrive sound that I got out the Ruby was not at all close to the sound of the Ruby if I just turned the drive knob up. The drive on the Ruby was great. Edge of breakup with boost - not great. The Ruby seems like a great studio tool for people who like to plug a guitar into an amp and go. It sounds more like a guitar amp. But the Iridium sounded like a recorded guitar ready to sit in a mix. Additionally, having presets available to me via midi that I can switch with my feet so that I can accomplish guitar changes in a set is another strong reason why I'm more comfortable with the iridium. With the Ruby, I'd have to move knobs or pull out my phone. I was ready to give up Midi if the sound was better. For my purposes and in my opinion, the sound was not.
@@Jonathandavidk Thanks for your detailed review! I just got an Iridium, but thiking about getting a Dream. Could you elaborate a bit more on this comparison? Do you use custom IR's? If so, from where? How are pedals with these two, as you only mentioned above the Vox sides. Thanks
Just got the Dream and it does live up to its early reputation. Just wish they'd let me switch presets via MIDI instead of the app. I don't need a ton of presets, but it would be nice to be able to kick in the trem, verb, or boost without getting on my knees or messing with an iPhone. It's got USB-C, it's got Bluetooth... c'mon, gimme MIDI, UA!
If you struggle with digital sounds the simplifier is the way to go. It takes a bit of setup but then it sounds and feels great and it takes pedals really well.
The comparison to a digital piano is pretty spot on. There is no digital piano or keyboard that can truly get close to the feeling of a real Piano. They can get the sound so close. But you just can’t capture the feeling of the keys, the movement of the hammers, and the hammers contacting the strings, and even the vibration of the strings - you can feel all of that in your fingers and it effects how you play. A real piano feels alive. You can’t replicate that feeling on a digital keyboard because there’s an infinite number of variations between all of the different variations in how you play. They can get the sound closer and closer with more layers of capturing the piano with microphones, capturing more of those dynamics. A real tube amp is similar to that in alot of ways. The more detail and dynamics a sim is able to recreate, the more it feels like a real amp. I honestly hated how the iridium felt and sounded when I’ve tried it, same goes for this video. I love the simplifier and it’s lived on my board for 2 years. I’d be curious to try the Dream, as it sounds amazing, just a bit pricy. But Pete is 100% right about the different amp model thing. 99% of players don’t need to have a bunch of different amp models. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter. Find whatever is your favorite to get your base tone, and then get to whatever other tones you need with dirt pedals. That’s all you really need. I only use the fender style mode on the simplifier, and I’ve never changed it. And that’s why I would go for the Dream, and wouldn’t have any remorse about not having other kinds of amps inside it.
I know it's more expensive but the Milkman the amp 100 is very impressive. I had the DSM and it was very good, ultimately I liked the simple layout of the milkman, the sound is incredible, they layout is user friendly, and it gives you all the connections you need. Review that one guys!
I saw a video on Rhett Shull in a studio where they compared these against some classic amps. No matter if they can fool you with monitor speakers. You can’t beat a proper amp.
Once you have put some room or reverb in the Iridium and UA pedals you started to say that the Simplifier sounded more DI :) It's not a fair comparison. Add some room with the Simplifier and lets hear what it does...
Can i politely request that whenever the next video of you guys reviewing loopers can Pete and Digital John host it? I just want to see them go into a looping battle together 😊😊 lol
The iridium seems to be more about the “potential” it has in that it is often seen sounding at its best with third party IRs over the stock ones and dressed up with a reverb or whatever
UA sounds great. I use one setting on my line6 setup with a couple stomp boxes thrown in. I’m planning on switching to the Dream with a few good stomp boxes.
Had Simplifier but in the arena of more amps one box so Helix. Simplifier sounded great on all 3 fronts but had to dial in each when want that sound and took outboard pedals well.
I've heard that the OG simplifier can sound like a "DI" I wonder if the deluxe version fixes this, could be an interesting video?? also you did a video with the creators, any word on a new version of this?
The iridium does a good fender, vox and Marshall, bit if you just want one of those amps then there are better options out there. In this case the ruby and dream 65 I think crush the iridium round and chime sims. I love the sound of the ruby but I'll only be buying the dream 65.
Two comments: the simplifier’s lack of room or reverb didnt help it in this comparison…i think it wouldve held up better if it had some. That said the dream and ruby are nuther level AiaB pedals. And, i have to believe the woodrow has great sounds in it but ive watched several vids of the UA boxes and so far no one has really spent any time finding them in the woodrow…Imo.
Can you take UAFX pedals and use them into a real amp, or is it just for home recordings and PA systems ?. I was just wondering if i could "upgrade" my katana with the dream 65' pedal, to make it sound like a fender amp ?
Many of the demos have shown running them into the FX-return of an amp’s power amp. They even have a special 4-cable mode to allow you to switch between using your amp’s pre-amp or the UAFX in place of the pre-amp. The marketing says you can also just use them as a drive pedal, but I don’t think I’ve yet seen a demo that showed that.
the simplifier consistantly had a weird low midrange push around the 300 hz range that made all the amps kinda sound the same..probably that single analog eq circuit limiting what can be done
This is a really great comparison! Very well done. To my ears, the Iridium is meh most of the time, and the UA is usually but not always better than the Simplifier (I’m a Simplifier owner). Now I want to do a shoot-out at home with my Simplifier and my Mooer 008 Cali-Mk3! My favorite amps are Mesa Mark series, and the Cali-Mk3 does a remarkable job of getting that sound.
![Ditch The Guitar Amp? Direct Options For Your Pedalboard [Iridium, Simplifier, Iconoclast]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ie2IAK9TEd0/mqdefault.jpg)
Overall, the Simplifier sounds the most musical to me. The Irridium seems to have it own great character, versatility, and more mid range. UA models are just spot on emulations of the amps they are trying to capture.
I never tire of these comparisons. Thank you.
I have a vintage deluxe reverb sitting in my studio and I still use the dream 65 pedal more often when tracking. Sounds perfect every time and indistinguishable from the real thing in a mix!
Strymon being an earlier model wanted to compensate for the “thin” sound associated with most amp-less or DI tones by beefing up the lows and low-mids, which ended up being too much. Simplifier is thinner sounding but beautiful in the case of a simple clean tone with drive pedals before. The Dream is a good compromise between both. For the simplicity and XLR outs I would pick the simplifier.
Totally with Pete on the argument about the different amps. I played a wedding band gig with the ACS1 and all I used was the Marshall-Sound kind of clean, an overdrive in front for some crunch tone and a boost in front for more overdrive. Added some compression/delay and chorus for two or three of the 30 songs and that’s it. Also played everything on the Duesenberg Caribou.
And now I’ll do the same thing with the Dream65 🤘
Absloutely in terms of live gigs. (in a wedding I also just used a Zvex Box of Rock, a Boss GE-7 and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe). BUT...in terms of bedroom guitarist, you would probably like to try those 27 different guitar amps. RIP wallet
I've played in settings like that with a regular 2 channel amp (mesa boogie maverick, great clean sound), a pedalboard with a wah, fuzz, delay and chorus and some 1 off effects (pitch shift tremolo, things like that) for specific songs and an HH guitar with coil split/phase switch and I got close enough for most songs. You don't need to sound spot on for every song, because that's not what's being asked. That'd be similair to having a different singer for each song..
The UAFX pedals make a lot of sense to me for the person who has built a signature sound around a vintage amp but doesn’t want to deal with the issues of vintage hardware on stage. They seem to be the best replacement so far in that situation. For me, I don’t so much want the sound of a Deluxe so much as I want my pedals, which are mostly designed to expect something Deluxe-like, to sound like they’re meant to. Add to that the Simplifier giving my pedal board the things that are missing compared to a multi-FX unit (headphone out, XLR outs, etc.) and the Simplifier is perfect for me.
Yezzzzzzz
I agree with Pete you 100%. I bought the Nextone for the versatility and different amp sounds and now hang out on the EL-34 and never change any settings.
You should have put a room/spring reverb in the effects loop of the Simplifier. That would have helped that direct sound.
And they should have used an Overdrive with the woodrow ^^. But i think they wanted a dry comparison which is more useful to the vast majority.
At the conclusion i was thinking puzzled:“But, but… but the woodrow isn‘t supposed to be a Marshall, it‘s supposed to be a an old Tweed“😂.
I like the woodrow as a Crunched versatile Blueslike amp or as a clean plattform.
I really would like to See an in depth Video of Ruby, Dream and Woodrow from Andertons :).
@Andertons thx for this comparison anyway it‘s like an evening Couch Guitar Show to me 😁!
@@jwlzloff26 Hey man. They did a near hour long video on the 3 UA pedals a few weeks ago. Maybe you missed it?
It really wouldn’t have.
The discussion at the end debating real world scenarios is spot on - I have the iridium and exclusively use a Vox sound with some aftermarket IRs (which make a HUGE difference btw). Occasionally I enjoy playing with the other amps but the reality is you wouldn’t cart around 3 different amps to switch between when playing live.
I agree. I use all the models as well, but I tend to gravitate more to the Marhall model. I have upgraded all my IRs to York Audio. It really made the Iridium come alive, and I was able to get what feels right and sounds right from a mic'd up amp. Do u mind sharing which IRs u are using?
I switched all of my Iridium IR’s to York also. It just seems so much of an improvement to me. I mostly use the Vox 2x12 and a couple Fenders on the round. I just purchased the M25 and Mesa 2x12 to start on the Marshall punch sounds also.
Which York IRs do you prefer?
I use the mixes folder and find the ones that have the 57 Mics. For the mesa 2x12 that I use on the punch, I use mix 10 which is 2 sm57s. I also like the "FRED" mixes which also have 2 sm57s. It's just my preference though. U really cannot go wrong by trusting your ear and finding the right feel for your tone
@@michealrodriguez157 thanks for the tips! I will definitely try that mix out. I usually just start on mix 1 and it works but I need to spend some time and get deeper into the files.
For sure man. Keep jamming!
Turning up the resonance control on the Simplifier helps to beef it up. Pete mentions in the Vox style demo section that the Simplifier sounds thin and DI-ish, but the resonance knob is at noon or lower. I keep mine set closer to 2 or 3 o clock and it sounds much nicer. Plus, putting a reverb pedal in the effects loop does wonders for adding a touch of space.
The Simplifier has two big wins (at least on my pedal board) over the Strymon and the UAFX: the effects loop and the XLR outs. The effects loop also addresses some of the “issues” here. In particular, you can throw the reverb pedal of your choice in the loop. I also put a Bearfoot Putting Green Compressor in the loop to soften(?) the sound a bit more.
(Now, what I need to figure out is a simpler reverb set up since right now I am running a Wetter Box with a Nova Delay on one side and an Avalanche Run into an old MXR Stereo Tremolo on the other. Lovely sounds, but four pedals feels a bit excessive.)
My stereo effects loop is a Julianna, into Line 6 DL4, into Hall of Fame, into Ditto X4 looper.....all stereo. I've been pretty satisfied with the setup. I run through the Fender sim 6L6, presence and resonance around 3 o'clock , 1X12 off center, 2X12 centered....dual XLR out to front of house. Let's see the Iridium do that...
Take a look at TC Plethora X3 for all of your reverbs and modulations.
i have been gigging with the simplifier on my board for the last 6 months and boy do i love that little thing, it compresses great and sounds amazing in the mix. Yes i miss having a huge 100W tube amp onstage with me sometimes, but still it does its job to “simplify” my rig and save me from back issues lol. gotta have it!
What are you doing for reverb? Thanks.
@@jmtab i have a strymon el capistan for delay and a neunaber reverberator MKII on the effects loop of the simplifier and its sounds amazing
Do you just plug you pedal board into the PA then?
@@Hardcore3DaysGrace yeah, straight to the mixer for the monitors onstage and to the front of house guy
@@Davicpdavi Thanks. I ordered it on Saturday. Supposed to arrive tomorrow. I am so excited!
Lee asked the rhetorical question, "What if you're playing a gig, and you have to play a Stevie Wonder song and then a Led Zeppelin song?" implying that you would need different amp sounds. You really don't. The audience is just humming to the melody. They have no care in the world what the specific guitar sounds like (unless it's really bad). Pete's previous comment about just needing one good sounding amp to play clean, some dirt, distortion, delay and tremolo.
I think from an audience point you’re correct but lots of guitar players are particular about their tone for their own on stage enjoyment and confidence
Like wine conesours guitarists get caught up with silly details
Info & Settings I've found useful on my UA DREAM ... UA Dream Pedal notes …
Once you've registered you'll get the following 3 more cab emulations ...
With the Simplifier I’ve found that on most amps (particularly Vox) dialing up the presence, treble and mids, up resonance most the way THEN dial back the mic placement and bass for setting your treble and bass taste give it a “better” live cab sound to my ears. Opens it up a bit. Also keep the volume under 12 o’clock or you get weird fizz and I like the feel of the kt88 setting. Use pedals for anything more than slight breakup. Running at 12v sounds a bit better to me also. Hope that helps some :)
I ordered the Dream '65 from Andertons as soon as I saw the original demo - and it totally lives up to all my expectations. If I had to choose just one pedal to keep, this would be it, because it handles everything I want to do from crystal cleans through to fully overdriven, plus it has top quality reverb and tremolo. Thankfully, I don't have to make that choice, because I also have Neunaber's Neuron - another stunning pedal, and for totally the opposite reasons! Whereas the Dream '65 delivers painstakingly accurate vintage Fender tones, the Neuron allows total flexibility, letting you dial in the tone you're chasing without getting hung up on matching any particular amp. They're both invaluable for my setup and complement each other beautifully.
What I heard in their demo I would choose this one.
I am a simplifier dlx user. You had to use that. Really great
I bought a Ruby. I enjoy the presets way more than fiddling with the knobs. Sounds great.
I've been running the the Ruby and Woodrow straight into Logic for the past couple of weeks and am wondering if I ever need to mike up an amp again. Astonishing.
Have you run these stereo? Any samples, I've been looking at this combo. Had the chance to play through the Woodrow and loved it.
Yeah Ruby n Woodrow they nail a nice RAWR tone😆🤤
If you hear all 3 UA (Dream, Ruby, & Woodrow) Ruby seems 1st to buy and possibly Last to die beside 😮😆🧣
Always something to be said for having live onstage a matchless chieftain moving your bottom pants 👖 legs but recording etc. Ruby!!
I still may stick by my Line 6 PODs…😆I’ve got 3…. Pod pro rack. XT pod kidney bean, and Flextone III 2x12 amp w/shortboard.. 😆😮Not really sure I need Ruby !! 😮
I haven’t even mentioned my Pearce G2 amp straight out through Pacific 1/12 pair speakers 🔊 or Pearce PreAmp out the Boogie/295 power amp to pacific 1/12’s (see Jerry McPhersons Pacific Woodworks 1/12 cabs rundown)
UA Ruby is cheapest starting now + plug-ins forever tho… send me one UA!! I’ll demo it😆🔊🤤😮
The best way to get a great sound out of the Iridium is to use the Chime (Vox) or the Punch (Marshall) settings. The Round setting is a bit flat sounding, but I found it's better when gained up a bit through a Greenback IR which you can install for free with the Strymon Impulse Response Manager. No doubt that the new UA pedals sound fantastic!
With the Dream there are 6 cab sims and then you could either put it through the FX loop and bypass the preamp or go through both amp stages with your own amp. That's quite a range... if a Fender reverb is more or less your sound. I like the simplicity because you can concentrate on playing and not so much on the technical stuff. I'll watch this again guys.
The Simplifier sounded a bit smoother to me compared to the other two. I like the Marshall tones in the Simplifier. Those EQ knobs can add some sparkle, not just the mic placement knobs. Great video. thanks!
I have the UA Dream 65 and it has completely replaced my '66 Deluxe Reverb at my church. Kept the amp in an iso cab so it was a pretty seamless chance
I have the Iridium and used mostly the chime and a bit the punch with my own IRs. Now I have ruby and have to say its a far more detailed Vox Amp Sound. The dynamics are alone stunning💜🤘🎸 didn't comared them side by side jet
UAFX😎👍
After finding out these pedals are replicating actual amps (we've heard on many famous artists music), provided for them by a famous studio...gotta say...very impressed.
They nailed those amps😎👍
The UA amp pedals are superb. They cost me around £1000 but that is still way cheaper than three equivalent vintage tube combos.
They really do show up the limitations of multi-fx units and/or anything which uses cab lR's (as opposed to UA's much better proprietary system which nails cone howl and breakup brilliantly).
I've used the Kemper, Helix, Iridium, Walrus ACS, TwoNotes C.A.B. M+ and now the UAFX Dream 65 on tour. Oh wait, way back when the Korg A3, Didgitech 2101, all line6 stuff since the original POD. I've been doing the DI thing live for over 30 years. Backline amps are always a crap shoot. In my experience it's best to stick a one or two amps/cabs/reverb/delay during a show. In the studio it's another story... For me now, the UAFX stuff is tops.
Agree 👍
@Emilio Conesa how does the Dream 65 cut through with a live band? I have iridium and it cuts well but RUclips of UAFX are really nice. I bought the Golden and thinking of swapping Iridium for Dream but not sure how it will cut through. Thanks
@@adyuriar funny you should ask. I did a gig last night. I asked the foh how it sounded and he said that it cut through really nice. The stage mix was fantastic too. That’s with three keyboard players , sax, bass, drums and lots of BGs. I’m using really clean settings on the Dream 65. There’s a lot more twang and detail compared to the Iridium. The Iridium is the Deluxe normal channel, the Dream has many more options.
Hello gentlemen…
My take on it is on the cab simulation.
We really don’t know what speakers are in those cabinets so when you’re switching between each one,
I hear a different sounding speaker for me I’m all about the Simplifier. It’s has a
Class A boutique vibe to me…
I been following you guys for quite some time now thoroughly enjoy your videos awesome sense of humor thank you for that.
I really like my Iridium, but I'd love to see them do a software update that improves the amp models a bit, or perhaps use the IR software to add more amp models? maybe, maybe not?
Yes.
The Simplifier would be my first attempt in this space.
Can confirm as a former amp purist and someone who tried and hated the iridium.
The Simplifier is a magnificent beast. It doesn’t sound *exactly* like a Fender/Vox/Marshall, but damnit it FEELS like I’m playing through a real amp and to keep that matters tenfold over sounding like a classic amp.
To top it off, I get regular comments from folks on social media asking about my tone, and are shocked when I tell them that it’s the simplifier, a pedal rather than an amp!
yep, the Simplifier really has got something!
Funny. I thought it was my least favorite sounding of the three
I’ve had the simplifier for a couple of years now. I really like the cleans with some verb in the loop, but it falls apart when driven. Used it to run my signal to front of house once and it sounds odd when pumped into a big room. The effects loop stopped working recently, which was a bummer. I leave my rig at my practice space and use the simplifer on a “home board” to practice and record ideas. I’ll probably get a UA next instead of the next gen Simplifer.
Not fair to the Iridium. He never turned the bass down. And the treble never above 1 o clock. That pedal would have sounded better and much closer to the others with a simple flick of the knob.
I love these guys but it's more of a comedy/guitar thing for me. Definitely not my first or last stop for a true out and out gear review. I can think of quite a few times where they didn't read the manual or even glance at it quickly and had no idea what a pedals controls were actually doing or just made a very nice pedal sound bad and then after 2 minutes with the presence and treble cranked while the bass set low they give each other a look and move on. This really isn't a criticism though I think they have a totally different formula then most gear review channels and with the big pedal shootouts they do there's no way your gunna keep 1,000 knobs straight and remember each pedals intricacies and it would take hours and hours to do. I have more gear than I need anyways, haven't been in buying mode for a year and a half but I still watch most there videos and they are somewhat informative, keep up on new gear coming out and they are funny whether they are knowingly doing it or it's them fumbling around with a high gain pedal. I also think in this video they are more looking at the UA pedals, anyone who cares to know what the strymon sounds like knows what it sounds like at this point but yes I agree could wiggled a couple knobs and had a totally different sound.
PS. Pete's a killer guitar player and I love listening to him when he really digs an amp or pedal. The capt has gotten a lot better in the past few years as well.
I gotta say the Iridium is great but the dream 65 has a more realistic fender tone. UAFX Ruby 63 is the best AC30 modeler ive ever played. So if you have the budget I’d recommend getting both of those before the Iridium. Haven’t tried the UAFX lion yet but I’m looking forward to seeing it compared to the Iridiums Marshall.
The Two Notes Revolt might be interesting too when released. I tried to make my own bedroom setup with an AMT F1 and a Mooer Radar. Works ok enough for me with a boss sd-1 and keeley compressor before the F1 and carbon copy and digitech polara before the mooer.
i use an AMT 02 with a mooer radar, sounds great
I play in a wedding band very often... use only the Marshall from iridium.. and ocasionally the fender....and two or three pedals to get other colorations... a tremolo, a delay and reverb...EXACTLY like Pete pointed out....
The UAFX and the Iridium both sounded great. I myself love that mid bump you guys didn't on the Fender take of the Iridium....
All it's very subjective...
Pete knows his stuff.
Great review! The UA Dream 65 Amp pedal is the clear winner for me. I believe one can get differing amp tones with very good overdrive/stacking as well as compression, eq, modulation and time based pedals. The UA would be the superior pedal platform to achieve that.
Only because they set the knobs on the iridium to make it sound deliberately bad. Iridium comes alive with the mid knob, they kept it low the whole video to sell more UA units. Disappointed.
@@andymac4033 Thank you for your reply, can I then assume that the Iridium is as good or better as a platform for pedals?
@@andymac4033 that’s not true… a very bold butthurt allegation.
Guess they didnt have a simplifier dlx in the shop to use instead of the base simplifier. I feel like the additions made to the dlx would have made it a tighter competition between it and the UAFX
i have dlx it is very good.
Technology is on our side. I finished yesterday a song using exclusively the UAFX Woodrow 55. It’s just great!
The DSM Deluxe might have been a better match in this comparison, honestly.
But, TY for doing it 👍🏻
And now, having watched and heard the whole thing, I’m rather happy with my Simplifier Deluxe.
Really feel drawn to the DSM Humboldt out of these.
I'm not knocking digital at all, I love my digital effects, but there's just something nice about having all of the controls right there and not hiding behind a software layer.
The Ruby sounds frankly amazing. I’ve heard a lot of these amp sim pedals sound pretty decent in various demos, but this is the first one where I really find myself questioning whether I would prefer the real thing (for recording purposes, anyway).
just get a ZOOM G2: the FD Clean is a goodn clean Twin 65, aass Im getting older not hurrying to DIE!, Im preferring better tone, so I Simbly( thats my always on coating clean,pedal) stomped from 0/Clean to Fender Clean, which I a bit younger was a bit dull/dark, NOW NO! in my chain....never you mind, Oh recording for I have 6 ZOOM G2s and one Joyo Am Sound and 2 Behringer GItar Straight Blues.....
Simplifier clean is solid, not a huge fan of the crunchier tones. Had the iridium for awhile, solid pedal but not for me. Great video!
I use the simplifier clean and all effects come from pedals. For me ot works running a clean stage
for me, these kinds of amplifiers (yes, they all are amplifiers) are for recording. that you can have a whole arsenal of amps to use for songwriting is a godsend. now someone do a good hiwatt pedal (oh, sansamp just put released one? - NICE!).
I wonder how good these would sound through a power amp and actual guitar speaker with the Speaker setting turned off.
We have pedals like the milkman The Amp which I believe uses one 12ax7 with solid state power amp and that thing sounds just like a fender twin imo.
Using this with a small power amp and 1x12 would be a quick gigging mans setup
Sansamp released one years ago. I have the Sansamp Character Leeds v2 and it is great.
@@grosebud4554 they sound good through a good pa/frfr. At home i put my ruby in the stereo line in of a Yamaha thr and it sounds killer.
@@valebliz damn that sounds awesome man. So tempted to get the dream.
I think the set at 12 mindset when dialing in the DSM is a major flaw in this shoot out. if you look at the rcommemded settings the Simplifier for each amp setting, they are never at 12. That said, damn the these pedals are all really good.
When I gigged a floor multiFX modeler it was a doddle to have four levels of gain, represented by four completely different amps. With four presets per bank, I could bank up or down, have the same four amp selections, each the epitome of a clean, semi-clean, crunch or lead amplifier with associated settings, but with modifications and variations. For example my crunch amp in Bank A has a compressor available under a footswitch, but in Bank B, it's already on, when the preset is selected, or maybe there's a fuzz where the compressor was.
That's an insanely cool feature to give up, in favor of a pedalboard where that amount of flexibility either doesn't exist or requires a metric poo-ton of tap dancing. Lately, I'm moving in the direction of a hybrid approach, blending custom-selected pedals with more generic multi FX models. For example, having a UA amp (or two) as the heart of the rig, but adding an HX Stomp XL, a specialty drive pedal or two and maybe a parallel delay/reverb in the loop of the HX.
That said, I theenk UA will have to bend to meet market demand; there's no reason any of these new pedals can't run ALL the UA models and mix/match dynamically modeled speaker cabinets, which to my ears at least, are superior to IR snapshots.
Sold the Iridium recently. I own the Dream, and Ruby and it's not even close how much more fun the UA pedals are to play compared to the Iridium. Recording is so much easier with the UA pedals too. For anyone going direct and still wanting to use pedals this is by far the best option.
Yeah I'm selling my iridium for a dream but I don't think I'll buy the ruby or the Woodrow. Not they don't sound great but I can't justify paying another 500$ if I don't absolutely need it.
I did the same, also bought the Woodward. I’m on the fence about the Woodward. Finding it much harder to dial in. Dream and Ruby are great. Also- try running the Ruby in preamp mode into the dream and blend to taste.
I agree that the Iridium can feel and sound fairly flat (especially on the Fender setting). But I have found that putting a Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop (or any OD with a sag setting) in front of the Iridium realllly improves the feel. Running the Barbershop basically clean at 18v, it importantly has a sag feature that when slightly engaged, gives you more of that tube amp feeling of dynamic "layers" that Pete was describing. Many reviews of the Barbershop hail it as excellent for this amp like response. It also helps create that sound of the low end blooming and then matching the rest of the sparkle (like the Dream does so well). It is honestly the thing that has kept me from selling the Iridium for the Dream.
If UA gave us a plexi/bluesbreaker Marshall pedal I would consider switching from my Iridium. But that sound is just too essential for certain styles.
Get a Greer lightspeed and put it in front of a clean Woodrow 👌
That‘s what you get now, the Lion. It‘s awesome, and I can finally get rid of the Iridium. One dream and one Lion.
I really enjoy Anderton's videos, but I always take their comments with a grain of salt since the point is of course, sell stuff, this vids are very informative to make your own mind and agree or disagree with what they say/do, for instance I still think the less value for money is in the UA units, as well as the sound quality and built in effects is not as good as other options. Iridium is really good within its limitations, if you add a Flint you have 3 amps 3 reverb and 3 tremolo effects for a fraction of all the UA pedals.
That UAD Fender sounds sooooo gooooood
With the Iridium "Chime" option the middle knob becomes a Vox style high cut control so that would have probably helped this comparison as it's set higher than the others. But I actually preferred it's tone when driven as it's a bit smoother and so on.
If you had used the same cabinet simulation on all of these, you could probably get surprisingly similar results. The UA pedals definitely comes with the best cab sims out of the box but a little bit of extra spend on some 3rd party impulse responses for the Iridium can really elevate its sounds, including the "Round" Fender voice. With UA you better like the options provided because you can't do anything about them without adding extra gear.
UA really drops the ball when you look at the features of their pedals. No MIDI control, no expression control, single preset...that's not what I want to see on a 2022 digital pedal!
THIS
I’m a BIG Kemper man. I have a performance set up with 5 “core rigs” I use in a typical night in a cover band (60 ish songs). they are a AC30, HC30, jcm800, triple rectifier, and a nirvana specific tone with a bass man, od1, etc. Then I have a couple others that drop tune, or have a specific sound for a certain song. Where I start tinkering is in studio tones recording.
Now hearing this video on good speakers, if I'm playing and recording, I want the UA. If I am running sound for a band, I want them on the iridium because the low end isn't over super prevalent so it'll take less time to get rid of it. And if I'm playing in a band with no in ears, the simplifier has that "trashy" gain that you hate until you're in a room with players who are too loud, all of a sudden that trash top end becomes touch sensitivity you need to feel what you are doing when players are playing too loud for you to hear it properly. All in all, I think strymon, and UA are both accomplishing what they're going for. And if I kept it clean, which is how id use it for pedals, id probably take the DSM bc of $ and the fact that I lean more on my pedals bc that's what my hands know :)
Great video guys! Thanks from San Antonio!
I was just thinking about one of these pedals when this video came up. You're right guys. I only ever play with one amp. I tempted by the UA pedals. Not having to lug a 2x12 combo around.
Thanks for doing this! I will say the Simplifier was put at a huge disadvantage by not having reverb in the effects loop. I picked one up last week, and have a Dream 65 on the way also. One of them will be going back.
I love the fact that the Simplifier has an effects loop, so I can set it to edge of breakup and not worry about the verbs and delays being affected. It also handles pedals very well. Initially I thought the sound was more "direct" as well, but after taking a bit of time to dial in the eq, I'm super happy with the way its taking pedals. I honestly don't expect the Dream 65 to be able to compete in that regard, but I'll be happy if it does :)
Please let us know your thoughts when you compare them both!
@@guillermotorres9051 Good Idea!
How does the FXloop on the SIMPLIFIER work, please?
@@guillermotorres9051 absolutely. The Dream will be here Tuesday.
@@BeesWaxMinder works great! I haven't had any issues and it was easy to set up.
Great, great video - thank you! Please share your signal paths. Were you running stereo? Using a DI?
Would have loved it if you guys included some more relatively affordable pedals in the shootout as well: SansAmp makes some great stuff, and my personal favourite, the Joyo range. Those things slay.
Joyo American Sound together with Joyo Cab Box works really well for me. I have no idea how it compares to the Dream or the Iridium because I've never tried them but it sounds good to me and it's a much cheaper set up.
As a general statement, a world without guitar pedals would be a very sad place. I generally divide human history into two phases: the Pre-Pedal Era and and the Pedal Era (pedal obviously means guitar pedal). The trick is finding the exact year when pedals appeared...
For the way I use these type boxes, a headphone jack is more important than the difference in tone/feel. If the Dream had headphone out, I'd sell my ACS-1 and get it. As it is..I need the Headphone port. Oh well.
totally agree. don't understand they did not put headphone out on it
Petes presets on Dream are great. Dream 65 wins. Sold my Iridium but.. there is still Tone King Imperial who rules them all. Great Video. Thanks
Absolutely. I carry the Iridium as a back up in case my amp fails live. I have the Tone King Imperial...tone heaven!
Great review. I love Pete's comment on Deja vu when playing the Ruby. That was exactly the feeling I got, when I played Ruby normal channel with gunned volume. At the end Pete and Lee mention they would go to Brian May Top Boost sound - but correct me if I am wrong , May uses normal channel not the brilliant channel, in his AC30s - always full volume and also full cut (ie the most cut).
i dont think people realize how important the cab IR is when it comes to its impact on the sound. as someone mentioned already- the fact that you can't use 3rd party IRs in the UAD stuff means they probably went all out on providing the very best sounding IR's. I think you can most likely make the iridium sound just as good by upgrading the stock IR's.
My backup rig is HXStomp into Bose L1 Pro16. Cheers Andertons!
You guys should carry the NUX stuff. They have a wonderful Amp Academy pedal that would be good to be included in these types of videos
I have been using the iridium for a year. I love the chime setting. I basically set it and forget it. The only thing I’ve done is change the speaker cab IR. Even with that I spent hours and hours downloading new IRs for each amp variety. I rarely if ever even change the amp from whatever setting I currently have it on. I’ve thought about switching out for the Ruby because it looks like it would take up less space on my board and it seems to sound better in these videos. I’m not sure it would be worth it or not.
These pedals are so cool! I do agree that the UA pedals sounded the most realistic. Its funny, but when i first heard about these I incorrectly assumed you would actually use it in place of an amp and run it straight to a speaker… but then I saw the 400mA current requirement and knew that wasn’t the case. So you still have to run it into some kind of power amp- either a powered speaker or PA, a clean guitar amp, etc. I think I would buy one of these just to keep in the gig bag and bring as a spare amp. If Im in a pub and my tube amp blows up, I can set this up after my pedalboard, then directly to the PA and get through the gig. That being said, if they really sound that good ( they might! ) then why not use it on every gig or even in the studio? As guitarists we want that interaction between the guitar and real guitar amp on stage so for me it would be a backup!
One thing to note about the Iridium and UAFX are that you'll need DI boxes if you want to run direct in (most of the time) and good direct boxes ARE NOT cheap. This is something that I never see mentioned in reviews.
That’s why I went with the simplifier. That and the effects loop.
@@RedUnited30 True, I was also disappointed by the lack of an effects loop in the UAFX pedals.
what do you mean you need a DI box? if you go directly from iridium out to an audio interface? you need something else?
@@tendingtropic7778 You're right about the audio interface. I was thinking in terms of using one in a live setting. Many (most?) interfaces have 1/4" inputs that will accept the unbalanced inst/line level signals that the UA and Iridium output. Most of the stage boxes and snakes I've seen only have balanced XLR inputs.
@@fluidparadigms6719 In most venues they'll bring you a DI that takes an unbalanced 1/4" jack input. That's what they do for synths or stage pianos anyway so why not for guitar ?
You can also plug 1/4" in most mixers.
So, correct me if I'm wrong but I think the balanced XLR and DI are only needed when you need to cross a bigger distance and protect from interferences. I don't think the DI adds to to the signal or tone, other than balancing it with the inverted copy, does it ?
I have the Simplifier and used it live in a five piece band but have now bought a Roland JC-40 instead and it’s much better when others are using traditional amps. You need really powerful monitors to compete with the Simplifier. The JC-40 costs ca750 USD which comes with two ten inch speakers. With a modeller or pedal amp you still need a FRFR monitor or Cab which won’t be much cheaper when you add everything up.
Have you tried using the simplifier as a preamp to the JC-40? I too have a JC-40 and am curious how they would pair up.
@@onionkeeper Actually not, but it’s definitely something Worth trying.
@@marcelfok2561 For sure! Both are stereo, so would allow for some interesting setups. The JC-40 sounds great on its own but for driven sounds it makes sense to try the simplifier. Also, I suspect the hiss that some find annoying with the JC-40 is mainly from the preamp, so possibly makes the amp quieter as well, not sure though.
@@onionkeeper indeed the stereo thing is awesome. I do have drive pedals in front at the moment and an H9 (also stereo). Really love the JC-40. Don’t find the hiss bad. It’s an unbelievably powerful amp for a transistor. I never have it beyond volume level 3. I reckon it would shred flesh off the bone, if turned up much higher!
I wished u guys includes the NuX Amp Academy & Boss IR-200 in this shoot out......
I sold Kemper to get RUBY DREAM ;). Love it.
This video is spot on what I needed to watch. They are so right, if you know what your favorite amp is then get the UAD pedal, it sounds incredible. For me, Im building a guitar pedal rack and I want to use it for recording guitar (obviously) but also to re-amp with PT to make some creative sounds on other instruments. If I had the money I would buy the all the UAD pedals but since I'm on a budget I feel like the Iridium is the way to go so I have more option of amps to choose from for whatever the tone of the song requires.
I had the ruby and dream. I totally thought they’d replace my iridium. They did not. The UAFX pedals were really difficult to dial in for live playing and they did not take pedals as well as the iridium.
Your opinion. The Ruby takes pedals way better than the Iridium did to me. The Vox and Marshall settings in the iridium were practically unusable.
You had them for what? 5 days? C'mon, give more chance to it.
@Maverick92 Totally my opinion! You are right. But I tried hard to dial it in for 2 weeks. I really wanted to like it. I don't purchase things like this often and I love UA. Without a doubt, both the Ruby and the Dream feel more like real amps. I had three issues:
1)There was an insane, unexpected amount of bass in the Ruby which is not my experience with my guitars running through the actual Vox amps I have in my studio. There was a lot of treble available as well, but that could be controlled via the cut and treble knobs. The bass knob was problematic for me.
2) When I play live, it's usually at church. In our building there was something with the Ruby's harmonics that created really harsh and unpleasant vowel-like sounds. The offending frequencies were 2k and 4k. I had to reduce those by 9db just to get things to feel like my head wasn't going to explode. The problem is, those frequencies are important to the character of a vox amp and so the tone suffered.
3) When it comes to pedals, I'm talking specifically about drives and boosts. When I play the iridium, I set it at edge of breakup. Then I use a Mythos Mjolnir (klon clone) to slam the front end with mostly clean boost. When I do that, I get a bit of a volume increase and the amp overdrives with all the extra signal. When I used the Ruby, I'd set it up at edge of breakup, turn on the Mjolnir and would get no volume boost (even though the Ruby had tons more gain on tap) and the overdrive sound that I got out the Ruby was not at all close to the sound of the Ruby if I just turned the drive knob up. The drive on the Ruby was great. Edge of breakup with boost - not great.
The Ruby seems like a great studio tool for people who like to plug a guitar into an amp and go. It sounds more like a guitar amp. But the Iridium sounded like a recorded guitar ready to sit in a mix. Additionally, having presets available to me via midi that I can switch with my feet so that I can accomplish guitar changes in a set is another strong reason why I'm more comfortable with the iridium. With the Ruby, I'd have to move knobs or pull out my phone. I was ready to give up Midi if the sound was better. For my purposes and in my opinion, the sound was not.
@@gffg387 I had them for two weeks and tried to dial them in for 60 hrs. I have an opinion. I really wanted to keep them.
@@Jonathandavidk Thanks for your detailed review! I just got an Iridium, but thiking about getting a Dream. Could you elaborate a bit more on this comparison? Do you use custom IR's? If so, from where? How are pedals with these two, as you only mentioned above the Vox sides. Thanks
Just got the Dream and it does live up to its early reputation. Just wish they'd let me switch presets via MIDI instead of the app. I don't need a ton of presets, but it would be nice to be able to kick in the trem, verb, or boost without getting on my knees or messing with an iPhone. It's got USB-C, it's got Bluetooth... c'mon, gimme MIDI, UA!
You can turn trem and verb on and off with switches but ye more flexibility probably not a bad thing
I’m using a trusty old American Sound pedal into a NUX solid studio pedal. Cheap, but between them, gets close to loads of juicy tones.
If you struggle with digital sounds the simplifier is the way to go. It takes a bit of setup but then it sounds and feels great and it takes pedals really well.
Love this channel and not trying to troll. I’ve had success with Tech21 SansAmp GT2. Please keep up the great work.
The comparison to a digital piano is pretty spot on. There is no digital piano or keyboard that can truly get close to the feeling of a real Piano. They can get the sound so close. But you just can’t capture the feeling of the keys, the movement of the hammers, and the hammers contacting the strings, and even the vibration of the strings - you can feel all of that in your fingers and it effects how you play. A real piano feels alive. You can’t replicate that feeling on a digital keyboard because there’s an infinite number of variations between all of the different variations in how you play. They can get the sound closer and closer with more layers of capturing the piano with microphones, capturing more of those dynamics.
A real tube amp is similar to that in alot of ways. The more detail and dynamics a sim is able to recreate, the more it feels like a real amp.
I honestly hated how the iridium felt and sounded when I’ve tried it, same goes for this video. I love the simplifier and it’s lived on my board for 2 years. I’d be curious to try the Dream, as it sounds amazing, just a bit pricy.
But Pete is 100% right about the different amp model thing. 99% of players don’t need to have a bunch of different amp models. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter. Find whatever is your favorite to get your base tone, and then get to whatever other tones you need with dirt pedals. That’s all you really need. I only use the fender style mode on the simplifier, and I’ve never changed it. And that’s why I would go for the Dream, and wouldn’t have any remorse about not having other kinds of amps inside it.
I know it's more expensive but the Milkman the amp 100 is very impressive. I had the DSM and it was very good, ultimately I liked the simple layout of the milkman, the sound is incredible, they layout is user friendly, and it gives you all the connections you need. Review that one guys!
I don't know a lot about this stuff and I've been wondering. What kind of cabinet/speakers who you recommend for an amp pedal?
The UAD pedal sounds really natural and upfront
I don't think it's close. Dream 65! I want one.
I saw a video on Rhett Shull in a studio where they compared these against some classic amps.
No matter if they can fool you with monitor speakers. You can’t beat a proper amp.
Rhett Shull?
@@dadtimejamtime haha that’s the dude! Thank you!
Once you have put some room or reverb in the Iridium and UA pedals you started to say that the Simplifier sounded more DI :) It's not a fair comparison. Add some room with the Simplifier and lets hear what it does...
Love Pete's comments 💯👌💯👏💯
Can i politely request that whenever the next video of you guys reviewing loopers can Pete and Digital John host it? I just want to see them go into a looping battle together 😊😊 lol
Can't wait when Andertons will review Two Notes Revolt, in terms of price and features it's above everything.
The iridium seems to be more about the “potential” it has in that it is often seen sounding at its best with third party IRs over the stock ones and dressed up with a reverb or whatever
You should compare these modern amp pedals to the Tech 21 Sansamp Classic. Just to see how far we've come in technology.
UA sounds great. I use one setting on my line6 setup with a couple stomp boxes thrown in. I’m planning on switching to the Dream with a few good stomp boxes.
it would be interesting to see if you bypass all the cab sims on the pedala and use the same cab sim for each amp-sim pedal! :-)
This would miss the point: UA don't use standard IRs but far better technology.
@@digitalchris6681 yeah I know, I got the ox. :)
still would be interesting!
@@DavidC119 Neat. I've got the 3 UA amp pedals and an frfr.
@@digitalchris6681 ever compared them to an ox?:)
@@digitalchris6681 what kind of technology do you speak of?
Had Simplifier but in the arena of more amps one box so Helix. Simplifier sounded great on all 3 fronts but had to dial in each when want that sound and took outboard pedals well.
I've heard that the OG simplifier can sound like a "DI" I wonder if the deluxe version fixes this, could be an interesting video?? also you did a video with the creators, any word on a new version of this?
The iridium does a good fender, vox and Marshall, bit if you just want one of those amps then there are better options out there. In this case the ruby and dream 65 I think crush the iridium round and chime sims.
I love the sound of the ruby but I'll only be buying the dream 65.
I gig with the simplifier and really like it once dialed in. Wish I could switch the amp models on the fly, but otherwise it is great.
The DSM Simplifier is a game changer
Two comments: the simplifier’s lack of room or reverb didnt help it in this comparison…i think it wouldve held up better if it had some. That said the dream and ruby are nuther level AiaB pedals. And, i have to believe the woodrow has great sounds in it but ive watched several vids of the UA boxes and so far no one has really spent any time finding them in the woodrow…Imo.
Can you take UAFX pedals and use them into a real amp, or is it just for home recordings and PA systems ?. I was just wondering if i could "upgrade" my katana with the dream 65' pedal, to make it sound like a fender amp ?
Many of the demos have shown running them into the FX-return of an amp’s power amp. They even have a special 4-cable mode to allow you to switch between using your amp’s pre-amp or the UAFX in place of the pre-amp. The marketing says you can also just use them as a drive pedal, but I don’t think I’ve yet seen a demo that showed that.
Yes
the simplifier consistantly had a weird low midrange push around the 300 hz range that made all the amps kinda sound the same..probably that single analog eq circuit limiting what can be done
totally agree with set and forget - once i find what i like, i'm done. thank you UA.
I have the simplifier and for me the AC setting is killer, I love it.
Going to need to redo this in a couple months when the Two Notes ReVolt comes out
They should add the acs1 in the mix too
This is a really great comparison! Very well done. To my ears, the Iridium is meh most of the time, and the UA is usually but not always better than the Simplifier (I’m a Simplifier owner). Now I want to do a shoot-out at home with my Simplifier and my Mooer 008 Cali-Mk3! My favorite amps are Mesa Mark series, and the Cali-Mk3 does a remarkable job of getting that sound.