These audio examples accompany the Universal Audio OX Stomp full review in SOS February 2024.
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/universal-audio-ox-stomp
Download high-resolution 24-bit WAV versions in this ZIP file:
ua-ox-stomp-audio-examples-0224.zip
All examples below use the same signal source to feed the OX Stomp pedal. Not just the same ‘amp’, but also one with the exact same settings for all four examples. The guitar is also the same in every one, so the only front-end variables are the pickup choice and the guitar’s own control settings.
Each example uses one of the OX Stomp’s default factory settings, edited only to reduce either the room mic level or the reverb a little from the programmed setting, just for my personal preferences. The Speaker Drive setting, which is a hardware-only parameter (it doesn’t appear in the app at all) is at 40% for all examples, replicating a speaker or cab that has been nicely ‘run in’ with use, but doesn’t yet show any signs of wear. There’s no EQ used in the record or mix path, and any guitar reverb, room and delay used is from the OX Stomp.
(1) ‘4x12 Green Punch’
A classic rock rhythm guitar sound, distorted but still with a useful degree of responsiveness to touch. Strat, bridge pickup. Guitar volume on 7.
(2) ‘Tiny 10’
I’ve always loved the unique sound of a small speaker in a small, open-back combo cab, especially for clean tones where it can’t really reproduce much of the fundamental on lower notes. Strat, neck pickup. Guitar volume on 3.
(3) ‘50s Twang 12’
A slightly bigger open-back combo cab with a single 12 for a sweeter-sounding kind of clean. I’m using a little of the OX Stomp’s built-in 1176 on this one. Strat, bridge and middle pickups. Guitar volume on 5, but with a lighter touch from the right-hand than in example 2.
(4) ‘2x12 Comfortable Lead’
A smooth-sounding ported 2x12 — the factory setting has a huge reverb and delay effect. It’s still ‘comfortable’ with less of it, but I found a drier sound to be better for an articulate, melodic lead line over a busy track. Strat, bridge pickup. Guitar volume on 10, Tone backed-off to 7 (I move the middle pickup tone to the bridge pickup on Strats).
All the above examples were recorded using an Origin Effects RD Compact Hot Rod pedal — an all-analogue amp simulator pedal with no on-board speaker simulation. Naturally, UA’s own amp pedals, with their integral speakers bypassed, pair very well with OX Stomp, but I was keen to see what else might work, and of all the units I tested, the RD Compact, with its exceptional ability to respond authentically to different guitar volume settings, was a clear winner for generating the required range of tones.