UAFX Lion Safari!

[Capt. Black]

Would love an honest review when you have had a good play!

Hell yeah. It’ll be one of the few things I feel qualified to review proper like.

[Capt. Black]

Would love an honest review when you have had a good play!

Haven't had a good play yet. But had a solid introduction just before Xmas.

First impressions: Sounds and plays nothing like my actual Super Bass.

Second impressions: Tweak the settings and the cab model to match the ones I use in real life and it gets much closer. Once you find the right settings, the Lion really does "Play" like the real thing. Albeit, the break up and dynamics happen at different points than I'm used to. But like any good amp of its kind, you can plug in and it sounds good right away.

Third impressions: Realise there are some things that make it impossible to ever match exactly.
1. The pedal is based on specific '68 Plexi amps. Mine is a '74 Super Bass which may differ somewhat. It certainly changes character slightly when the power tubes are replaced.
2. I realised, I always use a Power Brake. Not just to tame the volume. I actually like how the amp sounds with the Power Brake set one notch down. A kind of sweet spot tonally.
3. You can't model the feeling and sound of a 1960B loaded with G-12Hs moving air at volume. It's part of the sound and directly influences how I play. I'm not one of those guys who can play the guitar no matter what (lucky bastards) When I like an amp, it's more than part of the sound. It's part of my playing. Y'know what I mean.

On the other hand, I'm not really trying to replicate the real amp per se. What I really want from the pedal, is something I can practice with that doesn't sound so far from what I like that it doesn't relate to my live sound. I want something I can plug into a recording interface and get going straight away. I want the added bonus of integrating the pedal into my real amp, like a boost pedal or even an alternative amp when needed. I've even discussed with Clarry, adding an "effects return" jack to the Super Bass so I could bypass the pre-amp and go straight to the power section from the pedal.

Had a chat with Niklaus about doing a video for his Youtube channel in the new year, looking at the real amp and the Lion. That could be a first of its kind comparison. Most of the clips I've seen has been by people who have never played a "Plexi" in real life or, don't have anything close enough to do a genuine comparo.

Should be fun.

Here's the updated Pedal board. Still evolving...

Lion Board.jpg (219.88 KiB) Viewed 10616 times

[Reg18]

Would love an honest review when you have had a good play!

Haven't had a good play yet. But had a solid introduction just before Xmas.

First impressions: Sounds and plays nothing like my actual Super Bass.

Second impressions: Tweak the settings and the cab model to match the ones I use in real life and it gets much closer. Once you find the right settings, the Lion really does "Play" like the real thing. Albeit, the break up and dynamics happen at different points than I'm used to. But like any good amp of its kind, you can plug in and it sounds good right away.

Third impressions: Realise there are some things that make it impossible to ever match exactly.
1. The pedal is based on specific '68 Plexi amps. Mine is a '74 Super Bass which may differ somewhat. It certainly changes character slightly when the power tubes are replaced.
2. I realised, I always use a Power Brake. Not just to tame the volume. I actually like how the amp sounds with the Power Brake set one notch down. A kind of sweet spot tonally.
3. You can't model the feeling and sound of a 1960B loaded with G-12Hs moving air at volume. It's part of the sound and directly influences how I play. I'm not one of those guys who can play the guitar no matter what (lucky bastards) When I like an amp, it's more than part of the sound. It's part of my playing. Y'know what I mean.

On the other hand, I'm not really trying to replicate the real amp per se. What I really want from the pedal, is something I can practice with that doesn't sound so far from what I like that it doesn't relate to my live sound. I want something I can plug into a recording interface and get going straight away. I want the added bonus of integrating the pedal into my real amp, like a boost pedal or even an alternative amp when needed. I've even discussed with Clarry, adding an "effects return" jack to the Super Bass so I could bypass the pre-amp and go straight to the power section from the pedal.

Had a chat with Niklaus about doing a video for his Youtube channel in the new year, looking at the real amp and the Lion. That could be a first of its kind comparison. Most of the clips I've seen has been by people who have never played a "Plexi" in real life or, don't have anything close enough to do a genuine comparo.

Should be fun.

Here's the updated Pedal board. Still evolving...

Lion Board.jpg

Have you used any other modellers to compare to?
I’d be interested to know how the dynamic feel is compared to something like my HX Stomp. I have a JCM800 1959 which is pretty much plexi but it’s been modded which a lot of actual Plexis have been too, which makes it an even smaller pool of people who have actually experienced a real un-modded one to get a bench mark.
If it’s closer than the other equivalent modellers that would be worth it probably.

[blackstratblues]

Lion Board.jpg

Do you notice any detectable latency with all 3 UAFX pedals on? I believe each is just under 3ms.

[Capt. Black]

Have you used any other modellers to compare to?
I’d be interested to know how the dynamic feel is compared to something like my HX Stomp. I have a JCM800 1959 which is pretty much plexi but it’s been modded which a lot of actual Plexis have been too, which makes it an even smaller pool of people who have actually experienced a real un-modded one to get a bench mark.
If it’s closer than the other equivalent modellers that would be worth it probably.

No I haven’t used many modellers but I have quite a few software modellers. Didn’t really gel with them though. Best of them I’ve tried were UAD so was pretty confident the pedals would be good. The Astra and Starlight are superb.

There’s plenty of YouTube comparing UAFX to other modellers. Consensus seems to be pretty solidly in favour of the UAFX, even if only by a smidgin. Like there’s so many good ones out there.

[Capt. Black]

Lion Board.jpg

Do you notice any detectable latency with all 3 UAFX pedals on? I believe each is just under 3ms.

I don’t notice any at all, Warren. Remembering two of them are time based so kind of render themselves invisible perhaps. YMMV.

[blackstratblues]

I don’t notice any at all, Warren. Remembering two of them are time based so kind of render themselves invisible perhaps. YMMV.

Thanks, that's good to know. I have the OX Stomp myself so just running that in line after my Suhr load on the way to the interface. Still feels pretty snappy.
Modern A/D/D/A converters on digital audio devices have come a long way since the 80s/90s where it was impossible to send your dry signal through them without ruining your tone

[Capt. Black]

I don’t notice any at all, Warren. Remembering two of them are time based so kind of render themselves invisible perhaps. YMMV.

Thanks, that's good to know. I have the OX Stomp myself so just running that in line after my Suhr load on the way to the interface. Still feels pretty snappy.
Modern A/D/D/A converters on digital audio devices have come a long way since the 80s/90s where it was impossible to send your dry signal through them without ruining your tone

Ahh yeah. Gotcha. Ox Stomp makes so much sense. Long term I can see myself adding one alongside a Dream (still miss my stolen ‘65 Blackface Twin) and maybe one of the UAFX compressors.

[Capt. Black]

Thought I'd update the safari.

I'd been looking for a way to have an ideal home practice set-up based around the Lion Pedal and, a relatively light rehearsal rig. The biggest thing was to have something that when I plugged into my actual amp, I'd be close enough in tone and response not to be bothered.

It'd tried using my little Blackstar practice amp and I can get great sounds out of it. But I had to adjust every single pedal on my board to get there. Not ideal. I like to set and mostly forget.

I had a moment where I toyed with the idea of grabbing Bender's AC30. He was kind enough to lend it to me to try out. What a lovely, versatile amp!
I could get a really good practice sound from my board, via the Lion if I ran into the low input. That translated nicely both at home and at rehearsal.
Then my brain switched back on and I could not justify owning a beautiful but hefty amp that was only being used as a power amp for my pedals.

Meantime I'd been searching for viable power amp solutions. There are some decent ones out there, but I couldn't handle the cost! Especially if I wanted to dabble in a stereo set-up.

Then my brain clicked into a higher gear and I remembered I have a lovely, hardly used pair of Australian Monitor PA/Foldback speakers. Tried them last week and they were perfect! I always found these monitors very warm sounding and efficient. No harshness at all.
Set one up in the lounge and straight away enjoyed playing again. Just a short XLR and a passive DI and away we go.
Took the other one to rehearsal and was able to run it up opposite my bandmate who also runs a '74 Super Bass and Mesa 2x12. Didn't even break a sweat.

What a great solution to a nagging problem!
Keep one set up at home and one ready to load in the car. Plus I have the option to experiment with stereo when the urge strikes. PLUS Plus, The rig could even run alongside my actual half stack for even more fun and games!

Success!

[jeremyb]

Excellent outcome, I didn't know they were stereo, thats a bit of a game changer!!

[Capt. Black]

Excellent outcome, I didn't know they were stereo, thats a bit of a game changer!!

Yes, all the full size UAFX pedals have stereo in/out.

I think the Lion pedal outs are more intended for mono to stereo pass-through to stereo pedals like the Astra and Starlight. Or to send to an amp plus front of house.
But one day, if I play around with the order of the pedals, I can keep a stereo signal all the way through. Should also be able to do a wet/dry line. Which is where the Lion through the monitor would work well beside the actual amp.

I think...