You'd be forgiven for thinking of Universal Audio as a pro audio/studio recording equipment company: for many a year, they've produced some of the most sought-after, excellent sounding outboard processors and audio interfaces on the market altogether. Their legacy of top-notch recording gear aside, though, it's important to note another long-standing focus: audio processing.

Many of us are familiar with UA's incredible family of audio processing plug-ins—either in the form of native UA Spark plug-ins, or the UAD family of plug-ins, which run on Apollo interfaces or UAD DSP accelerators. These plug-ins accurately re-create the sound and behavior of everything from iconic Neve channel strips, Studer and Ampex tape machines, and Pultec EQs all the way to sought-after effect processors from classic pedal and outboard gear companies. It's this corner of their work that led them to one of their most recent endeavors: the UAFX pedal series.

We've already seen the release of several pedals in this series. The Starlight echo station, Astra modulation machine, and Golden reverberator made a huge splash when initially releeased; and the follow-up Dream '65, Ruby '63, and Woodrow '55 have brought the pristine sound of classic amplifiers to countless guitar pedal boards.

Today, though, they're adding three new members to the family: the Del-Verb ambience companion, the Galaxy '74 tape echo + reverb, and the Max preamp + dual compressor. Each of these three pedals brings something new to the table, all with the same attention to sonic detail and build quality that has kept Universal Audio at the top of the game. Let's take a closer look at each of these new pedals to see what they have to offer.

Del-Verb Ambience Companion is an Ambient Delight

UAFX's Starlight and Golden Reverberator made a serious impression on the music world, freeing their beloved hardware modeling from their studio equipment and making it available in pedal form. But UA now makes it easier to choose, by using their tried-and-true algorithmic knowledge coupled with their penchant for exceptional hardware design to combine their delay and reverb into one effects pedal that is at home on stage or in the studio. The Del-Verb takes all three algorithms from both pedals and combines them into one while keeping each effect running independently for truly luscious sounds.

It doesn't feature all the same hands-on controls as its predecessors—but all in all, Del-Verb is a welcome addition to the UAFX lineup, with all of the most critical parameters available at a moment's notice. And of course, you can use the UAFX Control app for extended control, or for adding even more effect voicings to the pedal.

Housed in a gorgeous pastel blue housing with chocolate brown knobs, the Del-Verb is as beautiful as it sounds. Perfect for the desktop or pedalboard, the sounds that have reverberated through the decades on thousands of recordings are now available at the press of a button. With any combination you can think of and endless tweaking, the most glacial expanses and classic slaps are at your disposal.

Galaxy '74: (Tape) Echos of the Past

A long-time staple of Universal Audio's plugin catalog has been Galaxy: a faithful take on Roland's Space Echo tape delay units, designed in-house by the UAD team. Now, UAFX brings the sounds of Galaxy '74 to pedalboards and studios everywhere. Like their plugin, Galaxy '74 is a complete emulation of everything that makes the Space Echo so charming: tape delay, spring reverb, and a characterful preamp.

Like all other UAFX pedals, Galaxy '74 offers true stereo operation, so while original Space Echos only operate in mono, you get the experience of using two units together in a much more compact package. But of course, the added convenience of Tap Tempo, configuration via the UAFX Control app, and so much more make Galaxy '74 a much more practical (and maintenance-free) option to bring that Space Echo sound to the stage.

Max: Smash, Squash, and Soulful Sustain

Spacey delay and reverb effects are great and all—but sometimes you just need to squash stuff. That's where the new Max comes in: it's a preamp and dual compressor pedal that you'll find perfect for your guitar, drum machines, synths, or heck...even for reamping from your DAW.

Of course, one of the strong suits of this pedal is the ability to stack multiple compressors: layering multiple styles of compression for powerful pulsating sonic experiences. By combining two compressors (with any of the three models available for each!), you can create a tremendous number of highly responsive tones: subtle sustain or punchy sonic squash are equally available.

And of course, you can tweak EQ settings, configure your footswitches, control sidechain bass filtering, serial vs. parallel effect routing, and more via the UAFX Control app. If you're looking for a phenomenally flexible true stereo compressor for your guitar, synth, or recording rig, Max is easily one of the most exciting and great-sounding options available.

The Next Generation

This new generation of UAFX pedals is a welcome addition: treading new ground with the Max, combining crowd favorites with the Del-Verb, and bringing one of their most-loved plugins to hardware format with Galaxy.

In combination with their prior offerings, these make it clear that Universal Audio is focusing serious efforts on adapting their research in analog hardware modeling for use in the effect pedal format. That means that some of the highest-quality digital signal processing on the market is available for your pedalboard—and if all goes as well as we think it will, we well may see more in the future.

For now, though—we're excited to see what we can do with Del-Verb, Galaxy, and Max.