Universal Audio has taken a selection of their finest DSP-powered emulations of classic effects and packed them into thoughtfully designed, ultra-robust guitar pedals that are a tone chaser’s dream come true. The Universal Audio Astra Modulation Machine puts three legendary modulation effects at your feet — a bucket brigade chorus, a flanger/doubler, and a vintage amp tremolo — all of which uncannily bottle realistic analog character and vibe. With true bypass switching and an optional buffered bypass, the Astra Modulation Machine keeps your core tone intact while allowing you to layer on swathes of gorgeous modulation. Guitarists at Sweetwater often reach for the UAD software versions of these effects when shaping their guitar tone in the box, so we’re thrilled to be able to now transport these tones to the stage. Plus, the Astra Modulation ups the ante on all these effects, offering stereo and dual-mono operation and a preset mode to store your favorite settings and switch between effects during a performance. With its unmatched sonic authenticity, the Universal Audio Astra Modulation Machine pedal is bound to become your new favorite pedal for infusing your playing with warbles, wobbles, and wash!
Chorus Brigade
Based on the beloved Japanese chorus ensemble effect that hit the streets back in 1976, the Chorus Brigade conjures up the lush, swirling analog chorusing popularized by guitar legends such as Andy Summers, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, and Brian May, as well as modern players like John Frusciante, Alex Turner, and Kevin Parker, among others. The Chorus Brigade features two modes: a set-it-and-forget-it chorus and a tweakable vibrato with Depth and Speed controls. Additionally, Universal Audio included the original big gray pedal’s preamp level control for driving the effect into some seriously glorious saturation!
Flanger/Doubler
Making its debut in the late 1970s, a bright blue rack-unit flanger and doubler found its way into the rigs of countless guitarists during the 1980s and 1990s. Universal Audio perfectly captured this “meta” effect, which used bucket brigade circuitry to mimic the analog tape flanging effect that was heavily employed by psychedelic bands in the 1960s. Unabashedly lo-fi, the Flanger/Doubler pulls off a range of effects, from unstable-tape-machine wow and flutter to underwater wooshing — all with a deliciously scooped tone and loads of grit.
Trem 65
When it comes to tremolo, nothing is quite like the optical tube tremolos featured on vintage tube combo amps — the ones boldly mislabeled “vibrato”! The Trem 65 serves up that wide-swing sound in spades, with switchable sine and square wave modes, so you can keep it subtle or go in for the hard chop. And for an even more dramatic effect, switch into stereo mode for wall-to-wall panned tremolo!
Two additional free effects: X90 Phaser and Dharma Trem 61
As if the three awesome stock effects weren’t enough, Universal Audio sweetens the pot with two free effects when you register your Astra Modulation Machine — the X90 Phaser and Dharma Trem 61 — which can be loaded onto the pedal via USB. The X90 Phaser gives you access to the “script” and “block” versions of the iconic orange phaser pedal; the Dharma Trem 61 emulates the unique vintage harmonic tremolo circuit installed in certain brownface, blonde tube combos, with a modern dynamics processor that lets you ramp up or ramp down the tremolo speed to a defined rate.
