UAD Dream 65 ... cant believe I'm asking this !!!

[BenIfin]

Potentially swallowing my utter distaste for anything UAD ..... I've been offered a UAD Dream 65 Pedal as part of a guitar swap deal ... and am thinking about it.

=> is this based on a 65 Deluxe Reverb ? -or- Fender Twin ? -or- some other Fender Amp ?
=> if it is a 65 Deluxe Reverb, does it do the Normal and Vibrato Channels separately-individually ?
=> can the Cab Block be fully bypassed for use with an IR Loader ?
=> any PC Editing software ?
=> or just Android / iPhone ?

 

[Blix]

Based on a 65 DR indeed, also two modded modes available.

Vibrato channel only AFAIK

Yes

Nope.

You have the UAFX app for iOs and Android to customize features , setting up the switches etc.

 

[dronerstone]

No cab bypass??????????????????



Seriously, this is the dumbest move on their part.

EDIT:Thanks @Blix !!!

 

[Blix]

No cab bypass??????????????????



Seriously, this is the dumbest move on their part.

There is cab bypass.

 

[dronerstone]

There is cab bypass.

Thanks for the quick reply, I'll take that back then! Would've been real stupid.

 

[Tito83]

Only vibrato channel, but on the lead mod you can remove the bright cap making it sound more mellow and get closer to the normal channel.

 

[BenIfin]

So .... the trade .... got this pedal

-> registered
-> updated firmware
-> Android App / Bluetooth see's it
-> Logged into App on my phone
-> press on the "Pedal Graphic" on my phone

2 options the appear - Go back and Connect.

Go Back works

Connect does nothing ??? so I cant get "into the pedal" ???

Do I need to use my iLok A/C to do this all properly ?

Suggestions please ?

 

[JiveTurkey]

Get in a time machine; return the turd.

 

[Tito83]

So .... the trade .... got this pedal

-> registered
-> updated firmware
-> Android App / Bluetooth see's it
-> Logged into App on my phone
-> press on the "Pedal Graphic" on my phone

2 options the appear - Go back and Connect.

Go Back works

Connect does nothing ??? so I cant get "into the pedal" ???

Do I need to use my iLok A/C to do this all properly ?

Suggestions please ?

There's a few steps on the website if you look for it that may solve it.

I tried, it didn't work... For a while now I've been unable to connect with my android phone. I use my iPad for that. Complaints are common, they don't seem that worried. While I think it's messed up, the damn thing IMO sounds so good I put up with the BS. May the first man that hasn't had a relationship like this throw the first rock.

 

[BenIfin]

Get in a time machine; return the turd.

Hey JT !
Not helping ..... but I get your sentiment

There's a few steps on the website if you look for it that may solve it.

I tried, it didn't work... For a while now I've been unable to connect with my android phone. I use my iPad for that. Complaints are common, they don't seem that worried. While I think it's messed up, the damn thing IMO sounds so good I put up with the BS. May the first man that hasn't had a relationship like this throw the first rock.

Thanks Tito.

I can live without the phone App as I only want to set up and try 2 different sounds and I can do that from the pedal.

Just a bit confused

=> to disable the onboard Cab / IR - I've pressed and held the CAB Switch and the clicked until there is no red or green light - is that correct to bypass all the internal Cab's / IR's ?

Thanks.
Ben

 

[BenIfin]

Just been messing with it for an hour or so in the Send/Return of my HX Stomp

I've always found the FM3 and Helix Dlx Rev quite similar in terms of dialing them in even similar'ish settings yield similar'ish results.

But this Dream 65 is -nothing- like the FM3 and Helix Dlx Rev.

The eq and gain structures feel -very- different and it takes -way- different settings to get what I want.

Thats not a criticism in any way of the FM3 or Helix or a "halleluiah" for the Dream.

Just statiung a really obvious differnece upfront.

One thing I -can- say for sure is my favourite pedal in the FM3 [Marshall Bluesbreaker] and the Helix [Tone Sovereign] sound -much- clearer and less murky when run into the Dream than the FM3 or Helix.

Interesting ...

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

Hey JT !
Not helping ..... but I get your sentiment



Thanks Tito.

I can live without the phone App as I only want to set up and try 2 different sounds and I can do that from the pedal.

Just a bit confused

=> to disable the onboard Cab / IR - I've pressed and held the CAB Switch and the clicked until there is no red or green light - is that correct to bypass all the internal Cab's / IR's ?

Thanks.
Ben

Yes unlit cab switch means no IR

 

[Tito83]

Hey JT !
Not helping ..... but I get your sentiment



Thanks Tito.

I can live without the phone App as I only want to set up and try 2 different sounds and I can do that from the pedal.

Just a bit confused

=> to disable the onboard Cab / IR - I've pressed and held the CAB Switch and the clicked until there is no red or green light - is that correct to bypass all the internal Cab's / IR's ?

Thanks.
Ben

Yes, no light, no cab.

I don't remember the default setting of the footswitches. But if one the footswitches change from red to green I think it means it's charging from live settings to preset.With the Dream I personally prefer to have reverb and trem on the footswitches like the amp.

I recommend using the stock speakers for some time. They really grew on me. They might not me the exact sound you want, but there's a 3d quality that's just not there with other IRs IMO. The greenback and the EV are my favorites.

I wish I could find the interview but I vividly remember an interview with James Santiago where he says 0 on the pedal is like two on the amp. That being true, it creates the impression it breaks up sooner, which is not really true.

Edit: Yes, the way it takes pedals is one of the big differences compared to other modelers. This actually made my GAS for pedals come back

 

[laxu]

I recommend using the stock speakers for some time. They really grew on me. They might not me the exact sound you want, but there's a 3d quality that's just not there with other IRs IMO. The greenback and the EV are my favorites.

Sorry, I'm not buying that. You can easily compare the cab sims on the plugin versions to whatever your preferred IRs are. There's nothing particularly special about the UA cab sims, but they do sound good. There's in my experience no "3D quality" to them that other good IRs lack.

The room mic feature is the only unique thing that not a lot of boxes do.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Sorry, I'm not buying that. You can easily compare the cab sims on the plugin versions to whatever your preferred IRs are. There's nothing particularly special about the UA cab sims, but they do sound good. There's in my experience no "3D quality" to them that other good IRs lack.

The room mic feature is the only unique thing that not a lot of boxes do.

depends how the impedance interactions are handled. It could be that their own cabs are modelling the whole system together, which can often sound more cohesive and “together” than mixing and matching random cabs.

 

[Tito83]

Sorry, I'm not buying that. You can easily compare the cab sims on the plugin versions to whatever your preferred IRs are. There's nothing particularly special about the UA cab sims, but they do sound good. There's in my experience no "3D quality" to them that other good IRs lack.

The room mic feature is the only unique thing that not a lot of boxes do.

I think there's a different feel to it, like on the envelope of the note. I tried 500ms IRs and that made it closer to the UA cabs in that sense.

 

[Jarick]

FWIW a friend of mine runs I think a Strymon Iridium into the UAD Ox Stomp and loved it because it sounded better to him and way easier to work with than loading IR's. He has a really big fancy board doing modern P&W and was never a big amp modeling guy until more recently. I don't think he ever used anything like Kemper or Helix or Fractal as that's not his bag, but again he really liked the UAD cabs.

 

[BenIfin]

Still early days but a couple more thoughts

-> Bluetooth was a p.i.t.a to get going but I finally - after many hours - have it working sort-of-reliably ... could this be the *worst* ever implementation of Bluetooth in a modeling pedal ever ? Yes - it absolutely is - this is just a fact !

Sound - in the Send/Return of my HX Stomp - using my own IR in all 3 - IR cuts set to 90hz <-> 4.0k in each [for my live presets]

-> it plays fine and is dead silent in the HX Stomp Send-Instrument-Out-Left -> Return-Line-In-Right

-> the real amp has no "mid" control - and I have never played one so I am no expert on this .... however .... on the FM3 and Helix model, as the gain is cranked, I do have to keep the mids at around 4.0 <-> 4.3 so as to avoid them being too forward ie: nasally / crackly

-> this pedal has no "mid" control - yet as it is, the mids are much fuller - to me, they sound "just right" but as I said, I don't know what the real Amp sounds like

-> again, as I noted above, the more I mess with it, the more I find the gain to be clearer and less murky than in the "equivalent" FM3/Helix, especially at higher "Amp Gain" settings

-> this is a big one to me - the low-gain "virtual" drives in front I am using [ Bluesbreaker / Prince of Tone ] definitely have noticeably less low end flub-rumble with the D65 compared to the FM3/Helix

So far, sadly, and to be brutally agnostic, I cant fault the sound or how easy it is to dial in or how it feels to play - huge pity its a UA product and has 2003 Bluetooth Tech* and doesn't even have a basic Desktop Editor

* - get this - unless Im missing something (?) you can store and load presets and change cabs but you cant f*cking even change any of the Amp Controls via Bluetooth ... is UA for f*cking real ? ... w.t.a.f !!!!

 

[BenIfin]

I think there's a different feel

Tito. You are ^right^.

Was messing around and ultimately landed on the 1st Green LED Cab - according to the Manual its a:-

" GB25 Green Boutique D65. A boutique Two-Rock 2x12 extension cab with Celestion G12-65s, mic'd with a 57 and a 121 ribbon. Classic California ported combo cabinet sound, great for mildly overdriven sounds and cleans up well "

I just did a re-eq to suit the cab and to my total surprise, it sounded and felt much bouncier and instantly more dynamic than my preferred IR.

Even the recorded .wav file displays in the Audacity file are night and day.

I have less than zero idea about what UA do to their "Cabs", but it is genuinely instantly obvious once you set them up to your sound, and go back and live A/B them to your own IR <- the crappy Bluetooth is at least useful for this sort of live A/B comparing.

I sooooooo wanted to hate this pedal - I almost pulled the plug on the swap-deal as I thought I would be getting a paperweight

 

[JCW308]

Dream '65 Reverb Amplifier

Get the classic American tube amp sounds that shaped music. Get the most authentic emulation of a mid‑’60s American tube combo ever placed in a stompbox Immerse yourself in classic tube‑powered spring reverb and vibrato effects Take world-class studio amp sound anywhere, complete with legendary...

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