OX Amp Top Box
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Get Legendary Studio Tones from your Tube Amp — Anywhere, at Any Volume.
OX is a premium reactive load box and guitar recording system, giving you perfectly studio-miked amp sounds from your favorite tube amp. OX lets you play and record your amp in its sweet spots — from huge clean tones and edge-of-breakup to fully cranked — at any volume level, and with mic, room, and speaker cabinet emulations at the turn of a knob.
Featuring Universal Audio’s breakthrough Dynamic Speaker Modeling, OX is the first system to accurately emulate speaker drive, breakup, and cone cry — making it the world’s finest speaker attenuator and guitar amp recording solution.Now You Can:
Play and record your tube amp in its tonal sweet spot — anywhere, at any volume, with full dynamics
Get stunning mic and guitar cabinet combinations at the turn of a RIG knob — no miking required
Audition, tweak, and save more than 100 jaw-dropping custom Rigs from compatible iPad, or Mac/Windows computers.
Get authentic “edge of destruction” sounds, complete with UA Dynamic Room Modeling, speaker breakup, and cone cry
The World’s Best Reactive Load Box
With decades of analog hardware engineering expertise, Universal Audio’s dream team of engineers set out to design a reactive load box that retains the tone, dynamics, and feel of your tube amp — no matter how much it’s attenuated. The goal was for your tube amp to “see” OX as an actual speaker — with continuously variable impedance and response — so you don’t lose a drop of tone or playing dynamics.
A Complete Guitar Recording System
OX’s front-panel, six-position RIG control allows you to quickly choose from complete setups — including emulated speaker cabinets, close mics, ambient room mics, and up to four simultaneous studio effects. OX is also the only guitar recording system to offer a complete selection of expertly placed room mics, giving you the authentic experience of pushing air while recording your cranked amp in a world-class tracking room.
Dynamic Speaker Modeling
UA’s groundbreaking Dynamic Speaker Modeling faithfully emulates speaker breakup, drive, and cone cry — an essential ingredient to authentic tube amp tones. Using the Speaker Breakup knob in the OX app, you can control the harmonics and sonic complexity that occurs only at certain frequencies and volume levels on various speakers — far beyond a static Impulse Response system — giving you the same sonic phenomenon that occurs with a real speaker cabinet.
All The Right Connections
Not only does OX Amp Top Box feature a front-panel headphone jack for silent practice with your cranked tube amp, it also sports a bevy of connections for all kinds of recording and live workflows. Stereo S/PDIF digital outputs via RCA and optical TOSLINK, as well as balanced TRS stereo line outputs with front panel level control, give you the necessary connections for studio monitors, DAW, or live mixing console inputs. Plus, you can connect any one, two, or three-button footswitch and toggle OX's studio-quality effects on and off.
A Beautiful Software App
Most guitar products do digital awkwardly. They’re ugly and hard to understand. The OX software app, on the other hand, offers slick, intuitive control over all of OX’s RIG settings via Wi-Fi — letting you tweak, store and recall hundreds of presets from your iPad, Mac, or Windows 10 computer. You can then save your six favorite tones onto OX’s front-panel RIG knob for instant recall in the studio or at a gig.
“OX does not disappoint. The room mics give your recorded tones character and realism, and the delays and the plate reverb sound expensive. It's easy to use, yet deep, and most importantly, fun. UA has hit it out of the park with OX!”
– Pete Thorn (Don Henley, Melissa Etheridge)
“OX is a true game changer. New uses for it literally pop into my head every day. It’s head-and-shoulders above any product of its kind. For any guitarist who records his own tracks, OX is essential!”
– Josh Smith (Taylor Hicks, Raphael Saadiq)
“I can use OX on the most critical piece of music and be 100% happy. The UA team knocked it out of the park with this genius piece of gear. It’s perfect for the hobbyist in a bedroom, to the highest professional environment, be it studio or stage. Yes, OX is that good!”
– Lyle Workman (Beck, Sting)Customer Reviews
Z. Drummond
April 11, 2022
An amazing unit
I've been using mine for about a year. Love the versatility, and consistency. The sound I'm able to get from the ox with my amp is better that 90% of the mic'ed tones I can get live. The...
Read MoreP. Baker
March 29, 2022
Sounds great if you use it right…
Noticed a bad reviews complaining about harsh distortion. It’s true if you put the input on the box up to high it will sound harsh. I rarely...
Read Moreg. laufman
February 8, 2022
Pretty damn satisfied !
The OX is a joy. Quiet as a mouse - no white noise at all through headphones.
Read MoreC. Dengler
January 22, 2022
Incredible!
There are some reviews here that give only 1 star - after reading several of "those", I realized that those users were probably either (A) doing something wrong, or (B)...
Read MoreN. MACAYA PINO
September 18, 2021
Just a couple more cabs and...
This is a great product. It sounds good, and gives a lot of versatility for someone who just can not make a lot of noise in a home studio. However, the tone i wanted wasn't instantly there....
Read MoreN. MACAYA PINO
September 18, 2021
Just a couple more cabs and...
This is a great product. It sounds good, and gives a lot of versatility for someone who just can not make a lot of noise in a home studio. However, the tone i wanted wasn't instantly there....
Read More -
Features
Premium, no-compromise analog reactive load box and guitar recording system for tube guitar amps
Instant album-quality mic and speaker cabinet tones via front-panel RIG control
Get record-ready sounds quickly with expertly-placed virtual mics and cabs — no amp miking required
Five finely-tuned guitar amp attenuation levels, from completely silent to whisper quiet to full band volume
UA Dynamic Speaker Modeling emulates speaker drive, breakup and cone cry
World-class Universal Audio EQ, compression, delay, and reverb effects built-in
Selectable 4, 8, and 16-ohm operation
Front-panel Headphone out for silent practice with cranked tones
Balanced TRS line outs and S/PDIF digital outs for stereo recording
Pair with the OX mobile or desktop app over Wi-Fi for editing and saving RIG presets
Footswitchable control of OX's studio-quality effects
OX App Requirements
OX Amp Top Box
2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network with internet connection to register (once only)
(iPad) iOS 12 or iPadOS 13
(Mac) macOS Mojave or Catalina
(Win) Windows 10 64-Bit Edition
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Customer Reviews
OX Amp Top Box
Z. Drummond
An amazing unit
I've been using mine for about a year. Love the versatility, and consistency. The sound I'm able to get from the ox with my amp is better that 90% of the mic'ed tones I can get live. The AC30 cabinet is exquisitely modeled. The only things holding the ox back in my eyes are the lack of midi, and a Hiwatt cab with Fane speakers.
P. Baker
Sounds great if you use it right…
Noticed a bad reviews complaining about harsh distortion. It’s true if you put the input on the box up to high it will sound harsh. I rarely put the input above 5 or 6 to prevent it from clipping. It’s a balancing act depending on the output of the pickups and which amp I’m using. Generally I love it and use it for all my recording.
Definitely could use an update with more sounds. Leslie effect and a few more cabs and mics would be on my list. I’d also love a few different room sounds too.g. laufman
Pretty damn satisfied !
The OX is a joy.
Quiet as a mouse - no white noise at all through headphones.C. Dengler
Incredible!
There are some reviews here that give only 1 star - after reading several of "those", I realized that those users were probably either (A) doing something wrong, or (B) misunderstanding what this really is. No, it's NOT to be used on MODELER guitar signals. I mean, you COULD, but that's not what the intention is - this device is to be used as an attenuator to your existing amp. HOWEVER, if your existing amp SUCKS, then this will likely return a "sucky" tone. Crap in, crap out.
As for me, the tone is INCREDIBLE coming from 2 different 5150 50 watt heads (Stealth AND EL34). I'm not ripping on people who misunderstood this process because it is a bit confusing. The only complaint that I have is that each time I turn it back on, I have to go through the complete "re-connect" song and dance to my LAN. Other than that, AMAZING TONE. If you're a "TONE FIDDLER", this will keep you occupied.B. Gilmore
The Box gets 5+ stars but -2 for no release cycle!
I totally understand that the OX was a miss from a recurring revenue perspective (good for us customers though!). But it would be nice to see some semblance of an update cadence - new cabs, effects, USB capability, etc. Sounds amazing, does everything I wanted, but man it would be nice to have a new toy to play with every year. Oh, and Leslie Cab Sim please!!
F. Roos
Unnatural harshness
It's nice for cleans, but as soon as there are crunch or overdriven sounds involved, you will hear a complete unnatural harshness, that you just can't get rid of, no matter what you try to do.
This thing makes even a 90s Matchless DC-30 sound bad.M. Music
Two years ago was the last firmware update!
Congrats UAD on abandon the OX box after a two years period of complete silence!
OX software is compatible and supported with:
• (iPad) iOS 12 or iPadOS 13
• (Mac) macOS 10.14 Mojave or 10.15 Catalina
• (Win) Windows 10 64-Bit Edition Computer*
*Tablets and 2-in-1 devices are not supported
So when buying a new iPad or Mac or Windows Computer OX app will NOT be compatible or supported by UAD. Prices for the OX has gone up lately but support or updates are lacking. One star is already one to many for poor support, non working USB ports, failing Wifi connection with the OX app, NO functionality for saving or loading your own presets and the list goes on...N. MACAYA PINO
Just a couple more cabs and...
This is a great product. It sounds good, and gives a lot of versatility for someone who just can not make a lot of noise in a home studio. However, the tone i wanted wasn't instantly there. I had to use the provided tools to get it. Like the fantastic eq, or the room mics. Once you start adding some high mids, you get rid of a lot of the harshness, and the low mids gives that thump sometimes you may want
Finally, i think there are some things missing, like a cab with celestions g12t-75, and the ability to route the room mics or the effects, through the spdif alone, so you can record three tracks simultaneously: left output for mic1, right output for mic2 and spdif for room mics or the effects (i know this is more difficult).
Still, great product overall.N. MACAYA PINO
Just a couple more cabs and...
This is a great product. It sounds good, and gives a lot of versatility for someone who just can not make a lot of noise in a home studio. However, the tone i wanted wasn't instantly there. I had to use the provided tools to get it. Like the fantastic eq, or the room mics. Once you start adding some high mids, you get rid of a lot of the harshness, and the low mids gives that thump sometimes you may want
Finally, i think there are some things missing, like a cab with celestions g12t-75, and the ability to route the room mics or the effects, through the spdif alone, so you can record three tracks simultaneously: left output for mic1, right output for mic2 and spdif for room mics or the effects (i know this is more difficult).
Still, great product overall.K. Schwehr
More than a game changer
My OX came on Friday, Saturday it was on stage and Sunday and Monday I did records through my Apollo twin via spdif. This product is no game changer, It is a new game you play. I play a fender hot rod deluxe III and never go over 5 on the gain in the clean channel. Yesterday I did it and turn it to 8 to 10 and all of a sudden there was a drive that made my eyes become wet :D.
Universal Audio you did an amacing product. I guess everyone who has got a tube amp should have an OX. This product changes my guitar life in so many ways I want to thank you for creating so an amacing product. Once again, Everyone with a tube amp, go out to get an OX, more than a game changer, new bigger game :-) :-) :-).T. Schuster
Packed back up the same night it arrived.
What is up with the microphonics coming from my tube amp? That is not normal. It’s not ok. And even if it was….how am I suppose to use this to record?! What if I wanted to mic my cab and mix that room tone with the modeled guitar tone? UA…you need to go back to the drawing board with this thing. I even considered getting out my scope and meters and opening up the OX to figure out WTF is going on and how to fix it. But you know what? I didn’t spend $1300 for a mod project. If UA wants to pay me $50/hr, I’ll figure out a solution. I’m not doing it for free and I won’t be paying $1300 for a product that is still under development.
N. Lloyd
Perfect.
I’ve been a big fan of UAD products for a long time now.....I bought the very first UAD PCI cards probably about 20 years ago.....that’s crazy!!!!!
Anyway.....I’ve got terrible tinnitus from a long career in bands and studios, so loud guitar amps are really not what I want to be near anymore.....
This Ox Box is a game changer. Took a while to figure it out......I never read the manual so that’s probably why.
Why has it got USB ports in the back? The seem to do nothing.
Apart from that, it sounds amazing.
Better results than I get with cabs and mics.....plus it’s silent. Awesome.
10/10 UAD. Love it.N. Lloyd
Perfect.
I’ve been a big fan of UAD products for a long time now.....I bought the very first UAD PCI cards probably about 20 years ago.....that’s crazy!!!!!
Anyway.....I’ve got terrible tinnitus from a long career in bands and studios, so loud guitar amps are really not what I want to be near anymore.....
This Ox Box is a game changer. Took a while to figure it out......I never read the manual so that’s probably why.
Why has it got USB ports in the back? The seem to do nothing.
Apart from that, it sounds amazing.
Better results than I get with cabs and mics.....plus it’s silent. Awesome.
10/10 UAD. Love it.G. Heath
Had high hopes for this, especially at the price.
So I bought an OX a couple of months back and thought I'd get used to it before I formed any opinion of it. I have a lot of UAD gear and plug ins and this is not in the same league.
On paper a great piece of kit, BUT it distorts clean sounds on the first 3 attenuation settings, and to my ears has a distinct piezo type quack through headphones. It's more pronounced on IEM cans, less so on decent over ears but still there. Using distortion channels it's not noticeable or lost. I have several decent amps and it does it with all of them, so I'm distinctly underwhelmed for £1050.
It's been suggested I use a compressor before my guitar hits the amp, but that kinda defeats the purpose I just want my clean amp sound attenuated, not clipped.
I'm not the only person to complain about this problem there are literally dozens of posts on forums about this, so hoping UAD can do some sort of Firmware update that addresses this.b. janzen
firmware? more like nowhere
Hope you saved your flashdrives from 2005 cause this sonnabitch can't be updated unless your flash drive is less than 2GB!
Currently digging up grandmas grave to grab her last flash drive so I can try to make this work in 2021.b. janzen
firmware? more like nowhere
Hope you saved your flashdrives from 2005 cause this sonnabitch can't be updated unless your flash drive is less than 2GB!
Currently digging up grandmas grave to grab her last flash drive so I can try to make this work in 2021.b. janzen
ox box sux
more like sux box ammirite
A. Barker
Best tool for Home Studio guitar tone!
I’ve had all the other speaker sim reactive load boxes... and to me the OX sounds and feels at least twice as better when I compared my then current favorite loadbox. I spend much more time grooving good tones than tweaking also, but even when tweaking Ox, it’s a fun tweak.
R. Park
Two years in, and it's still the magic box for guitar!
By way of full disclosure, I originally intended to order the Ox just to see what all the talk was about, play with it, and send it back. No way was I keeping a $1300 glorified direct box. It arrived in impressive packaging, very well protected for the trip. Call me shallow if you'd like, but packaging is the first clue to quality. You can tell if THEY think something is important in the box by what sort of box they put it in. Good start.
I connected it to a few amps that I have never been able to run in their sweet spot live: a Carol Ann Tucana 3 and a PRS HX/DA, each directly into a 2x12 cabinet. Turning the attenuation down and the amp up, I was impressed to note that the sound wasn't compressed and lifeless, as many attenuators tend to do when pushed hard. I wish there were twice as many attenuation points, but what is there is serviceable in the real world. It has since been tested on a variety of other amps: a black face Deluxe Reverb, a vintage AC30TB, and on every amp, the result is the same... set it where it sounds good, control it with the OX, done. Test #1: Success!
I downloaded the app to my iMac/DAW, followed the quick start connection guide and I was up and running in short order. As an aside, I totally do not get the comments on connection difficulty... following the instructions, it was a snap. The app is good, and has a lot of control. Getting around and assigning rigs is a bit tedious, but that's likely more my unfamiliarity than the app... most of the time I just use the box. Graphics are useful, and needless to say for UA, the effects are gorgeous and incredibly well implemented. The ability to add room mics really opens the sound and produces that "good studio" vibe into your sound. Test #2: Success!
Then I put the two together, and was shocked at how good it can sound mixed. With a direct tone coming from the cab and an effected tone coming from the monitors, the sound is immersive. It gives you that great live guitar tone from the comfort of your favorite studio chair. This was not something I had really purchased the Ox to do, but it immediately became my favorite sound combination. (Unanticipated) Test #3: Smashing Success!
So, I guess you could say the test drive very positive 3 for 3 sweep, and I would be happy to have found out what I wanted before sending it back. Well, that was two years ago, and the OX is still with me in regular use! Far from the fancy direct box I thought it was, the Ox Amp Top Box is an instrument unto itself, and you just need to open your mind to what it can be used for to see many possibilities beyond the obvious. I could take away stars for things I would like to see there, but this review is about what IS there, and that justifies the 5 Star rating. It is the best I have found for a guitar amp interface/attenuator/effector/expander/etc. It has become as much a part of the setup as anything else, and if you look around on YouTube, you'll find I'm not the only one who always has the orange Ox power light glowing in the background.
I paid the money and didn't return it... there's no better score I can give it than that.t. edwards
Awesome for recording
I had to wait until the firmware supported Windows, but have never had connection issues. So much different (better) than other load boxes I've used, and IR's are outstanding. Add in the "mic locker" , ability to add in room mics and effects, EQ and compression, all in one ap, and it's a game-changer. I have the space and the mics to mic-up cabs, but haven't done that since I got this box.
