Learn how to perfect your setup no matter the size with UA’s James Santiago.
In this video, learn how to assemble the perfect pedalboard for your next gig or recording session. Join UA’s own guitar guru James Santiago along with Josh Fiden and John Clark from Voodoo Lab as they take you through two epic ampless rigs. Plus, they’ll illuminate the often misunderstood guidelines of pedal order, gain staging, and powering your rig.
For their first setup, Santiago assembles an incredibly versatile guitar behemoth. At the heart of this setup lies two separate amp-in-a-box style pedals, the UAFX Enigmatic ’82 Overdrive Special and Ruby ’63 Top Boost amplifiers. These pedals supply both American and British voiced edge-of-breakup tones, laying a perfect foundation for the slew of overdrive and fuzz pedals that come before them in the chain. For studio-style space and ambience, Santiago follows up the amp emulators with a versatile array of reverb, delay, and modulation options.
If keeping things simple is more your style, the second board may be for you. Still featuring two UAFX amp style pedals, this setup also contains a single overdrive pedal as well as a post-amp reverb. This time opting for a more classic model for the American-voiced platform, Santiago swaps the Enigmatic for the Dream ’65 Reverb Amplifier. Perfect for gigging, this simple four pedal setup still offers plenty of sounds in a compact package.
00:00 – Introduction
Meet UA’s James Santiago along with Josh Fiden and John Clark from Voodoo Lab
01:08 – Pedalboard Power / Current Draw
Correctly power your pedals
04:12 – Large Board | Signal Path Considerations
Arrange your pedals for ideal signal flow
05:07 – UAFX Amp / Overdrive Choices
Choose your amp tone and push it into overdrive
09:30 – Adding Post-Amp FX
Create ambience with reverbs, delays, and modulations
12:50 – Large Board | Tone Demo
Hear James’ complete pedalboard setup
13:43 – Dialing UAFX Amp Sounds
Get edge-of-breakup sensitivity
18:47 – Adding in Higher Gain Pedals
Add pedals for overdrive and distortion tones
22:40 – Adding Tape Slap for Rootsy Rock Tones
Add delay before your amp for classic slap-back effects
23:40 – Dialing in UAFX Ruby for British Edge-of-Breakup
Opt for an alternate tone with British flavor
28:07 – Adding Space with Time-Based FX
Get studio style ambience with pedals after your amp
38:16 – Compact Stereo Board | Signal Path
Huge tones with a compact setup
39:18 – Amp Phase
Ensure phase coherence when using multiple amp models at once
40:28 – UAFX Ruby & Dream Amp Tones
Combine amps for full stereo sound
41:35 – Adding Space with Time-Based FX
Increase width using stereo delay
42:51 – Adding TS Overdrive to Lead Tones
Push the amp into higher gain tones
43:13 – Using Compact Board as a Back-End
Combine multiple boards for different needs
Explore the complete line of UAFX pedals.
