Lion: What am I missing?

[tibs]

just purchased the UAFX Lion and I've been working with it about a week. All of the hype on YouTube and online reviews rave about the pedal, but I can't get a good sound out of it. I play strictly high gain heavy rock & metal. I followed the manual instructions and have it connected properly. I updated to the latest firmware. I also purchased the OX Stomp and the Starlight delay. The Lion sounds flubby and muddy and has very poor response to pick attack. This pertains to all the sounds, regardless of amp/speaker combination. I tried all the factory presets and the artist settings, and some of them are so-so, but nothing I can really use for playing or recording. I tried the speaker sims on the pedal as well as the ones on OX Stomp. I'm getting a better sound out of other distortion pedals through the OX Stomp and Starlight delay. I also get great sounds with my amps' FX Send into the OX Stomp. Any ideas about getting this pedal to sound good would be greatly appreciated. Thank you,

 

[Eric H]

the pedal models an amp that doesn’t really do high gain heavy metal. Have you tried different styles of guitar playing with it?

 

[LesBrown]

When I get bad sounds from the UAFX pedals it's usually when I accidentally have no speakers on or 2 speakers on (e.g., Lion + Ox Stomp).

I recorded lead takes today using Lion -> Ox Stomp -> Apollo/Luna and it was delicious. Switched out a few overdrive pedals, a wah and a Whammy. I have played through it with various guitars, but today was my Ibanez JS240PS with Sustainiac and I was loving it.

 

[Hifiveguy]

May be stupid obvious, but volume 2 being too loud will really muddy up your sound. Volume 1 is where articulation lays.

 

[UniversalAudio]

just purchased the UAFX Lion and I've been working with it about a week. All of the hype on YouTube and online reviews rave about the pedal, but I can't get a good sound out of it. I play strictly high gain heavy rock & metal. I followed the manual instructions and have it connected properly. I updated to the latest firmware. I also purchased the OX Stomp and the Starlight delay. The Lion sounds flubby and muddy and has very poor response to pick attack. This pertains to all the sounds, regardless of amp/speaker combination. I tried all the factory presets and the artist settings, and some of them are so-so, but nothing I can really use for playing or recording. I tried the speaker sims on the pedal as well as the ones on OX Stomp. I'm getting a better sound out of other distortion pedals through the OX Stomp and Starlight delay. I also get great sounds with my amps' FX Send into the OX Stomp. Any ideas about getting this pedal to sound good would be greatly appreciated. Thank you,

Perhaps you're just not a Plexi fan?

 

[gurnisht]

Hi, did you find a solution for this? I'm experiencing the same thing - the Lion is responsive to pick attack but sounds muddy. I'm using it with Kemper Powered Kabinet, maybe these two aren't a good pair.. or maybe I got a lemon unit

 

[UniversalAudio]

Hi, did you find a solution for this? I'm experiencing the same thing - the Lion is responsive to pick attack but sounds muddy. I'm using it with Kemper Powered Kabinet, maybe these two aren't a good pair.. or maybe I got a lemon unit

I suspect you simply do not like the Plexi sound?

 

[gurnisht]

Nope... I love the plexi sound, I never played a real plexi but I have a DSL50 amp, and also played NAM plexi captures. I suspect it's the Kemper Kabinet, so I was curious to know if the OP had the same frfr amp.

 

[BeingHumans]

If one is using active humbucker pickups like EMG’s you may be overloading the inputs.

 

[gurnisht]

Update: disabled the internal booster, disabled the bright cap, dialed the volume 2 almost all the way down, all good now.

 

[UniversalAudio]

I never played a real plexi

Well, now you can virtually cross that off the list.

 

[klasaine]

disabled the bright cap

Thats relatively common to do on the actual amps. Or, change the value.

On a real late 60s 4 input 100 watt Marshall (model 1959 Super Lead), the Volume 2 is the ‘bass’ channel.
With a Strat or Tele I use this vol 2 to set my overall level, then bring up volume 1 which adds treble.
Also important to note on those amps is that the tone controls, including presence, are “cut” controls. There’s no boost of anything eq wise. IOW, wide open is your guitar pretty much straight through (other than the influence of wire, pots and components). I like the presence all the way up or 3/4 up and I attenuate highs with the treble control.
The UA Lion68 pedal functions exactly the same way.

 

[Matt Hepworth]

the pedal models an amp that doesn’t really do high gain heavy metal. Have you tried different styles of guitar playing with it?

On the contrary, lots of heavy and fast 80s thrash was done on Plexis. Mostly, with most the knobs dime'd. Some were done with mods, and some liked an OD pedal in front. Old thrashy Megadeth, etc., was Plexi.