NPD: UA Starlight delay/echo

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JSett
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NPD: UA Starlight delay/echo

Post by JSett » Sat Sep 24, 2022 6:50 am

I've been on the slow hunt for a delay that has a bit more movement in the repeats than the glorious, but rather dark, Maxon AD999 I have been using. I toyed with the idea of picking up another big box DMM but the prices on those are utterly ridiculous now. I'd seen these when they came out and was impressed by online demos and one popped up at a reasonable price on eBay so I snapped it up:

Image

I've only had 20mins to play around but, damn, does this thing nail the DMM to a T!! The tape echo is equally as good on the ears. Hopefully I'll be able to have a better chunk of time with it tomorrow.
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Re: NPD: UA Starlight delay/echo

Post by sal paradise » Sat Sep 24, 2022 8:43 am

Oh man those are cool. And so pretty. Great choice.

I’ve always got delay jealousy. Currently eyeing up the Keeley Eccos even though I’m all set for what I need in an analogue delay in the Llama.
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Re: NPD: UA Starlight delay/echo

Post by sal paradise » Sat Sep 24, 2022 10:54 pm

Keen to hear your thoughts after more of a play :)

How many presets does it have, and how easy is it to recall them? Woke this morning thinking if I could preset a digital & an analogue sound, and know easily which one is selected, at a gig, that would take care of everything I need in 1 pedal.
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Re: NPD: UA Starlight delay/echo

Post by JSett » Sat Sep 24, 2022 11:54 pm

sal paradise wrote:
Sat Sep 24, 2022 10:54 pm
Keen to hear your thoughts after more of a play :)

How many presets does it have, and how easy is it to recall them? Woke this morning thinking if I could preset a digital & an analogue sound, and know easily which one is selected, at a gig, that would take care of everything I need in 1 pedal.
There's one preset on it and it's pretty easy to switch from 'live' to 'preset'...you just hold the tap tempo button for 1.5secs. knowing which one is active is easy as the bypass and tempo light are red/orange for live and green for preset so you can tell across the room from it really as one of them is continuously blinking.
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Re: NPD: UA Starlight delay/echo

Post by sal paradise » Sun Sep 25, 2022 12:00 am

johnnysomersett wrote:
Sat Sep 24, 2022 11:54 pm
sal paradise wrote:
Sat Sep 24, 2022 10:54 pm
Keen to hear your thoughts after more of a play :)

How many presets does it have, and how easy is it to recall them? Woke this morning thinking if I could preset a digital & an analogue sound, and know easily which one is selected, at a gig, that would take care of everything I need in 1 pedal.
There's one preset on it and it's pretty easy to switch from 'live' to 'preset'...you just hold the tap tempo button for 1.5secs. knowing which one is active is easy as the bypass and tempo light are red/orange for live and green for preset so you can tell across the room from it really as one of them is continuously blinking.
Now that is pretty much perfect… thanks. I’ll await your thoughts with interest :shifty:
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Re: NPD: UA Starlight delay/echo

Post by JSett » Sun Sep 25, 2022 3:39 am

sal paradise wrote:
Sun Sep 25, 2022 12:00 am

Now that is pretty much perfect… thanks. I’ll await your thoughts with interest :shifty:
Okay. So, sonically this thing is amazing. It's very hard to get a bad sound out of it and I don't think anyone would be disappointed in the emulations in it and the digital delay is pristine. The option to put flange or chorus on the digital repeats is a nice flavour too. The DMM chorus/vibrato is spot on and I managed to get my old favourite sounds out of it in no time.

The ONE flaw I have found is a control aspect of it regards the presets. The left switch is the on/off BUT if you're in the preset (green) mode then that switch can only act as a switch to go back to 'live' mode. To turn the delay off from preset mode you have to double tap that button to revert back then switch off (and can give a little blip of the live settings). You can, in the app you download for it, change the settings so the left switch is live on/off and the right is preset on/off...but then you lose the tap tempo function. This is an annoying oversight which could easily be remedied considering it's all computer operated inside.

Left switch = master on/off
Right switch = tap tempo or hold to switch between live & preset modes

Maybe they'll add this option at some point with a firmware update. I'll only be using this for home noodling so it's not a deal-breaker for me but could be enough of a bullshit flaw that using it live could be hindered.
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Re: NPD: UA Starlight delay/echo

Post by sal paradise » Sun Sep 25, 2022 4:30 am

Thanks for the update. I’m unlikely to use 2 different delay types in one song, but it’s definitely the kind of complication I do without when playing a show.

Glad to hear it sounds as good as the videos!
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Re: NPD: UA Starlight delay/echo

Post by fuzzjunkie » Sun Sep 25, 2022 8:50 am

johnnysomersett wrote:
Sun Sep 25, 2022 3:39 am
sal paradise wrote:
Sun Sep 25, 2022 12:00 am

Now that is pretty much perfect… thanks. I’ll await your thoughts with interest :shifty:
Okay. So, sonically this thing is amazing. It's very hard to get a bad sound out of it and I don't think anyone would be disappointed in the emulations in it and the digital delay is pristine. The option to put flange or chorus on the digital repeats is a nice flavour too. The DMM chorus/vibrato is spot on and I managed to get my old favourite sounds out of it in no time.

The ONE flaw I have found is a control aspect of it regards the presets. The left switch is the on/off BUT if you're in the preset (green) mode then that switch can only act as a switch to go back to 'live' mode. To turn the delay off from preset mode you have to double tap that button to revert back then switch off (and can give a little blip of the live settings). You can, in the app you download for it, change the settings so the left switch is live on/off and the right is preset on/off...but then you lose the tap tempo function. This is an annoying oversight which could easily be remedied considering it's all computer operated inside.

Left switch = master on/off
Right switch = tap tempo or hold to switch between live & preset modes

Maybe they'll add this option at some point with a firmware update. I'll only be using this for home noodling so it's not a deal-breaker for me but could be enough of a bullshit flaw that using it live could be hindered.
That does sound like a design flaw. Since it has a toggle switch to move between the 2 settings (it does, doesn’t it?) then the extra function attached to the foot switch seems unnecessary.

I guess in live use it would be nice to not bend over a flick a toggle, but holding it for 1.5 seconds doesn’t sound any quicker?

So I’m now wondering 2 things. Could it have a “favorite” switch like Strymon has to select between the 2 settings (Probably not if no expression jacks), and if you use the toggle instead of holding the foot switch, why not offer a mode that doesn’t screw up the other functions?

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Re: NPD: UA Starlight delay/echo

Post by JSett » Sun Sep 25, 2022 9:07 am

fuzzjunkie wrote:
Sun Sep 25, 2022 8:50 am
That does sound like a design flaw. Since it has a toggle switch to move between the 2 settings (it does, doesn’t it?) then the extra function attached to the foot switch seems unnecessary.

I guess in live use it would be nice to not bend over a flick a toggle, but holding it for 1.5 seconds doesn’t sound any quicker?

So I’m now wondering 2 things. Could it have a “favorite” switch like Strymon has to select between the 2 settings (Probably not if no expression jacks), and if you use the toggle instead of holding the foot switch, why not offer a mode that doesn’t screw up the other functions?
No toggle switch to flick between...just a momentary toggle you hold to save the preset then the press & hold of the footswitch to change back and forth.

It's just a weird oversight/design choice from what I can tell. One quick firmware update away from what I can tell but I couldn't find anything on their support section or forums suggesting it was in the works (but plenty of people moaning the switching systems across the range)
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Re: NPD: UA Starlight delay/echo

Post by cestlamort » Mon Sep 26, 2022 7:05 am

That’s totally frustrating. I’d been keeping an eye out for these too as I have a bit of a delay “problem” but I’m baffled by this UI choice and that it doesn’t have midi (something I resisted for years but am slowly embracing).

That said, it is all about the sound. Maybe they’ll sort it out in a future update.

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Re: NPD: UA Starlight delay/echo

Post by fuzzjunkie » Mon Sep 26, 2022 8:29 am

cestlamort wrote:
Mon Sep 26, 2022 7:05 am
That’s totally frustrating. I’d been keeping an eye out for these too as I have a bit of a delay “problem” but I’m baffled by this UI choice and that it doesn’t have midi (something I resisted for years but am slowly embracing).

That said, it is all about the sound. Maybe they’ll sort it out in a future update.
Yeah, Echoplex and DMM sounds that are true to the original sounds promising. The key feature I hear is the echoes dying off like they’re supposed to.

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Re: NPD: UA Starlight delay/echo

Post by fuzzjunkie » Mon Sep 26, 2022 8:34 am

No toggle switch to flick between...just a momentary toggle you hold to save the preset then the press & hold of the footswitch to change back and forth.
Okay, I guess UA needs to figure things out? Everyone else would have made saving the preset an action of holding a foot switch for 1-2 seconds, and the toggle switches between choice A and B. That’s been the UI on countless pedals for 15-20 years now.

Sounds like UA trying to reinvent the wheel and failed.

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Re: NPD: UA Starlight delay/echo

Post by Embenny » Mon Sep 26, 2022 8:36 am

That's unfortunate that such an expensive digital pedal is neither convenient for live use, nor set up to be reconfigurable (which is so simple from a programming perspective).

I'm not shocked that it sounds amazing though. UA's analog emulations have always been top notch. It's usually price and user experience where people have complaints, so this seems totally par for the course.
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Re: NPD: UA Starlight delay/echo

Post by JSett » Mon Sep 26, 2022 9:10 am

fuzzjunkie wrote:
Mon Sep 26, 2022 8:34 am
No toggle switch to flick between...just a momentary toggle you hold to save the preset then the press & hold of the footswitch to change back and forth.
Okay, I guess UA needs to figure things out? Everyone else would have made saving the preset an action of holding a foot switch for 1-2 seconds, and the toggle switches between choice A and B. That’s been the UI on countless pedals for 15-20 years now.

Sounds like UA trying to reinvent the wheel and failed.
I dont mind the preset saving being on a toggle, thats kinda intuitive. But choosing your preset then not being able to switch on and off and on again while playing is dumb.
mbene085 wrote:
Mon Sep 26, 2022 8:36 am
That's unfortunate that such an expensive digital pedal is neither convenient for live use, nor set up to be reconfigurable (which is so simple from a programming perspective).

I'm not shocked that it sounds amazing though. UA's analog emulations have always been top notch. It's usually price and user experience where people have complaints, so this seems totally par for the course.
The irony is that it is reconfigurable with the app, but not in the function that would be the most useful :fp:
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