Yamaha UD Stomp

Once you read the manual (about 22 pages) it?s not hard to program this unit at all if you understand what the parameters are in the first place. The unit has 8 effects ?bands?. Each band is a delay with just under 700ms of delay. Bands can be joined in any combination for increased delay times (up to about 5.5 seconds with all 8 together), and/or run in different combinations of series and/or parallel configurations. Whatever you can think up for a configuration, the UD can create. Each band has a dedicated knob for the following parameters: tap, modulation speed, modulation depth, pan, level, coarse time, fine time, low cut filter, high cut filter, feedback. In addition, each preset has a master effects volume, a master dry volume, a dry panning position, +/- phase, and 3 modulation types. With all of these parameters you can create a huge variety of different sounding delays, chorus, flange, and some other similar effects, as well as create multi effect presets. For example, stereo delay followed by chorus, or flange followed by flange followed by 4 tap delay, or even chorus, flanger and delay all running in parallel, so none effect the other. There is lots of processing power and potential here. Probably more than 99% of any other pedal out there, other than dedicated multi effects units, and this unit sounds WAY better than then most current multi effects units. The unit has mono in w/switchable level, stereo out, has a jack for an expression controller (control 1 parameter per controller, 8 total per patch), headphones out, and digital audio out. The unit has tap tempo ability, and 90 factory/90 user preset spots. Once you program 2 or 3 presets, you?re pretty much ready to program whatever comes to mind. If you want to use the unit for basic delays and chorus it?ll do it without a problem. But if/when you get into the unit and tap into the full potential the UD offers, it WILL reward you with some fantastic sounds. Yes, it?s harder to use than a 3 knob delay pedal, but considering the diversity of the UD as well as the sound quality, it?s very easy to use. -1 point for lack of an LCD screen. At this price, it?s hard to complain.

Absolutely clean and smooth sound. As good as many rack units I?ve used and/or heard in the past. I use it in the loop of my Marshall DSL100 head, and then run the second output to the loop return on a Laney GH100L head for stereo effects. Each head goes through it?s own 4X12. My current signal chain is:
Fender Strat > Teese RMC3 wah > VoodooLab OD, TS808, or FullDriveII > MXR phase 90 > Marshall DSL100. Loop send of the Marshall > Line6 DL4 > UD stomp > Loop return of DSL (L) /Loop return of GH100L (R).
The delays on the UD sound terrific. There is a lot of variety with the sounds of the delay: multitaps, panning, analog sounds (I did an online test and about 70% of the people guessed the UD was the analog compared to an Ibanez AD9!). The modulation effects are very rich and vary from extremely subtle to big and in your face. As has been said, the choruses on the UD are first rate. I haven?t used chorus for over 15 years, but now I am using it (sparingly) because the chorus on the UD doesn?t sound like a gimmick. It enhances the sound. I use it on clean tones, and the sounds are sweetened just right. Fantastic! You can even pan the dry sound, so if you?re running stereo and want dry out of one side and delay out the other you can do that. Turn the delay off, and your dry sound is now back in both sides. The unit also has the ability to let the delays trail off after you shut off the effect or you can stop the effect immediately, and you can choose which one you want on the fly. Any background noise is not noticable. I?ve owned rack gear that doesn?t have the parameters or the sound quality that this unit has. Are there better delays? Of course! But not in a pedal and not for under the $1,000 mark. Being critical, I will fault the unit by 1 point for not being able to enter into self oscilation, which is why I?m also using my DL4 with the UD. This is a fairly minor detail to me in most cases.

I haven?t had the UD for too long, but no problems so far. It?s housed in a heavy steel casing, metal switches, knobs feel smooth. It looks like it will last for quite a while. They call it a UD ?STOMP? so they know it?s going to get stepped on? so they built it to endure for that application. I don?t suspect any problems. -1 for external power supply/wall wart.

I?m giving this unit a 9, although in many ways I feel like it deserves a 10. I am being very critical of the unit, and really looking for flaws/weaknesses, otherwise I would have given it a 10. I just hate giving 10?s unless the unit is 100% perfect, and what is? Yamaha's quality is top notch, both in physical construction and in sound quality. This unit is the first and only unit that has allowed me to use all pedal effects and not feel like I am skimping on features or sound. I mostly play rock music influenced by Pink Floyd, Alice in Chains, Opeth, U2, The Black Crowes, Mad Season, and Jimi Hendrix. Every now and then, I also play some hard rock/metal, blues, and even some new age/jazzy type stuff. For my spacier music, I use delay quite often. Before the UD I was using two or three rack units, a line mixer and a Furman power conditioner in a 5 space rack in addition to my pedalboard. Now the UD (along with the DL4, each with it?s own expression controller) allows me to leave the rack behind for the first time in 15+ years! I don?t know of any other delay pedal that would allow me to do that. I?ve created some very unique sounds with the UD that help me create music. I even created a nice, smooth, linear volume pedal preset. Use your imagination with this unit and you will be rewarded. If this unit were stolen, I would absolutely by one again ASAP. I?m considering getting a backup now, just in case. Another post below states ?not everyone "gets it". This pedal is for those who "get it". Amazing.? Well, I?m very glad I got it, I get it, and I agree. Amazing. Why Yamaha stopped making these I?ll never know.

See the other reviews for the huge feature list. Essentially 8 programmable modulation delays and a looper in a floor unit - but that description barely scratches the surface.

There seems to be a fair amount of consternation regarding editing/programming this unit. It does take a little effort to get your head around, but it isn't too hard. This unit is so powerful and feature-packed that time spent learning how to use it to its full potential is well worth it.

Fantastic. And at the blow-out price, incredible!

Tom Anderson Pro Am > Keeley BD-2 > Keeley SD-1 > UD Stomp > Mesa Rocket 440. All George L's cable.

The delays are very clean and sound great. The high/low cut filters can make them sound more analog if that's what you want... plus you can create doppler effects, modulate the repeats to make them a little wonky and out of tune, speed up each repeat slightly... there's a whole range of tape flavours here alone! Because each delay band can be set to different times/repeats, you can create rhythmically complex echoes. Chain the bands together and you get 6 seconds of delay or loop time, which is enough for most people.

The chorus is fantastic too. I agree with others below and prefer it over the TC, Fulltone and Boss Dimension. It's that good. And it doesn't swirl in the background (yay!). Plus you can have 8 choruses at once (ala Holdsworth), combine multiple chorus/delay bands, achieve rotary speaker effects, flanging etc. Listen to the presets to hear what the unit can accomplish.

Yamaha gear is generally very high quality, and this is no exception. Sturdy metal casing, metal jacks, solid footswitches etc. Don't forsee any problems here.

How can I not give it a 10?!? I bought this pedal because of Holdsworth's input, Yamaha's quality and the sheer uniqueness of it. I wasn't seeking to replicate Holdsworth's (or anyone else's) sounds, although I've been a fan of his music for years.

I can see how this pedal may come across as a "showroom nightmare" - it's hard for potential customers to get much out of it from a quick demo. You really have to read the manual and experiment with the unit to begin uncovering it's secrets. I think it's like most things Holdsworth has been involved with - high quality, unique, very select appeal and not everyone "gets it".

This pedal is for those who "get it". Amazing. Thank you Allan and Yamaha! Now please don't discontinue it!!!!

Only 7? Yup. Given the power of the unit the interface is pretty good, but it has to be said that the UD-Stomp is an awful lot more complicated than your average delay pedal. It's pretty much the first unit I've owned where I had to read the manual before I could get started on editing.

A couple of minor drawbacks; there's no easy way to see what values the various parameters are set to. You have to twiddle the relevant knob, at which point it'll tell you. Changing group or bank is also a little involved; you hold footswitch 4 for a second or so, then either tap 1-3 for that group, or hold 2 or 3 for a second to change bank up or down. It's possibly a little awkward for live use, but sensible patch arrangements would make this easier. A jack for a bank up/down footswitch would have been a great idea...

Once you've gotten the hang of the programming it's actually pretty straightforward, and the hardest thing is then working out exactly how to use the huge power that's in the UD Stomp. This is one unit, though, that really, really needs a PC-based editor. Programming through the knobs and buttons on the front panel is like painting your house through the letterbox.

Perfect. Most of the presets are predictably dull, but there are some real gems in there - the fake volume swells, the "scratch" sound, the rotary sim. Incredible range of sounds you can get from the unit.

Rest of my setup: Roland VG-88 (for amp sims and all effects apart from delay), Ibanez Talman and MMM1 baritone. Amp-wise I use a Sirocco Crossfire 4.1 amp and sub with 4 Boston Acoustics CR6 monitors, or a Fender Sunn PA when I need more volume.

Background noise is very low - lower than from the amp until you crank the UD output level right up to full, and even then it's barely audible.

The choruses vary from light & subtle to incredibly thick. The delays go from perfect replications of what you played to almost grungy analog-like echoes. The flangers aren't the greatest I've heard, but I think a bit of tweaking and experimentation will rectify that.

The sheer flexibility is astounding. You can cascade combinations of the 8 delays in series or parallel, in or out of phase, modulated or not. You can sync the modulations, you can group delays together for longer echoes, you can pan each delay (and the dry signal) separately. Each delay has a low and hi cut filter. Pretty much anything you can think of, you can do...

Seems very robust; good solid metal chassis, chunky footswitches, metal jacks attached to the chassis. I'd be more than happy to gig with it.

I've never had to deal with Yamaha; their kit is very solid and reliable in my experience.

I play space-pop. I think. In any case, the UD should work well for anyone playing any style - provided they can cope with the complexity. If I lost it I'd certainly try to get hold of another, but I suspect they're not going to be flooding the secondhand market.

The weakest point is the complexity - but that's also the strongest point. If Yamaha had bundled a PC editor all would be Good and Round; as it is, programming does take a bit of effort - especially remembering what the first band is set to by the time you're onto th eigth. In any case, the power of the unit makes up for the slight added difficulty in programming it.

The only additions I'd like the UD to have had are stereo inputs and a jack for an extra footswitch for changing group or bank. Neither is a major omission to be honest.

The UD would have been good value at full price; at the $200 blowout price it's almost silly. I think it's destined to be a classic, though it's a real shame that it didn't take off as it deserved.

I had no problem figuring out how to program this unit. I read the manual, connected it up, followed the examples in the manual, and within an hour os so was playing around with making patches.

I have played around with most of the included patches and several of my own and found that the sound is very good. The unit is quiet and makes crystal-clear delays.

I have only had the thing for a few days. The case and switches are very solid.

Yamaha company has an excellent reputation. I am leaving this rating number blank, however, since I have never dealt with Yamaha company.

This unit is amazing for the price I paid. It is like having eight programmable delay and modulation pedals in one box.

Praise Allan Holdsworth and Yamaha on this one. Turn it on, plug in, and jam! Everything is self explanitory except for the MIDI stuff.

My setup consists os a Warrior Isabella, Budda Wah, Barber Burn Unit overdrive, Eventide H3000 D/SE, Lexicon MPX1 into a Framus Dragon Amp. This is a modulation delay pedal, which means its choruses are made from 8 separate delay lines. It is the best chorus I've heard in a long time. I personally like it more than the TC. The delays are phenomonal. You can gang them together to make almost 6000ms. There is zero hiss from this unit. A lot of chorus pedals make that swirling hiss. This is essentially Allan Holdsworths Delay rig; in a pedal.

I believe this pedal would survive a riot.

The cool thing about Yamaha is that they stand behind everything they do. I have no worries about this unit and future Yamaha purchases.

I play just about every style of music. I have been playing around 17 years. If it were stolen/lost, I would most definitely buy it again. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a killer chorus/delay unit that is virtually indestructable

The morons below me gave this pedal less than
10 because, well, they're morons.
Is it easy to use? Go find another pedal
that does what this does and show me how it is easier.
It's half or three-quarters a studio setup in
a stompbox, fortheluvva ... Arghh. They're morons, ok?

This is the part that kills me. Go look at that
pinhead review below me. He gives it
an 8, then the first thing he says is "The sounds
are awesome". Unbelievable.
If there is a pedal on this board that gets a
"10", then this one should too. I think part
of the problem is that people play a pedal like this
through their wretched "Pure Tone!" guitar amplifiers,
and then get the idea that it is the pedal that sounds bad.
There aren't any other pedals that sound better than this one.
There's no "mid loss" or whatever some pea-head said below.

I haven't the faintest idea. It seems to be fairly rugged.
Here. I'll give it a "9" so I can pretend that I'm
"objective" like the high school dropouts that have
previously reviewed this pedal.

I've never dealt with Yamaha.

For what I paid, this pedal is unbelievably fine
(And if I had paid the 350 bucks or whatever
it was going for before, I'd have to say the same thing).

This thing is fairly easy to ues right out of the box.It has veary good sounding delays and choruses the flanges take a little twiking but once you get their there are the best around.
Editing patches are a little confusing at first but once you get the hang of it it's very easy. where some people may get lost is the fact that there are so many possibilitys, in that it's easy to get lost in what you are doing, even in just 1 patch so you have to concentrate on what you are doing.The manual is ok,not very hard to understand.

Sounds are awesome, the delays, chorus and flange are top notch the attempt at the tremolo is marginal at best. Most of the presets are good unless you are running stereo then their great but I'm not so it renders a lot of the presets unuseable for me.It seemes to be quiet for the most part, I run it in the effects loop in my Marshall TSL 100 no problems their.

Built like a tank and heavy to, the knobs and buttons appear to be of good quility and the case is made of metal - Definitely stomping worthy. I have owned this unit fore over a year now with no problems.

Never had to deal with them.

This is a good unit for the money and I would gig without a backup, but some may have an issue with the amount of space that it takes on a floor bord, if that is what you are using for effects. I have thought about selling it in favor of a TC Electronic G Major but the thought of having to deal with putting a rack under or along side of my half stack and having to program a midi pedal to run it doesen't float my boat. My rig consists of Schecter C1+ > Digi tech WH1 > Morley Bad horse > Morley Little Aglligator > Boss floor tuner > Marshall JCM TSL 100 > Yamaha UD Stomp > effects loop > 1960AX Cab with the greenbacks - THICK AND RAW Yee Haaa.I have been playing for 30 years on and off and have been through my fair share of stuff and this unit is a good add to ones effects line up .... if you have the room.

WHOA,BACK UP, THIS IS GEAR FOR EXPERTS AND GEARHEADS!! CAUTION, HEADACHES AHEAD!
I was able to figure out how to use all the presets, and there are many, without too much trouble, but I had to use the 2 sided foldout patch sheet to refer to constantly. The manual is not to bad, but pretty complicated to just turn this thing on and go. You have to read how to use the footswitches to be able to change patches. I never could figure out how to make the expression pedal work like I wanted (or at all).
This is an awesome pedal and tool, but it is just WAY over my head and needs. I have played guitar for over 30 years, played in many bands, am semi-professional now, play in church, have lots of different effects pedals, equipment and guitars, I have a home recording studio that is Roland 2480 based, but this pedal is just too much trouble. I can program all the stuff in my house and consider myself pretty computer literate, etc, but on stage, I need something I can get to good sound on with ease. THIS IS NOT IT!!
I bought this for live use, with a little studio time also, but I like to play, not program.
I don't use a lot of delay either, just wanted to be able to get to some echos every once and a while. I was hoping for a substitute for my original Echoplex which is the closet, but not here!

Sound quality of all the patches is great. The chorus' and flanges are really awsome, the rotary sounds are great, I love the sounds! I really wanted to be able to use this thing, but having spent numerous hours and trying to use it at gigs, I give up. I will return it to Musician's Friend and likely get a Line 6 delay modeler, which I know does not sound as good, but at least I won't spend hours trying to figure it out!!!!

This pedal is very heavy (another detriment - won't fit on my SKB pedalboard) and I am sure it is very dependable. Yamaha stuff is great.

Never called, if I have to call them to figure out how to use it...

I play mostly rock from the 60's to current in my club band, and in church a wide range of contemporary Christian music. I use Marshall for clubs, etc, and a Mesa Boogie at church. Guitars are PRS Custom 24, Les Paul, Rickenbacker 1997 and American Stand. Deluxe Strat.

OK first off, this is more than your average delay "pedal". It has 8 count em 8 individual "channels" of delays per patch. That means that you can have up to 8 different delays/choruses/flanges per patch. That means that you have 8 fully configurable delays, each with their own speed, feedback, low cut, hi cut, etc. per patch. It takes some getting used to and some knowledge of delays in general to get good at programming this thing, but there are also some great built-in patches to start with. Nice to be able to swap patches with your feet too. Very handy. I had the Line 6 DL-4, which is nice too, but you could only save 3 patches! This thing holds 90! The manual is pretty good, and it comes with a big patch reference sheet that shows you every patch that comes on the box along with the breakdown of delays for that patch. Very nice indeed.

This is where this unit really shines. Wow! It's like having multiple rack units all in one pedal. Because it has the 8 channels of delay, you can make your own true chorusing and flanging using delay speeds and such. I want to make sure everyone understands, this thing is can do multiple delays and choruses all in one patch! I chunked all my chorus and delay pedals after I got this one. I can't tell you how clean and professional this thing sounds. The sound is just so strong and powerful. I play in a Pink Floyd tribute band and let me tell you, I have a much easier time doing it thanks to the UD. I can go from Shine On You Crazy Diamond shimmering chorus and long delay to the multi-tap frenzy of Run Like Hell in one step. This thing is simply the most professional sounding unit around. Crystal clear choruses (think TC Electronic). This is because again it's a true chorus using very short delay speed. I play this thing with my G&L S-500 guitar with the David Gilmour EMG pickups in it. My amp is a '68 Twin Reverb, and let me tell you the UD shines through it! If you have a nice clean sound on your amp, the UD will really show it and create studio-quality chorusing and delay. There is even a +4/-10 DB switch on the output so you can set how hot of a signal you want going out to your amp, as well as a master volume knob.

Very heavy and nicely built. Haven't had any problems with it so far. Hopefully I won't because I'm spoiled now and I don't know if I could go back to my old set up. Hehe...

Never dealt with them.

This thing matches my guitar and amp beautifully. I will say that you do have to tailor this unit to your guitar and output. Because when I hook up my Les Paul (obviously quite a bit hotter), I have to back off the FX level a decent amount. But you have 90 patches with which to do that! Again I had the Line 6 DL-4, which is pretty nice too, but this thing is in a class of its own. I love the sound and tone most of all, the only somewhat difficult thing is the programming. It just takes a while, but don't give up, you can achieve some fantastic sounds. It can inspire some very interesting song tone ideas as well with all of the sounds it can make. Hope this was helpful!

The UD is in my opinion really easy to use.I would give a 10,but I
also know,that a lot of people will have trouble with the interface.
I am an old crack and programmed DX and VZ synths with a rudimetary
interface,with much more functions.So the UD is for me a friendly
tool.On little space there is done a lot for the ergonomic to
support all of its functions.
This stompbox offers a lot.And I hear the guys screaming,please
transfer it to a rackunit.
I like this stomboxes,because it frees me from my rackfrige...

The manual tells all necessary things,but not more.But someone
who chosses this tool has already experience with similiar devices,
so there is no need for a manual wich explains all in detail.
Editing patches needs a clear brain.You have to arrange a small
orchestra of delays.Trace it as an eight musican combo.
For me this device gets a ten,but for others I would recommend a 7.

The sound quality is excellent for a digital device.Very warm and
fine.But it makes a very,very little noise.But this is acceptable.

The effects are amazing and is really an ear opener.It can be eight
Chorus at once,it can be eight flangers at once,it can be a mixture
of delay,chorus and so on.And always keep in mind,there are eight at
the same time.You it serial or paralell.Use it as Looper.
This tool is amazing.

Indestructable by normal or heavy use.

Yamaha has usually a good service.

The UD is great.A very fine tool for delay and modulation freaks.
Not a tool for everyone.This one is for specialists.
This machine could have been great for me.What I miss,is more Delay
time.696 ms per Module is for me at least not enough.It could have
been more.When I trace the Boss RC20 with a maximum of 5 minutes(by
a lower quality),Yamaha could have given the UD more delay.
What about 2 seconds per module ? Then in Loopmode we would have 16
seconds.Half a minute wouldn't be also not bad.32 seconds in Loopmode
and 4 seconds for each module.This should have been possible.
But I know also,then they had to install a LCD to manage it all and this would have raised up the price.

There are many things,wich I could complaint now.But overall seen,this
stompbox is fascinating.A wide field for creating marvelous sounds.
And all in one box!!! Who needs a Delay Modeller from Line,if he can
get the UD ?
A UD Upgrade could have maybe longer delaytimes,reverse delays,and
maybe an EG per Module,wich has eight steps and controls the Amplitude
of the delays.

Just dreaming.......

So as it is,the UD is OK,an inspiring tool.And with a wide range for
hidden sounds.....Paradise for delay freaks.