UA's ANTI high gain amp is way more versatile than I expected it to be. | Secret Weapons

[@D.A.T.GRINGO]

Give us an album of heavy soundscapes like this, and you'll be amazed by how many of us grab your cd... Nice writing, and producing.

[@theBejourn]

Absolutely @mark when can we see an album release! I'd buy that.

[@santiagogonzalez5822]

You absolutely nailed it. This one and the one from the Mira Optical Compressor are two supreme bangers.

[@DylanWOWilliams]

100%.

[@DylanWOWilliams]

@@santiagogonzalez5822100% agree with you too.

[@vondragonnoggin]

The contrast to what the other demos sound like is really great. You’ve shown some sides of the pedal I think a lot of people will miss. Excellent job!

[@AlenMecan]

It´s because this is not a demo, it´s an advert.

[@pjmtry7]

I have watched everyone's video and you are definitely showing the side no one else does, love it!

[@GlebSarkisov]

This intro is absolutely stunning. Great work man! 👏

[@noyd4172]

Everyone's a gangster until he pulls out the cello bow and the Bass VI. Fits my pattern of liking the clean sounds on amps/amp-sims that are usually high gain; probably a side effect of being a Deafheaven kid. Looking forward to UA maybe doing an Orange sim pedal or even putting their three Ampeg bass amp emulations into a single unit.

[@scottrrand37]

Mark, I really appreciated your intro song and the vision of your channel...so BEFORE your review, I subscribed. Having recorded my band's first "album" back in the mid 90's with my buddy's block letter 5150, I was intrigued by what the pedal could do. Having used the real amp for all of the tones...cleans, mid gain, and definitely heavy ones, I was pleasantly surprised that you also sussed out everything that the actual amp could do. So, although I have my own amp/pedal/cab/two Notes Captor X set up, as well as Amplitube/TONEX, Line6 Native, and Two Notes GENOME for direct recording, you may have sold me (maybe not your intention, but take it as a compiment), on forking over my money for this pedal. Thank you for this video, and I look forward to reviewing your catalog and your future episodes.

[@JI3oost]

Enjoy the rabbit hole man, Mark videos are such a vibe. He is wildly talented and so thorough in his demo’s.

[@astrarivm]

Spectacular composing, playing, reviewing! Absolute beauty.

[@rumanrobert]

Finally a good demo with amazing intro song where the pedal is actually heard in a full mix. Thank you.

[@tomhallmusic]

Stunning review. Beautiful intro track. Your delivery is so chill and thorough without getting too into the weeds. Great work!!

[@stevie_albo]

Wow! That intro song 🔥👌👌

[@siphillipson1099]

One of the best gear demos I've ever watched, great work. This pedal sounds fantastic.

[@KelvinPit-n6u]

Mark, I love the tone on this video this pedal sounds insane seems to have a lot of gain and tone shaping options, UA just stepped up again man this is crazy I'am definitely gonna buy this pedal, anything Mark love your video's and content.

[@JI3oost]

Man the versatility of this is incredible. Those clean tones were stellar not at all what I would’ve expected from a 5150 amp in a box. This one jumped up the list for me if I ever wanted to shift to using one of these.

[@drcockles]

Beautiful 🤟🏽 Great high gain sounds, plus the tightness from the OD, and lovely full cleans too. I love the intro song Mark ❤️

[@midnight-special]

Many of us who bought 5150’s at release (I bought mine the same day our local dealer got it in stock in the Spring of 1992) did so specifically to play rock. I gigged it going direct with a ‘57 Slab-body Junior. The design intent was for Eddie to get his Jose-mod Marshall into mass production. Shocker. Clean/crunch were just channel 1, lead was channel 2. It was no contest between this amp and the JCM 900 or Mesa’s. Specifically because you could get a very British cranked amp tone with extremely tight low end - It was the amp that fixed what I didn’t like about JCM 800’s. News flash - Block logo 5150’s got exceptional Super Lead w/Rangemaster tones. Many of us turned the mids up to get an absolutely killer raging Marshall tone that rolled down to cleans much like an early 70’s Metal panel Marshall. You could always get fantastic, mids-forward tones from the original amps without a pedal. In fact, I had a TS-808 and would never have used it with my 5150. The crunch setting could get into Hiwatt territory. Anyway, wonderful job here. Hitting like/subscribe 😊

[@Martin23673]

Thank you, this is the first demo of this pedal I actually like and it blows me away. You give this post-rock/metal enough air to breathe. The other demos I've heard so far sound noisy and stressed.

[@AE-eo5ih]

This is how a gear review is done. And which a fantastic opening jam.

[@NicholasMaus]

this is the only demo of this that actually dialed in a "clean" tone (5150 doesn't really have a clean tone). thanks!

[@Enduringrevery]

Great demo!!! This is definitely something I’d be interested in! The opening song sounds sick, and that’s about all I needed to hear! The cleans are definitely way better than the real amp, haha. Sounds fantastic heavy.

[@clydewilliams7061]

What an absolutely stellar demo!!

[@Arby82]

You just sold me on this. I don't play metal (much) but could use a high-gain modeler if its versatile enough. You proved that it is. Thank you.

[@DragonboltBlastter]

The clean tones are quite good!

[@alexanderscott6332]

Thanks for such a great demo sir.

[@danielnuzum8117]

As a guy that’s been playing in the heavy music world for years, this is was cool to see you use this in such a unique way which tells me that the anti is pretty versatile, probably more than the original amp. I’m definitely the person that would use one of these because I have an all-in-one pedal board, so no racks, no amps. Having something like this on a smaller board would make my setup extremely portable for the heavy shows

[@HeionTheCoffeeGhost]

Haven’t been a subscriber for very long, but I’ve quickly learned that your playing and exploring could sell me on any bit of gear you cover including the ANTI. What an intro tune! While I still listen to a ton of music that uses 5150s in a traditional heavy sense, it’s not something I play or a tone I chase. That said, hearing what you do with the clean/low gain sounds has me wondering if the ANTI may just be worth adding to the arsenal. This channel is so good for the ears and so so bad for the wallet.

[@RyanVeitch]

Great video, just ordered one.

[@cavemanintheair]

Thanks for the in depth review, it was really helpful. I've wanted to switch to an amp pedal for years to reduce recording latency but I've been hesitant because my main guitar sound is based on the NI GuitarRig 5 version of the Soldano head - especially in clean modes. Pretty unusual, I gather. I considered the SLO pedal but never did a deep dive. Needless to say there's not been a ton of coverage on how any of the existing high gain amp pedals sound CLEAN - so thanks for covering that especially. I'm glad I waited to get a pedal until this came out because oddly I think this is exactly what I've been looking for.

[@seanms35]

Late night release! Dang! You're up late releasing awesomeness Mark!

[@SteveC-h6o]

The presence and resonance are in the power section after all the gain and EQ.

[@mariodriessen9740]

Man, I absolutely love how you chose to demonstrate the possibilities of this pedal. I didn’t even know this pedal existed, but when I clicked on your video I immediately saw some other demos of this pedal being suggested by the KZbin algorithm and all I saw were a bunch of buzz words letting me know that this was THE METAL PEDAL and more of that stuff. I expect to see a couple of your colleague KZbinrs Photoshopping stank faces and devil horns and maybe even the occasional fires in the background, so it will be clear to all of us that THIS is the pedal you NEED if you really want to djent and play 68 notes per second, or grab your seven string guitar, tuned down to G…… and so forth. FORTUNATELY I’m already subscribed to your channel, because if you wouldn’t have been the first one I saw demoing this box, I wouldn’t have bothered to even look at it. And…. that would have been a big mistake, because the clean sounds that you got out of this pedal were amazing!!! I absolutely loved it. And even though I am not a huge metal freak I can absolutely see myself grabbing one of these one day. So thanks for this video. Very well thought through. The smartphone next to the pedal, your explanation, the time you take, the examples you prepared, your pleasant way of presenting, your natural articulation…., you’re the real deal. So again, thanks!!! 🧡🧡🧡

[@zackbassett]

Just want to echo that the into song was amazing! Would definitely check out a whole project like this!

[@strawboybeats3970]

Those hard pans sound so good man

[@odditeemusic6016]

Great to NOT hear a “5150” tone demo that mixes a buzzsaw with a 1970’s AM radio..all of your demos are highly creative and well thought out with focus on tone and taste..very inspiring

[@markjohnstonofficial]

Helps that I’ve never play3ed a real one.

[@odditeemusic6016]

@@markjohnstonofficial exactly! Your perception isn’t skewed or biased based on prior experience..I really like the way you present your art and uncolored opinions..very refreshing and inspiring

[@Alex-eo9of]

This is a god damn masterpiece

[@gregarmstrong2500]

Would you ever consider doing a video on your song writing process? Your intro songs are always absolute bangers and I'd love to be able to put ideas together like that.

[@psofoss]

its called talent and doesn't delivered through tutorials!

[@wheresallthezombies]

This would be amazing

[@markjohnstonofficial]

I disagree with that. There’s some aspects to is that I guess are hard to chalk up to anything other than “intuition” but the mechanics and workflow of how I write could be conveyed to at least show people how to reduce friction and avoid getting stuck in the creative process. I think, at least.

[@frankphvrvon3153]

The bow ! Nice idea ❤

[@markjohnstonofficial]

I am to understand that someone named James did it back in the day. I’m just taking a page out of the Jonsi playbook when I do it.

[@jessekerley8625]

Asking who this pedal is for, I think it's for all the rest of us who don't want to own high gain specific amps, and would rather keep this around for that sound rather than having to buy rack gear or another whole amp.

[@StonedOnLife333]

I 100% agree I will probably never buy a high gain amp of that style but I think this is the perfect option for me to get those really good tones quickly

[@TonyBlackNYC]

Nice Work.

[@veers0r]

Resonance is the opposite of pre-gain, it controls the negative feedback in the power stage. It works like presence but the other way around. Also nice intro. :) You should consider releasing these intros as songs. :)

[@yikelu]

This was awesome. Very much what I was looking to hear -- already know this can metal, was wondering if it can also clean up. This actually fits a specific niche for me. That is, a small relatively minimalistic pedalboard that can cover 4 gain levels (clean, crunch, heavy rhythm, heavy lead) with only a few footswitches to operate. If the two buttons can be configured as channel switch and boost, then that's covered and the form factor is small enough to fit on a Pedaltrain Nano with a delay+verb, mini volwah, and tuner. Fitting this into a bigger rig seems not so good due to the lack of MIDI control (although I've seen a few hacks to get around this). I think that's probably the biggest limitation for the pro-rig users -- lack of one-touch switching. And FWIW, it doesn't have to be MIDI, just amp style external relay control would go a long way in a pedal like this. For the low-mid gain amps, I don't think it's such a big deal, they get used as pedal platforms anyways, but for a multi-channel amp that covers clean all the way to searing high gain, it's a huge miss IMO. I suppose one could use this as a single-sound pedal and auto-switch to something different for clean, but it seems a a waste.

[@ponygracian]

really great review, such a beautiful music, may I ask what drums you use?

[@markjohnstonofficial]

Mixwave Aaron Gillespie

[@progpogs]

Sounded a little bit like insomnium or some melodic death for a bit, dig the intro!

[@lattjeful]

That intro song is so good. The Beau Burchell Balaguer is crazy nice, too. That new?

[@markjohnstonofficial]

I’ve probably had it for about 6 months now. It’s a super rad guitar and lands really well in a context like this. The pickups are just perfect for these use cases.

[@The_Rodge]

Very cool intro. Opeth-esque.

[@wheresallthezombies]

This is amazing. It makes me sad that EVH or Peavey didn’t do something like this but it’s great that somebody did. I still hope EVH releases a two channel pedal. Anyway, this may have to do in the meantime. Also, this might be for people who are at home guitarists and can’t justify owning an actual 5150 amp. lol.

[@alexlugogr1]

Man, I was hesitant because I thought it was just meant for death metal and such but thanks to the intro I see it suits my style pretty well. I’ve been looking for something just like this to pair to my tc electronic mimiq, HUUGE benefit that I can use regular TS csbles and not trs (else I wouldn’t be able to use my mimiq. I have q feeling this will be a game changer.

[@dorseia1600]

The intro song is the template to your solo album, you’re welcome.

[@eriklyday7696]

Mainly a church player these days. I try to implement post hardcore vibes in the music at church lol. I’ll definitely be trying this out!

[@scotdvorak8861]

Excellent and super informative demo!! Man, if they included midi functionality, this would be over the top! Can you set presets in the app??

[@markjohnstonofficial]

Yeah the app has factory presets as well as user made that can all be recalled in app / assigned to the preset footswitch.

[@therewasascene]

Dangit. I had my eyes on the IR-X and now there’s this! I have an old 5150 combo so it’s a toss up between IRX for silent practice with the option to play it in stereo as a preamp into a C30 for the classic Marshall+5150 tone Vs. Anti to have a silent version of my main rig so that pedal interaction translates more directly to the 5150 tones…but I’d have to buy an endgame for an fx loop/headphone out. Meh. They really nailed the different levels of breakup. I need good clean tones so I’ve def explored what the 5150 can do and the pristine sparkle and the texture as you add a little more pregain are SPOT on. Sunbather is great! Saw Deafheaven last year at Rockville and they were the surprise favorite of the fest for me (over the legendary Deftones :o) Great energy.

[@dustinmccrindle343]

I might just pee my pants if UA bring out an Orange Amp modeler. This one sounds huge. The Marshal and Vox sou d great too. And as always, your demos are 👌👌👌

[@AmbientEndeavors]

the 🐐

[@jmsclbwmn]

Epic

[@irvingperes]

Sunbather remains undefeated and I'm dying on this hill.

[@markjohnstonofficial]

you are entirely correct. That record is amazing.

[@sons7429]

I saw them on that tour and it was amazing! Great album. I’m not so sure about their recent quasi new wave thing , even though I usually like that type of music…

[@DonovonCarter]

That opening track is tighhhhhhht

[@sirrobert23]

How very deftones of you 🖤

[@Martin23673]

Is it possible that the clean sounds of this pedal actually sound much better than of the actual amp?

[@astrarivm]

Definitely. It does.

[@Martin23673]

​@astrarivm Thanks for the confirmation. I am tempted to get this for my tiny pedalboard so I'd have sweet cleans and brutal distortion in one pedal, no need for an extra distortion pedal.

[@ITheFight]

It’s like the red cherry jolly rancher 🍒

[@eanroad]

How is the latency/feel?…Not a metal player but ANTI sounds awesome! However, the lack of features (screen, midi, dedicated headphone out, Bluetooth audio streaming etc) is a continued miss with this platform from UAFX. Especially at the price range. Just hard to justify the purchase given the competition (I’ve owned the Woodrow, Dream, Ruby but ending up selling them all).

[@nicolasaraistrujak208]

could you sample some gojira riffs using the anti? they use a 5150III

[@fugamantew]

High gain-where tubes really destroy transistors time and time again

[@snoopywalker1881]

Mark Knopfler used to say that Marshalls were great clean-ish amps and depending on the speakers you connected to dictated your sound.

[@markjohnstonofficial]

I think the cabinet choice is a massive piece of the puzzle lost on a lot of modern guitarists (myself included for a long time) because of the popularity of combos. You can do so much to accentuate better aspects of clean, mid gain, or high gain tones to be what you’re looking for with cabinet choices and will do a lot to show the versatility of a circuit. I mean the real convo is about mic choice but that’s a different video.

[@DreidMusicalX]

Did I miss it or just didn't understand what you were saying. Can this switch on the fly between a clean tone and high gain tone like a 2 channel amp can when playing live with your foot?

[@markjohnstonofficial]

Yes you can.

[@DreidMusicalX]

@@markjohnstonofficial Ah thank you!

[@zenmonkey99]

Another amazing intro song….interrupted by the pain and itching of moderate to severe eczema advertising. Thanks google. 😂

[@marinotomas]

Question: Is this an ordinary analog pedal or a digital modeler in a pedal format?

[@markjohnstonofficial]

UA is primarily a plugin and software company and all the UAFX stuff is entirely digital.

[@focusonjunta]

Only one or two comments about the disastrous user interface here in the comments? Switching between regular knob functions, and ‘alt’ functions, without being able to recall the regular knob setting (or vice versa) has got to be the stupidest design decision by UA... I am able get high quality high gain tones using analog domain amp modeling all the way to the impulse response stage by using a Fortin Grind into a Tight Metal Jr. into Origin Effects Revival Drive (set up as Pedal Platform) into Ox Stomp. Much more expensive, 4 pedals instead of just one, obviously. Almost tube amp money... But - still an ampless set up, with infinitely more flexibility, a much better playing experience due to super low latency (caused only by the IR stage). Black panel, tweed, plexi and ac30 - like tones are also available, thanks to the Revival Drive of course. Probably the best demo of the pedal otherwise. Thank you!

[@jessekerley8625]

What size strings are on that strat? they look like absolute monsters!

[@markjohnstonofficial]

Not a Strat; that’s a Fender Bass VI; a 30” scale 6 string bass tuned e-e

[@canconeteirodopunk]

Are you a no fun at all fan?❤

[@marinotomas]

Hear the intro song. Subscribe to this channel inmediatly

[@Arwndr]

Is it Analog or Digital?

[@markjohnstonofficial]

Digital

[@Arwndr]

​@@markjohnstonofficial Thanks for answer! I was hoping this is analog.

[@markjohnstonofficial]

UA’s entire pedal lineup is all digital and stuff like the cabinet sims / room reverb and stuff pretty much needs to be to sound legit.

[@Arwndr]

​@@markjohnstonofficial Thanks for explanations! I was really didn't know that. And at their official site only phrase about "recreation of analog circuitry" with no word about actual "digital recreation".

[@TeddScheckler]

So can you drop any hints on what’s coming next from UAFX? I’ve heard they have something else near release.

[@markjohnstonofficial]

I definitely cannot.

[@sons7429]

I feel like a Mesa type thing would be cool.

[@Arwndr]

Ok. Now I can answer about "Do I need this pedal?" Answer would be "NO"... First of all it's digital. So we have latency. If even sound very close to original. But anyway there is some minor difference. Secondary there is very uncomfortable switching through modes. This is pedal, for me better to have foot switching, for Clean/Crunch/Lead/Boost (Overdrive). And separate Gain/Volum control for every channel. And in perfect pedal EQ also separate for every channel. Even if this pedal would be analog - I would think four/five times about buying, because of absence of switching ergonomic in use. And lastly - the price. ~ 439€ for very cuted ~5150 sound only in digital world? No any other amp for download? Plus bugs with switching and modes (other reviews for this pedal). Plus annoing switching ergonomic. ToneX One cost only 175€ and even 149€ used/returned. Same digital, but less switching problems. And with possibly to load any amp you want. And for the price of "Anti" I can by even 3 ToneX One pedals 🤷 And for example there is Simplifier X pedal on the market for 499€. But Analog. And 2 amps in 1 with 3 channels each... But yea tat is not "5150". If someone made "5150" in such analog style I will definitely start to look more closely to it. So I don't really see a reason for UAFX ANTI pedal... For post recording through DI box? But there is already Bogner plugin for this. Just one button and all ready. I couldn't find any good reason for myself for buying it. 🤷 Thanks for your channel! ✨🌿☀️

[@willb1157]

Hmmm. Now I can sound like EVERYONE else. AGAIN.

[@markjohnstonofficial]

That’s just gonna be a consequence of your playing and nothing else, really.

[@CedricMonnierFlameFy]

and still no MIDI.... don't get it, even more with that level of customization possibilities would be nice to compare with ToneX!

[@Mujcanal]

so far on all videos this pedal sounds like sht, but here its been presented like something completely different, great device producing cool tones. So much depends who is demonstrating gear. Thank you

[@markjohnstonofficial]

I haven't really seen any of the other videos on it yet (although I did "play" drums on Ambient Endeavors video on ANTI that comes out today), so I can't speak to how other people have used it. But I will say; my special sauce in this video is probably that I've never actually played a 5150 in my life haha

[@Mujcanal]

@@markjohnstonofficial and this is great! you've just uncovered more magic out of this pedal. thanks

[@mynickisnick4302]

What is an „ANTI high gain amp“? a JS-120? 😉

[@cesmcmyth]

That snare sample is mega super over extremely compressed. I dislike how that sound turns out.

[@markjohnstonofficial]

That hyperbole is massively significant largely exaggerated.

[@cesmcmyth]

@@markjohnstonofficial 😂 ok. No offence intended. It just reminded me of my first mixes when I over did it greatly. Now like them snapier, kind of dryer

[@Polentaccio]

It has that UAD fizz going on. That's the difference between this and an amp.

[@DanielDavis730]

Sounds no better than a $30 jayo distortion pedal

[@markjohnstonofficial]

That $30 joyo needs to go into an amp, which needs to go to a cabinet, which needs to be mic’d up. You can like or not like the pedal but pretending like the value proposition or aim of this is comparable to a distortion is lazy and dumb.

[@jamesearl389]

I turned it off when he grabbed the bow 🙄

[@markjohnstonofficial]

lol see ya

[@jamesearl389]

@@markjohnstonofficial oh calm down I’m just teasing. 👊🏻 I really dig your deep dives bud

[@gffg387]

Not feeling it, my dawg.

[@AlenMecan]

Unsubscribed, although I really liked your format. After seeing your video for the Mother preamp I almost bought it. So glad I did not. This kind of presentation, focussed on feelings and light on facts is very toxic. You so obviously don´t use and never will use this product you are advertising here. Where is the conversation on no MIDI connectivity, no own IR loading, and all the other things channels that actually use this device are having? This is not even advertising, it´s blatant propaganda to swindle people out of their money. Keep your "soulful" intros , I´m out-what a fraud!

[@markjohnstonofficial]

It’s weird that you are more concerned with if I use something than if you like how it sounds.

[@EyeballK1d]

lol. What a weirdo