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Ibanez UE400 series

If you consider the current effects pedal craze, the analog trend and the looper's hype, you could probably say that ibanez was way ahead of its time when it produced the UE400 and UE405 rack multi-effects. Hey, racks are not even back into fashion yet! Both these units offer analog, pedal-style effects from the Ibanez 0 and 9 series that can be patched in any way you like and that can be remotely switched on with the appropriate pedal (here is the catch!). A non-switchable effect loop allows the use of your favorite preamp anywhere in the effects signal chain. These racks can easily be compared to the MXR Omni as seen on this page, or to the almost unknown DOD 944 Chain Reaction. I am pretty sure that if a few quirks had been ironed out, these units could have been huge commercial successes.

The UE-405 (bottom unit) offered a compressor, a stereo chorus, a parametric eq, and an analog delay. While they are close to the Ibanez CP9, CS9, PQ9 and AD9 pedals, they operate on a volts supply and therefore offer greater headroom and a slightly different tone. The delay also employs a different BBD to accommodate the higher voltage supply. It should be noted that while it sounds cleaner than an AD9, the taper of the pots seems different and doesn't allow a smooth transition from "all off" to "all on": you have to be very precise during your knob twiddling sessions! The smooth compressor and the EQ are great to add overdrive to an already cooking amp, and the chorus can be set deep and slow enough to pass for a flanger (it also boosts the signal slightly like the CS9). Great stuff!

The top unit is the UE-400. It appeared along the years in several forms and may have existed in 3 different versions. Many FX geeks know about the distortion and the overdrive versions, namely the UE302A and the UE601. The latter uses the famous TS9 circuit, while the former offers a type of distortion that was close to the OD855 (more on this later). While repairing this unit, I discovered that it was notably different than what the Ibanez schematic indicated. While the official litterature indicates a simplified CP9 circuit for the compressor, my unit employs the great sounding MXR Dynacomp inspired CP-835 electronics. The chorus/Flanger is also a different version and this leads me to believe that two types of UE-400 with distortion have existed.

Coming back to the distortion effect, I have discovered that despite what I believed, it was not an OD855 circuit but a variation, employing the overdriving part of this pedal but placing a TS9 type equalization after it as opposed to before (see the OD855 schematic on Google). In effect, it gives a Distortion + pedal with a highs-taming eq. It can generate subtle overdrive or vintage-type distortion with a pronounced high mid content, or a fairly mid-dipped tone. It doesn't sound like any dirt box I have heard from Ibanez but isn't as bad as its reputation might suggest. It is actually very effective at getting stoner metal types of tones.

The Phaser is more pleasing and tuned lower than my PT9 and the flanger, while not as versatile as an FL9, offers more scope than an FL301. Again, great stuff!