The native UAD Dream '65 Reverb Amplifier plug-in gives you the essential American tube amp sounds used by artists and producers for more than 60 years, from Muddy Waters to The Beatles to Elvis Costello.*
Based on our award-winning UAFX pedal, the Dream '65 plug-in perfectly captures the timeless sound and feel of a "golden unit" 1965 reverb amp, with its bold cleans, sweet tube breakup, and divine spring reverb and vibrato.
In this article
Setting Input Levels
Dream ’65 is calibrated to provide the exact same tone and response as the original amp when used with Apollo and Volt interfaces. Simply connect your instrument to a Hi-Z input, set the channel's preamp gain to minimum, and leave the plug-in’s IN control at its default Hi-Z (center) position.
For optimum performance with other audio interfaces, follow the same guidelines.
Input level guidelines for best tone and response
- Connect to your audio interface's Hi-Z instrument input
- Set the interface channel's preamp gain to minimum
- Set the plug-in's IN knob to its Hi-Z (center) position
Dream '65 Controls
Tip: Option-click (macOS) or Alt-Click (Windows) to set most controls to their default values.
In
Adjusts the input level to the plug-in. Hover your mouse over the knob to see the HI-Z and LINE labels, and the input gain in dB.
The plug-in input level is calibrated so that a Hi-Z input without added preamp gain provides the proper operating levels when IN is set to the default center position (HI-Z). When using the plug-in on hotter signals (such as tracks that have already been preamplified), reduce the IN knob towards the minimum (LINE) setting.
Reducing this knob can also help get cleaner tones when using hotter instrument signals, such as those produced by humbucking and/or active guitar pickups. You can also adjust the knob for more gain to get a range of creative tones.
Tips
- Hover over the knob, then click the HI-Z or LINE labels to set the control to those values.
- The IN value doesn't change when you load different presets, so you can set the level once and freely browse presets without big level changes.
Presets
Dream '65 includes a full range of presets designed to provide classic sounds. Dream '65 includes a preset browser that provides deep and comprehensive ways to browse and work with the presets. Click the preset bar (top center of plug-in) to select presets from the browser, or click the previous/next (< or >) buttons to cycle through presets.
Out
Adjusts the output level from the plug-in. When the Output volume is set at noon, the amp will be roughly the same level as the bypassed volume.
Mod
Dream '65 includes three mods: Stock, Lead, and D-Tex. Two of the mods are amp circuit modifications, and one is the stock amp with a clean boost. These hardware modifications, which are commonly performed on the original amp, change the amp's character and the amount of available gain.
Click a Mod to select it, and use the Boost knob to add gain from these mods. See Dream '65 Mods for more details about the mods.
- STOCK is the stock amp circuit, and the Boost knob increases clean boost to the amp's input.
- LEAD adds a prized '80s "OD special" mod to the amp, and the Boost knob increases the amount of gain.
- D-TEX adds an SRV mod to the amp for Texas blues tones, and the Boost knob increases the amount of gain. As with the original mod, vibrato is available only when Boost is disabled. Note that with this mod, the effect of the bass and treble knobs is reduced as you increase the Boost level.
Boost
To enable the boost, click the button. Boost is enabled when the button is lit. To increase the amount of gain and the effect of the boost, rotate the Boost knob clockwise.
Note: As with the original amp modification, vibrato is unavailable when Mod is set to D-TEX and Boost is enabled.
Speaker Cabinet
The speaker cabinet appears on the right of the Dream '65 plug-in. Click the cabinet name to choose a cab from the menu, or click the previous/next arrows (< and >) to cycle through the cabs and microphones.
For details about the speakers, see Dream '65 Speaker Cabinets.
Bright / Normal
When Bright is enabled, a high end boost is added to the amplifier's sound. Normal reduces the brightness.
The original amp included a “bright cap”, designed to make one of the channels brighter than the other. Just like the original amp, the bright cap's effect is most noticeable at lower Volume settings, and decreases as you turn the Volume up. The higher you turn up Volume the less effect it has on the tone. Amps modified with the Lead mod would commonly have the bright cap removed.
Bright is on by default with the Stock amp and D-Tex mod, and off with the Lead mod, but may be enabled or disabled individually and on presets.
Volume
Adjusts the amp's gain. As you increase volume, the character of the amp changes, becoming more overdriven and compressed. Unlike the original hardware, when the volume knob is set at the minimum, you still hear the amp. The minimum level has been adjusted to provide the lowest amount of usable volume that the original hardware can provide. As you turn the volume knob up, the output volume is automatically adjusted to compensate.
Note: This is the volume control on the original amp. For clean "post-amp" volume adjustments, use the OUT control.
Treble
Adjusts the high frequency response of the amp's tone stack.
Bass
Adjusts the low frequency response of the amp's tone stack.
Reverb
To enable the Reverb circuit, click the LED button. The Reverb circuit is enabled when the LED is lit.
The Reverb knob adjusts the amount of the amp's tube-driven spring reverb. When the amp is clean, the reverb is more noticeable. As volume and boost are increased, the reverb appears to be less loud, as the amp compresses and saturates. This is the same way the reverb works with the original tube amp.
Vibrato Controls
To enable the Vibrato (tremolo) circuit, click the LED button between the Speed and Intensity knobs. The Vibrato circuit is enabled when the LED is lit.
Speed
Adjusts the amp's vibrato speed.
Intensity
Adjusts the amp's vibrato intensity.
Note: As with the original amp modification, vibrato speed and intensity is unavailable when Mod is set to D-TEX and Boost is enabled.
On / Off
The On / Off switch bypasses the plug-in and reduces plug-in processing.
Dream '65 Mods
Dream '65 amp modifications are modeled from hardware customizations that are commonly performed on the original amplifier. Each Mod has a unique sound and effect. To increase the amount of gain and the effect of the mod, rotate the Boost knob clockwise. Enable or disable the boost with the button next to the Boost knob.
| Mod | Description | Notes |
| Stock | In stock mode, the Boost knob adds clean gain. The amp tone remains the same, but you can add up to 10 dB of gain to the front of the amp. | Use this setting for the cleanest tones. |
| Lead | Removes the bright cap when the boost is enabled, so at lower boost knob settings, the amp sounds warmer. As you increase the boost knob up to the 10 o'clock position or so, the mod adds some midrange from the tone stack lift (called "lead boost"). | As you increase the gain past noon, the gain increases, and power amp output is compensated to prevent "mushiness". |
| D-Tex | This is known as the SRV mod. As with the original mod, Vibrato is available only when Boost is off. Provides more midrange and significantly more gain from the preamp stages. In the original hardware, this increases the amount of current to the other tubes. | At low settings, just adds a little "more." Use this mod on a low Boost knob setting for SRV-style soft compression and a more open midrange. As you turn the Boost knob up, this mod reduces the effect of the tone stack, creating a more vocal and open midrange. Bass and Treble knobs have less effect at lower boost values. At the maximum setting, the Bass and Treble knobs have no effect. |
Dream '65 Speaker Cabinets
Each speaker, cabinet, and mic setting has a unique sound. Select speakers from the drop-down list or by pressing the previous/next (< or >) buttons.
| Speaker | Speaker/Cab/Mic* | Notes |
| GB25 | A Vintage Celestion Greenback speaker in a blackface deluxe amp, mic'd with an M160 ribbon mic | Classic Celestion bark with the smooth open midrange of a '60s ribbon mic |
| Oxford |
An original Oxford 12K5-6 speaker in a blackface deluxe amp, mi c'd with a 57 |
The classic sound right off the shelf from 1965 |
| EV12 | A classic 12" 200 watt Electro-Voice EVM12L with a massive magnet in a blackface deluxe amp, mic'd with a 414 condenser mic | Thick and tight bottom end with airy top end |
| Boutique D65 | A boutique Two-Rock 2x12 extension cab with Celestion G12-65s, mic'd with a 57 and a 121 ribbon | Classic California ported combo cabinet sound, great for mildly overdriven sounds and cleans up well |
| S-Verb | Vintage 1966 4x10 Fender Super Reverb cab with original CTS speakers, mic'd with a 414 condenser mic | Plenty of midrange, great for surf sounds, almost lo-fi |
| JBF120 | Vintage 1968 2x12 Fender Twin Reverb cab w/ original JBL D-120F speakers, mic'd with a 57 and a 121 ribbon mic | Very detailed speaker, great for clean and low gain, excellent for fingerstyle playing. Very forward and sizzly when used with more gain |
| Direct | No emulated cabinet | Select this mode when using a real guitar cabinet or external cabinet emulation |
*Product names used herein are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way affiliated with Universal Audio Inc. These name(s) are used solely to identify products studied in the creation of the sound models found in Dream '65 Reverb Amplifier. Use of artist names does not constitute official endorsement of Universal Audio software.