Tried out a few vibes... and I was shocked to find out:

JohnnyGuitar

JohnnyGuitar

New member
That I'm not a vibe pedals person.
I've learned something new about myself and I'm thrilled about it - fact is that I hoped I would be writing to you about my new vibe pedal but I found ou something really funny - a "unique sounding" chorus pedal is still a chorus pedal. :laugh2:
All my life I was sure that all I need is a vibe pedal next to my wah... so now I got the chance to try 3 pedals: the Fulltone Mini Deja-Vibe and Deja Vibe 2 and the Voodoo Labs Micro Vibe (which was the best sounding IMHO)...

They all sounded like a basic chorus pedal, a very good sounding chorus pedal but nothing more really - it just has some added sweep like you might dial in a vibrato...
I was expecting a little more extremes, bells and whistles... but it was just subtle nice chorus... tried my Hendrix licks but they I've started thinking they all sounded better without it - even if they were less authentic.
Another important thing is the expression pedal - it doesn't makes much difference but when you raise the speed with it it brings out the main difference of the effect from a chorus pedal - without it, it is just a chorus or a chorus with a nice sweep (that you can get from other effects).

I'm going to start thinking about making a rig for myself because I want to add some modulation... maybe a phaser+flanger is what I need... EVH style...

Sorry for the babbling... BTW, the store had a bunch of cool Reverend, Dipinto and Eastwood guitars, no Strats... very cool...
 
Re: Tried out a few vibes... and I was shocked to find out:

Rid,

Whats the KR???

FWIW, Im not much of a vibe guy either...I just bought my dad a H&K Rotosphere and it's a killer unit but it's more of a leslie tone than a univibe...univibes are cool but they scream Hendrix to me so I stay away from them...
 
Re: Tried out a few vibes... and I was shocked to find out:

Rid,
They sound more like chorus pedals to me although the quality of a phaser is there (guess that most modulation pedals have something in common).
I'm guessing that a phaser without the chorus qualities is what I need... might just go for the MXR.

Don't Carl Martin have a new flanger out?
 
Re: Tried out a few vibes... and I was shocked to find out:

BTW,
Another thing that I've tried for the first time today:

Rivera amps - and they just kick ass... they have the raunchy tone you would find in British amps and a very fat tone.
 
Re: Tried out a few vibes... and I was shocked to find out:

There's more than one vibe sound. My favorite is the original, true pitch shifting vibrato sound from magnatone. That sound kills. Pre-pedal, built in to the amp. At times it can suggest a chorus type sound, but not all that much. Not at all like the univibe type thing. There's nothing like a strat into a cranked maggie with vibe on full.
 
Re: Tried out a few vibes... and I was shocked to find out:

I'm still a little dazed and confused to discover that the pedals that I expected to be perfect for me are something I don't really like.
After years of playing them clean, Little Wing double stops sound better to me clean from effects.
In a way, the vibe pedal is a combination of a phaser and a chorus... I think that what I want actually is a phaser without the chorus... I think I will go phaser testing somewhere next week... the MXR phaser is something I remember quite liking... I should also check a few tremolo pedals while I'm at it... ;)
 
Re: Tried out a few vibes... and I was shocked to find out:

Rid said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJeLxpnztlg
Nothing but phasing with that cool heartthrob...if you do not like this sound...then a UniVibe is not what you want, because it sounds just like an old one:)
One more
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlhRqjfRNqo
Here is the KR link.
http://www.krmusicalproducts.com/index.htm
Click to expand...

Much better actually... the models I've tried were just more of a soft chorus and more transparent when played clean... I like the harsher result...
 
Re: Tried out a few vibes... and I was shocked to find out:

Lol I know what you mean...I have tried a few Fulltones and the Microvibe...
The last Fulltone....no effect...just meow meow meow, fiddled with the internal trimmer...more meow meow...no vibe, just a unthrobbing nowhere going vibe, it was so tame, the first one I tried before this one did not do much better, alittle more throb...but not nearly enough!
The KR is the only one sofar that has provided that heartbeat throb...and sometimes it misses a beat....makes it even better:D
 
Re: Tried out a few vibes... and I was shocked to find out:

I just got the Microvibe recently and am still warming up to it. It's a very subtle effect. And much more prominent on clean or light gain. I know there's a mod available online someplace -- something about cracking it open and adjusting a screw for a more pronounced effect.
 
Re: Tried out a few vibes... and I was shocked to find out:

A few years ago I was out "toy shopping" and picked up a Micro Vibe and a Guyatone PS-2 phaser. I ended up returning the MV because the PS did a better vibe sound. I ended up getting rid of that eventually too, it bled through some when it was off which really bugged me, but it sounded great.
 
Re: Tried out a few vibes... and I was shocked to find out:

Good luck in your modulation pedal quest. :) I think I've found my favorite phaser is a 2-stage like the Phase 45. To my ear it sits somewhere between a Uni-Vibe and 4+ stage phaser like the Small Stone/Phase 90/et al. Another very cool pedal to try if you get a chance is the EHX Wiggler.

I like those clips, Rid. Very nice.
 
Re: Tried out a few vibes... and I was shocked to find out:

Rid said:
Lol I know what you mean...I have tried a few Fulltones and the Microvibe...
The last Fulltone....no effect...just meow meow meow, fiddled with the internal trimmer...more meow meow...no vibe, just a unthrobbing nowhere going vibe, it was so tame, the first one I tried before this one did not do much better, alittle more throb...but not nearly enough!
The KR is the only one sofar that has provided that heartbeat throb...and sometimes it misses a beat....makes it even better:D
Click to expand...

Rid - you've exactly described what I felt about those pedals - it is very tame. I always thought of a vibe effects as more radical... I've tried it on my Peavey (had it with me) on a Rivera Pubster (amazing amp) - clean, dirty... with a Fulltone OctaFuzz - it always had less charecter with the vibe pedals on. I needed to push the speed of all of the pedals to get it to sound a little interesting - but at that setting it was simply annoying.
The Micro Vibe was the best sounding but I still was not impressed.
 
Re: Tried out a few vibes... and I was shocked to find out:

Vibe is a confusing term cos univibe style pedals arent real vibrato more like a chorus with warble (as has been said) real vibrato changes mainly pitch (like a vibrato on the guitar does). Try the EHX wiggler or the VOX Cooltron Vibrato/Tremolo pedal they are REAL vibrato
 
Re: Tried out a few vibes... and I was shocked to find out:

Vibrato is actually chorus without any clean signal
Click to expand...
Really? I know in the case of vibrato on chorus units (ce-1) is just a variation of a chorus but what about on amps (true vibrato like an AC-30's rather then Fender vibrato which is actually tremolo)? It is just pitch modulation but not delay based like chorus and flangers are as far as I know and can hear.
 
Re: Tried out a few vibes... and I was shocked to find out:

Rid said:
Vibe is from Univibe...and is a two stage phaser most of the time.
:)
Vibrato is actually chorus without any clean signal.
Click to expand...

I propose that we, as guitarists, abolish the use of the word "Vibe". From now on, everyone is required to use the following terminology:
Univibe: Opto based phase shifter as made famous by Hendrix, etc.
Vibrato: Pitch bending (modulating) device
Tremolo: Volume modulating device.

(Sorry Leo ;))

For you guys with stereo Chorus pedals, try plugging a dummy jack into the other output, depending on the unit, that might get you a vibrato depending on the unit.

I'm not familiar with the Vox Vibrato, how does it work?
 
Re: Tried out a few vibes... and I was shocked to find out:

Yeah, there's a fine line between vibe and chorus on some pedals (and settings). And you DO NOT want to cross into chorus-land. If you do, it's over for you. Simple as that.
 
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