Univibes

I've used the Deja Vibe before and it's the real deal; that's what Robin Trower has on his tour board and Robin really knows vibe pedals. He sounded great the last time I heard him. I'd played the same venue the night before and was able to go backstage and talk with his guitar tech for a while. The amp settings surprised me but they're based on Robin's habit of using his neck pickup 95% of the time with its tone rolled off a little. When he'd switch briefly to the bridge pickup it sounded like a wah pedal wide open.

I imagine the Micro Vibe is in the same league with the Fulltone. Mojo Vibe has a very good reputation too. I bet the Drybell Vibe Machine is a very good one too; I haven't tried it but those guys have good ears; I've got their Unit67 comp/EQ pedal and it's stellar.

Interesting vid that guitarweasel linked to; I like that the guy discusses many different vibe pedals. But he only demos a handful of 'em, and with different settings every time. He's up front about personally preferring the vibrato mode over the swirly one, but I really wish he'd dialed in the same speed for each. One of the important qualities for authenticity is the slightly asymmetrical cycle with its distinctive double throb. That stands out best at low sweep speeds and is harder to pick out at medium or fast ones. especially when you only get to listen to the pedals for thirty seconds or so.

The vintage UniVibe near the beginning sounded wonderful though. It really is the standard by which all the others should be judged.

Interesting to learn that the MXR/Dunlop vibe is a real photocell pedal, at that price I figured it was digital. I'd tried it out once and didn't feel it really measured up. But vibe perfromance is so dependent on the amp drive & tone...

Nice tone from that old Bassman; they always make a really good pedal platform.
 
I tried it out this afternoon. Inside the penhouse I'm at right now. I played the new Jimi Hendrix mini Uni-vibe through a Blackstar Fly three, using a Godin SD. Pretty cool adjustable vibe. It has a switch which kicks it into a more focus tone. Both modes sound nice. I need to play it through a real amp. I think this could add a ripping tone.
 
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