# univibe anyone?



## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

anyone have a rotory/vibe pedal they care to recommend? looking about online, the jam pedals retrovibe seems to be what i'm after but proving hard to locate. i would like the hendrix/trower sound, but also want the warren haynes sound he uses on thorazine shuffle.


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## Chitmo (Sep 2, 2013)

Best economical option that I can think of that I have owned myself would be a Fulltone MDV. I have a Sweet sound right now and really like that as well.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

If you have a phaser you're not particularly enamored of, or attached to, they can be easily converted to vibes with a few simple component changes.

Most phasers that use FETs, rather than photocells, will have a little trimmer on board that can adjust where in the range the sweep sits. One can twiddle it a little and move the sweep down a bit so that it has a nice gurgly sound.


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## Tone Chaser (Mar 2, 2014)

The easiest way is with something like the Fulltone MDV. I own and use the MDV2. That sound just jumps out of the pedal with minimal fuss.

I can see how similar sound can be generated with a phaser and chorus. However, it takes a lot of trial and error to be able to find that groove repeatedly; and was it ever really that close to begin with.

I tend to use the Fulltone the same way (approximate settings), every time I use it. I have tried to use it differently and my ears take me back to that sound it just does right. So for me it is almost a one trick pony. I am certain others could find many useful settings; I'm just stuck with Trower tone in my head.


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## Cups (Jan 5, 2010)

I'm sure a lot of people will ignore this but Boss has an excellent univibe emulation.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

The Option 5 leslie simulator sounds as good as any I've heard. Most Univibes sound pretty thin to me.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Tone Chaser said:


> The easiest way is with something like the Fulltone MDV. I own and use the MDV2. That sound just jumps out of the pedal with minimal fuss.
> 
> I can see how similar sound can be generated with a phaser and chorus. However, it takes a lot of trial and error to be able to find that groove repeatedly; and was it ever really that close to begin with.
> 
> I tend to use the Fulltone the same way (approximate settings), every time I use it. I have tried to use it differently and my ears take me back to that sound it just does right. So for me it is almost a one trick pony. I am certain others could find many useful settings; I'm just stuck with Trower tone in my head.


Vibes are actually phasers, internally, although they differ in several ways:

1) The selection of capacitor values produces wide shallow dips, rather than focussed notches. The net effect is to not draw the listener's attention to the notches and peaks quite as much.

2) The dips are harder to detect at slower speeds, compared to the notches produced by phasers, such that vibes tend to have a narrower range of speeds than phasers.

3) Feedback/regeneration in a phaser accentuates the notches and peaks, producing a more resonant tone. IN vibes, such feedback doesn't do anything of any use, so it is omitted. I've tried, but it's useless.

4) The Uni-vibe employed an incandescent bulb and photocells, and a different LFO circuit than normally found in phasers or choruses. The manner in which bulbs light up and dim, and the inherent lag of photocells, produces a qualitatively different sweep than what you get out of JFETs, OTAs, or even an LED lighting up photocells via the usual triangle-wave LFO. The result is a different, and softer, feel to the sweep.

5) Phaser intensity can be increased by adding more stages (in multiples of 2), but vibe effects tend to max out with 4 stages.


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

I see Mojovibes all the time for $200 or less. It's the best one I've heard.


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## Scottone (Feb 10, 2006)

I just received a Skreddy Vibe pedal and I'm really digging it. Not a univibe clone, but can cop those tones.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

which one? there are several mojovibes. the big blue one with the pedal on it, and the little white one with the pedal on it, and the little white one with no pedal. the big blue one sells new for $340


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

I've had a Fulltone MDV for a year and a bit now and it sounds great, thick and full, plus it was cheap when I bought it second hand. The only thing I don't like about it is the effect volume has to be cranked, or at least at 3 o'clock on some amps, to get unity gain. The volume drop when engaged is noticeable and sometimes bothers me so for that I would consider trying other vibes if the opportunity, price and convenience presented itself.


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

cheezyridr said:


> which one? there are several mojovibes. the big blue one with the pedal on it, and the little white one with the pedal on it, and the little white one with no pedal. the big blue one sells new for $340


I'm referring to the pink or purple Sweetsound MojoVibe.


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## darksider (Nov 4, 2007)

The Mojo Vibe (plain purple) was my first vibe, and I thought it was pretty good. The rest of my setup wasn't great at the time, and I didn't know about adjusting the internal trimmers, so I might feel different about it today.

Next, I owned a KR small Megavibe about 6 years ago that was insanely good. They are expensive and hard to find these days. The owner of KR screwed a lot of people over, but still sells occasionally on Reverb and has been getting good reviews. I think his waiting list got away from him and he handled it very poorly. These days, he is only selling what he has built, so he seems to be doing better. I have tried to write to him through Reverb about shipping to Canada, and got no response.

In December I received a Classic Amplification Vibe Baby (treadle style to adjust speed) that is as good or better than the Megavibe was. Classic Amplification has a long reputation for being one of the best repair/restoration places for vintage Univibes, so they know what they are doing. I bought mine used, and it sounds simply amazing. I play a lot of Hendrix and Trower and it nails those sounds. With a good fuzz, I'm finally getting close to the Hendrix @ Woodstock sound that I have been searching for. The 100w Marshall and 4x12" doesn't hurt 

[shamelessplug]By the way, I have a smaller variant of the Vibe Baby on the way and if it sounds the same I will be selling my treadle style Vibe Baby.[/shamelessplug]

EDIT: I just read that Warren used a Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere (leslie simulator) on Thorazine Shuffle.


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## SG-Rocker (Dec 30, 2007)

Has anyone seen this .... the demo sounds good.
It's on my watchlist.

http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/mxr-uni-vibe


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