rotovibe clone?

[JohnDavisNYC]

so, there are a million univibe clones, but i don't seem to be able to find a rotovibe clone out there... it is a very different circuit and a very different sound...

i just did some tracking with jojo the other day, and got the most amazing sound with a rotovibe, but i really don't want to put a big wah wah shaped pedal on my board...

anyone know of any pedal that cops that sound, or am i going to have to rehouse a rotovibe?

john

[bassteban]

I recently picked up a used EHX Wiggler, a rotary sim w/4 leslie or similar models, 1 basic tremolo and a tube. There's a level knob that seems to allow a slight boost that gets near overdrive(to my bad ears anyway ). I've always been drawn to Hendrix, Trower & Travers' use of these sounds, & have tried a few- so far this is my favorite.

[JohnDavisNYC]

hmmm... i might check that out. i tried one EHX vibe pedal and it was kinda iffy... for my needs.

I pretty much need exactly the rotovibe, but not in the same casing, and with true bypass (the bypass is terrible on that thing, the buffer has NO headroom)

john

[RCCollins]

Originally Posted by JohnDavisNYC

hmmm... i might check that out. i tried one EHX vibe pedal and it was kinda iffy... for my needs.

I pretty much need exactly the rotovibe, but not in the same casing, and with true bypass (the bypass is terrible on that thing, the buffer has NO headroom)

john

get a rotovibe and re-house it?

[JohnDavisNYC]

i know... i know... but the circuit board is really big... would be almost the same size!

it will probably come down to this, though. i guess if i can find room for a moog filter i can find room for a big vibe pedal...

john

[bassteban]

Just looked at my Wiggler(THAT'S WHAT SHE- nevermind..); the 4 *vibe* modes are looz(sp? not sure what this is mimicing but it's the one I use)), hamm(Hammond), acey(AC-something)& wurl(Wurlitzer). I am no purist & could likely be easily fooled by decent simulations of most FX, & as you're after a very specific & fairly accurate clone, I'd not expect this to *do it* for you, but it may be worth a checkout if you stumble across one.

[dannybuoy]

I've been looking at Leslie sims today in order to do a cover of Heartbreaker by Led Zep... My Small Stone can get in the ballpark but not quite there. So far I've found the Danelectro Rocky Road, Option 5 Destination Rotation, and Line 6 Roto Machine to check out. I can't vouch whether any of these sound like the Rotovibe but worth checking out if you hadn't considered them.

I'm glad I saw this thread as now I've got the Rotovibe and Wiggler added to my list to investigate!

[JohnDavisNYC]

the rotovibe is not something i use for 'leslie' type sounds... it is the only pedal i have ever heard that does true pitch vibrato without having any 'latency' from a delay line... think boards of canada or brian eno (more BoC, tho) pads or lfo'd basslines...

i think i know the answer is just a really good rehousing... maybe truebypass, or maybe just a mod to increase the headroom in the buffer... dunno.

i was just hoping someone would point me to some boutique pedal i had never heard of that had the same circuit...

john

[dannybuoy]

The schematic is on freestompboxes.org if you fancy commissioning somebody to build you a clone, but it's not a simple circuit. If you rehouse it you are still gonna end up with a big wah shaped pedal on your board because of the big wah shaped PCB:

[JohnDavisNYC]

yeah... i know... kind of bummed in general about the fact that no matter what, i'm looking at an inconvenient situation...

j

[mikeboth]

Originally Posted by JohnDavisNYC

it is the only pedal i have ever heard that does true pitch vibrato without having any 'latency' from a delay line

Any phaser that lets you select 100% wet will give you 'true' vibrato.

[JohnDavisNYC]

well... in theory.

some better than others. most phasers do not sweep far enough to get into actual pitch bending territory. more just the comb filtering stuff...

try a rotovibe, and you'll know what i'm talking about... nothing any phaser can do.

john

[mikeboth]

Originally Posted by JohnDavisNYC

try a rotovibe, and you'll know what i'm talking about... nothing any phaser can do.

Take a look at the schematic / PCB shots. A rotovibe IS a phaser (4-stage, optical), hence why I suggested a 'generic' solution to your problem....

[fightthepower]

Ive never tried a Rotovibe.. and it's as big or larger, but the moog phaser gets pretty bendy. I wasn't sure if I knew what I was hearing when I first got it, because I didn't know phasers could pitch bend (none of mine previously had been capable of it) and it sounded a lot like my polychorus is some settings. Anyway, just a thought..

[JohnDavisNYC]

right, i know that 'technically' a vibe pedal is a phaser, except that it has much more depth, and no feedback... i guess i just need another 4 stage optical phaser... sort of like how a space echo is just a tape machine, but that doesn't mean every tape machine can sound like a space echo.

so the problem is that it brings me back to my original question... any boutique pedals out there that are like that?

moog isn't out of the question... will have to check that out, but i really don't want all the options that the moog thing has... i guess i could get pretty wild in the streets with my mp201 along side that, but i'm really looking for a simple solution... i love that the rotovibe is ONLY rate and depth (along with the chorus/vibrato switch)

john

[Smurf-o-Deth]

Sorry to bend the topic, but how does the rotovibe sound on bass? Any loss of the low frequencies?

[JohnDavisNYC]

on bass for normal bass playing, kinda weird... for bass synth stuff, awesome. total pitch bending sea sick awesomeness.

i don't think it is one of those things that is good for normal bass playing/sounds.

john

[rottenramone]

hows abt them dubstepz basslinez?!?

[whoatherechunk]

John.....you're gonna give us more gas.

[JohnDavisNYC]

i can haz dubztepz?

john