Seeking the perfect vibrato (for me) advice

[40Hz]

Ok…I’ve pretty much found my perfect pedal for every category except vibrato.

Normally this would be no big deal. There are plenty of really good sounding vibrato effects out there. Something I know because I’ve tried out a fair number already. But the catch with what I’m looking for is finding one with a low enough LFO speed setting -and - (ideally) expression pedal capabilities. But more than anything I’m looking for a very slow (as in Heinz ketchup bottle slooooow) and good sounding true vibrato effect.

I’ve modded a Behringer Ultra Vibe (being a $29 clone of a BOSS VB-2 it was a low risk experiment) that works well enough for slow speeds. But I was still hoping for an expression pedal. And maybe something a little more elegantly packaged.

What doesn’t matter to me:

• Digital/Analog - either works for me.
• Brand/place of manufacturer - I don’t care.
• Additional capabilities such as flanging or chorus - neither a plus nor minus. All I want it for is its vibrato effect.
• Price - within reason not an issue.

I’d prefer a standalone pedal rather than going the digital multi effect route such as Line 6 and similar super pedals. But I’m open to any recommendations.

Anybody have one?

 

[Frodolicious]

Probably overkill, but the Chase Bliss Warper Vinyl meets that criteria. Also a really cool sounding chorus.

I am not sure what other vibrato pedal that has expression capabilities besides the Boss VB-2w, which controls depth. It also doesn't go very slow

Other ones that don't quite meet your criteria, but are cool nonetheless:

• Boss CE-2w (its the one i use,, and love how the vibrato sounds)
• Earthquaker Aqueduct (no expression input)
• MXR Analog Chorus (just plug in a cable in the stereo output to make a triangle vibrato)
• Fairfield Shallow Water - subtle, but beautiful sounding. Not sure if it uses expression?
• Way Huge Blue Hippo has a nice sounding Vibrato
• The Earthquaker Grand Orbiter has a vibrato option, and that pedal goes SUPER SLOW

 

[GMC]

A Source Audio Vertigo might work well for you...any of the face controls can be assigned to an expression pedal.

 

[40Hz]

@Frodolicious - thx for the suggestions. Haven’t tried the Chase Bliss yet. So I’ll put it on my list.

I have a vintage CE-2. My absolute fave for guitar. But it’s more a chorus and still clocking faster than what I’m looking for in this application.

The Shallow Water is already on my list. Seems an interesting effect in that it’s claim to fame is its subtlety. Something I tend to prefer in an effect.

The Behringer Ultra Vibrato is an unabashed clone (ripoff?) of the BOSS VB-2. And it does sound just like the real deal to my ears. The real one might work. But I’d need to have exhausted all my other options before I could summon the kahunas to take a soldering iron to a $200+ pedal with my admittedly limited electronics modding chops. Still…never say never. The VB-2 (beloved by Juan Alderete) is an awfully sweet vibrato circuit.

 

[40Hz]

A Source Audio Vertigo might work well for you...any of the face controls can be assigned to an expression pedal.

I’ve played one of them. And it’s a nice harmonic tremolo rather than a true vibrato effect. But I’ve already got that base covered with a Supro 1310 Harmonic Trem and a Catalinbread Pareidolia Harmonic Mesmerizer.

I am however wondering about the Crazy Tube Circuits Killer V pedal which claims to capture the swirly vibes of a Magnatone amp and its legendary vibrato effect.

Anybody using one of those?

 

[Swimming Bird]

EHX Canyon Deluxe might get you there? Not sure if exp can control mod controls. DMM, mod, and tape modes all offer great vibrato flavors on the lil Canyon.

 

[DosiYanarchy]

Vb-2w!
You said you liked the behringer, well take that, house it in a decent metal casing, add an expression input and a second mode for a more "in your face" vibrato.

I had the behringer before the Vb-2w came out, then got the VB-2w. I had no issues with the behringer, by the way, but I did worry that one day I would crush it with a heavy stomp.

 

[Feral Feline]

Ok…I’ve pretty much found my perfect pedal for every category except vibrato.

Normally this would be no big deal. There are plenty of really good sounding vibrato effects out there. Something I know because I’ve tried out a fair number already. But the catch with what I’m looking for is finding one with a low enough LFO speed setting -and - (ideally) expression pedal capabilities. But more than anything I’m looking for a very slow (as in Heinz ketchup bottle slooooow) and good sounding true vibrato effect.

I’ve modded a Behringer Ultra Vibe (being a $29 clone of a BOSS VB-2 it was a low risk experiment) that works well enough for slow speeds. But I was still hoping for an expression pedal. And maybe something a little more elegantly packaged.

What doesn’t matter to me:

• Digital/Analog - either works for me.
• Brand/place of manufacturer - I don’t care.
• Additional capabilities such as flanging or chorus - neither a plus nor minus. All I want it for is its vibrato effect.
• Price - within reason not an issue.

I’d prefer a standalone pedal rather than going the digital multi effect route such as Line 6 and similar super pedals. But I’m open to any recommendations.

Anybody have one?

Not sure if it'll go as Heinz-there-are-no-other-kinds as you want, and mine's packed up for moving, but...

DIAMOND VIBRATO has two expression pedal inputs (depth & speed), does chorus, and sounds lurverly...



Multi-layered demo track with the Diamond on all parts.
At 3:51, you can hear Thorn use the chorus mode with a very slow vibrato.
At 4:07, BASS! finally... again, deep chorus with a slow medium-depth vibrato.

There are no straight bass demos I know of for it, and all the other guitar demos seem to covet faster warbles.


I bought mine used from another TBer who found he wasn't into vibrato. I'll not sell mine.
I think Diamond puts out great stuff (got the Bass comp, too), but I've no affiliation with Diamond...

From Diamond's website:

– dedicated true pitch vibrato using MN3007 analog bucket brigade design
– ‘magic-eye’ bi-color LED shows vibrato LFO rate even when bypassed
– true bypass operation
– ultra smooth sinewave LFO
– ‘HIGH’ switch for increased Vibrato depth
– ‘JAZZ’ switch for a darker, ‘vintage’ tone
– extended headroom internal 15V rails, can be operated from guitar and FX loop levels
– all analog circuitry with Vishay JFET’s, Burr-Brown audiophile op-amps and Panasonic polyprop caps in the signal path
– variable Chorus control for blending dry signal with pitch shifted signal
– mono in/out operation
– expression pedal control of vibrato depth, allowing the player to manually swell the vibrato effect without changing overall volume
– expression pedal control of vibrato speed
– internally regulated to 15V, can be run from provided 18-24V adapter or from 18V pedal board power supply outputs (including Y-cable powering from 2 9V outputs on most pedal power supplies)
– genuine Hammond cast aluminium 4.7 x 4.7 x 1.3 inch case

 

[Feral Feline]

Found a review with slowest setting of the Diamond (gittaraggin):

 

[ihixulu]

MXR Univibe been working well for me. Simple, solid, inexpensive, sounds good.

 

[40Hz]

Found a review with slowest setting of the Diamond (gittaraggin):

Thank you! I was hoping for a demo of the Diamond that did that.

It’s as I suspected too. I want it even slower.

 

[40Hz]

I had the behringer before the Vb-2w came out, then got the VB-2w. I had no issues with the behringer, by the way, but I did worry that one day I would crush it with a heavy stomp.

Yeah. I hear you. That used to concern me too. But funny thing about Behringers. I’ve dropped and accidentally bashed my UltraVibe moderately severely a few times. And it was just fine afterwards. Which is more than I can say for some metal cased boutique pedals I’ve owned. Or some EHX pedals that didn’t survive a four foot drop from an open gigbag to a concrete floor.

So go figure, right?

 

[40Hz]

BTW, if anybody is interested in the slow speed mod I did on my Ultra Vibe, the complete instructions for how to do it can be found here.

 

[40Hz]

EHX Canyon Deluxe might get you there? Not sure if exp can control mod controls. DMM, mod, and tape modes all offer great vibrato flavors on the lil Canyon.

Cool delay/looper. A guitarist friend of mine does amazing things with his. But it unfortunately doesn’t have a vibrato effect. But that said, I wouldn’t mind owning one.

 

[Feral Feline]

Thank you! I was hoping for a demo of the Diamond that did that.

It’s as I suspected too. I want it even slower.

As I suspected too. ie You'd want it even slower.

I love it, the purple Diamond, but...

Now I want it slower, too!

Thanks a bunch!


Something else that bugs me. The always on LED so you can see the speed/rate before hitting the footswitch... Shouldn't the Diamond LED be the other way round: RED when it's bypassed, and GREEN when it's on? You know, stoplight conventions and all.





PS:

BTW, if anybody is interested in the slow speed mod I did on my Ultra Vibe, the complete instructions for how to do it can be found here.

Thanks 40Hz!

I missed the post & link to the mods when first replying above.

So... with some spelunking I could mod (or ruin) my Diamond!

I take it all back, well, not really, but mean it in a different way ...

THANKS A BUNCH!


Maybe while I'm in the Bowels of the Diamond, I'll swap the LED's leads around so it's more intuitive. Red=stop/Green=go...

 

[40Hz]

Something else that bugs me. The always on LED so you can see the speed/rate before hitting the footswitch... Shouldn't the Diamond LED be the other way round: RED when it's bypassed, and GREEN when it's on? You know, stoplight conventions and all.

Agree 100% That'd drive me nuts.

So... with some spelunking I could mod (or ruin) my Diamond!

I take it all back, well, not really, but mean it in a different way ...

The trick is identifying where they put the LFO. There's a few different ways you could implement an LFO circuit. But in most cases it's handled by a capacitor and a resistor providing the timing function for an OP amp. I'd guess the rate knob is the resistor. So you could either (a) change the related capacitor value; (b) change the value of the pot; or (c) put a resistor of some value in series with the pot.

All tricky without a schematic. And if the board is using surface mount it gets even trickier. So I wouldn't advise it on something as nice as a Diamond.

Here's a possibility: ask Diamond if they do mods? Or poll around here for somebody (unlike me) who really knows what they're doing to mod it for you.

THANKS A BUNCH!

Your welcome.

BTW, if you're interested in LFOs, here's a good article you might want to check out. It isn't too technical for someone with a modicum of electronics knowledge to follow. It's a good read and worth the time IMO.

 

[Swimming Bird]

Cool delay/looper. A guitarist friend of mine does amazing things with his. But it unfortunately doesn’t have a vibrato effect. But that said, I wouldn’t mind owning one.

No no, try the DMM, mod and tape modes - with the mod controls and delay set low, it gives some really nice sets of vibe tones.

 

[Feral Feline]

@40Hz

Thanks for the link, I've skimmed through it and it's one of those things I'll have to sit down with a cup of coffee and read (and then reheat the coffee 3 or 4 times as I re-read it).

I don't want to jeopardize the Diamond, but I might eventually crack open the back and have a poke around with a DMM and signal-gen...


Okay, as luck would have it, the Vibrato was at the top of the packing box, so I was able to have a quick butcher's inside. It's a 2008 build, so it looks identical to the one on Effects Database:

The LED should be doable, the ultra-slow mod would be ... slow going. I recently traced a PCB, like last week...

Had a PCB from a guy for more than year with no build guide, no schematic, no BOM... So Beep-beeped my way through it and put together a schematic in DIYLC. Great, schematic with no values... So I found a similar circuit, but it had the wrong EQ so I found an EQ stack that matched the general intent of the pedal and my schematic, and plugged in all the values.

A day or two later I sent an email to the guy who made the PCB and as luck would have it he had a build guide done with schem and BOM ... and I got the schematic correct and my values were very close to what was in the build guide — close enough I could build it with my McGyvered values and I bet it would work.

SO, with no SMD in the Diamond, may just take a crack at the slow mod — after the move... Maybe. Like you say, don't want to muck up something as nice as this.

A genuine 3007 chip is under the lower left jack, and there's another chip under the jack at the top left, so best save the frying chips for those that go with fish!

I'll let you know if I ever do attempt the mod; meanwhile...


HOW's THE HUNT GOING?

 

[40Hz]

No no, try the DMM, mod and tape modes - with the mod controls and delay set low, it gives some really nice sets of vibe tones.

Ok. Sounds like something worth trying. Yes indeed!!!

Thx!

 

[40Hz]

@40Hz

Thanks for the link, I've skimmed through it and it's one of those things I'll have to sit down with a cup of coffee and read (and then reheat the coffee 3 or 4 times as I re-read it).

I don't want to jeopardize the Diamond, but I might eventually crack open the back and have a poke around with a DMM and signal-gen...


Okay, as luck would have it, the Vibrato was at the top of the packing box, so I was able to have a quick butcher's inside. It's a 2008 build, so it looks identical to the one on Effects Database:

View attachment 4116519

The LED should be doable, the ultra-slow mod would be ... slow going. I recently traced a PCB, like last week...

Had a PCB from a guy for more than year with no build guide, no schematic, no BOM... So Beep-beeped my way through it and put together a schematic in DIYLC. Great, schematic with no values... So I found a similar circuit, but it had the wrong EQ so I found an EQ stack that matched the general intent of the pedal and my schematic, and plugged in all the values.

A day or two later I sent an email to the guy who made the PCB and as luck would have it he had a build guide done with schem and BOM ... and I got the schematic correct and my values were very close to what was in the build guide — close enough I could build it with my McGyvered values and I bet it would work.

SO, with no SMD in the Diamond, may just take a crack at the slow mod — after the move... Maybe. Like you say, don't want to muck up something as nice as this.

A genuine 3007 chip is under the lower left jack, and there's another chip under the jack at the top left, so best save the frying chips for those that go with fish!

I'll let you know if I ever do attempt the mod; meanwhile...


HOW's THE HUNT GOING?

Wow! You’re way more knowledgeable than I am. My speed is reading schematics, studying design notes, soldering up a board somebody else designed, basic troubleshooting and repairs, or (very cautiously) doing simple mods. Reverse engineering like you do is beyond my capabilities. In the digital realm (computers, network switches, etc.) I’m perfectly comfortable and capable. But analog audio? Nope. Rank amateur I’m afraid.

Got CTC’s Memphis Vibrato and The Surfy Vibe on my short list purely because I like the sound of each.

The Memphis is based on the legendary Magnatone vibrato. It’s half of CTC’s Killer V pedal, which is basically the Magnatone’s preamp and vibrato stage.

The Surfy Vibe just sounds gorgeous. So I think I want it regardless of the lowest available speed. If it doesn’t hit the sweet spot for bass either I or my SO can always use it for guitar. (She tends to cop any really good pedal we own anyway.)