Classic Amplification started the Tone MachinesTM brand analog classic effects which include the Classic-VibeTM and Vibe-BabyTM with the goal of re-creating classic effect tones and offering an increased performance option for those who want a little more.
We make them like they used to, analog style.
First lets take a look at the original Uni-Vibe.
Designed in 1968 by Fumio Mieda an engineer at the Shin-Ei company in Japan, the Uni-Vibe was originally intended as a rotating-speaker (Leslie) simulator for keyboards. It was introduced into the U.S. by Unicord/Univox as the U-915 Shiftee Uni-Vibe and was also available through other resellers as the Roto-Vibe.
Jimi Hendrix, Robin Trower, and David Gilmour are some of the most recognisable users of the Uni-Vibe. Songs like Machine Gun and Bridge Of Sighs having become Uni-Vibe anthems for all time.
Here you can see Jimi's Uni-Vibe on the floor behind him in a recording studio:
Jim Dunlop Manufacturing now holds the Uni-Vibe trademark which they aquired from KORG who filed for it in 1992 since it had been abandoned by Shin-Ei who was long gone.
The Dunlop Uni-Vibe:
Shown above: Dunlop UV-1 Uni-Vibe and optional UV-1FC foot controller.
The thing is, if you want a true original Uni-Vibe sound and you buy a modern brand name "Uni-Vibe" from Dunlop, you are definately not going to get the original audio circuit, oh sure it sounds very similar, but has a lot of additional parts not in the original circuit.
These next few pictures show a side-by-side comparison of an original compared to a Dunlop Uni-Vibe UV-1:
(foot controllers are not shown here)
The new box is smaller, the controls are similar enough, no complaints there, BUT when we open the boxes for a look inside then we can clearly see why there's a big difference.
Though the name is the same, the Dunlop UV-1 is not built like the original Uni-Vibe, the circuitry is definately not the same as can be seen in this picture below:
Shin-Ei / VOX Uni-Vibe Dunlop UV-1 Uni-Vibe
Shin-Ei / VOX Uni-Vibe Dunlop UV-1 Uni-Vibe
Shin-Ei / VOX Uni-Vibe Dunlop UV-1 Uni-Vibe
The original Uni-Vibe was a simple 13 transistor circuit, it's simplicity is a major part of it's unique character, the new Dunlop UV-1 has a ton of IC chips mostly for switching and control but necessary? we don't think so. Most players in-the-know are aware that any extra components in the signal chain will effect the sound/tone and is why true-bypass is so popular these days.
Our Classic VibeTM and Vibe-BabyTM conform to the original schematic. Compare the pictures above with one of our Classic VibeTM boards below and see the difference, we do it all analog and all transistor:
(a 2009 Hi-Performance build shown w/o phase caps installed)
IC's are a true advancement in electronics no doubt, but when it comes to producing vintage sounds we believe one needs to stick with the vintage audio path or at least stay as close as possible to it.
No IC chips in our Classic VibeTM and Vibe-BabyTM, no mosfet switches or chip-transistor arrays, only a good old analog transistor audio path just like the original Uni-Vibe used. Using the original audio path is absolutely the best way to get the original Uni-Vibe sound.
Our vibe circuits are correct but we made them more compact to fit into a smaller enclosure, to be a "clone" it would have to be an exact copy of an original like this one we made:
(click for close up)
you can't get any closer to the real thing than this.
If you want the classic Uni-Vibe sound, you'll really want a Classic VibeTM
Some people think the Dunlop Rotovibe is a univibe built into a wah shell like our Vibe-BabyTM, in fact, that's not correct. Lets just take a look under the hood of the Rotovibe...
When we pop the back cover off the Rotovibe it becomes obvious that it's not:
Again it's got plenty of IC's (integrated circuits) which are not part of the original Uni-Vibe sound, but most notably it uses LED Opto-isolators instead of the Bulb/LDR setup which is a huge part of what makes the Uni-Vibe sound unique. The Rotovibe is built much more like a 4-stage MXR Phase-100 than a univibe.
If you want the best Uni-Vibe sound in an expression pedal, you'll really want a Classic Vibe-BabyTM
Uni-Vibe®, Rotovibe®, Univox®, Unicord®, Dunlop Mfg® are trade marks of their owners
Classic Amplification is not affilliated with them or their trademarks in any way.
© 2002 Burt Systems LLC