Shaky Jimi Vibe

COMPARISONS: I have compared, side by side, the following pedals:Fulltone mini deja vibe ($200), Dunlop Univibe (discontinued stainless steel model)($220), Dunlop Roto-vibe ($180), Voodoo Labs Micro Vibe ($150), BBE Soul Bender ($129) as well as comparing to some "different beasts" in the modulation family - an MXR phase 90, MXR EVH flanger, Boss chorus, Behringer Vibrato, and Behringer Time Machine.SUMMARY - just the factsA great pedal and my favorite uni-vibe of all. Doesn't take a lot of space up, standard power supply, good visibility on control knob settings. Does not add or subtract frequencies to the signal or add noise. This is the only pedal in the univibe group I can say that about and it's why it's almost certainly going to be the one I keep. Might have slightly less ability to produce as thick of a univibe effect as some of the others -- still need to play with it a little more. Overall I LOVE this pedal at under 60 bucks. Only downsides I see are the LED does not flash the speed rate, and the speed control is top left which makes it hard to "toe tweak" with my right foot. Quality seems ok, but time will tell on durability.PROS- Smallish form factor, although slightly larger than a "boss" pedal, doesn't take much more room than a standard pedal.- Standard power supply (9v Center negative), and jack on top back for easy access - not in the way for patch cables on sides.- Switchable between chorus(univibe) and vibrato.- Controls spaced well for handling and use knobs with high visibility marking - easy to see.- Best PRO is that it does not boost or cut volume and does not boost or cut bass, mids, or lows. It just applies the uni-vibe type effect as dialed in and retains the character of the guitar tone. This is the only pedal I tested that I can say that about -- and most of the others cost 2-4 times what this one cost.- LED is red, visible and NOT a weird bright laser to my retina- The PRICE at about 60 bucks - is a great deal- Quality of construction -- metal case, decent knobs, pots and switches - no complaints so far.CONS- LED does not flash speed rate- Speed control would be better placed Top right or bottom right for "toe" tweaking- I have just had this a day so can't tell but might be limited in getting the deepest most lush univibe sound - not sure about that and I will update this review as I get time to test further. But it sounds great to me...OVERALL - highly recommended if you want a univibe and don't want to do a lot of comparison shopping. I have done it for you. Some users report quality issues here -- I guess time will tell on that. Mine works fine so far, and for $60 you could buy 2 and still save money over most other options available.--------------------------------------NOTES ON ***OTHER*** PEDALS I COMPARED---------------------------------------- Fulltone Mini Deja vibe -- highest quality construction (as expected at $200). The large knob in the lower right corner for speed is great and allows toe tweaking -- very useful on a vibe pedal. My complaint is that this vibe colors my tone - it boosts the mid range tones while maintaining the crisp highs and slightly losing the bass. This probably helps the sound stand out in a mix, however, I'd rather that my vibe not provide EQ because when I switch it on or off, I don't want to have to compensate at my guitar tone knobs to try to get back "my sound". I was able to match exactly an authentic original Uni-vibe sound with some adjusting. It seems to kind of muffle the pick attack or compress it also. I have a love-hate relationship with this pedal after about a week of testing it. Some days I hate it...but I like the build quality and the speed control. I originally liked that it was one of only two pedals that didn't strip the treble off my tone -- until I realized the mids were boosted, the bass was cut and the pick attack was somehow tweaked. Mixed bag, and at $200 shouldn't be.- MXR/Dunlop M68 (new in 2014). At about $140, The new M68 Uni-Vibe is a very good vibe pedal with much to like. It is second place on my list. On pure sound I might even like it slightly better than the Jimi, and that's saying something! It's the perfect form factor (shape/size) with no significant coloration of the tone, other than perhaps a tiny boost of treble in one mode. The M68 gives the Jimi a good run...and if you are extremely tight on board space, it might be a better choice for you. They sound very similar. The M68 has a wider range of adjustment on speed/depth than the Jimi, but I'm not sure the extra range is useful. MXR/Jim Dunlop/MXR have GREAT factory customer service if you ever have an issue. They fixed one of my pedals free even though out of warranty. I really do wish MXR would move their power supply jack to the rear vertical surface instead of the right side vertical surface. It is often in the way of right angle plugs on all my other MXR's. Use of the small top left push button for switching from chorus to vibe on this pedal was the main negative issue as I'd have to leave it with the mini switch engaged, and the red LED burning all the time, looking like it is on when I was not actually engaging the circuit with the main switch. It was also a tight fit. This pedal has a level knob which I'm usually a fan of but I don't see the need for it on this effect. I didn't care for the white "main" LED much, and of course the power supply location. The LED on this does pulse the speed, but was annoying due to the white LED. That's a subjective thing I suppose. All said this is a great sounding option with that perfect MXR size, so a good choice. But still 2X the cost of the Jimi. I stuck with the Jimi on form, function, sound, and value.- Dunlop Uni-vibe UV1 -- Cool stainless steel construction. Knobs were hard to see settings. placement of vintage switch on the back of the pedal was easily forgotten at worst and awkward at best. Non standard 18V power supply takes double slots from my power supply brick. Sound was very good but did also color my EQ sound by boosting the bass, and muffling the mids and highs slightly. On the one hand, this sound matched a lot of recorded uni-vibe sounds I've heard. On the other hand, once you strip the treble its hard to put it back in the mix. The seller had a 3 day return policy (3 days??!!) so I returned it and they lost the sale. Othewise, I would still be thinking about this one. I was on the fence about whether it was my winner. I was able to match a true uni-vibe sample, but the treble was slightly lacking and bugged me. At $220 I'd have to love it to keep it.- Voodoo Labs Micro Vibe - Liked the form factor, the simple controls, high visibility knobs, ability to toe tweak controls, standard 9V power supply, and placement of all jacks. Can get a very lush, even excessive univibe sound except the bass is very boosted, and mids/highs are cut. The EQ effect just kills the pedal for me. Its going back. Not my pick at $150.- BBE Soul Bender - My least favorite Vibe. It had extreme muffling of mids and highs, heavy boost of bass. In a band mix, I'm pretty sure it would get totally lost. At home, might sound ok. form factor was good, controls were simple, I think it pulsed the speed. My recollection is it had an overly bright blue LED. It was the first vibe I bought, and I only compared to Fulltone and Dunlop before returning it. Had some useable sounds, but with the intensity above 50% had an annoying "womp womp womp" of a bass note that was not coming from my guitar -- a weird defect in the effect sound in my opinion. With intensity below 50% it was usable...kind of. But a tone muffler. I returned this one early.- Dunlop ROTO-Vibe : A good choice (perhaps the only choice) if you MUST have expression pedal controlled speed adjustment. Didn't color the tone much - and that was a problem on most other uni-vibes tested. Limited speed range and awkward controls placement were most annoying to me. Intensity range seemed less than other pedals too. Large footprint if mounted on board, but also offers the ability to take NO space on the board by not mounting it. I didn't like that when you switch the effect on, you are automatically at high speed due to the mechanical nature of the design. Some awkwardness in the placement of controls and power plug vs guitar cables when plugged in. Std power supply a plus. LED indicators good and flash the speed. Durable construction although the mechanical nature means in time something will need lubricating and you may need to replace internal gears or pots. Overpriced 1.5 to 2X in my opinion.- Other general modulation effects. Univibes are effectively a phase effect - without the swooshy space-age edge on the sound. You can probably modify a modern phaser pedal to get the univibe sound which is like a vibrato plus analog chorus combined. A modern phaser is close, a modern flanger is much too space-age sounding. Vibrato pedals can capture the vibrato aspect of a uni-vibe and I'd recommend the behringer vibrato at $25 if you like vibrato sounds. uni-vibes are normally used for their "chorus" setting, not the vibrato setting. Didn't care for the Behringer time machine.My gear used for testing: Fender American Deluxe stratocaster. Mesa Mini-rectifier amplifier, Mesa Rectifier 2x12 cabinet with Celestion V30's. Pedal train pedal board, voodoo labs pedal power power supplies.A NOTE ON VENDOR SELECTIONI had a very bad experience with the vendor I bought my MXR/Dunlop M68 from, and while it does not weigh at all on my review of that product, I provided a separate star rating on the vendor feedback page. I recommend if you choose to purchase that pedal (or anything else) you be careful to avoid the Amazon Marketplace vendor called MixDSPnet in San Jose, CA. In addition to charging a 15% restocking fee if you want to return the pedal (in original condition with all materials and packaging), getting them to even acknowledge the return request at all was a problem and took over a week and finally opening a claim with Amazon to get any meaningful response. Once they did communicate, they were very unprofessional. Further, when the product was shipped back signature required (as recommended by amazon), they were "not available" or refused to sign for it so after several weeks of attempting to return the product, it remains **unrefunded** despite their confirmation that I could return the item for an 85% refund. I expect I'll need to work further with Amazon in the end to get this resolved. A google earth view of their addressed explained it all. MixDSPnet appears to be running out of an apartment complex. Most Amazon marketplace sellers are just fine but this one is really not, at least when it comes to returns. Also, while they sell a few Dunlop/MXR guitar pedals, looking at their site reveals it's not their primary business - they seem to sell a bunch of other non-musical widgets. My recommendation is that you find a vendor who is in the musical instrument business and who will provide the typical no cost refunds for 30 to 45 days as most large musical instrument retailers do, should you need it. They have a few hundred positive transactions, so maybe can be OK but I can only comment on my experience and this was the worst online transaction I've ever had shopping on amazon.

I bought this vibe pedal over a year ago, and it has been a mainstay on my pedalboard ever since.I wanted a modulation effect last year, but I didn't want to go with the typical MXR Phase 90. That's when I stumbled upon vibe pedals.There are 3 main sounds that I have found to be useful with this effect pedal:1. The Rotary Speaker (Vibe Effect Selected)For this sound, turn depth knob to noon, the hue to 5 o'clock, and the rate anywhere between 10 and 3 o'clock.This gives a nice warbly shimmer. I like to use it on rhythm sections as it gives a nice depth to your sound, but doesn't overpower your tone. It's a typical rotary speaker sound, and it sounds great.2. The Jimi-Vibe (Vibe Effect Selected)For this one, you need an overdriven amplifier or a cranked dirt pedal in your pedal chain. Set the depth to 3 o'clock, the rate to 8 o'clock, and the hue to anywhere from noon to 3 o'clock. Be warned -- this is going to diminish your highs, but it's great for solo work, especially if you are already using a fuzz pedal for the song. If you are a Jimi Hendrix fan, this is typically how he's associated with using the Uni-vibe pedal.3. The Gentle Hand (Chorus Effect Selected)This is how I mainly use this pedal, and it is vastly different from the way I envisioned using it when I first purchased it.For this, set the rate to 9 o'clock and both the depth and hue to noon. The chorus effect on this pedal is so subtle, you might not even notice it. As such, I use this as an always on effect. It give nice a subtle variation in your tone and works well with both solo and rhythm guitar work. Where this effect really comes in handy though, is when you use a delay pedal. When you kick in the delay though, what you end up with sounds much more like an actual chorus effect pedal. It doesn't cancel out your delay effect though, so the end result sounds like a chorus effect and delay pedal activated together. It's quite useful.Notes: I play in a church and use this effect almost every Sunday. Its thick and heavy metal construction has held up and the small switch located on the top of the effect pedal has been completely safe (Originally, I thought that would be an issue). I use a small pedalboard with 5 effects chained together. In order, those are: Vox Classic Wah, Moen Shaky Jimi, Danelectro Transparent Overdrive V2, Joyo Digital Delay, and ModkitsDIY The Verb Deluxe.I typically use my AXL Badwater SRO with upgraded electronics.

This pedal is now on both my pedal boards and is before dirt and after wah which sounded the best to me on my board. Now I'm not going to say it's good for being a cheaper type pedal. It's just good! I have boss, Morley, biyang,donner, I banez, joyo, mooer, and now moen on my main board. I'm no longer phased by the high priced being better I just use my ears and send back the stuff that doesn't do it for me. The shaky jimi does have the it factor in my opion. I use a joyo vintage phase as well, both have great tones. The shaky really gets you to the Hendrix trower zone that I love. I have written a lot of songs with this pedal because of the way it inspires me. I suggest ditching the batteries and going to a one spot power supply because this pedal eats batteries fast and volume drop will happen quickly. I have been using this pedal 7-8 months at band practice and gigs, love it! YouTube can give you an idea of its sound but really your rig will be the best way to judge for yourself and you won't have to sell you car to get it. Good luck , make some beautiful noise! I put a pic of my small board "mini me"all cheap but highly effective pedals. Fun is in discovery.

Poor quality, spend the money to get a better built pedal

Wave effects are nice mixed with a Phaser. Close to what I was looking for.

Excellent pedal at half the cost of the brand names. Chorus is a little thin but the vibe is why you get this pedal and it did not disappoint.Just FYI, i did get stung with $13 duty upon delivery.

Add a fuzz face or overdrive pedal and it gives you great Hendrix tones ....

NIce, simple chorus/vibrato pedal. Not as thick as others out there, but adds a nice, subtle vintage feel the my strat.