Why are all Vibes so shite?

Gassage

Every single one of them...I've tried the lot.

Voodoo Vibe- size of Chernobyl's fallout footprint.

Tube Vibe- ok but fussy where it's put

Dry Bell- lacks bottom end thump

DejaVibe- thin as piss

Mojo Vibe- silly colour

MicroVibe- Surprisingly good for its lack of features

Bad Cat- bit meh

I have a Shin-Ei incoming. That better be OK.

Anyone else get frustrated with them? Any other recs

BintyTwanger77

Huge footprint, but still looks amazing: https://glou-glou.org/rendez-vous/

springhead

Well a real deal Shin-Ei should be good, though they do vary one to another.  Bigger than a Voodoo Vibe though so no better for you if size is a problem.  I built one, sounds the mutts-nuts but is Voodoo Vibe size.

oh_pollo

That rendez-vous looks like a computer from 1960's TV show that blows up when someone feeds the question, "WHY?", into it.

Fuengi

MXR Uni-Vibe gets a good recommendation although I've never tried one. 

I fin that using a delay with a bit of modulation, the Strymon harmonic tremolo and plenty of reverb gets as close as I need to a vibe. 

fretmeister

The TC Viscous Vibe is better than most of them.

Jalapeno

TREX Viper univibe is ace

Jonathanthomas83

How's the Lovepedal Vibronaut? Heard good things about that one. I personally loved the Mojo and Dry Bell.

prlgmnr

Lovepedal Vibronaut!

The photocell one.

soma1975

I had the non photocell Vibronaut and it was awful.

Ventura vibe is great on a budget

Drybell is amazing but you might need to dial it in with the custom trimmer if you want more low end. 

spirit7

The univibe on the Keeley Dark Side is fantastic. 

robinbowes

They're not all shite.

Philtre

I don't know if the TC Viscous Vibe is shite because it's the only Vibe I've tried, but at least you can Tone Print it to taste.

stickyfiddle

Did you try the DejaVibe at 18V? That's the one Dan & Mick are always going on about iirc.

FWIW I quite liked the little MXR Univibe. It's never going to sound like a Leslie, but it's a nice pedal in its own right. 

That said, I'm happier with the Strymon Deco for wobbly stuff. It won't do the full-Hendrix, but it's thick and tapey and warbly in a really really nice way. 

Gassage

stickyfiddle said:

Did you try the DejaVibe at 18V? That's the one Dan & Mick are always going on about iirc.

FWIW I quite liked the little MXR Univibe. It's never going to sound like a Leslie, but it's a nice pedal in its own right. 

That said, I'm happier with the Strymon Deco for wobbly stuff. It won't do the full-Hendrix, but it's thick and tapey and warbly in a really really nice way. 

Yup, dull as ditchwater.

I do, despite it being a phaser, love the sounds the new Effectrode Phaseomatic makes

bbill335

I'd be interested as to how you found an original unit compared to the many reissues/copies.

I love my 18v Deja vibe and don't find it thin at all. it goes before overdrive, after fuzz.

Doyle Bramhall II is currently using a Sir Henry vibe and he's my fav vibe user.

zepp76

Gassage said:

Every single one of them...I've tried the lot.

Voodoo Vibe- size of Chernobyl's fallout footprint.

Tube Vibe- ok but fussy where it's put

Dry Bell- lacks bottom end thump

DejaVibe- thin as piss

Mojo Vibe- silly colour

MicroVibe- Surprisingly good for its lack of features

Bad Cat- bit meh

I have a Shin-Ei incoming. That better be OK.

Anyone else get frustrated with them? Any other recs

"Mojo Vibe- silly colour"

Are you really going to dismiss a good pedal purely on its colour? Isn't that a bit, err, what's the word I'm looking for without being offensive?

Edit: Actually that's a bit hypocritical of me as I'd never own a red guitar no matter how good so ignore me!

Octafish

I do think Univibe is one of those effects that, no matter what pedal you have, you always always have a better version of in your head if tat makes sense. Tried a number myself, my current favourites are the now discontinued Mojo Hand Villanova Vibe (does a good subtle Gilmour Breathe thing) and my DIY 18v Harbinger Vibe (which I think is based on the Deja, but has a big fat Hendrix throb).

Others I've had/got...

TC Electronics Viscous Vibe - A bit too bright/digital and doesn't quite have that lopsided throb to it.

Digitech Ventura Vibe - Another digital one, but a bit more warmer/darker sounding, preferred it to the Viscous.

Danelectro Cool Cat Vibe - Great sounding budget photcell vibe, a bit too hissy and needs to be modded to get rid of delay when switching on.

mgaw

I just dont think its that good an effect full stop

springhead

I think a good Vibe sounds wonderful.  However it's such a distinctive effect that it immediately evokes Hendrix, Gilmour or Trower.  If you're covering their music, or playing in that style then that's probably fine I guess.  I rarely use mine but when I do it makes me smile.

revsorg

+1 for Ventura Vibe.  It has a great range of sounds.  The only thing I find tricky about it is that it has a switch for the three distinctly different modes and some knob twiddling is required to go from one good sound to another.  Also the brief silence between changing modes.