Tag: aquavibe

The Best Univibe Pedals on the Market

If you are a fan of Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, or Robin Trower, I think you are well aware of the famous Univibe pedal. You know, the original Shin-Ei/Univox, with the foot pedal, and how acquiring one today is rare, and quite expensive. You also probably know that it is tough to find a clone pedal that recreates the authenic vintage univibe swirling tone. However, there are some great pedals out on the market that get really really close to the original. Lets take a look at what those pedals are..

1) KR Musical’s Megavibe

If you are familiar with univibe clones, you know the Megavibe. Many argue that the Megavibe gets the absolute closest to Hendrix’s Machine Gun, at least on the chorus setting. Randy Hansen (also known as the Hendrix Clone) uses a Megavibe, and many say that his tone is closest to Jimi’s. The only downside of this pedal is that they are extremely hard to obtain. You may be only able to find a used one on Ebay at inflated prices, as KR Musical seems to have been out of the scene for a little while now.

2) FoxRox Aquavibe (Review Here)

Dave Fox is known for building quality boutique vintage-esqe effects. His Aquavibe is no different, producing that vintage univibe tone, while also adding more flexibility to create different vibe tones such as the ability to change the position of the sweep. The Aquavibe has also been known to have the best vibrato out of all the univibe clones out there. Only downside is that there is about a 1 year waiting list.

3) Sweetsound Mojo/Ultravibe

Built by the late Bob Sweet, the Mojo and Ultravibe have been around for awhile, and have been a benchmark for great univibe tones. These vibes are right up there with the aqua and mega vibe.

 

4) MJM 60s Vibe

Around the forums, many have been raving about the MJM 60s Vibe. Over at MJM, the 60s Vibe has been modeled after an original univibe. Some really great tones coming from this pedal. Best part is, the MJM 60s Vibe is readily available with no waiting list.

 

5) Fulltone DejaVibe

Word around the street is that the original Deja Vibe (gold unit) has some pretty authentic univibe tones. Some have argued that this pedal is closest to the original.

 

I really believe any of these Univibe clones will make you happy, as all are close enough to the original.

How to get Jimi Hendrix Tone

When it comes to tone, Jimi Hendrix never fails to amaze me. Of course his guitar playing is light-years beyond any human form, and top it off, even his tone is untouchable. With his rig, he was able to project a harmonically-rich, monstrous roar that was so elusive, so mind-boggling, yet very pure and organic. His rig gave him the dynamic to be able to tell a story with his amazing skill. The components of his rig allowed him to express himself deeply, whether he wanted to make his guitar sing, laugh, cry, scream, or whisper. With all of this dynamic, Jimi could take us on a trip, describing the ways of the universe, enlightening our souls with pure energy. No one will ever be able to do what Jimi did. But wouldn’t it be great to come close? Wouldn’t it at least be awesome to get some of those great tones that he got?

Well lets start with the basics. First the guitar: it should be a Fender Stratocaster, with three single coil pickups. These pickups should be low-output as that’s how they were in the late 60s’ and play a big role in the tone equation. There are some good copies on the market that’ll do better than a lot of Fender Strats produced today. If you can get your hands on an 80s’ made in Japan Tokai Strat, you’ll get a really well crafted guitar, a lot having the 60s’ specs. Jimi’s guitars were coated with nitrocellulose which some say allow the guitar to breathe better then today’s poly finish. In the last two years of Jimi’s short life, he primarily used a black and a white strat, both with maple necks. Also he typically used light strings (10-38) tuned down a half step (Eb), allowing him to bend notes with total ease.

On to the Amp: its gotta be a 100-watt superlead, superbass, or jtm45/100 with at least 1 4X12 cab. The 100-watters offer a lot more headroom, and the cab will make for a bigger sound. The amp power tubes can be KT-66s, EL-34s, or 6550s. Two great amp makers that specialize in building these plexi style amps from the late 60s are MetroAmp and Germino. Both excellent brands that go the extra step to nail that vintage tone. Don’t forget about the speakers in the cab; they are very important in achieving the sound. Jimi used Celestions, a very good brand. However, currently they don’t make the same speakers today that they once did. Scumback is great brand of for getting vintage spec speakers. Finally, you will realize that a 100-watt stack will blow your ears off. Consider getting a PPI Master Volume installed, or look into purchasing an attenuator. This is crucial since cranking the amp is part of getting the tone, and getting into pure tube saturation.

Lets talk about Effects: Hendrix used a wah, univibe, fuzz, and octave in a live setting. I’m sure most of you know what these pedals do, so I won’t go into it too much, but I will recommend some brands. Most mass produced pedals on the market today do not replicate the pedals used in the 60s/70s, and even worse, a ton of them are digital! So to get closer to the tone, you’ll want to look into boutique pedals. For the wah, the Real McCoy Teese Picture Wah is said to be the closest. For univibe, an original shin-ei would be amazing, and incredibly expensive. So the Megavibe by KR, and Aquavibe by Foxrox are fantastic. For the Fuzz pedal, Roger Mayer Axis Fuzz and KR’s Gypsy Fuzz are very expressive. Here’s more on Hendrix Fuzz Pedals. And for the octave, the Chicago Iron Octavia is a favorite of Hendrix enthusiasts. Finally, the cables used also are also a piece of the puzzle. Jimi used coily cables that are said to smooth out the treble a bit.

Now go out there, hook everything up, crank the fuzz and control it with your volume knob to go between clean and fuzz tones, and start exploring the world of great tones. You’ll find that there really are endless amounts of different tones you can get with a little tweaking. Enjoy!