From BB King to SRV to Hendrix to the Smashing Pumpkins to Paul Kossoff and more, the Vibrato effect has been employed throughout the decades, through both effects and playing technique. The results have been a mixed bag of emotional, soaring leads, unforgettable licks and drawn-out chordal arrangements for some of the most memorable music around. We’re going to explore this genre a bit more today, with the VIB1 Vibrato pedal from Diamond Pedals, so let’s jump right on in!
The VIB1 is a a dedicated pitch vibrato design, using bucket brigade analog delay technology for true pitch modulating vibrato. This is not to be confused with a Uni-Vibe or a tremolo effect, as it is a TRUE vibrato (for those of you who are sticklers about such things). Employing the MN3007 analog bucket brigade design, this purple warrior delivers a range of sounds from low and translucent to fat and pulsating, with a big bag of tricks and options to add in along the way. There’s even a special ‘magic-eye’ bi-color LED that shows the vibrato LFO rate, even when the pedal is bypassed.
The Volume knob sets the overall output of the Vibrato, while Depth and Rate set the intensity and speed of the effect, respectively. The insides are filled with all-analog circuitry, featuring VIshay JFET’s, Burr-Brown audiophile opamps and Panasonic polyprop caps in the signal path. You may use the variable Chorus control for blending dry signal with pitch shifted signal, and there are two mini toggle switches in play as well. JAZZ darkens the tone of the effect offering a more vintage flavor, while HIGH switches to a higher depth range, for more extreme pitch bent sounds.
This gem also boasts expression pedal control of vibrato speed or depth, allowing the player to manually swell the vibrato effect without changing overall volume. Power is internally regulated to 15V, and can be run from provided 18-24V adapter or from 18V pedal board power supply outputs. The VIB1 is true bypass and runs in mono operation as well. Not slouch in the modulation department here, folks – the Vibrato from Diamond Pedals will allow you to concur any musical tone or sound you’re after, using its ultra smooth sinewave LFO. Cheers to Aimish and the Diamond crew – we’ve got a couple other new pedals from them on the horizon, so stay tuned, and don’t forget to check out our demo below!
GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES, CONTEST INFO, SEE OUR LATEST DEMO VIDEOS AND MORE:
