Dunlop Rotovibe

It is damn easy to use. you turn it on and off with the pedal. the knob on the side changes the width, the button on the side changes from chorus/vibe to vibrato, and the pedal adusts the speed. the only pain in the ass thing about it is that whenever you turn the thing on, because the pedal simultainiously changes the speed and turn i non and off, you have to constanstly adjust the speed.

I've never played an actual univibe but it seems to sound exactly like this from many Hendrix and Trower recordings. I think it sounds really, well, groovy, whether it is played with or without distortion. It has a cool watery tone.

It's built out of heavy metal (no pun intended) and I've never had a problem with it.

Never had the need.

You can spend hundreds on a Univibe pedal. Why do that? I belive you can cop these things for around one hundred and fifty or so dollars? The only thing I would do is take it to a tech who will put a 1/4 inch jack input in the side of it for an external bypass switch. All that would be needed is a Boss (or other) on/off switch and a cord. this should solve the speed control problem.

Very easy to use. The "perfect" tone is quickly achieved--as is the speed, thanks to the pedal.

When this pedal worked it was the most awesome thing I heard. Thick, but not overwhelming like its Univibe brother. Noisy somewhat but cool all the same. (Too many guitar-effect-amp combinations to list)

I bought this used and it held up for two--that is TWO--test sessions. Fell in love with the sound and it just, well, died. Gonna cost me an extra $65.00 + shipping to have it repaired. However, I picked up a Univibe to replace it instead and it just isn't the same so I will have it fixed and hope it holds up. The roto effect is nice, but I can do without it at a gig if need be. And the UV is sort of a backup that would do in a pich.

And for those who are asking, no I did not blow it up with the wrong outboard power supply! this happened under batery power (actually died when the battery ran out).

Took a while. Web support--forget it. Called them on the phone and was told to send it in with $$ and they would fix it. Sometimes flat-rate is your friend. Sometimes, it makes for an expensive version of a 20 cent diode! Haven't had it fixed, yet. We'll see how long/effective the repair takes/is.

When this worked it was awesome. Bought the Univibe for too much money expecting more of the same. Got that and more--can't quite find the wet/clean blend that the Rotovibe gives. I play 70's influenced modern rock (original) that is not unlike the Rasberries or Deep Purple. And that Troweresqe sound fits right in. Will have it fixed/replaced. Want to sing it's praises. . .

We can sit around and expound on the differences in tone between these and all the others, but for pure price and convenience and versatility, I haven't seen anything that comes close. I own a much revered Voodoolabs Microvibe, which sounds very cool but sure wish I could control the speed like the Rotovibe. Soundwise, it's like the difference between a MXR Phase whatever and a EH Small Stone. Are you gonna say one's better than the other? They're both great and classic and each has it's own thing going. So for creating many different sounds on the fly, especially with the speed control, nothing beats the Rotovibe. What is it with these boutique goofballs and other makers that they can't build a swirler with a built in pedal for speed control? Can't they see that is the most important thing? Who wants to have to set up a seperate hunk of metal(pay for also) aside from the already costly and huge effect itself?

I've tried the Dunlop Univibe. I mentioned the Microvibe. I've owned Ross(very good basic phaser sound), MXR,EH, TC chorus(not what we're talking about here)etc.,etc. I like the leslie sound or the Hendrix/Trower thing. I'm way into Frampton's leslie thing. The Rotovibe allows me to nail this stuff quite convincingly. It's not how much you've spent or who built it or used which little light bulbs or whatever, it's how you use it kids. How about "All the Young Girls Love Alice" by Elton John. Try to play that without a speed pedal if you're having to sing also. Also, haven't you all figured out that a swirler of any sort has a definite characteristic difference whether it's before or after the distorting part of your chain? C'mon folks, it doesn't matter if you've blown your wad on a Roger Mayer Voodoovibe or you're still saving for that used Dunlop reissue phase 45, it's gonna sound warm and natural like a rotating speaker or classic phase or vibe in front of the buzz(amp or pedal) and it's gonna sound weird, scrunged, overly pschedelic and maybe even real shitty after the distortion. Pick your poison.

I have two and they've held up great. Both used.

Haven't had to go here.

Here's the stuff nobody talks about. You can tweak these like a wah pedal boys and girls if they go to fast or slow for you. Thanks to the dude who mentioned a trimpot that can also be tweezed, I didn't know that. I'll check it out. I get people asking where the organ is sometimes. This thing just covers all the bases. I also run through a stereo Dunlop tremelo into two amps. When you get that going the same speed as the rotovibe, it's very close to a rotator sound.

This is an easy pedal to use. It's turned on same as a wah pedal by depressing the toe area of the pedal. There's one intensity knob on the side of the unit which adjusts how much the sound is altered. One push button switch that chooses between Chorus and Vibrato. There's not much to the manual, but there really isn't much for them to explain. They do suggest putting this first in the signal chain, which made no sense to me since whether you view this as a chorus or phaser, it doesn't make much since to have it first.

My setup is a variation of a strat, sometimes with EMG's sometimes with Seymour duncan pickups, this doesn't seem to make any difference on the performance of the pedal, into Crybaby 535Q-Tube works Tube Driver-Korg DT7 Tuner-Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde overdrive-Boss Octave OC2-into a Crate Vintage CLub 60 2x12-out the effects loop into a Dunlop Tremolo Ts1-Rotovibe-Ibanez Echomachine-back into the loop. This is laid out on a SKB ps25 pedalboard. When I was trying everything out before I came up with this routing, the Rotovibe pretty much sounded the same everywhere. The one negative that I noticed was the fact that the volume does drop a little when you bring the effect in. And I was very close to taking the pedal back to Guitar Center until I tried it in my effects loop, which is parallel, and played with the wet and dry signal until I got a good sound out of everything in the loop(Tremolo,chorus,echo). Now I don't notice any volume drop when I step on it, and the effect is wonderful. Someone earlier mentioned how the speed increases when you turn the unit off, so that is something to be aware of. The switching is perfectly silent. For you true bypass freaks out there, I took it apart and it's not, but I notice no coloring of the signal when off. Of course, that's one benefit of active pickups anyway. I use this pretty much for organ imitation, soft 9th and 13th chords in the blues(Stormy Monday Type stuff), some Hendrix, SRV and Trower, and some funk. Before I got this I had the Hughes and Kettner Rotoshere, which of course is suppose to be the supreme rotating sound. I admit it was a very good sound, but I hated the fact that you had two fixed speeds and that's it. There was a motor brake, which mimics stopping and starting of the horn motors, but I just couldn't get used to having to do that while you were playing also. The variable speed on the Rotovibe is probrably one of the most important features to me. You can do a decent leslie imitation with it.

It's only been 2 months?

I play Blues, Rock and some Jazz. This is a very good effect. I like having the choice when I want it. This sound is not a staple of my tone, but it's a good change of pace, especially when comping behind another musician. Like I said I compared this to the Rotoshere, Univibe and Voodoo Labs Micro vibe. All were good, it just came down to how much money I wanted to spend on this type of sound, and floor space, and powered by 9 volts instead on 18, so I could use the power out of the SKB. Give it a shot if your looking for that Hendrix, Gilmour, Trower motion in your tone.

I just wanted to make a quick addendum to my original review. There is one minor annoyance with this pedal: unless you switch it on before starting the song in which you want to use it, and switch it off after; you have to push the pedal down to an extremely fast rate to engage the bypass switch, and that does not always suit the song's mood ...

On a more positive side, I found out that it is compatible with the Boss PSA adaptor, which also powers my Boss & Ibanez pedals.

All in all, I still feel this is the best sounding, most versatile phaser I've ever used. I don't remember how much I rated it last time but it's still a 9 or at least an 8+ in my book!

Getting a good sound out of this pedal is quick and easy: select desired intensity (depth)with the knob, chose either chorus (actually, it's a phaser but who cares?) or vibrato with the side switch and turn on by pressing the pedal all the way down.

Select speed with foot pedal or vary speed for a really animated effect ... simple! I got it second hand, but as you can see, no manual is required!

Sound quality is pretty amazing, switching is perfectly silent, and the effect itself is wisper quiet. With my Squire Standard Telecaster through my Fender Blues Junior, it's Dark Side of the Moon city!

I haven't tried it yet with my home-made double cutaway Les Paul, but a pedal that sounds this sweet with single coil pickups can only sound sweet with humbuckers, if a bit fatter and without hum.

I can nail old Pink Floyd sounds dead on, as well as Yes' "Wurm" section of "Starship Trooper" ... I don't play it as nice, but I do nail the tone! For a second hand unit, it's amazing!

I've read some horror stories about the first Dunlop re-issues from these product reviews, and I confess they made me shy away from them (espescially the Univibes).

But this is well built (like the proverbial tank), and other than a missing knob off the intensity pot, this seems built for the road and works great: no switching glitches, no "dead spots" in the pedal's sweep - a pain in the rear with some wah-wah's, they won't go as high as they can because the action is improperly set - and the effect itself is lush and clean.

Yes, I feel this is a very, very reliable pedal.

It works fine, so I don't forsee having to pester Dunlop with questions. Again, I've read some horror stories about their customer service department though these product reviews, but things may have changed drastically since then.

For a long time, I was on a quest to find a Roland Phase 5, or as I commonly called it, "Pink-Floyd-in-a-Box". A pedal that I once owned and have regretted selling very much (long story). Phase 5's are now overpriced due to their rarity, and I have been seeking other alternatives.

To me, the Rotovibe is the ultimate alternative. As disappointed as I was in other units (Univibe reissue, Rolls Rotorhorn, no offense, but both really sucked), the Rotovibe has "that" sound, "that" tone and "that" sweep that I was desperately seeking.

Being able to vary the speed with my foot is a major, major selling point, and the transition from slow to fast and back is very smooth.

This is the best sounding, most versatile phaser I've played since selling my Phase 5 back in 1991. Best of all, I got this one at a very reasonable price, and the people at Time Capsule accepted to take some trade ins ... I ended up paying $65.00 after taxes! The best transaction I've done in a long time!

I got me a new "Pink-Floyd-in-a-Box" and I'm a happy camper!

It's pretty easy,push the mode switch(chorus/vibrato),adjust the intensity knob and step on it.

My setup is Fender Strat>Vox wah>Rotovibe>Boss DS-1>Ibanez TS-10/MOD808>Boss CE-2>Boss RRV-10>Pignose G-40V.It's very quiet.This is a great setup,I can play any style music(Blues as my favorite).I got this as my backup to my Univibe,well it replace my backup(I hate AC wallwarts).The chorus isn't as thick as my Univibe but I'll live with it.

Don't know yet but I always have my Univibe as a backup.

I've talk to them over the phone and the Dunlop staff was very helpful.

This is perfect for me.I enjoy playing SRV,Hendrix&Robin Trower,this pedal makes playing fun. I wish I would have bought this long ago instead of my Univibe,but I've always got a cool backup now. No more wallwarts!!!

The intensty knob on the side is fairly easy to use. You'll need to experiment with it for awhile to achive a tone that works for your specific needs. I would recomend placing the unit to the far right of your effects setup so that you will have foot room to kick the chorus effect on.

I use a Clapton Strat with a Fender Blues Deluxe amp, Ibanez TS9 tube Screamer, Vox wah, Dunlop Tremelo unit, and the Rotovibe. The roto vibe is not noisy, but as many have already said, it sucks batteries very quickly. I will say that almost every gig I have played, I have at least one person ask me how I attain my sound. It never fails and it comes with being meticulous with my setup (and I'm sure the active Clapton pickups help). Wtih the rotovibe, I have searched for years looking for a vintage chorus that allowed me to parallel the sound of Clapton, SRV, and Hendrix. The rotovibe was been wonderful when need. It's simply important not to overuse it and to experiment.

The unit has been extremely reliable and seems to be built like a tank.

I would definately buy it again. I am prety satisfied with my setup because I do not over do it and I pay very close attention to records others have recorded. I sometimes find that guitar players get too wrapped up in some flizzed out wonderful tone that exists, despite the fact they have not tried to use their hands to achieve the same goals. As far as the rotovibe goes, it's a very colorful effect that can add to your guitars tone if, like any other effect, you do not indulge too much. For examples, check out the solo on Alive by Pearl Jam. I'm not a big fan of this band. But the guitar player Mike McCready(sp?) does a wonderful job of using this effect to its fullest potential. Good luck

It's setup pretty much the same as a wah pedal, has a small nub of a switch to change from chorus/vibrato and a volume knob --all pretty much able to be switched on/off and speed modified by rocking it. LED light indicator to show the speed.

I currently play a mex standard strat through a fender quad reverb and about 4 effects in between. I place this as the first pedal from my guitar (guitar-rotovibe-wah-distortion-delay-amp). It's a bit more intense when placed right before the amp, but I haven't really notice a huge difference unless I really alter and mess with my setup. The vibrato effect is nice although it has a tendency to get lost especially when I have the distortion switched on, but then again sometimes it really stands out... it varies according to the feedback i'm getting (or trying to get) --while on the subject of feedback it also does a good job at putting vibrato into feedback for anyone who's into really creating sonic walls of noise. Switch it into "chorus" mode (which it isn't.. like someone previously said, it's phase) and it really takes on some cool characteristics... really crazy when you have everything on... i've had distortion, delay and the slowest setting of the chorus(phase) --it's sounds like you've sucked everything out of the guitar and thrown it back out in a thick, sweeping, fuzz.
Both effects easily controlled with the rocking of your foot. i'd give the chorus a 9 but the vibrato a 7...

It's never cut out on me, the connections seem pretty solid.. although make sure you tape stuff down or you may find yourself accidently stepping on the cord and pulling it right out of the input

Nothing has gone wrong in the 3 years i've had it and if anything did go wrong, i'd probably have a local dealer look at it.

I like to play (or I say I do) something that sounds like blues, surf, rock and lounge and then top it all off with feedback and some more feedback. The chorus/phase sounds warped and I like it clean or distorted. the vibrato sounds a bit weak at times... I'm using the vibrato of my amp right now and it does a far better job of it-- the only downside of that is you can't control the speed with your feet.
I wish the vibrato would be intense enough to be ludicrous.. i just like it that way.
A nice addition to an effects-crazed setup. I like using it to really make odd sounding feedback with high level distortion and the chorus mode on.
I can't hear it being used as a tone-shaper, i really don't see it as one as far as what I like where tone is concerned.
Won't tell anyone to buy this, and won't tell anyone not to. It really comes down to what you like. Make sure you can try it out before you buy it.
I play with a real loose tail setup and one thing that's fun to do is create a really warped effect by using your whammy and a slower chorus setting... that's all i've got, e-mail me if you've got any other questions about this pedal

this pedal is not too difficult to use, but a little hard to get used to. it is wah shaped, with a rubber intensity knob on th side and a little pushy think that sticks out. this pushy thing is the switch for chorus(phase) and vibrato modes. to vary the speed of the effect, swipe the pedal like a wah. to switch modes, kick in the little switcheroony. to vary intensities and phases, rotate the intensity knob with your foot. the intensity knob is made of rubber and is really big, making it convientient to change thicgs with your foot. it is not difficult to get the sounds desired, just experiment, experiment, experiment.

i think this pedal has an excellent sound. it sounds just like my original small stone with out the color switch. i now use this pedal instead of the small stone because it is conttrolled with a foot, allowing mor sounds and variations. when i bought this, i wasn't looking for the jimi hendrix type vibe, i was looking for a foot controled phase shifter. when i plugged it in, i realized i had both. i am very supprised with this pedal, because i thought all new pedals that weren't handmade sucked. this pedal is very cool and useful. it is very similar as i stated to my smalll stone. when used clean, it has that phasey atmosphere going. with distortion, it has the hendrix tone. although some people believe this is justa cheap univibe copy, i believe it is an all out original, and is very effective at simulating a rotating speaker; if you have a gentle foot. the clean phasing is louder with the intensity knob all the way up, and sounds like the smalls tone. with the intensity knob low, suprisingly the phasing is thicker, and sounds like a slow paced phase 100 with distortion, very cool. to get the rotating speaker sound, you keep the intensity all the way up, and vary the speed with your foot in patterns. it is very natural sounding if you have a steady, paced, patient foot. i really love the "chorus" mode for its phase characteristics. don't be fooled by its name(chorus mode), the rotovibe isnt a chorus, it a phaser, OK! the vibato is very useful. it is very unique. it sounds just like a tremelo bar being whammyed. it is not a good as the vibrato on my jazz chorus amp, but is definatley original sounding. one cool effect is using the rotovibe to alter feedback. with a ross compressor and a hot cake high gain fuzz, i whammy the bar on my strat untill i get some feeedback from the compressor. i then use the rotovibe to give the ffedback phaser characteristics. i can change the speed of the feedback with the rotovibe in this way.the feedback rotates sorta. other feedback sounds are made with my whino-wah and wahmmy pedal.this is a very cool sounding trick i perform, and hendix does it on live import thingies with his univibe. still my trick if you want, but i will here it! i do not believe the pedal makes noise, because i only use noisy vintage and boutique pedals, and i have lots of sound equipment o perfect my sound and get rid of annoyances.

i think the pedal is pretty reliable. i bought this used. the little switch thing looks unrelieable, but it has held in there. i think the box could be sturdier and securer.

i have not tried them

i think this is a cool sounding device. very much like a small stone and hendrixey at times(but hard to do) it has a unique and experiment sound, and the vibrato is weird, but useful. there are many things you can do with this pedal.