Dunlop Uni-Vibe

This is an update to my previous posting (February '98 - please note my new e-mail address!). My new settings for this pedal are as follows: Volume and Intensity both at 85-90%, and the Speed off. This adds a nice, thick chorus without being warbly or sounding Leslie-like. I use this pedal with these settings along with a Vox Valve-Tone in front of a Carvin 212 Bel Air on the lead channel with the "Soak" control set on "1" and my new guitar - a Fender Big Apple Strat, with its SD '59 neck humbucker. This constitutes my basic sound.
You can do some pretty trippy stuff with this pedal, too. One one song that the bass player and I have written, I leave the Volume and Intensity controls alone and bring up the Speed to match. Then I switch to a clean tone and the dual single-coil setting on my Strat and I max out the reverb on my amp. The result is truly wierd.
Other than that, it still gets a 10.

Have a friend twist the knobs a few times while you play and you will be able to find the sound you are looking for. The foot controller (which just controls the speed and provides the "leslie" speaker sound) is a nice added bonus for creating funky solo pieces.

I am running the following setup: fender blues deville AMP(effects loop)---> Boss GE7 (EQ)---> Dunlop Univibe---> Boss overdrive/distortion---> back to AMP. This has given me all the tone that i have ever wanted. The univibe has a vintage switch on the back of the unit that has been the most pleasing for me. The vintage switch thickens the tone considerably. I like my setup so much that i have decided to sell off my multieffects unit. So if you are looking....

This thing is built road tough. Punish it if you want, it'll keep singing. I would want to carry another power source, just incase, the power source it comes with is not easily available.

I play a combination of stlyes that has become my own over the last seven or eight years. My peddle line-up has given me my tone and sound. If I lost any of this equipment, I would buy the everything the same except the distortion (then I would buy a real tube peddle). I am truely satisfied with the univibe.

The UniVibe is a great effect. It's really easy to use, and even easier if you have the Foot Controller expression pedal, which bypasses the bypass switch and the speed knob. Otherwise the spped and intensity can get annoying.

My setup is this: Epiphone Les Paul => Crybaby Wah => Boss Ds-1 Dist. =>Uni Vibe =>Rivera or Marshall.
This Pedal sounds really great. This pedal sounds great for doing Jimi Hendrix songs. You could try and approxitmate a leslie sound, as heard on SRV songs, but...well try it and decide for yourself.

This pedal was designed for the road. It is built of a sturdy alumionium. The only thing is the power cable (no batteries) is detachable, and sucks 18V, so if you lose it and need a replacement fast, you might be in trouble. But it does come shipped with one.

I love this pedal. It's my first Chorus, and i love it. I would definatly buy it again. I play blues, classic, Metal and Punk. This pedal is Great. And i hear that dunlop has just come out with a stereo chorus Uni-Vibe. Check it out. I gotta go now, i feel an urge to play Purple Haze.

It's pretty easy to use if you're patient enough...a little knob-twiddling and you can sound like Jimi in no time.

I use the Univibe with a Crybaby and the foot-switchable distortion that comes with my Fender Princeton 112 amp. It sounds great clean (or distorted, for that matter). The only downside is the price, and the *UN*reliability (but those don't go in this category). But when it works, the sound is fantastic. Very quiet, too.

Here's the story: I bought my first UV in January of this year. I took it back less than two months later because all that I got from the pedal was the volume knob (I was not getting any of either the chorus or vibrato effects). The new one I got worked okay for a while, but soon recieved the same fate as its predecessor. I brought it back to the store, but it was too late for an exchange or refund, and the repair guy was not authorized by Dunlop. They called the company and I found out that Dunlop made a recall on the model I had because of defective parts! The store sent the UV in and I am still waiting for a new one.

I'm still waiting after 4 or 5 weeks, and it was a big hassle to get a hold of them in the first place.

It's a fabulous effect when it works, but for the hassle I went thrugh, I wouldn't buy it again.

This is a pretty ease effect to use... you will spend most of your time fine tuning the intensity controls... speed is easy to get where you want quickly. But VERY easy to use.

Im using this with a Strat & Hot Rod DeVille. The sound seems to muddy up when using the chorus, but the vibrato is clean. This is a pain, because I dont get the crisp high end when I switch the effect on. The vibrato, in my opinion, is a great effect, with a low speed and intensity set at about 4. The chorus is mediocre, and in my opinion lacks the airy sound from a Leslie... this is more of a strait chorus/phasor pedal than a rotary speaker simulator. You are better off with a Korg G4 if you can find one. If you are looking for the SRV Leslie effect, you will be dissapointed in this pedal. The best examples of this effect are in Kenny Wayne Shepards "Trouble Is..." track and "Shame shame shame". This is actually the pedal Kenny uses.

Really sturdy, built well.

??? dont know

Im a blues SRV/Hendrix fanatic... this is good for Hendrix stuff but miles away from SRV Leslie sound (ala Cold Shot). Kinda cool effect, but the ads and descriptions are misleading, in my opinion. Is it worth the $220? No. Id get a Rotovibe, or DOD Vibro-thang for a similiar and much cheaper effect. Ill keep it, because at lower speed/intensity the chorus definitely adds a unique edge and thickness to your sound... but I wouldnt buy it again.

Three knobs - speed, volume, and intensity - and two switches - effect/bypass and chorus/vibrato. It's mechanically very easy to operate, but you need to experiment with it more than you do with other pedals.

The sound that best approximates what the Uni-Vibe sounds like is Jimi Hendrix's "Room Full of Mirrors," in my opinion. You can get pretty darn close with this thing. The chorus mode is the more useful of the two. It's not a really thick sound - in fact, it's quite subtle. It adds a terrific blurry edge to your sound without being too dominant. The vibrato section is more of a swirling, "Come As You Are" sound. It doesn't have as many applications, but it has its time and place. I'm using this thing with a Washburn guitar with two humbuckers and a middle position single-coil, and I can get almost any sound I want. The footcontroller only makes it better - when it's rocked all the way back, the sound is barely noticeable, but you'd still miss it if it wasn't there. Stepping on it further down increases the effect. Doing this mid-song creates some really cool textures.

Mine is used, and the effect/bypass switch has taken a little bit of a beating, although it still works. That doesn't really matter though, since I'm using the footcontroller to turn it on and off. Overall, this thing looks like it could be dropped, thrown, driven over, or used as a weapon, and it would still deliver fantastic tone.

I haven't talked to the company, but the website is pretty cool.

I'm into Hendrix and Stevie Ray, and as far as I'm concerned, this is the Holy Grail of chorus pedals. I wouldn't change a thing about it. It's an inspiring piece of equipment that is a joy to own and play with. However - this thing is pricey. If I hadn't found this one for so cheap (on this site), I probably would have gotten something else. If it were stolen, lost, or permanently damaged, I'd probably get a Rotovibe or something. Still, this is the coolest effect I've ever used.

This is really easy to use, but it takes a little screwing with to get the sound perfect (were talkin 3 minutes...tops). Just plug it in and hit "effect/bypass" and go.

This is THE BOMB. If you listen to Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa (ex. Willie the Pimp), YOU NEED THIS PEDAL!!!
This is the sound you are looking for!! This is the sound Jimi had on "get my heart back together" at Woodstock.
i concur that the vibrato effect is pretty lame, but i find that when i don't want the heavy heavy chorus sound, switching to the vibrato setting is helpful. It gives an almost imperceptable (as in you wouldn't hear it and go "Wow he's using a Vibrato") but when you switch it off you notice that this sweet warmth has left.
I'm playin this puppy into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (all tube 40w) and it sound like heaven. I played it and was INSTANTLY satisfied that I had just spent 240 bucks. I just want to clarify that I was pissed for at least 3 weeks after buying my Strat (a '73 beauty), so i'm not easily satisfied.
The chorus position will make anything clean sound like liquid and will add HUGE amounts of thickness to a distorted channel. Turn this pedal on and get ready to come.

this thing is built like a tank, like every other Dunlop product i've purchased (I have a Cry Baby that i've used to hammer nails into the wall) (it's a long story). I think this thing will probably last the rest of my natural life. I would use this without a backup without even thinking twice (then again i don't have a backup guitar).

I play "classic rock" (god I hate saying that) and jazz. I do a lot of rippin blues solos (in my own opinion) and this pedal has not let me down. It adds the thickness that a guitar needs in a 3 piece setup. It also makes any clean thing you do sound like a Hammond B3 through a Leslie. The geniuses at Dunlop *NAILED* this sound (my friend has a leslie and this thing is so close that unless you want to invest an arm and a leg and lug a Huge heavy cabinet around, you won't regret this purchase). I debated buying this for about 2 years and I really wish I hadn't. The only thing i'd like is if the vibrato section were a little more useful.

Pretty, easy to set up for a decent sound, but getting it just perfect can be tough, especially with the control pedal. Beware, the control pedal uses a stereo 1/4 plug, which in my experience was a real pain to find, I ended up using two adaptors stuck together.

Simply beautiful. They weren't kidding in the ads where they said it was a thick, lush, and airy, phasey sort of chorus. I use it on my bass, and it still sounds incredible. This thing is also dead silent, no audible click when swithcing or bypassing effects.

It has been very realiable so far, I haven't had it to long though. It does seem very sturdy, all metal, and controls are sturdy as well.

I would buy it again in a heart beat. Unless of course, the original actual does sound better. Then I might consider shelling out the extra $700 bucks for one. If I had it of course, but I really can't see how it could get much better.

Uses a pedal to contol speed, (worth the extra money for the foot controler). Uses tele knobs that rip apart your fingers if you are not used to them. With foot switch you can bypass simply by pulling the rocker foot all the way back. Foot petal has an adjust able throw for tension. The only knob that does anything really is the depth and it doesn't change much.

The ultimate effect by far. Does a incredible leslie impression ala "Something" by the Beatles or "Breath" by Pink Floyd. Not too overpowering like a Boss chorus (I own one of those too and I don't even think about using it anymore." Kinda lame in over drive doesn't do the Jimi ala "Machine Gun" thing but it does the "Little Wing" thing like you wouldn't belive.

Built like that Mesa Boogie (V?) petal. I've had to readjust the foot petal a few times and the paints rubbing off the rockerfoot after 2 months, but it still looks bitchin'

Got me. I hear Dunlop's a bitch though.

I am currently trying to sell vital organs to buy another one for backup, allthough I don't belive it will break. Worth the money and then some.

Unit is very easy to use right out of the box. Has three knobs and two footswitches. Knobs are: speed, volume and Intensity. Two foot switches are: effect bypass and chorus/vibrato. The speed knob controls the rate or cycle of the effect and the intensity controls the mix of the effect with the dry signal. The Volume knob can add a bit of gain if turned up all the way but is basically useless. The chorus/vibrato feature is a bit misleading. The units "vibrato" is so bad that I can not imagine anyone choosing to use this unit as their vibrato sound but in fairness that's not what this unit is for. As far as I can tell a "Uni-vibe" is a type of vibrato coupled with a chorus/phaser type of effect and together they create a unique sound! Not certain if the effect/bypass switch is "true" bypass but it doesn't seem to color my sound when shut off. Unit also has jack in the back to add a speed control pedal so you can adjust unit on the fly.

Unit does not add any excessive noise when on or bypassed. Unit does produce nice, strong, classic Uni-Vibe sound ala Hendrix, S.R.V. and a bunch of other classic artist. Uni-vibe is basically a two trick pony-First is the slow to Med. speed setting that produces the Hendrix Star spangled Banner "warble" and Second with the speed turned up it's the S.R.V. "Cold Shot" guitar sound. Mixed with other effects you can really have fun but alone it kind of boils down to those two sounds. Recommend putting Uni-vibe before overdrive/dist. in effect chain- seems to sound best.(IMHO) Set unit for a strong Med. cycle, add a bit of overdrive and it's Robin Trower "Bridge of Sighs" time! Overall unit sounds great.

Unit seems well constructed and is well layed out.Would gig w/out backup since it wouldn't kill me to not have a Uni-vibe sound for one show. A bit baffled by the unit's 18volt AC adapter instead of 9vlt. This makes me fairly dependent on it's AC adapter so I can not afford to forget it since I only own the one 18vlt.

NO opinion yet....

Unit certainly produces a nice useable classic Uni-Vibe sound.I compaired it with the Fulltone Deja Vibe and liked the Fulltone a bit more but could not afford the extra $150.00 or so for an effect I will not be using all that much. Produced a "Monster" sound though when I hooked the two units together!! (someday...) I certainly enjoy this Unit and it's sound versus a traditional Chorus unit that I am completely bored with - although a bit of chorus added to the Uni-Vibe sound can be quite nice. Overall I give this unit a thumbs up for the price convenience and total sound.