Fulltone Deja Vibe 2

No-brainer. Everything is laid out in front of you. Intensity controls the..duh, intensity of the effect, the swoosh or dip of the effect. The foot pedal is speed. Flashing LED tells you how fast, visually. Chor/Vib switch is simple, *click*. Vintage/Modern switch is cool, the modern is a touch louder, more output, the vintage is a trifle bit warmer. Sweeeet

All I have to say is, "Whoa." I use a glaser custom strat w/EMG's, a danelectro hodad, and another custom strat through a 4x10 Deville. The pedal is noise-less, courtesy of the true-bypass. The effect is transparent and beautiful, it has become the integral part of my tone. I can dial up sounds from days passed like Jimi, Stevie and all the fav's. The effect goes 2nd in the signal chain (recommended) right after a wah, then your od's/distortions, then trem's and delays and reverbs. I couldn't do without it.

It's a fulltone, need I say more? If it ever got stolen, or someone broke it (by some Godly means of force) I would pay to have it fixed or get another, it's amazing. But as it stands, you don't need a backup.

I e-mailed Mr. Fuller in the past about the Deja'2 before I bought it, then asked him some questions, then bought it, then wrote more e-mails telling him how awesome it is. I also have a Full-Drive, I've always been able to get him on the line, or within a couple of hours he'll respond to e-mails. Incredible.

I play blues, jazz, rock, classic rock, funk, country...basically everything except punk/ska/thrash crud and this does them all superiorly. I've been playing seriously for only 3 years now, but I've been around guitars, music, and gigs my whole life from my family's musicality, and I know what good stuff is. I own a Phase-90, EHX Mem. Man, Pres. Elec. Dual-Tone, Full-Drive 2, a modified Crybaby with Fulltone circuits (soon to be a Clyde when I get the cash flow.) and a BD-2 among other things. I've never really had an effect that had an on-board speed control like this, so it's tricky for me cause I'm new to it, but I'm getting used to dialing in the speed quickly. This pedal is THE vital part of my tone now, I don't know how I did without it before. The price is steeper than most, but it's a Full-tone.

I am not someone who has owned dozens of effects in the past, but I would say that I had no trouble at all finding just the right tones for my songs. There is an LED that flashes according to how fast and how intense the vib/chorus is going. The more intense the effect, the brighter the LED. It is quite idiot proof.

The manual is very adequate and is written with a very personal tone to it. It starts off by giving a little history of the original UniVibe units, and how this unit is Mike Fuller's attempt recreate it with more modern features. (true bypass, easier to integrate it into signal chain) Fuller then suggests where the unit should be in YOUR signal chain. The second page is a basic description of the controls on the unit. It can provide both vibrato and chorus effects (not at the same time) and gives you the option of a more modern or vintage sound. Intensity is controled by a knob in the top corner and the speed is changed by the foot pedal. The foot pedal seemed a little tight when going up. I hear this can be changed though.

Others have managed to articulate the sound of this unit very well, comparing it to the sounds of other musicians, using very descriptive adjectives, etc. I wanted to write this review to describe the TRANSPARENCY of the unit. I am surprised at just how transparent my sound is coming through this unit. The DV-2 changes my original sound very little, which is a trend that I see in all Fulltone units. (the Fulldrive 2 does this as well) I tested this by switching the unit on and off repeatedly while using it in both chorus and vib modes, in modern and in vintage settings. The unit is most transparent in vibrato mode in modern setting. Almost no change at all. Very unnoticeable. The vintage setting does make for a warmer, slightly less defined sound, which I guess is the point. I also notice that the vintage setting gives the sound a different vowel-ness, sort of as if someone had instantly stepped on their wah. This is particularly noticeable in chorus mode. The vintage changes the sound from an "ah" to almost an "uh". Many say the Prescription Electronics unit is better in sound, but I have not heard it. This suits my jazz/fusion needs very well, as well as giving me a "Come as you Are" Cobain tone that I find cool.

Can't comment.

Mike Fuller answers e-mails instantly (a couple of hours). I have asked him a few questions and response has always been immediate. I should mention, however, that e-mails that I've sent where I have asked more than one question tend to never be fully addressed. The first question winds up being answered while the other ones are not. This could be due to the volume of e-mails he receives. Suggestion: Ask them one at a time.

This thing is very easy to use. It sounds incredible at any setting.
The foot pedal controls the speed. there is a stomp switch and 2 switches. One for Vintage or modern, and another for Vibrato and Chorus. I use the Modern and Chorus settings 99% or the time.

My setup is this:

PRS Customs or Strats. I have various other guitars but play a Strat with a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge about 75% of the time.
My board runs as follows: Budda BudWah+, Fulltone Deja Vibe 2 (mono), TS-9 w/808 mod, Fulltone Choralflange (AWWSOME! Review will come after more use) then sometimes I will have a Phase 90, and into a Boss DD-5 Digital delay. This goes to a Marshall JCM 900 4100 Dual Reverb with a 1960A Cab with 70 Watt Celestions.

I do not know how I survived without this pedal for so long. It flat kills with Strats doing bluesy stuff. Stevie, Jimi, even Van Halen Phase 90 "squishy" stuff.
No noise at all. True bypass on Fulltone stuff. The Budda Wah has true bypass as well. See my Budda Wah+ review.
I am a believer. Fulltone builds the best pedal effects I have ever seen, heard, or spilled beer on.
Yes, they are spendy. But, they are the real deal. They are not the generic Taiwan, Mexican crap that subsidises all of the guitar mags.

I give a 9 only because it tends to fatten the sound a bit. This can be a little thick for my already beefy PRS Custom.

So far so good. It is very heavy duty.
I don't have a backup, too much money for backups.

I have emailed Mike Fuller a few times with various questions. He has always been very prompt with a reply. He seems to take quite a bit of pride in his gear. I'm sure he'd fix any problem that arose. Plus there is a 5 year warranty.

I play rock punk/pop stuff. Replacements, Bob Mould, Bodeans, Nirvana, as well as bluesy stuff....SRV, Jimi....etc

I would have to go on an interstate killing spree if it were stolen.
I just love the tones I get from it at any volume. I sound good through it! Amazing.

I own quite a bit of gear, I love guitar stuff. I know I am a bit, no, very anal about my equipment. Like I said earlier, I am a Fulltone believer. It's the best I've tried.
I especially love that is isn't a big corporate factory.
The poor kids that read the guitar mags have no clue how they are being manipulated by the "reviews". Ever notice that 90% of the reviews are for midlle to lower end crap? It's because the kids don't normally have enough cash for a Soldano SLO 100 or a Fulltone Deja Vibe 2. It's funny that companies like these don't place adds in the mags either. Hmmmm..... Advertise, get a favorable review....yep good plan.....crap!

Enough Ranting.... Fulltone ROCKS!!!

PS - One complaint. I ordered a cap from Fulltone and it arrived at my house in 3 days, but it smelled like fish! So, Mr. Fuller, what's up with that?
I washed it but it still smells like fish.

Great sound

Purchased the Deja 2 in stereo..Very transparent, no noise vintage chorus sound..Big rotary speaker effect in stereo, not quite as dramatic in mono. Gave up a T.C. Electronics chorus for this one.. Much more of a sound from the past. Very pleasing. Using this pedal driving a pair of bookmatched 62 chocolate Princetons, a Fulltone Full-Drive 2.. Tone for days! Clyde Wah Wah on the way!

Built with quality construction.

Michael Fuller was very helpful on the phone.

Just plug it in and it does the work for you, this is without a doubt the best Hendrix/Trower leslie sound you will find. The swithes are easy to use live, and the built in pedal adjusts the speed quickly and easily.

I am usind a Telecaster with a Seymour Duncan tele hot rails pickup and a Stratocaster with a "David Gilmour EMG setup". My amp at the moment is a Tech 21 60 guitar amp.
I mainly use the Chorus setting on the Deja'Vibe 2, but don't be fooled this is not youe standard chorus, this is liquid chorus total wash. And the true bi-pass circutry does not clutter your guitar sound.....

You can depend on it built like a truck. Use it on a gig with out backup the venue will break before this baby lets you down.

Haven't spoken to Fulltone yet but all the information you need is on the website.

I have been playing live for over 20 years I have had Marshals-super lead,200watt,master volume-Boogie's 295 power amp, mark 3,- ADA - 20 or so different guitars- the full gamet of digital gear -boss, Alesis, roland,tc ,lexicon etc etc .
And I will be totally blunt- this is without a doubt the best made and thought out effect( not to say the best sounding in its field) I have ever come across.
If you want an effect you can use in any situation this is the one....

This pedal is easy to use. The only difficult thing about it is getting your speed of the effect where you want it and keeping it there with the foot control. Otherwise straightforward. The manual is not really needed.

This pedal sounds fantastic as has every Fulltone pedal I've heard. I'm using the DejaVibe 2 in this setup Strat or Les Paul through a Boss Stage Tuner->Clyde Wah->Dejavibe 2->Hot Cake->Fulldrive 2->Danecho into a Super Reverb. This pedal is very quiet. The chorus effect is full and greasy. I love it this is great for Hendrix, Trower Vaughan but also Beatles sounds are near by. It is agood Rotary speaker sound but not an exact copy. The Vibrato i find to be useless unless you want to sound out of tune. The Modern/Vintage switch is cool. This effect is 3-D. I prefer the modern setting for a touch more volume and clarity. It is great to be able to control the speed with the foot control cool leslie starts and stops are easy to get. It is top of the univibe copies in my opinion smokes the dunlop and voodoo lab.

It is a solid tank with it's own three prong plug made out of steel. I use it without a back up.

Mike Fuller is a good guy. I have two other pedals of his and a fulltone pedal board. My footswitches on my Fulldrive have worn out twice he has replaced them free of charge for me very quickly. He has new footswitches now that are more heavy duty. He answers his phone and answers emails can be gruff and to the point but who cares

For the Blues Funk Rock Weirdness that I play this pedal kills. I've been playing for 11 years. I would buy it again if stolen. This thing sounds great and costs a lot of money but it is waht the market demands. Get one if you want thick analog goodness.

Very easy to use. A huge improvement in functionality over the original Deja Vibes. Features: Intensity knob, chorus/vibrato selector, and modern/vintage voicing selector, speed controller pedal (looks like a wah) and on/off switch all built into one portable unit. Good, simple, easy-to-read manual included. I believe the Deja Vibe 2 uses the same chassis as the Clyde wah.

True bypass, and dead quiet. Very lush and transparent chorus and Univibe sounds in this unit. The stereo option provides a 3-D sound field that is huge. I've owned and/or played most units in this class of Univibe derived pedals. The Prescription Vibe Unit is nice, but alters the fundamental guitar tone more in my opinion. The Dunlop is relatively sterile and hi-fi sounding. The Micro Vibe is not as lush. Mike recommends running the Deja 2 first in the signal chain, even before distortion, because post distortion "gets a strange half-way phasing" effect. The unit can be switched from Chorus to Vibrato mode. The Vintage mode provides the sound of the original Univibe. The Modern setting adds more fullness, and maybe more bass and midrange according to my ears. The speed pedal is nice as real time control over the rates is instant. The slowest speed is extremely slow and produces a very seductive and full chorus sound. The highest rate sounds like a stuttering machine gun firing off a bunch of ammo. The Deja Vibe 2 sounds more like a part of the fundamental tone, rather than being painted on or processed. If you want the oft-talked about Hendrix, Trower, SRV, Univibe tones, this one delivers. It's hard to talk about the Univibe without mentioning those three players.

I just got it, but it exudes quality. I hate using the cliche, but it is built like a tank. In fact, it's probably tougher than a tank. Extremely high-grade build quality. I think it will be extrememly reliable, but won't worry if there's a problem because Mike will take care of it. It's got a unique metal finish, that looks like it would avoid wear and tear very well. I don't even think scratches would show up on this unit.

I can't imagine better service. E-mail responses are prompt. When you can get Mike on the phone, he's helpful. He helped me adjust the pot for increased rates over the phone, and talked me through every little delicate procedure. Mike has also modded several of my original aluminum case Fulltones for increased functionality, with extremely prompt, affordable, and durable upgrades. There is a reason Fulltone gets great remarks from many people. If this review is too gushing to be printed, well I'm sorry. I stand behind my remarks.

If you are a dedicated player, looking for the best Univibe tone, I'd recommend paying the price for a Deja Vibe 2. Fulltone also makes a non-stereo model for about $100 less, I think. I've heard good things about the Sweet unit, but don't know how it could be markedly better, especially in light of the Deja 2's upgrades. This is the only Vibe pedal I've seen with the foot controller built-in, and is far and away the most portable setup I've encountered. I will not use this effect on everything I do, but when the Univibe sound is required, this pedal will deliver the best tone for me. It's expensive, but is priced at what the market is willing to pay.