Voodoo Lab Micro Vibe

nothing can be easier.

Very nice, non-artificial analogue sound. Noisy when on but not played. However this makes me feel like I am playing a true effect pedal not a "sound-like" simulator. True by-pass is an asset.
One problem is; high intensity levels boost the highs of the signal, low intensity levels boost the lows. That is why I prefer intensity around 3 o'clock.
My setup is vox wah > ibanez cp-9 comp-limiter > vox v810 valvetone, bodd od-3 > Voodoo lab microvibe > tc electronic chorus > Bodd dd-3 delay > Marshall jtm 30 2x10 + 1968 Fender Super reverb 4 x 10
Great for pshycedelic Hendrix and Robin trower tunes. I do not use it for SRV tunes. (I use TC electronic chorus that fits good). This pedal is also capable of giving good rhythm grooves for some pop-rock ballads and pop-jazz tunes.

never had a problem. Bu I heard some complaints about the switch

never dealt with them

I play hendrix, SRV, chris duarte, craig erickson and all the other cats in this league. This pedal works fine for me. It is considerably cheaper than other u-vibe clones so it is a great value.. ?f it is stolen I would buy this or wait for sometime to get a prescription electronics U-vibe unit.

Great pedal! This is my second submittal for this effect. After reading a couple of the most recent reviews on the Micro Vibe here at HC, I decided to investigate the possibilities of improving an already great pedal by adjusting the trim pot.

PROCEDURE: To access the trim pot you have to open up the box by removing the four screws and back cover plate. The trim pot is not visible unless you remove the circuit board from the housing and flip it over. To do this, remove the two control knobs by loosening the set screw on the side of each knob. Remove the two nuts that secure the Intensity and Speed pots to surface of the housing. Disconnect the lock nut that fastens the on/off footswitch to the surface of the housing. Disconnect the in and out input hex nuts that fasten the inputs to the front side of the housing. Now both the Intensity and Speed control pot circuit board, and the main circuit board are free and can be removed from the inside of the housing. Flip the main circuit board over to expose all of the electrical components. The trim pot is located at the bottom center of the main circuit board. It is very small control pot and has the word "Trim" printed on the board just below the pot. I made a small mark at the 6:00 position, on the head of small phillips adustment screw, so that I would have a reference point as to how much I was turning the screw, and more importantly how to return the trim pot back to the stock setting if I didn't like the results after changing the factory setting. (See the sound results in the Sound Quality section below) In order to test each new setting I had to reassemble everything. The pedal would not produce the effect unless the circuit's board ground wire was re-attached to the on/off switch lock nut inside the housing. This is the point of ground for the main circuit board.

I made three new adjustments, and again, I had to completely re-assemble the pedal so that it would function properly and produce the effect where it could be heard in the guitar amplifier.

The first setting I tried was turning the trim pot WIDE OPEN. This maximum setting was achieved by only turning the trim pot screw one half turn clockwise from the factory setting (or my mark that I made at the 6:00 position). The sound was okay with the intensity control knob set at the 12:00 position or lower. Anything beyond 12:00 was too radical for me and only seemed to annoy me. Extreme intensity settings after 3:00 caused another wave in the sound that seemed out of place and was very distracting. It caused a warped tone that was out of time/sync with the other sounds produced and threw the timing off. "Hyper-swirl" would describe the sound in one word.

I determined that these extreme sounds would never be used. It didn't make sense to have a range of un-usable sounds on the dial that could interfere with what I normally play just by accidentally twisting the control knobs too far, or by accidentally bumping the Intensity knob with my foot. Doing so could send your guitar sound into another dimension. To make sure this never happened I opted to try another setting.

The next setting I tried was turning the trim pot screw one quarter turn clockwise from the original factory setting. The sound was better than the MAX setting but still extreme knob settings past 3:00 seemed un-usable.

I finally settled with turning the trim pot screw one eighth of a turn from the original factory setting. This is a very small turn since the adjustment screw is so small. The sound was great to my ears. Lower Intensity knob settings now sounded more like 12:00 knob settings under the original factory trim pot setting. Extreme settings past 3:00 were more intense than factory yet still very usable. All settings were enhanced and the overall effect just seemed to have more life and presence. I really liked the change that my final one eighth clockwise adjustment made.

It was good of the Witchdoctor at Voodoo Labs to think about the player and place an adjustable trim pot on the board that can enhance the intesity output of the Micro Vibe. It shows that they are aware that all players are not alike and that the pedal is even more versatile and adjustable than it first appears to be.

Just make sure you know where the factory set point is before you begin adjusting things. I did not turn the trim pot in a counter clockwise direction since that would seem to only reduce the intensity of the overall effect. I'm not sure how far the screw turns in the counter clockwise direction.

Make sure you mark the screw before you begin tweaking and remember where the factory setting is so that you can always return the trim pot to the original factory setting. It would be great if the trim pot were more accessable. All the V-Lab would have to do is invert the switch on the board and have the adjustment screw penetrate the phenolic board and point it in the opposite direction that it is soldered in now. It would then be visible when you open the housings back plate and would be located just above the battery compartment.

Even a beginner player could could adjust and listen to the new trim pot settings without going through the re-assembly/disassembly each time a tweak is made. This was alot of trouble but I got real good at it after the second time. Just be careful not to damage any of the delicate connections on the board.

If you are looking for a little more presence from your Micro Vibe try turning the trim pot screw one eighth of a turn clockwise from the original factory setting. Anything more than this didn't sound very good to me. Although this operation is inconvenient, it is fairly simple if one is careful. Of course you wouldn't attempt to do this with the pedal plugged into the wall adapter. You may not get shocked but why push your luck. Just play it safe and live to play.

I like the new setting that I found, and can always go back to the original setting if I change my mind over time. This adjustment is worth doing if you like the Micro Vibe swirl added to your tone. Play on!

OK, this is easy to use. No complaints here.

The sound doesn't blow me away. I did do the trimpot adjustment, and yes it did improve the sound, but it didn't make me see God (or Stevie Ray Vaughn). As with any pedal, you should experiment with the order of the pedals in your chain. However, I have no other vibe pedal to compare it to (the Prescription Electronics version gets a good review although it is much more expensive.) For the price this is probably good so I gave it a 7.

The footswitch is a bit problematic, it seems that sometimes it switches from "ON" to "ALMOST COMPLETELY OFF" (i.e. swirling vibe sound with no sound from the guitar) to "OFF". But I bought used, maybe I just got an abused one.

Never used.

Other than the occasional switching problem, the pedal seems good. If you have been playing for a while, go ahead and do the trimpot adjustment. If my pedal were lost or stolen, it wouldn't be the end of the world, I would probably buy a better unit like the Prescription Electronics version.

Nothing should really get a 10 in my book because few things are perfect. However, only two knobs and an on/off switch? It doesn't get any easier than this.

I recently bought a new Dr.Z amp head and decided to get out all my pedals and take a drive after months of pedal hibernation. I have a variety of guitar with single or humbucker pickups. From there I go to a Fulldrive 2 -> Keeley Fuzz Head -> Microvibe -> SIB Mr.Echo -> Dr.Z KT-45 amp head -> Marshall 1960A 4x12. Sometimes an MXR Flanger, Phase-90 and ISP decimator noise reduction pedals are also in the chain. At first I would have rated this pedal was a 6-7. After reading many of these reviews about the pro and con about adjusting the trimpot, after several months of debating I finally decided to take a risk and open up the back and turn the trimpot. Wow, am I glad I did! It's now a whole new different pedal. Before I had the both settings at 1:00 for my favorite Trower setting. Now that I've adjusted the trimpot, I can back off the intensity to about 10:00-11:00 and get the same intensity as I did at 1:00. It's so much more lush now; it breathes. I'm totally inexperienced with messing with the internal gizmos of my pedals and this was simple as pie. I left the effect plugged into my amp and adjusted the pot while I strummed my guitar. You novices have nothing to worry about. I experience little noise with this pedal.

So far, no problems but I don't stomp on my pedals like I'm trying to put out a brush fire.

Never dealt with customer support; no need, so far...

I play a variety of rock music, primarily 70's and 80's classic rock: Led Zeppelin, Foghat, Judas Priest, Pat Travers, Rush, KISS, Van Halen, Trower, Frank Marino, Aerosmith --- you get the idea. These days I don't play in a band; I'm just a living room guitar warrior that has been playing for 30 years since the age of 12. I currently and have previously owned a variety of racks, amps, guitars, pedals, etc and have spent tens of thousands of bucks trying to attain many "perfect" tones. After recently buying the Dr.Z KT-45 amp and the Fulltone Fulldrive 2, I secretly wondered if this little $99 Microvibe should be in the line-up? If the trimpot adjustment didn't work for me I was going to splurge on the Fulltone version, as I started to believe that an almost $300 vibe pedal just HAD to sound better than the stock Microvibe. I've also performed the R-28 mod on my MXR 90. It was easy enough but that was brain surgery compared to adjusting this Microvibe trimpot. I don't understand what all the fuss is about concerning this trimpot? When you turn the pot you will see the blinking light next to it increase with intensity. That's how you know you're doing it correctly. I fooled around with adjusting it from minimal to maximum several times and had no problems finding the original setting. I ended up adjusting mine all the way up (to the right) because it's much more lush that way. It seems to take off just a fraction of the "mid" tones but I don't leave this pedal on all the time so its an acceptable trade-off when the effect is needed. If lost or stolen, I might be inclined to buy the Fulltone version because I can afford it. But for now and for the money, this little vibe is a keeper that will stay in the line-up as long as its reliable. Guys, if a nit-witted electronic novice like me can do it, you can too. You won't be sorry. I haven't written a review here in ages but the ease of this trimpot adjustment was enough to inspire me to write and rate. Unscrew the back of the pedal and get busy!

Very easy to use, two knobs... simple. I also love that it's so small (doesn't take up much room at all on a pedalboard).

I use a '68 Super Reverb or '68 Deluxe (depending on the room), and my pedal order is as follows- vintage Vox wah, Line 6 DL4, Microvibe, Sparkle Drive, TS808 and a Fulltone '69 pedal.

When I first got the Microvibe, in all honesty I thought it sounded pretty bad when turned on. There were no mids whatsoever and only a little bit of low end. Basically it made my setup sound like the treble was on 11! I also have noticed this with the Fulltone vibes (the high end thing). I stayed hopeful though, and decided to do some research. Somebody on one of these reviews had mentioned taking the back off of the pedal and adjusting the trim. I figured that I may as well, since I couldn't find a vibe that didn't sound bright (Voodoo Lab or otherwise). I left my guitar plugged into the pedal while I did this (so I could adjust it perfectly, as it's very sensitive). I kept turning it in little tiny increments until I found the most lush, beautiful tone! Messing with the trim DOES work, regardless of what some people say. It worked on mine anyway. It's super, super fat sounding now and as warm as can be.

My band plays lots of gigs, and so far this pedal has not failed me and has sounded stunning, even at loud stage volumes (from delicate playing with no other effects to playing with a fuzz pedal cranked up). No noise, no squealing, no brittleness... just gorgeous, fat tone. So if you're NOT happy with the sound of this pedal, please, try adjusting the trim! It sounds dead-on vintage and sweet. It's really the best vibe I've ever heard now. People ask me about it all the time because it sounds so good.

And you've got to love true bypass...

So I have to give it a 10. Before I messed with the trim, I would have rated it as about a 7, since it sounded like every other trebly vibe pedal out there.

Yes, this pedal seems to be totally dependable. It's in a nice metal box and has a sturdy switch on it. I've only had it for a couple of months though, so we'll see how I feel a year from now.

Great, great people. I actually bought the Sparkle Drive first, and was so smitten with that pedal that I ordered the Microvibe (and I got so impatient waiting for it to get here that I bought one on eBay first!). They are nice folks to talk to. They even emailed me to say they looked at our website. I haven't had any problems, so I can't tell you what their policies are. I would imagine that they would make sure you were happy though.

We do mainly blues and blues rock, and anything else we do is usually based in that vein... I've been playing for almost 5 years now. I gig with a 60's strat with Fralin pickups (among other upgrades), a flametop Gibson LP standard, a '68 Fender Super Reverb and '68 Deluxe Reverb. I also have a vintage Gibson acoustic that I love playing fingerstyle on, and various other guitars and parts that are doing a nice job of collecting dust.

If the Microvibe were stolen or lost, I would have to buy another one and pray that it would sound as sweet as this one! I love everything about this pedal and really have no complaints about it (which is rare for me!).

This pedal is a steal for the money, and the quality and sound are just as good as any other pedal out there (even the $300 ones). And mine sounds BETTER than the other brands since I tweaked it.

Voodoo labs makes quality stuff, and I plan on buying more pedals from them in the future. Give them a chance!!!

DO NOT MESS WITH THE TRIM POT!!
I have one I fiddled with it and could not get it back to the spot.
IT'S VERRRY sensitive.. the slightest turn and it's off.
You'll be just left or right of the balanced setting and when you turn up the intensity and rate together it will lose the effect.
This is not a hidden tone tool for those of us who love to personalize & tweak-----DO NOT mess with the trim pot!!!

Very good sound. Haven't had a boutique box for 2-3 times the cost but I'm thinknig they couldn't be 2-3 times better.. Full and a little darker than the Dunlop...true bypass.. Great size for vibe pedal.... the little glowing lamp.

Mine is a '96 model.. no problem with the pedal..
just a bone head move by me to tweak it..

Got an email within one business day with a phone number where a fellow named Nick helped me out with return instructions.

Excellent pedal all around. Simple, sounds good, true bypass, reliable, customer support on a 9 year old pedal.. that i messed up.
I agree: FANTASTIC VALUE

Very easy to use. I had no problem finding "my" sound, which is full speed and intensity on two o'clock.

I'm using a Fender Strat, and a Martin E-18 (both w/humbuckers) through Elmwood 3100 head with Elmwood 4x12 loaded with celestion vintage 30 speakers. My stomp boxes are Boss TU-2, the microvibe, mxr-doubleshot dist, Visual sound Route66, Line6 DL4 and Line6 MM4. This unit is dead quiet, and the sound is great in my ears.

It seems reliable. Only had it for three months, but it seeems solid.

I've been playing for 20 years, and I hink this unit is great. I play all kind of music, mostly rock, and the microvibe is perfect. It has a great low pumping sound on the low E and the A string, and I'm using it more than I probably should, just because I love the sound. If it was stolen I would get myself another one the next morning. My only wish is that it should be possible to make the speed faster.

Very easy to use - 2 knobs. Really don't need a manual.

My setup - strat-carlmartin compressor- budda phatman- vibe - Ibanez analog delay (AD 99)-bad cat cub II. I have been looking to add the hendrix and leslie thing for some songs. With the microvibe the tone was nothing to get excited about - similar to the Fulltone vibe I tried a couple years ago.

seems well made and sturdy. In general voodoo lab products seem well made.

don't know

I have played 40 years - now in an R+B/poprock/funk band - gig 2-3 times monthly - dance stuff. I sold this vibe a year ago when I discovered the secret of the elusive leslie-hammond-magnatone thing. I finally got smart and picked up a high quality tremolo box (mine is a swamp thang - by monster effects) I get wonderful "leslie-vibe " stuff. The search is over.

This is an update of my review further down. The switch on my microvibe has given up the ghost for the second time (the first time I sent it back to Sounds Great in Manchester and they swapped it for me). However, the switch is so bad than one time in 2 or 3 the sound disappears when switching the effect on or off. THe effect is still absolutely great, but I'm a very disappointed customer.

two knobs, intensity & speed. not all positions in the travel of each knob make for cool sounds in my opinion, but it doesn't take much dicking around to find the sweet spots. plus, the one-page manual lists two "classic" settings to give you an idea where to start. i ain't no rhodes scholar, & i figgered it out.

set-up when using the microvibe: 1976 gibson s-1 w/lindy fralin p-90s > voodoo labs superfuzz > voodoo labs microvibe > ayan enterprises smooth & slim > custom-built 3-watt tube amp. voodoo labs pedal power 2 supplying the juice, everything connected w/george l's cables. of all the od/fuzz/dist pedals i own, i've found the superfuzz works best w/the microvibe. no surprise there, as they're made by the same company (i've heard that z vex pedals are the same way--they sound awesome when connected to each other). another thing i've observed is that, at least w/my rig, the microvibe doesn't seem to work well w/a compressor, no matter where you place it in the chain. also, the microvibe seems to accentuate high frequencies, & making adjustments at the amp or guitar dulled the excitement that the microvibe is meant to provide in the first place. so, i gave the ayan smooth & slim a try. sure enough, the beautiful, full-bodied swirl of the microvibe was still there, but the smooth & slim seemed to "lower the floor" of the whole sonic spectrum, magically eliminating the painful highs. suddenly the microvibe was usable for both power chords AND single-note leads w/out adjusting the speed & intensity controls. previously, i was having difficulty finding a setting that could be used for both; switching from lead to rhythm meant bending over & changing the parameters on the microvibe (or settling for an inappropriate tone for one of the two styles). i don't mean for this to come off as too big of a bitch, as i own several pedals that have only ONE good sound & that sound is good for either rhythm OR lead, NOT BOTH. the real barometer of how i feel about the sound of the microvibe is this: it makes me want to TURN UP THE AMP & PLAY!

i'm a home studio guy. pretty much, once a piece of gear makes it safely into my studio, it will rarely venture into the outside world. in this scenario, even the flimsiest pieces of equipment will probably have a long shelf-life. voodoo labs stuff is NOT flimsy. sturdy housing, secure knobs, professional-grade jacks... you get the picture. family members'll be fighting over this stuff when i'm writing my will.

didn't deal w/voodoo labs; bought the pedal from an on-line store (that needs no free advertising) & their service was fine.

obviously, i like the microvibe. i really do. i bought it cuz i read somewhere that it was sonically identical to the prescription electronics vibe unit. having owned & used the microvibe for a few months now, i find myself itching to hear the vibe unit. is it because i'm displeased w/the microvibe? no. but reading reviews for the vibe unit, i'm thinking that there is something missing from the microvibe that the vibe unit has that gives it an extra bit of magic. do i feel like i've been duped? no. the vibe unit costs $330, the microvibe $150. if i get the vibe unit & find that the microvibe is even close in tone to that pedal, at almost two hundred bucks less the microvibe is quite a deal. & as i stated earlier, i'm having plenty of fun messing around w/the microvibe right now. but as i am a type-a perfectionist who's always curious about the best there is to offer when it comes to music, i guess i oughta start raking in some over-time to save up those 330 clams. time to make the donuts!