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Pros:
- Offers two effects
- Extremely powerful and durable
- Natural-sounding
Cons:
- A bit pricey
Vibrations can have so many different meanings for different people, but those who are in musical world just like me, will probably picture their best vibrato pedal immediately. Though not everyone fancies this effect due to its queer character, if you find a way to experiment with it for long enough, you will fall in love with it. For me, everything about it is simply breathtaking – the way it treats your sound, the way it changes its ambiance and the way it submerges it into the waves of stunning vibrations.
In order to achieve all those layers of beautiful sounds, you need to have a pedal that responds to your requirements and emits the tones that your heart urges so much. Though you can make countless choices, there are some units out there that scream at you from far away, force you to get closer and once you do, captivate you for good. Those pedals might require some sort of investment, but once they mount themselves on your pedalboard, they are not going anywhere.
And when talking about such units, what would be a better brand to mention than Diamond? Vib1 Analog Vibrato is their take on this effect. It goes without saying that it belongs to the boutique family where everything shines with different colors and the world seems to be a much better place to live. Exaggerations aside, let’s see what this baby has up its sleeves.
Features
I cannot articulate enough how amazing Diamond pedals are. They deliver quality consistently and always put together pedals that will make your jaw drop from amazement. Vib1 Analog Vibrato is in the same league and offers everything that you would expect from this brand. It goes without saying that it has an analog circuit that utilizes renowned bucket-brigade chips. Diamond decided to put an end to the everlasting misuse of tremolo and vibrato and released a pedal that offers a true effect with all of its pitch-shifting glory.
This puppy can operate in several different modes: High allows you to experiment with two ranges of depth control, and Jazz will deliver darker tones that are associated with vintage times so frequently. It can also create a chorus that will take your opportunities to a whole new dimension. Being made out of high-grade material, Vib1 Analog Vibrato employs pure sinusoidal LFO waveform that has variable speeds and completely different outcomes with each set. It is housed in a Genuine Hammond cast aluminum chassis that won’t crack or break even after years of heavy abuse.
The insides are of top-notch quality, as well and that is the reason why it is so amazing. This fella has 100% true bypass that eliminates the chance of your sound getting deprived off its necessary qualities. And let’s not forget just how vibrant the design of this pedal is: as you look at it, you get submerged in the purple, metallic haze that seems to go really well with the effect. Keep in mind that Vib1 Analog Vibrato requires 18 or 24V adapter in order to get supplied with essential power.
Controls
The control section is something that will keep you busy for a really long time. What I mean is that Diamond Vib1 Analog Vibrato includes countless tweaking options and makes it possible to shape the effect until it has everything for being perfect. These encoders and switches are intuitive and assist you in nailing vibrato a great deal. If you are really serious about purchasing Vib1 Analog Vibrato, then you should definitely pay close attention to this section!
The first one in the row is of course Speed. It alters the rate of the Low-Frequency Oscillator (LFO) and ranges from 0.9Hz to 10Hz. Depth adjusts the intensity of pitch modulation and lets you be a subtle or crazy as you wish to be. The chorus mixes together the dry signal with the pitch-shifted one, resulting in the sounds that resemble chorus effect quite a bit.
Vol (volume) makes it possible to modify the level of the output so that it is at unity gain. We also have two toggles: Jazz enables you to shift between darker and typical vibrato sounds with ease, while High determines the range of depth control. If you are too lazy to tweak it with your fingers, you can always connect an expression pedal and alter the properties of Depth and Speed that way (they both have individual inputs).
Diamond Vibrato Sound
The sound of Diamond Vib1 Analog Vibrato can take you to a whole new universe. Once you play with your first notes with it, you are submerged in beautiful and defined sounds. As you learn how to tweak this thing and make modifications, you start hearing how subtle and slowly vibrating vibrato turns into a fast and crazy one. This pedal offers you the ability to create a chorus, that has defined and full-bodied voicing. Jazz toggle brings back that vintage grit and adds a whole new layer to the affected sounds.
High makes the pitch shifting shine through the whole thing even more and add texture and character to the whole sound. By allowing you to utilize the expression pedal with Depth and Speed controls, Diamond Vib1 Analog Vibrato gives you the chance to alter these settings smoothly and transition between subtle and more dramatic settings seamlessly. As you can see, this pedal has a wide range that will quickly turn it into your go-to-device for all those times when you want to achieve a versatile vibrato.
Conclusion
All in all, Diamond Vib1 Analog Vibrato has breath-taking sonic qualities. Its capabilities are countless – you can experiment with a wide variety of options and create an effect that has a defined character. Vibrato is really hard to mix up with anything and this fella will make sure nobody confuses it with something different. Vib1 Analog Vibrato will provide you with high-quality performance for many years and stay by your side no matter what. If you enjoy this effect, then you should definitely try out this one. Good luck!
