Question about Mike's effects
FinsburyParkCarrots
Seattle, WA Posts: 12,223
Forgive me for not knowing much about Mike's effects, but it sounds to me as if he uses a Uni-Vibe. If so, is he using a newish model or one of those Shen-ei Hendrix models that Roger Mayer had something to do with? I love that sound on "Not For You" and "All or None". Phasers and flangers and racking leslie effects don't compare with that real Univibe wobble.
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giventowail.com has a 2003 tour gallery with shots of his board.
The original Uni-vibe that Mike uses was manufactured by the Univox company who also make several guitars and the Super Fuzz. The one he uses on tour is a Dunlop version of the Univox Uni-vibe.
It was an attempt at copying the sound of the very large and cumbersome Leslie speaker cabinets, a terrible attempt at copying them actually It sounds nothing really like a leslie but there was beauty in their failure. They created this rich phasey ping pong chorus tone that has become famous unto itself. In essence it is a photocell they use blinking light to simulate the spinning rotor of the leslie and the high voltage (18V) makes the sound thick and fat. You can also use the Uni-vibe as a vibrato but in my opinion that side is rather worthless. The vintage vender tube amp vibratos are really the only vibrato worth a damn.
Boom has 2 leslie cabs behind his Hammond organ a top rotor and a bottom rotor, if you look closely you can see them spinning on the DVD.
On the last tour I believe Mike scrapped using the vintage univibe and DM-2 delay in favor of the Line 6 MM-4 and DL-4 also the Hughes and Kettner Rotosphere a much more accurate copy of a leslie cabinet. Pics are available at http://www.giventowail.com special thanks go to RickP
yeah which one is your favorite?
I still have my roto-vibe but never use it.
he had a voice that was strong and loud and
i swallowed his facade cos i'm so
eager to identify with
someone above the crowd
someone who seemed to feel the same
someone prepared to lead the way
Eat your pork and beans
I eat more chicken
Than any man ever seen
Anyway, about the Univibe: there's a guy called Kimberley Rew who performs in Cambridge; he was in Katrina and the Waves, and wrote that song "Walking on Sunshine"back in the 'eighties. I don't know him or anything, but I supported him at a gig (yes, I was bottom of the bill, back in 1999) and he had one of those original Shen-ei (?) Univibes set up on stage. It's an odd effect because even when it's off it colours/colors the sound.
That Univibe is also notoriously fragile. How much does it cost? Last time I checked, if it was still in good condition, it could cost about £850.
THAT'S my ideal Univibe, Pacomc79!!!!
I don't think vibes are that expensive, at least not anymore. I know those 2 RSS's above are under $300. I know the Dunlop vibe is under $200 (or pretty sure) and the MJM 60's Vibe wasn't more than $200 when I looked into them.
My mom LOVED that song 'walking on sunshine'!
and it's time to feel good, hey! all right now
he had a voice that was strong and loud and
i swallowed his facade cos i'm so
eager to identify with
someone above the crowd
someone who seemed to feel the same
someone prepared to lead the way
Going back to Pacomc79's question about what pedal I prefer, I used to like the Rotovibe. One of my big mistakes and regrets was selling it. I saw one in John Palmer Music, Waterford, Ireland, in October and I was so tempted to buy it!
And yeah, the uni-vibe was first used at Jimi's performance at Woodstock.
I found this at the dunlop site about the difference between the uni-vibe, roto-vibe and uni-vibe stereo-chorus
http://www.jimdunlop.com/faqs/univibe_faq.html#diffs
he had a voice that was strong and loud and
i swallowed his facade cos i'm so
eager to identify with
someone above the crowd
someone who seemed to feel the same
someone prepared to lead the way