The Uni-Vibe, also marketed as the Jax Vibra-Chorus,Harry Shapiro, Michael Heatley, Roger Mayer
''Jimi Hendrix Gear'', page 120

Voyageur Press The Quarto Group is a global illustrated book publishing group founded in 1976. It is domiciled in the United States and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Quarto creates and sells illustrated books for adults and children, across 50 countri ...

is a footpedal-operated phaser or phase shifter for creating chorus and

vibrato Vibrato ( Italian, from past participle of " vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms ...

simulations for

electric organ An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the pump organ, harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has sinc ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

. Designed by audio engineer Fumio Mieda, it was introduced in the 1960s by Japanese company Shin-ei (at the time Honey) originally branded as the Vibra-Chorus. The effect (now named Uni-Vibe) was modified to have easier access to its fuse, and a speed control foot pedal was added. It was later released in North America by

Univox Univox was a musical instrument brand of Unicord Corporation from the early 1960s, when they purchased the Amplifier Corporation of America of Westbury, New York and began to market a line of guitar amplifiers. Univox also distributed guitars by ...

in 1968. It is commonly thought the Uni-Vibe is intended to emulate the " Doppler sound" of a Leslie speaker. However Fumio Mieda revealed in an interview the effect was based on hearing radio signals (like Radio Moscow) undergoing “atmospheric modulation”. The effect has made its mark on tracks like Robin Trower's "

Bridge of Sighs The Bridge of Sighs (Italian: ''Ponte dei Sospiri'', vec, Ponte de i Sospiri) is a bridge in Venice, Italy. The enclosed bridge is made of white limestone, has windows with stone bars, passes over the Rio di Palazzo, and connects the New Priso ...

", Jimi Hendrix's "

Machine Gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

" and Pink Floyd's " Breathe".

Overview

The effect, though often associated with chorus, is in fact created through a staggered series of phasing filters and an optical circuit utilizing LDRs (Light Dependent Resistor) and an incandescent bulb inside a light shield with a reflective interior, unlike the usually aligned filters of a normal phasing effect. Unlike most other phaser pedals, this is achieved without the use of op-amps. The Uni-Vibe phase shifter was known for its throbbing, hypnotic pulse and lo-fi sweep. These unique effects set it apart from other modulation-type effects at the time. The Shin-ei Uni-Vibe was also sold as a

product. , "Uni-Vibe" is a

registered trademark The registered trademark symbol, , is a typographic symbol that provides notice that the preceding word or symbol is a trademark or service mark that has been registered with a national trademark office. A trademark is a symbol, word, or wor ...

of Dunlop Manufacturing, Inc. Notable users of the Uni-Vibe have included Jimi Hendrix, Robin Trower,

Trey Anastasio Ernest Joseph "Trey" Anastasio III (born September 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983. He is credited by name as composer of 152 Phish o ...

, and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd.

References

External links

* Effects units {{guitar-stub