Black Cat vs Wilson vs Deja vs

Helping Friendly · February 28, 2016, 07:22:29 PM

Can you suggest which vibe would suit me best? I currently have the Deja vibe 2. I've never tried black cat or wilson. Do the newer black cat vibes sound exactly like the older ones that Trey has? How's the wilson?
Im looking for a vibe to be more dynamic than the deja. Also more transparency would help. Would like to retain the "high end" more but still get the chewy low end trob. More dynamic, less gimmicky.

atk1 · February 28, 2016, 07:31:38 PM

I have the black cat vibe in pedal form. It's hands down one of my favorite pedals. Never had an older vibe pedal so I can't compare. The tone is right on. Chewy. Works well with gain pedals and fuzz too.

afountas · February 29, 2016, 09:00:21 AM

I just switched out my deja vibe 2 a few weeks ago for a black cat (pedal not rack), and it sounds 100 times better; very transparent and sounds authentically analog. I got it for like $210 on reverb. It's the #274th made .. I don't know what year that means its from but it sounds exactly like Trey's (good example is Trey's rig rundown: https://youtu.be/nG-jXPQe1ak?t=6m29s

I've never played a Wilson, but if you're searching for a Trey tone, I would go Black Cat all the way because as soon as you plug it in you will hear what I mean.

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Buffered · February 29, 2016, 09:03:23 AM

I had #10. Best vibe I owned, I'm just finding I don't use modulation nearly as enough as I used to.

Down_With_Sco · February 29, 2016, 07:29:17 PM

I got a JHS vibe in January 2012... but didn't really bond with it. Then got a BCV pedal maybe a month after (around march) and have been using it since with no problems.

Helping Friendly · February 29, 2016, 08:33:39 PM

Just scored one for 175. I'm stoked to try it. I'm leaning towards putting it in the loop?

afountas · March 01, 2016, 10:38:40 AM

I think you will be very happy with it. Did it come with a power adapter? It needs a AC 12V which sort of an odd ball power spot. If you're using a iso power supply, I would make sure it can accomodate. If not, call black cat directly and they will ship you a high quality supply for $20.

Happyorange27 · March 07, 2016, 06:51:24 AM

I had the new Black Cat pedal. It was too much wobble. Talked to the company about it and they sent me new photo resistors. Replaced them; Still not the best. Even sent me a new pedal.

So I got a Wilson Haze Deluxe and started comparing side but side. The Wilson was spot on and does Trower and Gilmore perfectly. Sold the Cat. Love the Wilson.

Down_With_Sco · March 07, 2016, 11:25:02 AM

Quote from: Happyorange27 on March 07, 2016, 06:51:24 AM
I had the new Black Cat pedal. It was too much wobble. Talked to the company about it and they sent me new photo resistors. Replaced them; Still not the best. Even sent me a new pedal.

I'm very surprised.... the intensity knob allows me to get as much pulse or little as I want on my BCV.

Happyorange27 · March 07, 2016, 11:42:30 AM

Well there was more like a fine line where I couldn't get enough or I had too much. Even if I set the knob at the optimal position, it just never sounded great. I'm weird.

Helping Friendly · March 08, 2016, 08:38:33 AM

Update: I got the bcv and I freaking love it! Compared to the the deja it is night and day. I will say this though. The knobs are very sensitive and not all settings are great. There was a very very fine line between what I consider a sweet spot and not so good. But once it's dialed in it is like sex. Lol. Well it sounds sexy.
What I try to accomplish with a vibe pedal is a way to bring out the most dynamic nuances as possible. This pedal really improves the harmonic detail of my rig. Here are the settings that sounded best for me.
Oh and it did not sound great in the loop. So much better in front..

Heady Jam Fan · March 08, 2016, 09:32:57 AM

Sounds like they need to change either the range (value) or type (ie., maybe linear vs audio) of that potentiometer if people are having trouble dialing it in.

I had a couple Deja Vibes and I thought they were great. Classy and subtle. I ended up selling them because they are costly, big and the tone is a bit scooped, which is hard to avoid in a modulation pedal that works by phasing out certain frequencies to create the effect itself. I tried a Wilson, but I found it too metallic / phasey / effected sounding. I thought about the BCV, but read mixed reviews and it too is big and pricey. I have a draw toward vintage gear after loving my old TS9's and fixing up several old Fender amps, so I ended up with a few vintage MXR Phasers from 1974 and 1975. The only ones I liked were the Phase 45 and Phase 90 from 1974, which is the first-batch from MXR. They were classy, subtle, tonally pretty transparent, and didn't add noise. The 45 was too subtle so I stuck the 90 since then.

Helping Friendly · March 08, 2016, 12:27:08 PM

I felt the same way about the deja as far as too scooped. The low end felt muddy and the highs were metallic sound ing. It had a good throb but I didn't like how it changed the guitar tone.
The bcv has the mids and is much tighter in the lows. Good throb once dialed in. It really makes your tone lucious with out altering it for the worst. Afontus is right about it sounding like the video of Trey's rig. I think Black cat did a great job of recreating the pedal. I'm very happy with it.