Vibe

[cactuskeeb]

One of my favorite aspects of Trey's rig is the vibe (univibe) effect.  The best example of Trey's use of this device is on the Darien Lake live_phish release, 12/07/97: Theme From the Bottom.  We know for a fact that this is a CAE re-creation of the first univibe, a leslie clone Hendrix used during his live shows relatively late in his illustrious career.  You will find, much to your dismay, that Bob Bradshaw's creation (which appears in the 1997 Custom Audio Electronics catalog as the \"Black Cat Vibe\") is extremely rare (the rarity level is on par, I would say, with that of Time guitars: you could get one if you wanted in, say, 2002, but at this point they are almost all permanently in the hands of those who intend to keep them at all costs, either as part of their collection or rig, or both).  The (present) exception to this rule is the Bob Sweet Ultra vibe 2, which sounds identical to the CAE vibe.

cheers,
cactuskeeb

[cactuskeeb]

Did I say Darien Lake?  I meant *Dayton*.

[strangedesign]

Analogman still has them

http://www.buyanalogman.com/Black_Cat_Vibe_p/bc-vibe.htm

[cactuskeeb]

Strangedesign,
Mike has one, he says, that he's either holding on to, or waiting for some ridiculous offer to be made on it.  I don't know when exactly Bob Bradshaw took these off their list of available products, but it's been quite a few years since, to be sure.  In the old days, if you ordered one from Mike, you got one  of perhaps the two dozen or so he ordered from CAE (Bob).  Then, after he ran out, he *bought* the \"Black Cat Vibe\" name from CAE (Hence, the disappearance of this device from the product lists and descriptions at CAE).  To build the new line of Black Cat vibes, Analog Mike went to Fred Bonte.  Fred's vibes include all those odd variations on the original that were for sale for a while (the mini-black cat vibe, the black cat vibe 2000, etc., and the supposed CAE vibe which was really a Fred Bonte copy in a different (all black) casing).  As it turns out, Fred Bonte, who Mike still insists is a genius, couldn't get the job done, b/c as Mike explains 2 out of 3 effects units/pedals he would get from Fred didn't work at all when they reached Mike's office.  Consequently, Fred Bonte is no longer building Black Cat products.  It's quite clear that, at present, Mike is in the process of getting a new builder on the project.  That's all we really know for sure at this point, although I can speculate on who this might be who eventually fills the void, but it's unclear to me whether or not it's going to remain a one-guy operation (e.g., one builder [including perhaps some assistants), OR whether a larger company is going to pick this up and perhaps get a familiar name to go with it (like the original team-up of Rocktron and Bob Bradshaw [or like the current Bob/Dunlop-MXR line of pedals].

[cactuskeeb]

Trey uses his vibe rack with the intensity all the way up and most vibe boxes or racks that have a blend or intensity knob dont actually let you make the effect very intense at all. the cool thing about that black cat vibe is itll let you turn that intensity up to the point itll basically be muting and unmuting your signal really quickly much like a tremelo with the depth all the way up...

I'm glad you said that, because you're exactly right.  Incredibly, I used to find myself debating which one it was when I'd hear certain recordings -- the super tremolo or the black-cat vibe, when the answer should have been obvious; however, my ear wouldn't let me decide on one or the other.  Here's a technical discussion of this phenomenon:
http://www.vibroworld.com/magnatone/vibrato.html

[cactuskeeb]

the only other vibe like boxes Ive played that could replicate this is a clone box on ebay, that let you switch from the basic phase 60 circuit and a heavy vibe circuit. ill get the link but they go for about 175? all true bypass and quality guts, so if you decide to get one try one of these cheaper units first because I know from experience they will work for that Trey/Jimi sound

Please, show me that link.  Prove to me this isn't somebody taking his old vintage sounding phaser guts, and his modern sounding phaser guts, fitting all of this to a pre-sized, scrap metal box,  and then hardwiring a switch to stomp from one intensity of phase to the other.  :|

[cactuskeeb]

I think I might be a bit too old school too have the mindset for what you're talking about.  I mean, if there really are that many people all over the place that can easily make the greatest effects, I'd be surprised.  I admit, I was out of the 'game' for a while, from 2003 until about four months ago, because of an extended hiatus I took from playing or even thinking about the guitar during that time (was all philosophy, mathematics, and modernist art instead).  Back in the day, as it were, in 2000-2001, therhombus.com was a lot like this forum in its design and in the nature of its discussions; except that there were just a lot more people and thus a lot more being talked about.  Probably very little actual good information was known about Trey's gear and all that back then, so I can't say things were really all that great.

For me, now, all the work in philosophy and mathematics has changed the way I operate in terms of analytical tasks.  To put it simply, tons of what remained a mystery for me before about the guitar before the break I took from the instrument are now finally in the light, and the same has occured on the gear side of things.  But maybe you could explain a little of what's happening right now in the public arena of all this stuff.  Maybe I missed something in the past few months of reading and research.

[cactuskeeb]

OK, yeah all that is what I've known about for years.  What I like best about the situation now is that I no longer have to go through a middle man (like, say, Analog Mike used to be for your average, non-famous gear enthusiast) to talk to Robert Bradshaw, or the guys who wired Trey's extension cab, or someone who can modify my deluxe in all kinds of tantilizing ways, etc.

[strangedesign]

OK, yeah all that is what I've known about for years.  What I like best about the situation now is that I no longer have to go through a middle man (like, say, Analog Mike used to be for your average, non-famous gear enthusiast) to talk to Robert Bradshaw, or the guys who wired Trey's extension cab, or someone who can modify my deluxe in all kinds of tantilizing ways, etc.

if you can get bob bradshaw on the phone ill do a backflip in my office chair. that guy wont return any of our calls

LOL! He still won't email or call you?

[strangedesign]

WOW! I wonder what his problem is?

[Walker done done]

FWIW - nothing on my end from him either.  Figured he was really busy or didn't want my $$.

[cactuskeeb]

He's concentrating soley on custom switchers -- that's it.  Anything else, he doesn't want to talk.  Kind of makes sense, if you ask me.  I'm sure he wants your money.

[Walker done done]

Yeah - well a simple email from him saying so would be the polite thing to do.  :evil:

[cactuskeeb]

I'm not saying you guys don't deserve better in this case, but we're talking about Robert Bradshaw here.  I'm sure even his most loyal, repeat customers -- heck, even Bob himself -- wouldn't entirely disagree with the notion that he might be somewhat of a not-nice person.  But if you know his history and understand what he has accomplished, what he has done for the industry, and you take into account the fact that he's still at it, working his ass off for *almost* everybody, then maybe we shouldn't denegrate the man because he won't immediately build us a 60 dollar box that, as PosterNB so rightly argues, we could so easily get from practically every custom builder we know, and have it shipped in a couple days.  Imagine what it would require for someone to have to answer \"no, I can't right now\" to a hundred people in one month.
:shock:  :shock:

[cactuskeeb]

hey nutbag, you have a DC Brick power supply on your pedalboard, do you not?  That thing doesn't have isolated outputs, they're all sharing the same ground.  I'm not saying that a power supply with isolated outputs is the same as the function the ISO-1 performs - just bare with me for hot second and I'll explain myself.
We should all be on the same page regarding the function of the ISO-1: it is designed to isolate hum frequences passively, meaning that there's no solid state -- that is to say, active -- circuit.  The genius of the ISO-1 is precisely the 100% passive (read: all analog) design: literally nothing happens to the signal as it passes from the input stage to the output one.  The ISO-1's circuitry -- you'll have to consult an engineer on the specifics here -- is such that it only accepts the range of frequencies on which    the guitar signal can be found, but not that 60 hz of \"noise\" that entered the signal chain as a ground loop.  Ground loops are formed when, for example, you have a bunch of effects using wall adapters connected to a power strip.  Now, if we're using a power strip or power source, such as the DC Brick, we're going to want to chuck this and get something that isolates outputs and thus each adapter we connect to this output is going to have its own ground.  Ground is the natural by-product, if you will, of our garden variety pedal's power adapter as it converts VAC to VDC; for, as it does its thing, it generates a small electromagnetic field round the adapter itself.  Eliminating the possibility of a shared ground is the first step in preventing ground loops from throwing into the signal path combined amps of say, 60 hz, or, for that matter, any other frequency that's not part of the  natural response of construction materials, nor relating to the active and/or passive relay of a waveform analysis of vibrating strings by the electronics installed with the guitar body.