| NEWS |
-------------- 2022 --------------
12.12. I'd like to proudly announce that my long awaited take on Fuzz Face, called Diamond has been finished, and you can order it.
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Follow me on Instagram and Facebook.
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Al Anderson of The Wailers (Bob Marley) had heard the Bananaboost somewhere in L.A. and he promptly ordered one for himself :) These beautiful moments are absolutely worth all the sweat.
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Howdy! You can pay in USD if you please, and with a pretty friendly conversion rate :) The majority of my customers have been Americans and so this may help you guys.
-------------- 2018 --------------
23.4. I am very happy to announce that i've got four pedals in "Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets". Garry Kemp is occasionaly rocking his Moon Vibe MkII, and Lee Harris uses Pig Hoofs and Bananaboost. I saw the band in Lipzig, the sound was amazing (it made me feel very, very proud).
-------------- 2016 --------------
23.9. Lee Harris of The Blockheads is a happy Pig Hoof MKII owner.
20.1. Gilmourish.com have published a review of my Bananaboost.
-------------- 2015 --------------
5.8. Andrzej Kwiatkowski send me a video, where he presents an excellent combination of Pig Hoof MkII and BK Butler Tube driver.
2.7. I finally released an improved Bananaboost. This one is 18V based, with plenty of headroom and a new look.
1.1. Guns N'Roses drummer, composer and guitarist Matt Sorum owns two of my pedals - Pig Hoof a Moon Vibe MkII.
------------- 2013 ------------
20.8. Gilmourish.com have published a review of my Moon Vibe MkII.
8.5. The long awaited Moon Vibe MkII has been released today, with very short waiting list.
2.5. 27.05. Gilmourish.com have published a review of my Pig Hoof MkII.
------------- 2012 ------------
03.11. Widara company has released my design of a simple rock stage theremin under a name Distant Voices.
More in my blog. |
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| You are at: Electronic Orange > Guitar pedals > Moon Vibe MkII |
Moon Vibe MkII (phaser) |
 | The bare enclosure dimensions:
Height: 4.5 cm
Width: 15.4 cm
Lenght: 9.2 cm
Weight: 650 g
Power: 18 VDC
Current draw: 40 mA (+LED)
PRICE: 289 EUR / 309 USD | | contact us | order form » |
| The waiting time is currently very short. | |
Moon Vibe MkII is an improved clone of the famous late 60s phaser Uni-Vibe. The Uni-Vibe was invented by the Japanese engineer Fumio Mieda in 1968, and consequently manufactured by Shin-Ei/Univox/Unicord. The unusual phasing unit quickly made its way to the rigs of guitarists like Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, etc.
The original design uses a pulsing light bulb to control seemingly randomly designed phase stages (apparently tuned by ear by Mr. Mieda, as there is no logical order in the part values). Another feature is that the depth of the phasing effect depends on the speed - the higher speed brings more depth, the lower speed makes the phasing go smoother.
Unlike the other phasers, Uni-Vibe(a well-built unit) provides a very prominent, deep and natural sounding effect - nothing like those 70s chemical, disco sounds. There was also a toggle switch mounted on every unit, to swap between Phaser and Chorus effect. The switch was misleadingly marked as "Chorus/Vibrato", where "Chorus" was describing the phasing effect, and "Vibrato" the weird chorus effect.
If you want to hear a real unit (as the eBay prices go over $1500) check out Jimi Hendrix songs like Machine Gun or Angel, or Breathe/Any Colour You Like by Pink Floyd. Another "Vibe album" to mention would be probably "Bridge of Sights" by Robin Trower.
Moon-Vibe MkII is an exact Uni-Vibe clone with some extra features that improve the behaviour of the original units
Moon Vibe MkII - the main features:
A. The quality of the phasing of the originals varied from unit to unit, as the depth of the "heart-beat" very much depends on precise values of the particular parts. That's why i hand-pick the crucial parts for every Moon Vibe MkII unit to achieve the best results.
B. Moon Vibe MkII incorporates the true bypass switching (7), where the originals did not have any bypass at all. The original units were fully engaged all the time, and musicians just used the expression pedal to turn the effect down by lowering the bulb intensity. Also, the volume drop that often follows true bypass installation has been eliminated. When you turn the volume knob (1) all the way up, the level of the wet sound will be lauder than the clean, bypassed sound.
C. The "Symmetry" control knob (2) lets you set the character of the phasing to your own taste. It adjusts how much the phaser pumps towards the dark and light side of the phase. The "Intensity" knob (3) sets the depth of the phasing. The depth range goes all the way from a subtle waving to a deep "heard-beat" like pumping.
D. Moon Vibe features the mod that has been introduced in David Gilmour's unit - the higher speed mod. David Gilmour used the top speed in Any Colour You Like. Instead of the expression pedal (speed control) that was provided with the original units, Moon Vibe has a large speed knob (4) that can be operated by your foot, and gives you better visual perception of the speed selected.
E. There is a pulsing LED indicator (6) that visually shows the speed selected. The foot-switch marked "Mode" (5) switches between "Chorus"(= phaser) and "Vibrato" effect, as the original units did. The LED indicator turns yellow when you switch to "Chorus" and red when you switch to "Vibrato".
F. Polyester caps are used instead of the electrolytes. They are more durable and keep better sound fidelity. This is not a mandatory approach though, i can use electrolyte on demand.
G. When you turn the pedal off, the bulb light is turned down. This clever feature extends the light bulb's life span.
H. The pedal is powered by a 18 or 24V DC power adapter that is included in the package. The mains plug is chosen, so you can use it in your country. The DC socket (8) is located on the side of the enclosure. The polarity of the power adapter follows the guitar pedal standard: (-) inside the barrel, (+) on the shield.
There are two internal trimmers (see the picture below), mounted on the board inside the enclosure:
Using alternative power supply
It may happen that the circumstances will lead you to a need of using an alternative power supply. Typically, you are using the Power Brick to power your other pedals, and you want to feed your Moon Vibe MKII from it as well, using the Brick's 18VDC output. I made this possible while designing the pedal.
1. If you are using an alternative power supply of the same voltage as the original adapter you have received with the pedal, just make sure the barrel jack and the polarity are the same: (-) inside the jack barrel, (+) on the shield of the jack (barrel jack 5.5/2.1 mm). Then plug it in.
2. If you are using an alternative power supply of a slightly different voltage (but still between 18-24VDC), carry out the following procedure:
Set the Symmetry knob to the middle position, Intensity to the max, and Speed between 9-11 o'clock. The rightmost of the 3 trimmers by the lamp shield (1) (there is just one trimmer under the lamp shield in the early models) is there to compensate the DC voltage drop/boost, and get your fine sound back.
Hit the strings and turn the trimmer (1) very slowly to the left or right, until you get the sound you like. When you turn the trimmer anticlockwise, the bulb gets dimmer, when you turn it clockwise the bulb gets brighter - don't let it go too bright, it is not supposed to go too bright at slow speeds.
WARNING:
- Never use an alternative power supply that provides a DC voltage that is lower than 18V or higher than 24V.
- When you re-adjust the voltage trimmer, do not let the bulb pulse too bright - you can shorten its life it or burn it that way.
- I strongly recommend not to change the factory setting of this trimmer, unless you are using an alternative power supply 18-24VDC that provides a different voltage than your original adapter.
- Always make sure your power supply provides the right polarity: (-) inside the jack barrel, (+) on the shield of the jack (barrel jack 5.5/2.1 mm).
Setting the overall brightness
The other trimmer (2), marked "brilliance" is there to set the amount of brightness in the wet signal. Use it to your own taste. It changes the tone all the way from brilliant to muffled. The factory setting leaves it in the middle position.
Original units used by: Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, Robin Trower ...
Controls: Volume, Symmetry, Intensity, Speed, Chorus/Vibrato switch
Contemporary trend: pulsing yellow/red LED indicator, speed mod ala Gilmour, internal "brilliance" trimmer, True Bypass switching
Reviews
Since the sound hasn't changed (except the added possibility to tame down the trebles), you can still check out this review of the old model.
Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet and new Nick Mason's band uses our Moon Vibe MkII.
Matt Sorum of Guns NRoses owns our Moon Vibe MkII.
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Andrea Magri plays Breathe with Moon Vibe MkII employed
Settings: Speed 9 o'clock || Intensity at 7 || Symmetry at 3.5 || Volume at 7.5
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The price includes:
- power adapter 100-230VAC / 18Vdc with the mains plug that fits your country outlets
- 5 rubber adhesive feet (one spare)
- hand-picked, measured photocells
- a hard-to-find reverse log pot for speed control as it was used in the original units
- quality switches by Cliff
- true bypass switching that won't pop
- low capacity jack sockets by Cliff
- thick wires to keep the maximum sound fidelity and overall durability
- firm and durable internal design
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