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PEDAL SNAPSHOT � Phil Traina
Key Features
Warm analog vibrato / chorus
Cuts through mix well
SHIN-EI Vibe-Bro Honey $ 699 Expression pedal $ 199 Over 40 years have passed since the Shin-ei Uni-vibe hit the streets. Now, this iconic pedal is back and is being built in the USA. The Shinei pedals were a big hit with notable players like Jimi Hendrix, Robin Trower, and David Gilmour( You may have heard of them.) When it comes to the new Vibe-Bro by Shin-ei, they have captured everything that made the original so great and added a couple modern twists. For our readers that don’ t know what a Uni- Vibe is, it’ s an analog vibrato / chorus pedal. The tones that come out of this box are a luscious sweeping chorus and wobbly vibrato. With the added expression pedal you are able to unlock all that the Vibe-Bro has to offer. I was channeling Machine Gun by Jimi Hendrix the moment I plugged it in. I have to say; I have played many vibe pedals in my day. This one takes the cake for one simple reason: it does not kill your punch. What I mean by that is that many vibe pedals I have played make me feel like I’ m fighting to poke through the mix, but not with the Vibe-Bro.
I want to take a moment to speak on the improvements that Shin-ei has made to the current version of the pedal. Number one: the noise floor is much lower. There is a certain amount of noise that comes with a pedal like this, but this unit is much quieter than vintage ones. Number two: they made the preamp switchable to bypass. Some people don’ t want the guitar signal colored by the pedals preamp, which is understood. I found it warms up the signal a bit. Lastly: they added an IEC connector instead of having the power cord hardwired in. Overall, the Shin-ei Vibe-bro is an awesome box, and if vibe / chorus is your thing you won’ t mind the larger footprint.
www. Shin-ei. com
LAZY J PROJECTS Cruiser- £ 199 Cruiser Deuce- £ 250
Key Features Boost & Overdrive Compression Switch
Touch Sensitive Overdrive
Jesse, of Lazy J projects, has made a career of building low wattage tweed style amps in the UK. The Cruiser and Cruiser Deuce are an extension of that great tone. The Cruiser pedals are essentially a boost and an overdrive in one. The Cruiser Deuce separates the boost and drive sections beautifully. The drive section is a very organic, touch sensitive, open, and uncompressed overdrive. There is a compression switch that allows you to go from totally open to heavy compression. The heavier the compression, the heavier the drive. If you run it pretty heavy you can dial back your volume on the guitar and you will clean right up. The boost section is great. It ' s just enough to push the amp into overdrive. The boost settles in with your core tone and gives you that extra something. If you can get your hands on anything from Lazy J, you will not be disappointed.
www. LazyJProjects. com
44 Jul � Aug 2016 CollectibleGuitar. com