VIBUTRON
When viewed in the present day, Frantone’s Vibutron
still stands head and shoulders above most other
analog tremolos. Many manufacturers these days
stick with one LFO wave shape; I can’t speculate as
to why, but most signs point to “it’s hard.” Whatever
the reason, most manufacturers offer sine wave
tremolo, which is billed as “amp-like” and others offer
square-wave tremolos and bill them as “choppy” or
“percussive.” This is all well and good, as all lovers of
tremolo can attest to, but Frantone asked “why not
both” over a decade ago, and the Vibutron was born.
Featuring not one, not two, but three waveforms
(sine, square and triangle), the Vibutron packs a lot of
features into one box. “Amp-like” is a term that gets
thrown around all too often, and the Vibutron is at the
top of the pile. Sight unseen, I challenge you to tell the
difference between the Vibutron and any amplifier’s
built-in sine or triangle tremolo. One of the most
exciting things about the Vibutron isn’t what you see,
it’s what you don’t see—the internals of the unit feature
many rarely-seen parts, including a couple you likely
won’t see in any other stompbox. It’s a real testament
to the level of engineering present in the pedal, and just
how far someone is willing to go in order to deliver the
best analog trem on the market.
BASSWEET
Recognizing a lack of bass-centric dirt boxes, Frantone
released the Bassweet (related to The Sweet, more
on that later), to much acclaim. Years later, finding one
is quite a difficult affair. One can only theorize as to
why, but my guess revolves around the idea that the
Bassweet produces an unholy amount of low end that
is sure to satisfy all four-stringers. The Bassweet is a
take on Frantone’s lauded The Sweet fuzz, and keeps
the tone of the original without sacrificing a drip of low
end. The heart of the Bassweet is a germanium clipping
section with a retooled diode arrangement. When
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TONE TALK //
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