Neo-Vibe

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bettsaj
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Post by bettsaj »

I'm doing research in the various Uni-Vibe clones out there and have obviously come across the Neo-Vibe. I understand there are many different clones out there, but the Neo-Vibe is the closest to the original Uni-Vibe as regards sound etc. A few questions regarding this clone:

1. Are there any pitfalls or things I should know about before venturing into building a Neo-Vibe?
2. I've heard that the PCB is a nightmare to etch... Why?
3. I'm a massive David Gilmour fan, Gilmour had his Uni-Vibe custom fitted into a 19" rack unit... Any reason why I couldn't do this with the Neo-Vibe?
4. Are there any modifications that can be done to Neo-Vibe to make it more flexible tone wise?


I don't intend to start this for a while as i have 2 projects on the go already (Muff & Power boost) but am seriously considering attempting the Neo-Vibe as my next project.
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bettsaj
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Post by bettsaj »

Any takers??
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Post by Jaicen »

If you mean the R.G Keen Neovibe, it's 100% the best way to build, provided you buy the relatively inexpensive PCB from Generalguitargadgets.
I've built two, the first had a couple of small errors to fix, the second fired up perfectly first time around and took half the time to build, even with the stacked film 1uF caps I used.

They're both outstanding, I would heartily recommend getting the PCB. I know you could build a forum vibe and etch your own, but why bother when this is freely available and of such high quality? It's not the closest to the original, it IS the original. I made two mods to mine, I increased the 470k input resistor to ground up to 2m2, fixes the volume drop. I also replaced the base-collector resistor of the lamp driver with a pot and series resistor to alter the bias point of the bulb. That allows you to dial in the correct amount of wobble.

FWIW, Gilmour does have a rackmount vibe, there's no reason you couldn't do that using the Moltenvoltage remote chips from Smallbear, who also carry the lamp and LDR's you need. However, Gilmour only used the vibe on three? songs from Dark Side . The later stuff is smallstone or phase 90's.

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bettsaj
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Post by bettsaj »

Many thanks for your comments. I think you're right regarding the PCB. Why reinvent the wheel when somebody has already done a better job of it for you :-)

Regarding putting it into a rack; As far as I know Phil Taylor stripped Gilmour's foot pedal version and built it into the rack unit, so I know it must be possible. I really want it in the rack so I can have it in my GCX audio switcher, but don't want to take up too much pedal draw real estate.

I'm in the UK, do small bear ship internationally?
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Post by Jaicen »

They do yes, it can be expensive though so I usually only order when I have a large enough order to justify it.

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Post by bettsaj »

Pardon my ignorance, but what will the Molten voltage remote chip enable me to do? I've checked the web site, and it's a midi interface type thing?? Is that correct?
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