Retroman Uber Vibe User manual

Uber VibeTM by
"With our '70s Fender Strat, we again flashed back to Hendrixland, with its swirling, liquid tone. This pedal nails it
perfectly....Simply beautiful. We ran the unit in stereo; we're pretty sure Jimi would have loved the expanded, lush
tone....With it's many improvements, the UberVibe just may be the best reproduction of the original Univibe"
Vintage Guitar - February 20 06
As one customer stated it, "I don't want to refer to all of the pedestrian Hendrix/Trower comments but it is all there
for those who need it. This pedal, in my opinion, redefines the Univibe so greatly that it should not even be
compared."
Features
Yes! Stereo!!! One of my primary goals is to take the best tones and make them better. Take it to a level
beyond the expected – make it work for you. Here’s an example – what sounds better to the ear than a
cool modulation effect in stereo? To me, not much. Place two amps across your sound stage and sit in
the midst – hit a hook or two and listen to the waves bounce through your head….fluid, smooth, tone you can drink.
Of course, you can “play it safe” and use either of the outputs alone as a mono pedal – no worries!
True Light De pendent Resistor (LDR) construction
Using my original Shin-Ei Uni-Vibe as a model, components were measured and tested to determine the optimal
specifications. Light meters and controlled halogen lamps were used to study the LDR responses under a range of lux
input. That data was used to locate and acquire the best matched components from modern manufacture, utilizing the
same critical base materials – in this case, cadmium sulfide.
The LDRs which call the UberVibe home are first matched in quads for similar ranges of lamp-on / lamp-off levels – this
guarantees a smooth response over all four stages.
To make the LDRs work, you need a light source. As in the original, an incandescent lamp does the heavy lifting. Unlike
the original, each pedal is tuned during assembly for proper lamp brightness and on/off balance – every one. With a rated
lamp life of 20-50K hours, your UberVibe should be blinking for decades to come.
PHOTO – ORIGINAL PHOTO – UBERVIBE
Retroman Music
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Controls / Inputs / Outputs
Depth
This increases the intensity of the effect, by juicing the incandescent lamp. Lowest levels will produce no noticeable effect
…. highest levels can induce seasickness. I have designed the range to be much greater than the original, to allow for
deeper slow sweeps, if desired. Because of this added range, you may hear a “thump” if the Depth is set high (higher
than 1:00) with a medium to high Speed setting …. You will know when you get into the danger zone.
Speed
The UberVibe was designed with you in mind. No special pedals required – No funky adaptors - Simplicity.
The Speed (Rate) control is side mounted for your convenience. Roll the large wheel toward you for an increased rate ….
Roll it away from you for slower speeds.
If preferred, the side-mounted control can be bypassed by plugging a suitable expression pedal into the Bypass jack
(located on the side opposite the Speed knob - on the side of the case). I highly recommend the Roland EV-5 expression
pedal – be sure to set the “pre-volume” control (small grey knob on left side of EV-5) to zero for widest range.
WARNING! Do n ot insert or re move a plug fr o m th e Remote C ontr ol Jack unle ss t he U ber Vibe i s
OFF. If the Speed La mp is flashing, the Uber Vibe is receiving power - DO NO T insta ll or re move a
remote pe dal plu g. Turn the De pth control full anti-clock w ise until it clicks “off” and unpl ug the
DC a da ptor pl ug before i nsertin g or removing an expression pedal plug. Fa ilure t o fol low thi s
instru ction can sev erely da ma ge the Uber Vi be.
Filters
Subtle. Simple. Effective. These pots taper and shape the flavor of each stage in the UberVibe. Twist and find various
levels of fluidity and “wow”. No marks on the knobs for a reason – trust your ears! Play. Experiment. Enjoy. If you can’t
live without a pointer, note that the set screw on each knob is 180 degrees (opposite) from where a pointer would be …
so, when the knobs are at 12:00, the set screws will be pointing to 6:00.
“Accent” Control
NOS Military pot – Cold War Era (mid 1950’s). Located on the rear panel, between the input and output jacks - small
screwdriver adjustment – lock nut to keep your setting. There is quite a noticeable range of tones as you shift the
trimmer through its travel - from a choppy throb to a smoother (more full) wave. Between this adjustment, the depth
control and the filters, the complete gamut of original UniVibe flavors (and more) are available.
Input
Looking at the rear panel, this is the single jack on the left (below the “Depth” control). Plug cable from guitar into this
jack.
JFET Buffer
Below the Input jack is a small toggle switch. Toggle upward (toward the input jack) to engage the buffer. Toggle
downward to bypass the buffer.
Power Input
The UberVibe has an internal power pump to increase the system voltage to an optimal level – but allows you the
convenience of using your pedal board power supply (assuming heavily filtered and isolated outputs … for lowest noise).
Positive Sleeve, Negative Pin. Use the supplied power transformer (tested in operation for low noise) or clean power from
an appropriate power supply. 12 -15 Volt (100mA) power to the input is ideal – lower voltages might work, but may not
provide the necessary voltage to drive the primary regulation/filter circuitry.
Outputs (Stereo)
The two jacks side-by-side on the rear panel. Plug into either jack for mono – note: each has a unique voice (due to the
stereo splitting and inversion). No doubt, you will find a tone you love! Using both jacks provides you with a true stereo
spread – one side is peaking as the other falls into a valley – beautiful! The output level of each channel can be controlled
by the individual Volume knob in line with that jack.
Retroman Music
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