Electro Harmonix Good Vibes Univibe 4-stars Reviews

beuatifull vibe in the dirty zone

This is a really good vibe sound, interesting for vibrato too. Really dirty 60's pushing vibe. They didn't copy the univibe sound entirely. But their interpretation of it is clear : They chose the dirty, repetitive, squishing sound. More than other pedals, It seems. For this price, it is the top. I did sent it back because I thought I had clipping on the lowest snare. But it seems to be more of a problem of my guitar, when I hit it hard. I think I will order another one. The retrovibe and formula B vibe would be even better, but twice the cost. This one is a nice piece of pedalboard already.

Not pedalboard friendly

I bought this pedal because it "had it all": Great price, great sound, perfect size and works at 9V (many others work at 18V or need to be plugged to AC).

Sadly 9V part is just not very true. After failing to making it work with 4 different power units (a Palmer, a Rockboard, a Harley Benton and finally a Strymon); and making sure that the problem was not current related, since I used the 300mA - 500mA on all the power units. I decided to arm myself with a multimeter and test.

In some forum, it claims that the pedal needs 9.8V to work, which is 0.2V more than the 9.6V that most 9V DC units actually deliver. My own test showed it needed 10.2V. Since I am using now the Strymon unit, it means I cannot connect my Good-Vibe to my pedal board without using the original adapter (now it makes sense why is one of the few pedals including and adapter). Which in practical terms it means it is out of my board.

I love using it, but it always goes offboard. I am considering investing in one that uses 18V which my power unit can actually deliver.

Does a fine job - buy it.

This is an affordable and reliable vibe pedal that can enhance your heavy lead tones when used with fuzz a la Hendrix or give a dreamy wash to your clean chords a la Pink Floyd.

I only have it a week and am still experimenting. The effect can be quite different depending on where you place it in the chain. I started with it before everything and it sounded pretty good. Behind the fuzz pedal however, it loses a lot of volume and perhaps some tone fatness, but it more closely approximated the Hendrix sound I was chasing so it will stay there for now.

The vibrato doesn't appeal so much to me but it does what it says on the tin. The chorus is quite good. I didn't care to have the speed and intensity settings beyond 12 o clock but if you are looking for weirder sounds you may prefer to push further. I wouldn't dismiss this pedal simply as retro - there is potential there in conjunction with other pedals to go and make something really new and unique.

You can add another dimension again with an expression pedal, allowing you control with your foot over the speed or intensity of the swirl (not both simultaneously obviously). Getting the appropriate power supply included is good and Boss could take note!

I'm afraid I can't do comparisons with other models beyond what I hear on youtube. I'm satisfied that this one delivers what I wanted.

Conclusion: This is a win for EHX and I recommend it as a great arrow in the quiver that you certainly won't use all the time but will always need it at some time. Buy it.