Josaka - Berkshire live music, indie record label, gig promoter

Voodoo Labs Micro Vibe

Posted: Thu, 15 May 2008

It has been said that if it weren't for Hendrix, we'd all be sitting around playing acoustic guitars arguing about the tonal advantages of spruce tops versus cedar.

I'd probably be working as a laboratory test subject getting food pellets for right answers and small electric shocks for wrong ones. You get the idea. The guy was an innovating genius and his guitar playing is responsible for a lot of us heading down the path that would have us experience the thrill of playing rock guitar with a wild, reckless abandon.

A lot of people assume that he just sort of stumbled across his tone, but Hendrix's huge guitar sound was by no means an accident. He tried everything he could get his hands on. He knew the sound he wanted to achieve long before he heard it pumping out of those 100 watt Marshalls. A sound that 40 years on most of us still are left wondering, 'how did he do that?'

A big part of his innovating tone was the way he used effects. He described to Roger Mayer, who was doing a lot of custom pedals for Hendrix at the time, a sound that he heard in a dream. In 1968 Roger came up with the Uni-Vibe rotating speaker simulator. A fantastic phaser based effect that would feature on many of Hendrix's recordings.

It's small, but it's thin.

The wonderful Uni-Vibe was unfortunately beyond the reach of most mere mortals due to its cost and size. So the clever lads at Voodoo Lab in the U.S. came up with this vibey little number.

The Micro Vibe is Voodoo Lab's take on the Hendrix Uni-Vibe sound, but in a smaller less complicated application. It nails those Hendrix tones to a point where you could be at Woodstock being warned about the brown acid. Although the effect is phaser based it's more lush and deep that your average phase 90.

Its operation is very simple. The intensity controls the depth of the effect and the speed controls the rate of the wonderful warble. As with all the Voodoo Lab stuff the Micro Vibe has been designed with the gigging musician in mind. The unit uses good quality components, strong housing and a great footswitch to ensure years of hassle free stomping.

How much should I pay?

The Micro Vibe doesn't come up all that often, but if you're patient you can pick them up on eBay for around �70 in good condition.

The Micro Vibe sound has such a strong mental association that as soon as you hear it you can't help but think, 'Hendrix'. Will it make you sound exactly like Hendrix? Even with all the same gear the answer would be no. The guy had a certain way of attacking the strings with such confidence and conviction that his tone was more a cry of mercy from his gear, but pedals like the Micro Vibe will help you get one step closer.

Daniel Steinhardt, The Gig Rig
Copyright Josaka

About the author

Daniel Steinhardt is an accomplished guitarist who has recorded, toured and performed all around the world. His performance credits include Randy Bachman (Bachman Turner Overdrive), Wendy Mathews, Max Sharam, Vincent Stone and Shanley Dell. He is also a partner of The Gig Rig Ltd and is the man responsible for TheGigRig range of innovative switching systems that you can see at www.thegigrig.com