The Frantone Vibutron is a simultaneous exercise in both simplicity and sonic artistry .
On its face , the lemonwedge yellow stompbox is a basic three-knob tremolo , but plug into one and you ’ d be hard pressed — at the very least — to discern a difference between the pedal and the tremolo circuit on your favorite vintage tube amp .
Now , as noted by TRW colleague and friend Nicholas Kula in an article entitled “ Welcome Back , Frantone ” for the June 19 , 2015 issue of Tone Report , the term “ amp-like ” is one that ’ s thrown around all too often . But when it comes to amp-like tremolo pedals — Vibutron is king of the mountain .
From chopped-up and fully gated square wave pulses to the mellow sweetness of surfy sine waves and the something-snappy-inbetween triangle shapes , the Vibutron dishes out more than its fair share of 100 percent analog goodness .
One component that helps achieve the Vibutron achieve its hi-fidelity amplitude modulation
is an analog chip that was built outright as a function generator . This hardware selection yields the Vibutron ’ s ultra-precise waveforms .
Other controls include a Depth knob for blending in as much — or as little — of the effect as you like and a Speed knob to set the pace of the tremolo action .
Something to note here is that the knobs go in opposite directions . To the right of the Depth control , you ’ ll find more intense modulation and a full wetand-dry mix on the square wave setting . Conversely ,
GEAR SPOTLIGHT
FRANTONE
VIBUTRON
REVIEW BY NICK RAMBO STREET PRICE $ 350
The Frantone Vibutron is a simultaneous exercise in both simplicity and sonic artistry .
On its face , the lemonwedge yellow stompbox is a basic three-knob tremolo , but plug into one and you ’ d be hard pressed — at the very least — to discern a difference between the pedal and the tremolo circuit on your favorite vintage tube amp .
Now , as noted by TRW colleague and friend Nicholas Kula in an article entitled “ Welcome Back , Frantone ” for the June 19 , 2015 issue of Tone Report , the term “ amp-like ” is one that ’ s thrown around all too often . But when it comes to amp-like tremolo pedals — Vibutron is king of the mountain .
From chopped-up and fully gated square wave pulses to the mellow sweetness of surfy sine waves and the something-snappy-inbetween triangle shapes , the Vibutron dishes out more than its fair share of 100 percent analog goodness .
One component that helps achieve the Vibutron achieve its hi-fidelity amplitude modulation
is an analog chip that was built outright as a function generator . This hardware selection yields the Vibutron ’ s ultra-precise waveforms .
Other controls include a Depth knob for blending in as much — or as little — of the effect as you like and a Speed knob to set the pace of the tremolo action .
Something to note here is that the knobs go in opposite directions . To the right of the Depth control , you ’ ll find more intense modulation and a full wetand-dry mix on the square wave setting . Conversely ,
54 GEAR SPOTLIGHT // Frantone Vibutron