The DOD FX22 Vibrothang Vibrato is a vintage effect. It was introduced in 1995 and went through two model changes before becoming the VFX in 1998. The first two had the same controls as the VFX but with slightly different names:
The FX22 had a hip line going but not everyone gave in to the jive.
Light sales might have been influenced by the name and control
designations. The suggested settings were Surf Sound,
Rock-a-Billy Sound,
and Cow-Eyed Country Vibrato.
This is 1998 and what a year that was.
Why would a responsible electric mallet player want this
straight-ahead effect? It's simple.
This is as close to a natural vibraphone vibrato as you can get.
The speed knob starts to respond around 10 o'clock; by full rotation,
the vibrato is super tight.
The depth controls the prominence of the vibrato signal but also
controls the volume decrease of the vibrato at the rate of the LFO
(low-frequency oscillator) when using the doppler control for a rotary
sound effect. The doppler knob is phasing and, in conjunction with the
other controls, rotary sound. The image knob is phase regeneration.
The interaction of the knobs in combination with the other sound
parameters is definitely a benefit that makes this pedal more than just
vibrato.
From the original manual, the FX22 has special phasing circuitry.
This adds dimension and colour much like a rotary speaker.
They are telling the truth.
Because this is a stand-alone effect and you will probably be using
multi-effect set-ups.
DOD, in the original manual, recommended an order for effects:
This is a good starting point, but every combination of effects has a unique sound. If you are looking for a natural vibe sound that you can adjust to produce a full palette of colour, this is the vibrato for you.
For more information please go to: http://americaspedal.net/fx22/
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