Strymon Ultraviolet Vintage Vibe Guitar Effects Pedal  From Strymon

Vintage Plus

UltraViolet’s simple and responsive controls provide a wider range of sounds than traditional vibe pedals.

In addition to the familiar Chorus (50% wet) and Vibrato (100% wet) settings, there is a new Blend setting (30% wet) for an inspiring variety of more subtle effects.

A Bias switch gives you three distinct flavors of sweep shape and tone emphasis, allowing for tons of sonic variation.

At slow speeds, the intensity range has been expanded beyond that of traditional vibe circuits to push even further into warmly undulating sonic territory. UltraViolet gives you all the classic vibe tones—and more.

All New Algorithm

For UltraViolet’s new vibe algorithm, all the elements of the classic optical vibe circuit (and their interdependencies) have been meticulously recreated for a dynamic playing response.

From the effects of bias, speed and LFO waveshape on the pulsing of the lamp, to

the response of the light-dependent resistors that set the center frequencies of the staggered phasing filters, the entire system has been duplicated and carefully tuned to produce the very best sounds a vibe pedal can offer.

Stereo MIDI Rig Ready

TRS stereo input and output in a dual mono configuration means you can place UltraViolet at any point in your pedal chain with no impact on your stereo image.

Full MIDI implementation with 300 available preset locations ensures that UltraViolet is ready for your MIDI rig.

In addition to TRS MIDI, there is a USB-C jack for controlling the pedal via MIDI from a computer or for performing firmware updates.

For hands-free control without MIDI you can connect an expression pedal for control over any combination of knobs in any direction. (Expression pedal controls Speed by default.) Or attach an optional external switch for tap tempo or favorite recall.

Finally, a high-impedance, ultra-low noise discrete Class A JFET stereo input preamp provides exceptional touch sensitivity, dynamics and feel—all in a rugged and elegantly compact form factor.

One common aspect of vintage vibe pedals is variation in the way each unit sounds. Even two identical pedals manufactured the same year are likely to sound different from one another, and a single pedal may not sound quite the same year after year. Some of this variation in vintage circuits can be traced to drift in the setting of an internal bias trimpot, which has a marked impact on the sonic character of the pedal, affecting the shape and timing of the warble as well as frequency emphasis.

The thing is, some of these variations can sound pretty great! So with UltraViolet, we included a Bias switch in order to reliably cover the full range of the best vibe tones. Under the hood, the switch not only changes the bias level, but also optimizes the LFO waveshape for the selected bias to create the most inspiring vibe experiences possible.

The Low setting produces a pulsing character well-suited for tremolo effects (especially in Blend Mode). The Mid setting has a balanced character capable of producing many of the most sought-after classic vibe effects, while the High setting has a smoother shape with a wider frequency sweep, able to create sounds evocative of Pink Floyd’s “Breathe.”

UltraViolet’s Mode switch sets the mix between wet and dry signals. Chorus Mode gives you a 50/50 mix for the deepest, whooshy, gooey vibe tones. Many classic vibe tones can be achieved at moderate Speed settings, with Intensity between midpoint and maximum in Chorus Mode.

Vibrato Mode is 100% wet for responsive, frequency-dependent phase vibrato tones with a wide range of uses. Add subtle motion to a lead, or head for the extremes of far-out bubbly madness. In Vibrato Mode, use Low Bias for steady pitch with a dramatic lump, Mid Bias for a more sing-songy warble, and High Bias for a more softly-shaped pitch vibrato.

Blend is a dry-dominant mode (70% dry, 30% wet) for more subtle but still highly engaging and inspiring effects. Try Blend Mode with Low Bias and moderate speeds for squarish phase tremolo effects, or with High Bias at fast speeds and low Intensity for rotary speaker style effects.

Color Boost - UltraViolet’s Volume knob provides up to 4dB of boost to give your signal a bit of a kick when the pedal is engaged. In Chorus Mode or Blend Mode, turning the Intensity knob to zero effectively transforms UltraViolet into a phase EQ, with a brighter output at Low Bias and a darker output at High Bias. At higher Intensity settings with the filter notches in motion, bias-related darkening or brightening of the tone ceases to be noticeable, but the volume boost is still effective at any Intensity level. Bonus: In Vibrato mode, an uncolored boost can be achieved with the Intensity at zero.