Back in 1998, Dave Sestito, a musician and
engineer, built his young guitar-playing
daughter a distortion box at her request. His
success with the project gave him the box-building
bug and before long, Sestito was hard
at work building a delay pedal he hoped would
best his own Electro-Harmonix Memory Man.
The process involved scrapping at least one
prototype in frustration. But Sestito kept at
it—coming up with two excellent designs,
which in 2000 became the Echomaster and
Ultra Chorus, the first two products from his
boutique pedal company, DLS.
Since then, DLS has expanded and evolved
its line of highly rugged and eminently
musical stompboxes. The Echomaster and
Ultra Chorus have been replaced with the
EchoTAP and the Ultra Chorus II, respectively.
And the line is now rounded out with
the Chorus~Vib, the RotoSIM, and the Versa
Vibe—a compact, pure analog unit with tons
of very cool vibrato effects on tap.
Vibe Selection
The Versa Vibe is DLS’s most compact pedal,
measuring 5" x 4" x 2.5". But like most DLS
boxes, it packs a lot of functionality within
its tough, stage-ready steel enclosure. On the
back of the unit are a 9V DC input with a
2.1 mm jack that will work with any polarity,
along with three 1/4" steel jacks: in, out, and
an input for an external expression pedal, such
as a Yamaha FC-7 or Roland EV-5, which can
be used to control modulation rate. The Versa
Vibe also comes with a DC adapter, which is
not an optional accessory given that the unit
cannot be battery powered.
On the face of the Versa Vibe, you’ll find
fairly standard Depth, Rate, Dry/Wet, and
Volume controls, a Waveform pot, which
moves the vibe effects between smooth and
choppier settings, and Bass Throb, which
adjusts the intensity of the pulse in the lower
end. There are two mini toggles on the far
right of the controls. One moves between a
Vintage setting that’s a bit thicker sounding,
and Modern, which imparts a distinct brightness.
The other switch selects between vibrato
or chorus effects. A green LED lights up when
the effects are on, while a red LED pulsates
according to the rate of the effect that’s dialed
in.
The Versa Vibe is all top-notch components
on the inside—including a charge pump
circuit for increasing analog voltage (for a
warm and dynamic sound without clipping)
and an INA Pot, which adjusts the input gain
level of Input A.
Wealth of Sonic Possibilities
With so many wave-shaping options on tap,
the Versa Vibe could potentially overwhelm
an effects-pedal neophyte. Thoughtfully,
though, the DLS includes a handy data sheet
(also downloadable at the website, in case
you lose it) with some very cool jumping-off
settings, including Trower Vibe, Jimi Vibe,
Double Pulse Throb, Rotary Speaker, Pitch
Bend Vibrato, and Magnatone Vibrato, to
name a few.
To audition the Versa Vibe, I plugged
a 1962 Gibson ES-330TDC into a Line 6
DT50 112 amplifier and the pedal into the
amp’s effects loop. I was pleased to find that
with the effect off, the sound of the guitar was
pure and unadulterated, thanks to the pedal’s
true-bypass functionality. Whether off or on,
the Versa Vibe was nice and quiet.
When I tried the suggested Trower Vibe
setting, I found that the pedal added a bit of
girth to the basic tone of the ES-330 (this
proved true for just about every setting, as
a matter of fact). The Trower setting was
immensely pleasing. It provided a richly swirling,
almost wah-like effect that made major
7th chords sound really colorful. Fiddling
around with the rate control, it was easy to
tailor the effect to suit a range of tempos.
The Double Pulse Throb (another setting
in the chorus mode) extracted a bit of grit
from the amp. And the pedal sounded musical
before I even picked a note—creating an
attractive pulsing effect out of the hum of
the guitar’s P-90 pickups. Subjected to an
improvised solo atop an open-A drone, the
pedal created beautifully atmospheric terrain
where artifacts from previously played
notes would linger awhile, creating a cool
reverb-like effect. And I often found myself
playing with less force and density than
usual, surrendering some control to the
Versa Vibe.
Dialed in just as the Versa Vibe manual
suggested, the Pitch Bend Vibrato (on the
Vintage setting) created a subtle but lovely
effect, making a series of chords sound as if
I played them with my picking hand continuously
manipulating a vibrato arm. This
is especially handy if you’re playing a guitar
without a vibrato bar. By adding greater
depth, more wetness, and a higher setting on
the waveform control, along with a bit more
gain from the amp, I was able to get a lovely
approximation of My Bloody Valentine’s idiosyncratic
“gliding” approach, among other
dreamy, shoegaze-style effects.
The Verdict
You can toy around with the Versa Vibe for
hours and continue to discover uncommon
and inspiring sounds. Each new combination
really bolstered the woody sound of the
ES-330 while creating distinctive and unusual
moods that can lead you down unfamiliar avenues
of expression. Its many different vibrato
and chorus effects range from the subtle to the
otherworldly, from vintage to modern, and all
sound deep and rich. The Versa Vibe would
make an indispensable addition to the pedalboards
of guitarists of all stripes. And unlike
a lot of effects pedals, it’s really like another
instrument—a nice deal if you’re game for a
little sonic adventure.
Buy if...
you’re thirsting for a versatile and
inspiring vibe pedal that can take a
beating, and you can afford a treat
for yourself.
Skip if...
you’re comfortable with a tame
chorus or your amp’s built-in vibrato,
and you’re on a budget.
Rating...
