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TC Electronic Shaker Vibrato Featuring TonePrint Technology
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Shaker Vibrato is one of seven new pedals in TC's TonePrint pedal line and the second pedal I've reviewed so far in these pages--the Vortex Flanger was the other. Like all the TonePrint pedals, a lot of flexible and easy-to-use technology is crammed into these standard size stomp boxes. Shaker Vibrato provides some of the most natural sounding and 'human-like' pitch modulation I've heard in a guitar pedal and the powerful controls let you get it just the way you want it to sound.
The TonePrint technology is a way to download and store a single, customized pedal setup right into the pedal via a mini-USB cable (included). Well-known guitarists have developed these 'patches' and there are nascent collections building right now for five of the seven (so far) of the TonePrint-enabled pedals and they are available at: www.tcelectronic.com/toneprint-the-concept.asp.
There are four, smooth-working controls: Speed sets the rate of the vibrato, Depth is intensity, and Tone emphasizes the high and low frequencies. The Rise Time control tells the pedal how long the vibrato effect takes to reach a preset depth. Rise Time works in conjunction with the Latch mode. Latch is available using the Mode toggle switch. All the TonePrint pedals have a three-mode toggle switch in the center of the pedal.
When in Latch mode, whatever vibrato settings you've set up are used momentarily--only when you step on the bypass switch--otherwise the pedal is in bypass. This mode is handy for adding the Shaker's effect to the end of sustaining notes, phrase or chord chimes just as you would use the vibrato bar on your guitar.
Rise Time mimics the slow (or fast) ramp up/down speed of a rotating speaker--such as a Hammond organ Leslie speaker cabinet. A fast Rise Time setting means when you step on and off on the bypass switch, the vibrato speed comes up to full depth quickly as if the Leslie is switched to Fast speed. Conversely if you'd like the vibrato to "ease in" in a slower more subtle way, turn the Rise Time control CW for more time.
This is a very 'pro' and musical feature that greatly expands the use of vibrato and makes it possible to add 'whammy bar' touches using a guitar without a vibrato tailpiece.
I found Shaker Vibrato to sound and work perfectly and it fulfilled a yearning I've had for a Boss VB-2 Vibrato pedal that's been long out of print since the '80's. TC's Shaker Vibrato sounds better, has a long battery life and smart internal programming for configuring the bypass switch for true bypass or buffered bypass for long cable runs to your amp.
TC Electronic's Shaker Vibrato sells for $177 MSRP. Check out: Corona Chorus, FlashBack Delay, Hall Of Fame Reverb, and Vortex Flanger pedals that are all TonePrint-enabled plus MojoMojo Overdrive and Dark Matter Distortion that are not. Much more at: www.tcelectronic.com/pedals.asp
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