Review Demo - TC Electronic Viscous Vibe

Read the review: bit.ly/TCViscou...
Compact, affordable Uni-Vibe-inspired pedals have become abundant in recent years-an excellent development for psychedelically aligned modulation fiends like this editor. What makes this proliferation of swirl machines extra-cool is that builders are also looking beyond mimicking the original Uni-Vibe (a thankless task for digital engineers in particular), adding extra features and sounds that expand on the original’s possibilities.
At its core, TC Electronic’s $129 Viscous Vibe is a digital-modulation machine for Vibe fans on a budget. For plug-and-play types it delivers a fundamentally Uni-Vibe-like voice colored by a low-end-heavy, tremolo-like intensity. But Viscous Vibe also incorporates TC’s Tone Print technology, making many more flavors available via download. While many of these extra textures aren’t authentically Uni-Vibe-like, they make the Viscous Vibe a formidable and versatile modulation unit.
The Viscous Vibe comes in TC’s signature Tone Print pedal enclosure. It features the same basic controls as a Uni-Vibe: A small switch toggles between the commonly used “chorus” effect and the 100%-wet vibrato function. (Its middle position activates downloaded Tone Print voices-more on this in a bit). Three knobs control effect intensity, volume, and modulation speed.
To continue reading the review, visit: bit.ly/TCViscou...

[@BluesLicks101]

I'm just glad that Ace Ventura has found work!

[@Leo026363]

lol...

[@iromregal2468]

Hahahahaha​

[@bigtonemalone2921]

Lmao…..GET’EM

[@mrtambourineman6107]

NOT Ace Ventura ! You're thinking 🤔 of Jim Carey.

[@fs6086]

Yeah man. Look alike...wohoo😆

[@catboyzee]

The 'TC for my Bunghole' patch sounds like Wah-meets-Phaser sound. Very funky, digging it.

[@oyahthefirst]

I mean the idea of the pedal sold me but your playing sold me. Thanks for not playing obnoxiously in your demo, you're awesome.

[@robhead22]

I love this guy. Always thrilled when I see its one of his demos. Great sounding pedal!!

[@enzocampagna6751]

San

[@xblood1978]

Same here am glad the lad has found a pedal he's hooked on...and who can blame him what a Feking sound

[@lightnesstraveling]

My only problem with Bohlinger's demos is that he can make **anything** sound good... even a "Bunghole" patch... with a slide!

[@TheSpaceVette]

Tried out a univiber today that I had never even heard of before. But my bud Jerry is always ahead of the pack when it comes to finding relatively new effect pedals that are 'must-see'. It is made by a firm named Drybell. The pedal has been named -'The Vibe Machine'. Man o man, how did I miss this one? AWESOME potential. Oh yeah, forgot to note that this one I tried was The Vibe Machine V2. I ordered one, almost ordered 2 ....just in case. Powerful Presence is one phrase to describe the tone. Just blows me away. I know that this pedal may not be new to you, but feel like I must have been hibernating not to have heard of it until now. Oh yeah, the Viscous Vibe is absolutely one of the top univibers out there. So much fun to be had editing the tones within reach of this fine device, especially with the tone printing capabilities. Of course I had to own one of these also. I cant wait to get started exploring the sublime sonic realms to be found, and tickle the regions between my ears.

[@lanerussell7958]

I like the intro...like Hendrix playing Dark Side of the Moon.

[@Frankie_Holt]

I love mine. Sounds great with a fuzz

[@imeddy]

3:17 Tremolo is fluctuation in amplitude (volume), vibrato is fluctuation in pitch. Very different.

[@ThomDumdust]

Ed Dekker I thought that too. I mean, he's from Premier Guitar and doesn't know the basic difference between the two effects. I've personally never understood why/how some people find the two effects comparable.

[@ericroberts3949]

So called tremolo bridges on the guitar produce more of a vibrato effect too. Point being that it's not the first time I've seen those terms conflated.

[@blueshorecreative3146]

Thanks 9 years ago. I just bought one.....but I'm hung up on some sounds from the 60s, man! Some of the TC pedals are excellent value and excellent sounds.

[@andypletch7068]

he went from LSD by the beatles to the sample from hits from the bong this guy knows his audience haha

[@Matt-oy4cs]

Cypress Hill sampling Dusty Springfield is still one of the best samples in rap imo

[@javiceres]

It sounds more authentic than the myriads of phasers that clame to be Vibe pedals, to say the least. Then, some toneprints are really interesting

[@mariobarreto]

Great demo! Nice work, John, as always.

[@Steve_9292]

'TC for my bunghole' is Devin Townsend's patch. If anyone's got a few extra minutes, TC's own video about him recording it is hilarious. Dev's a genius.

[@TheDynamicsDepartment]

Egregious I knew it was his as soon as he said it!

[@mattgilbert7347]

He totally is. I love how he uses analog and digital (Valve amp and AxeFX for a Wet/Dry?Wet rig).

[@kevinjamiesonbelou]

6:22 Looks like he is returning from another dimension.

[@deadlegs187]

Lol

[@reggiehobbs8800]

JOHN DOES THE BEST REVIEWS ON LINE

[@mrtambourineman6107]

I adore this pedal!

[@neoaureus]

Fender Strat 66 - $8000, Mesa Boogie Lonestar $2250 , Royur 121 mic... $1295 ! and the humble TC VVibe is 129 bucks ...... so yes it will sound good.

[@stratmatt73]

...And your point is? Guess they should do their demos with Squier starter packs and Radio Shack mics. Get a job, and join the party.

[@PMTluke]

Nice guitar playing with the viscous I dig it

[@fretboardmaster70]

Nicely demonstrated and I have my pedal on its way to me as I write. I have been holding out for a good Uni Vibe clone for some time with the hope that those great guys at TC Electronics would come up with their version and low and behold, they did. My Rig awaits.

[@shckltnebay]

+Chris Lightfoot Well how is it?

[@fretboardmaster70]

Love my Viscous Vibe. It has a twist to it that makes it not exactly a clone but all those trade mark sounds are there.

[@nunoharris]

Hi is this pedal similar to the Uni Vibe pedal? Thanks

[@instrumentenfreak]

Rehearsal with tc: "Wait a minute ... let me call my pedal."

[@javiceres]

instrumentenfreak :)

[@carlosclerinsestrada3852]

I recently bought a 2nd hand one. Any user? When I turn my copy off it does not turn off inmediately. It does it in 2 secs time. Anybody with the same issue?¿...

[@ricmel8008]

Is it better than the TC Electronic Choka?

[@kiljoy5223]

So when will it be available as a virtual pedal app for iPad?

[@harinagitari8591]

whats the power consumption of the pedal ?

[@e.p.g9572]

Can u set up the on/off switch in the tone print apk for time tempo like in Flashback Delay 2???

[@Rasputin1176]

I'm sorry but the pulse is not asymmetrical enough, it has that "wah wah" sound to it instead of lop sided throb. Notice most of these vibe pedals coming out don't offer head to head comparison with a real Shin Ei. (I'll add not all Shin Ei Univibes sound the same, & 50 years later many are not functioning correct. So even saying used one as reference designing doesn't mean much by itself. Best you could achieve is copying 1 specific vintage vibe's tone). In fairness it's a damn hard effect to get right. Like many, the TC is not a bad pedal, just doesn't sound much like original to me....

[@ConnorGremory]

Theres a tone print called vintagevibe2 that sounds pretty close. Its got that throb you want.

[@GuitArch54]

can you give us a link to that pedal? thx

[@HuBrIsRaDiO]

Did you fail to mention that the speed intensifies when you hold the pedal switch dow, or am I just seeing things?

[@makkietakkie]

+HuBrIsRaDiO He does for the vibrato, at around 6:15 and 7:30, but no, he does not actually mention it.

[@jameshalbert181]

HuBrIsRaDiO really? I just ordered one I'll prolly wear that feature out. I'm pretty sure that's how the old Lesley foot switches worked

[@thepatriot4355]

The best Uni Vibes out there in 2022 are the Electro Harmonix Good Vibes and the Fulltone Deja Vibe Uni Vibes both are very Authentic with Photo Cells

[@marcohermans3207]

The good vibes is good but I don't like the wave form. The fulltone deja vibe is nowadays to expensive. With the TC vibe you can adjust all those parameters and more in the software but you'll have to tweak it for a while. I can get as close as 90% of my original Shin Ei. That's close enough...

[@theWARMJET]

sounds and looks very good too

[@satanluvzu]

A very entertaining presentation. Sounds awesome.

[@rocknrollgranddad]

"So those are some great, crazy space noises"

[@belo1971]

What a great hair color !!!!!

[@onzkicg]

Sounds good for making artful unique music, maybe studio recordings. Anybody has on live pedal board?

[@sirlestat14]

what song are you playing when you first demo the vibrato part

[@khazz01]

Dusty Springfield - Son of a preacher man

[@Fogertian]

I read that the guy that invented the Uni Vibe ... actually it was designed with 4 fx ... in one ... tremolo ... vibrato included.

[@mattgilbert7347]

Dude, unless it's harmonic tremolo, Vibe is totally different. Amplitude (volume) modulation vs pitch modulation. A Univibe is basically a certain kind of pitch vibrato blended with a dry signal. It's different to a Chorus (which is also Vibrato + Dry signal). A different way of modulating the frequencies.

[@jjcarter6539]

Nice RELIC guitar man!

[@greggjohnson305]

So Hendrix! Love it!

[@jamiemorgan4146]

Bad copy of Hendrix ( the pedal )

[@tylerwilson8270]

What's that first little riff? Really like it

[@wjdavey3]

YAY!!!! TC Electronic Rocks!!!! And - the "Viscous Vibe" Really Rocks too!!!! :-D I just Ordered one!!!! :-D Wes

[@shckltnebay]

If it just had a expression pedal input!

[@geronimo546]

what are you playing at around 4:00?

[@Airhornsman]

The Beatles - Lucy in the sky with diamonds

[@FransvandenBergeMuziekschuur]

Jimmy Hendrix used to switch from fast to slow on the vibe at the heigth of a solo. That option generally is not available on a single pedal. The tc pedals have a ‘hold’ option on the footswitch. But John doesn’t show it here. So I wonder if it has that.

[@maciekomis]

Its shown at the end of the intro solo.

[@WizardClipAudio]

No the Hammond was designed to sound like a pipe organ and the Leslie was designed to give it a carousel vibe.

[@jfjoubertquebec]

Is this digital?

[@kaustik185]

+Jean-François Joubert yes, it's dsp-based.

[@AnthonyBurrito1313]

buying this immediately

[@nicolasriq]

Viscous vibe or mxr univibe??

[@MrOzgooner]

mxr isnt that great..

[@Chalepastel]

great vibe dude

[@neoaureus]

Viscous Vibe.... belongs in an ADULT STORE !!! haha

[@jimivibes609]

Sorry , sounds nothing like a univibe. Very digital sounding phaser... the throb is symmetrical

[@JCBigCat]

@5:19 “it’s not really an amp tremolo...” Yeah man, it’s a vibrato!

[@felipeuchida3378]

Tell Fender it. It has been 60 years since they didn't get ir for the first time

[@AllaGraceMusic]

It sounds realy good:)

[@lousekoya1803]

I didnt know Ace Ventura made gear demo!

[@wezlam]

Breaking bad outro!

[@elcochipit]

good review

[@dante777666777]

not throwing other names out there but this sounds like my warmer script phase 90.

[@DanRodriguez1]

love this guy, nice review

[@daleywhaley]

TC for my bunghole - you just broke me!

[@ITheFight]

Johny beans the man!

[@nomandad2000]

“Love Hurts” Nazareth sounding

[@bubbanderson]

Vibrato = modulation of frequency Tremolo = modulation of volume. Simples !!

[@bubbanderson]

A note going out of tune & back is modulation of the frequency ie vibrato. In a phaser a series of peaks and troughs in the frequency spectrum and then swept back & forth which gives you the movement in the sound. A flanger recreates the 60's trick where engineers would lightly hold one side of the multitrack tape causing a phase difference between the track which again gives you that classic whooshing sound.

[@shaft9000]

Unfortunately, guitars still come equipped with 'locking tremolos" and "floating tremolos" that do diddly-squat to volume. And amps both called 'tremo-lux' and vibro-verb' that do diddlysquat to pitch. I think both terms suck. Sound is measured in frequency and amplitude over time. However it changes - according to the influence of some function/action - is called modulation. That's about as simple as it gets, but only synth nerds and scientists use these terms.

[@gibsonvos5120]

It might make "great crazy space noises” but that’s not the correct chord sequence for Lucy in the Sky..

[@ckortjester]

It looks like my MXR Uni has a contender... I want to hear this pedal going into a Fuzz or Rat.

[@Casey_J96]

Colby Kortas im actually looking to get one and was comparing is the MXR a good start? Im new to vibe pedals.

[@ckortjester]

CJSchecter96 It does well for cleans since it has the output knob, and distorted tones are pleasant only when the vibe goes before everything but the tuner. Overall, it does what supposed to do and I'm happy with it, TC has toneprint and the speed up mode when holding down the button. Being that the TC and the MXR are the same price, try to demo them side by side. It's a vibe so it's hard not to like!

[@Casey_J96]

thanks for the input man! i Pretty much had my mind set on the MXR because of the simple controls but if i can try them both i will.

[@fdgdfgvvdfvred6305]

It's like Timothy Olyphant's brother...

[@rednef53]

The ramp up and down is a great feature. Bass throb is good but to much high end comes through and sometimes sounds like a wah. I tried the other tone prints and even went into the tone editor they offer. Honestly, I could not figure out how to smooth out the high end through the tone editor. I found it also robs your tone. You can hear it when the pedal shuts off. In a live band setting know will notice and not a deal breaker. I realize its digital and I think it's one of the best non photo cell vibes created yet. The new MXR is not even close as it actually adds distortion as the phase move and the bass throb just didn't work for me. Best recreation IMHO is the Fulltone MDV-1 the new black version. It sounds very organic but it's also very large. If space is an issue then the Viscous Vibe is a great option.

[@ryanpaulretouch]

switch to buffered bypass.

[@javiceres]

I think the Korg nu-Vibe is crazy for the classic deep and organic vibe stuff. TC is a very convenient option for sure, probably better than most "affordable" analog options.

[@markcampbell8710]

Viscus?

[@kevinjamiesonbelou]

Viscous, yes. As in “ viscosity” , or a liquids ‘thickness’

[@ProCoRat]

Am I crazy or is this guy one hell of a player?

[@djankokahn4392]

Hi John.

[@oaeoeaoRust]

Vintage JB!

[@alexhuevera939]

wrong!! not designed to sound like Leslie speaker

[@TommySixGun]

I have 4 vibe pedals. This one is my least favorite. A rotovibe or a Lovepedal Picklevibe blows the TC away

[@vampyros1]

Um… that last note on ‘Lucy…’

[@jomy10-games]

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

[@Foxglove963]

Ah don't have a mobile phone to download more flavours. so I'll refrain from buying this pedal.

[@Breathemusic4202]

Jim Carey does pedal reviews now?

[@xxelove]

This guy reminds me of Bob Weir

[@tbobbyelectric]

Please. Do NOT bother to show up for work tomorrow.... You blew it by being on Barbituates for this review. Ugh. I think I hate myself one more step beyond the Madness, now.

[@bobsponge3007]

Nice HAIR!!!!!!! Cant stop looking and shaking my head. At least you have hair, unless its a huge syrup. Very geek chic.

[@markconnell7723]

NOT a Deja vibe , but OK

[@TheWilliamHoganExperience]

SPLAT!

[@potatoheadhaoy]

Lol, Tracy Chapman...

[@neoaureus]

haha...sea sickness quality !

[@rokinrandy]

ehhh,nah

[@shawnshipstad8883]

I do not care for it. I need a phase shifter. MXR is the route for me, unless I could go back to the 70s and get another Mutron 2.

[@nivdavid177]

we know how to turn knobs just play more talk less

[@jamiemorgan4146]

One of the Worst sounding univibe clones

[@BlueberryStinkFinger62]

Pro tools Lmao..dude Guitar..Effect..Amp..then youll get the True Sound Effect ..not by using Pro Tools this Demo is useless..

[@duffman18]

What? Every single music studio uses pro tools. Every album you've listened to since the 80s has been made with Pro tools.

[@JabJibJib]

Jesus, quit talking and play. It's a pedal demo ...

[@AstralElephantFuzz]

Don't blame them if they want to provide information for people who aren't gear plebs.

[@kdchmln]

Imagine if the limits of your imagination of what to do with a guitar was limited to lazily aping 60s/70s guitar stereotypes. I don’t think a demo of this pedal could be any more boring or uninspiring.

[@nomandad2000]

Did homie say request lines are open? He’s just showing you what the fuckin pedal does....If you have imagination, you think about what it would sound like with YOU playing YOUR songs...