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lazzrath
Bronze Member
Canada
103 Posts |
 Posted - 06/22/2006 : 10:31:17
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Does anyone have any information on this effect (production year, parent company, etc) that they want to share? I've never seen anything quite like it. It was given to me a long time ago - it's called the Vibra-wah, made by Aquarius? Model 1006? An ahed product?
I've always been so frustrated with it - I mean, it really sounds like garbage, so at the very least I'd like to know a little bit about it's value - if any.
Thanks. |
Edited by - lazzrath on 07/03/2006 07:00:46 |
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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2006 : 21:46:47
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What exactly does it do? "Speed" and "depth" imply to me some sort of phasing, analog delay, or perhaps Leslie simulation.
Have you opened the case to see what's in the circuitry?
Unfortunately, without any sort of famous artist association or any known recording that the sound has appeared on I think you're going to be out of luck as far as any value is concerned... |
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Basstyra
Gold Member
France
523 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2006 : 22:27:03
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If it really sounds like garbage and does not have any value, i'm definitively interested. I think I could offer you some money for it. I like garbage, it got some mojo...  |
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lazzrath
Bronze Member
Canada
103 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2006 : 06:40:15
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quote:
Originally posted by stahlhart
..."Speed" and "depth" imply to me some sort of phasing, analog delay, or perhaps Leslie simulation...
Honestly, it sounds like someone saying "Wah-wah" behind what you're playing - probably why it never caught on - I'll make a soundbyte and upload it in a bit. |
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lazzrath
Bronze Member
Canada
103 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2006 : 08:48:21
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Here's a video of this effect in action - it gave me a chance to play with Windows Movie Maker.
Aquarius Vibra-Wah
Sorry, it gets very out of sync - it was just a cheap video camera, and it recorded at a slower framerate than it is playing back at. |
Edited by - lazzrath on 07/12/2006 23:18:32 |
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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2006 : 13:18:54
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All I got was an advertisement and about five seconds of silence on the link... (?)
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Basstyra
Gold Member
France
523 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2006 : 13:35:53
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| Me too. |
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lazzrath
Bronze Member
Canada
103 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2006 : 21:13:06
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Hmm... that's no good. It's hosted at FileLodge - I'll have to find another host... the file size is around 4.8Mb, so it's too big for all the popular guys (fortunecity, etc)
Lemme find another host - in the meantime, give that link another shot (maybe try saving the file instead of opening it)
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Edited by - lazzrath on 07/13/2006 21:46:57 |
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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2006 : 22:03:22
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Right-cick and "Save Target As..." works. Didn't think to try that; sorry...
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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2006 : 22:10:48
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I just did a quick listen here through my laptop speakers (not at home where I have better PC audio)... but it sounds very much to me like a phaser with more than four stages, or a lot of "resonance" -- compare to a PH-1r with the resonance cranked up, or perhaps a PH-2 in Mode II.
I sold my PH-2 to phostenix, but I've got a PH-1r, and I'll do some comparisons when I get home tonight -- will report back.
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lazzrath
Bronze Member
Canada
103 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2006 : 02:24:14
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Sounds good, stahlhart.
I would A/B it with my PH-1, but I still haven't gotten around to getting it fixed
When I charge my batteries for that camera again, I'll shoot some pics of the circuitry and post them. |
Edited by - lazzrath on 07/14/2006 02:26:16 |
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lazzrath
Bronze Member
Canada
103 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2006 : 02:46:09
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ebay link 1
ebay link 2
Well, I've found the effect, but it's called a "Darius" everywhere else, but mine clearly says "Aquarius" on the front, and in what looks to me like the original font, too (the word "Darius" looks different on those models)
Mine also does not say "MADE IN CANADA" under the output jack.
Hmm... |
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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2006 : 05:25:42
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Lazzrath:
Take a close look at those two auctions. It's the same box. The buyer of the earlier one is the seller of the later one. He must not have liked it either... 
Also looks to me that "Darius" is handwritten, and that perhaps that really was an Aquarius unit that someone got creative on the front panel with. Mabye the guy from Hootie & The Blowfish used to own it.
I was able to get really close in sound to your sample with my PH-1r by diming the depth and resonance controls, and adjusting the rate to get the speed similar to where you had it set. You also had a delay going, and the repeats might have thrown me a bit, but it did sound pretty close. Seems to make sense to me, given that wah and phasing are two variations on a moving parametric filter -- I'm wondering if the Aquarius unit might be either a phaser with more than four stages, or four stages with a high level of feedback, like you can achieve with the PH-1r. Mabye they wanted to distinguish it from the phase shifters in the market at that time, and push it as some sort of Leslie simulator. Hard to know for certain...
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lazzrath
Bronze Member
Canada
103 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2006 : 09:49:21
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quote:
Originally posted by stahlhart
...The buyer of the earlier one is the seller of the later one. He must not have liked it either...
I love 'ebay link 2' - It just kills me that he said, "not noisey and doesnt destroy your guitar tone."
Yeah right.
I guess it would help if I explained that tone a little further (I should've done that with an earlier post, but that's ok) :
It's a humbucker into the vibra-wa, then into a microcube clean/r-fier channel, with yeah, a little delay from the 'cube, and then it's sent directly out using that 'REC OUT' to my computer. I was thinking of limiting the overall project, but seeing as it was supposed to be about the tone, I left the clip unedited.
For what it's worth (for those familiar with the 'cube) the TONE knob was around noon. That's why it was soo strange to hear such a nasaly sound coming through. This ahed thing devours any useable signal... |
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lazzrath
Bronze Member
Canada
103 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2006 : 10:14:08
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Aquarius Pic 1
Aquarius Pic 2
As promised, here are some pics of the circuitry. I didn't get a pic of the trace-side (I forgot ) but if someone wants it, just ask. |
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stahlhart
Platinum Member
1318 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2006 : 16:24:35
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Wow. Just. Wow. That's it?! You should send that photo to the guy who just paid $150 for his...
Looks more like a wah circuit now. That donut-shaped part in the lower left corner is a toroidal inductor, which you'd typically see in something like a Cry Baby pedal. And the components don't suggest to me any sort of arrangement of matched stages like you'd see in a discrete analog phaser.
Mabye then it's some sort of an auto-wah circuit, where the sweep is run at a constant rate internally?
/my Maestro PS-1A has about as much air in the cabinet, too
//cue the two Japanese sailors with the cathedral radio in "1941"
///"We need to figure out how to make these things smaller!"
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AHED - what the heck is this?
