Cornerstone's Aquarium Vibe is a Pretty Spectacular Extended Features Uni-Vibe with an output to match its refined looks

I’ve always had a soft spot for Uni-Vibes - which category seems to be having something of a renaissance these days - with around a dozen or so new varieties having been released over the last couple of years. A pet peeve of mine is that a lot of those uni-vibes are in over-sized vintage-style enclosures - which simply aren’t practical, and they largely keep to the same specs and feature-set as the very original Shin-ei varieties.

While there are a number of more progressive uni-vibes out there too - which combine the best of vintage and modern technologies - to deliver  a significantly improved and enhanced format - and the Cornerstone Aquarium Vibe is exactly a representative of that mindset.

Its nearest competitor is likely the King Tone 1968 Vibe - which also has 2 channels as such - but a slightly different take on that format - still relatively compact and at a similar price point. The King Tone 1968 simply has Rate, Depth and Mode : Vibrato / Chorus controls (3 knobs and a swirtch) per A/B Channel - while the Aquarium overall has quite a bit more granularity in its controls.

Controls - Mix, Speed 1, Speed 2, Intensity, Tone, Mix Mode : Blend (Fully Variable Wet to Dry Mix) / Mix (Dry is Fixed at 100%, Variable Wet), Inertia (Ramp Speed) : Instant / Medium / Slow, Volume, Bypass Footswitch, Speed 1 / Speed 2 Footswitch.

Mix and Mix Mode Controls

Most Uni-Vibe units have the classic Chorus / Vibrato Mode switch - while here - that is handed over to much more granular and variable Mix and Mix Mode Controls - so that you can get all those really intriguing in-between textures too. Interesting that the Inertia control is a 3-way toggle - as those are often more variable knobs - while this certainly simplifies operation in that regard.

The Mix Mode toggle allows you to select between Blend or Mix - where Blend is fully variable Wet to Dry ratio, while Mix keeps the Dry to 100% and only the Wet level is fully variable.

Volume and Tone

The Volume and Tone controls are also fairly unusual for uni-vibes - where those handle a multitude of otherwise petty annoyances for the format - being able to boost the volume and brighten the tone at lower levels of mix and output - incredibly useful for this format.

Leslie Rotary Speaker Style Ramping

One of the coolest things about a typical Leslie Rotary Speaker Effect is that you get to control how quickly / slowly you transition between your slow and fast speed. On the Aquarium this feature is governed by the 3-way ’Inertia’ toggle-switch - whose 3 modes are Instant, Medium and Slow - or the transition time / ramp speed between the Speed 1 and Speed 2 settings.

So as long as you’re aware of what Mix Mode and Inertia do here - those are the only uniquely labelled elements here - everything else is as you would expect and fully self-explanatory. The aquamarine green colour is particularly appealing and the textured finish combined with the occasional bubble graphic is super elegant.

The Aquarium sounds every bit as gorgeous as it looks - it looks like a deluxe premium product - and that’s certainly where it’s pricing sits at €520 - very similarly priced to the King Tone 1968 - but with 8 controls to that one’s 6. This is certainly one of the upper echelon choices for uni-vibe - my only minor quibble is that I would have preferred it in slightly more pedalboard-friendly vertical orientation - I would need to slot it in on its side to accommodate it in my rig - which is not a significant problem really just a slight inconvenience. You can order the Aquarium Vibe right now from the Cornerstone Webstore and at leading dealers!

There’s no doubt that this is a great pedal of its kind - you just need to figure out whether you can justify spending circa $500 / €500 / £500 on such a device. There’s so much to like here - it’s causing me something of a dilemma as I really kind of want one!

Price point seems to be fairly attainable regardless - as the initial run sold out pretty darn quickly. For sure people will need to decide if they can afford this - while it’s for sure pretty distinct in how it delivers though!

Any of you hit the trigger on this one yet?