My Diamond Pedals Vibrato MN3007 BBD pedal has landed - and entirely lives up to expectations

I’ve only had my Diamond Vibrato for a few days now, but it’s made such a strong impression that I’m already wholly smitten. The mix of a NOS Matsushita MN3007 BBD chip and smart compander circuit (also found on the Memory Lane Detlay) - renders the most glorious warm and characterful modulation.

Controls - Level, Speed, Chorus, Depth, Jazz EQ (High-Trim) : Subtle High-Trim / No-Trim / More Trim, Hold footswitch for Double Speed.

Those 5 controls deliver the perfect complement of tone-shaping in the most efficient and effective manner. There is huge range on each of those dials - which are super predictable and incredibly easy to dial in. The Chorus dial is probably the key one here - as fully CCW it renders 100% Wet Vibrato, and all the way clockwise it delivers the most gorgeous 50/50 Blended Chorus. You can easily swing between Vibrato and Chorus and everything else in-between.

The Double Speed feature you engage by holding down the footswitch is genius too! And by holding down said footswitch on power-up, you can flip between latching and momentary Double Speed. I seem to be a little lazy these days - so it mostly stays on latching for me! All modulations pedals that don’t have Tap Tempo should have this feature!

9V supply is quite obviously made for me - as it delivers a complex richly textured modulation at just the right balance of tone. I tend to have Volume @ 3 o’c, Speed @ 9 o’c or Noon, Chorus @ either Max or Min, and Depth around Noon too.

For the Jazz switch - I mostly like it off / in the middle, occasionally Up for a Subtle High-Trim - while Down darkens it up a little too much for my liking.

It’s surely one of the most musical and warmest Vibratos made to date - and if you want it a little subtler and higher headroom - then you can power it with an 18V supply.

I’ve found this pedal to be an absolute delight from the start - I love how it sounds, and I love how it looks! I own a few vibratos - including the Boss VB-2W - and the Diamond Vibrato is equally top tier and entirely its own thing - I may even prefer it to the Boss one. I think the word I’ve been searching for to best describe this pedal’s output is ’Lush’.

Many Thanks to Bruce, Phil and Jennifer @ Audio Distribution Group for helping to make this happen!

KEY FEATURES :

• Vibrato Effects Pedal
• All-analog bucket brigade circuitry
• Sound and character of the original paired with improved modern features
  Updated Compandor design for increased clarity, less distortion and lower noise floor 
• Legendary MN3007 Bucket Brigade Delay chip - Using original NOS Panasonic BBDs in first run of 800 pcs. 
• Variable chorus control for blending dry and wet signals  
• Standardized negative-center 9-18 V DC input with polarity and over-voltage protection - for more headroom at 18V or added colour and warble at 9V input voltage 
• Tone-shaping jazz switch 
• Momentary or latching speed doubler - doubles the set speed of the Vibrato 
• Wide speed range going from 0.1 Hz to 20 Hz
• Pedalboard-friendly enclosure with top-mounted jacks for ease of pedalboard use
• Soft touch relay-based true bypass switching 
• Hand-made in Montreal, Canada 
• Powered by a regular (opt.) 9-18 V DC PSU (centre -, 2,1 mm, ~45 mA current draw)
• MAP / RRP : $279 | €319 | £279

My understanding is that Diamond Pedals have managed to secure a fairly substantial amount of further Panasonic MN3007 BBD chips (first 800 sold out rather quickly!) - so stocks should last for a few weeks more in theory - of course based on the level of demand over that time.

As referenced above, the Vibrato retails for $279 | €319 | £279 - which I feel is a fair amount for such a great pedal.  You can do the Josh Scott trick and run to as an always-on subtle vibrato on your core signal, or go for a more full-on flavour as is my preference. You can pre-order via the Diamond Pedals Webstore, and several select international dealers. If you make your move in the next week or two you should definitely be able to secure a Panasonic MN3007 BBD one - Diamon will let you know when those chips finally run out. The serial number on mine is a relatively early #0204.

This was a big recommendation on my May Patreon Tip Sheet, and I further underline that here - this is a very special sounding pedal indeed!