The Random Phase & Vibrato from Mid-Fi Electronics is a vibrato pedal built around two phase shift based vibrato circuits running in parallel. Mid-Fi describes it as "Two Parallel Phase shift based vibratos," and its single control, a Phase shift/Vibrato blender, sweeps between the two circuits so the pedal moves from a gentle random vibrato to a stronger, more active one, with blended phase cancellation tones in between1.
What the blender knob does
The pedal has one control, and it selects and blends the two vibrato circuits1:
| Knob position | What you hear |
|---|---|
| Full left | A 3 stage vibrato with a random LFO, the same circuit as the Random Vibrato Pedal1 |
| Toward center | The two vibratos blend, creating various shades of random phase cancellation1 |
| Fully right | A stronger 5 stage vibrato with its own slightly more active random LFO1 |
The random LFO is what sets this apart from a standard vibrato: rather than sweeping at a steady rate, the modulation wanders, so the pitch movement is uneven and unpredictable. Mid-Fi's description of the center positions, where the two circuits "begin to blend together and create various shades of random phase cancellation," points to the in-between territory as a distinct sound of its own, not just a midpoint between the two extremes1.
"With the knob fully right you'll hear, a stronger 5 stage vibrato with it's own slightly more active random LFO."
Power and bypass
The pedal runs on 9V DC with a negative tip and is true bypass, so it takes a standard center negative power supply and passes your signal untouched when off1. For more on how vibrato works and how other designs approach it, see the vibrato pedals page, or compare with related pedals such as the Boss VB-2, the EarthQuaker Devices Aqueduct, or the SolidGoldFX Athena Vibra-Phase, which also builds on phase shift circuitry.
Videos
Douglas Tuttle
Stompbox Breakdown
Anthony Pirog
Sources (1)
- Mid-Fi Electronics ::: Random Phase & Vibrato, Mid-Fi Electronics
