Canadian pedal brand Diamond, well known in the aughts for the Memory Lane series of delays, had another huge hit with its Vibrato pedal, which now sells used for close to $1,000.
Purchased in the early ’20s by fellow Montrealese pedal-makers SolidGoldFX, Diamond is back after a few years of sleepiness, with compact versions of all their more iconic pedals, including – very soon – the new Vibrato, which is smaller than the original will be shipping in a few weeks and it’s available for preorder.
Fully analog like the original, the new version is built around the same, organic-sounding MN3007 bucket brigade device, but with some improvements like top jacks, a smaller enclosure, soft-touch True-bypass switching, and a 9v to 18v power input (whereas the original circuit needed an 18v PSU).
A new Compandor Circuit, borrowed from the Memory Lane Jr, acts as both a compressor and expander, providing a lot of extra richness, clarity, and warmth while reducing the noise typical of BBD-based circuits. The 9 to 18 volt compatibility also delivers slightly different sounds at different voltages, providing extra flexibility, with more pristine and lush tones at high voltage and warmer and warblier ones at lower settings.
Have a listen to the sound of the new Diamond Vibrato in the videos below.
