Castledine or Weaver Vibe

rickd2112a

Yeah the red is really nice, and I asked Stu to use cream knobs rather than the usual black.

I had got no replies from Stu, so I ordered one from Weaver. Then next morning (as you'd guess), Stu replied saying he was building a batch. I thought about it for a couple days and then decided I get one of his as well. Then they arrive on the same day!

I've only played with them for a little while. They are very similar. I only play at home volumes so that may have something to do with it. Initial impression is that the Castledine is slightly warmer, but in a good way and easier to dial in. They both have a sweetspot with Intensity around 7-8.

One thing that does stand out is how large the Weaver is. It's twice the height of the Castledine.

I'll give a more considered opinion in a week or so, when I've played with them more.

One question. Where in the chain do you have it. I've had mine before drives and before the tuner. I've not heard any difference with the Boss tuner before or after the Vibe - so it may not be sensitive to buffers?

soma1975

I spent a long time having the vibe first in the chain but now far prefer it after my fuzz. That lets you get the crazy univibe fizz with guitar on 10 and then absolutely classic tones from 9 onwards. Then nice to have a regular drive afterwards as well for different shades

Current signal chain is thus. 

Wah (fuzz-friendly one)
Fuzz Face plus Octaver
Castledine Vibe
Treble Booster
Tubescreamer type
Phaser
Reverb/Delay

rickd2112a

After spending some time with the Castledine and Weaver - there really is very little difference between them.

Both sound very good and definitely do the UniVibe thing very well.

I would say the Weaver is more throbby, I've found I've lowered the intensity compared to the Castledine. Both are really easy to dial in.
Both have nice pre-amps. The Castledine is slightly darker (but not by much) and has a little more volume on tap. I've ran the Weaver on full volme and the Castledine at about 7,

As they are so similar I've decided I can only keep one. So I'm going to put the Weaver up for sale. It's a great pedal but just too similar to justify having two UniVibes.

If anyone is interested I should be able to do a good deal. I'll also add it in the classifieds section later this week.

soma1975

I think that's a wise move. 

Ultimately if you liked them both the same I'd say keep the one hand-made by a legend of the industry who has many more pedal builds behind him than he probably does in front of him. It's only ever going to appreciate in value. 

That said I think already I'd want more than anyone would be willing to pay to prise mine off my board.*

* Until I see the next shiny thing.