Meet the Candela Vibrophase, the World's First Candle-Powered Guitar Effect

OK. What we have here is a video about a new candle-powered guitar effect. It is, in fact, the world's first candle-powered guitar effect, which probably doesn't come as too much of a surprise.

Z VEX Effects' Candela Vibrophase produces a mono output, creating a "3D" rotary-speaker effect that's combined with phasing, wah, vibrato and tremolo.

The effect's hypnotic sound is produced using no batteries or power supply—just a candle in a tea light, which drives two solar cells and a Stirling heat engine that spins an optical control disc whose design can be controlled by the user.

If all this sounds confusing, just watch the two videos below (especially the top one). The top clip is the official Candela Vibrophas demo; the bottom clip was shot by a 2016 Winter NAMM Show attendee, but it shows everything up close in the bright lights of the lovely and talented Anaheim Convention Center.

It turns out I could've seen a demo at the NAMM Show last month, but I totally missed it.

For more about Z Vex Effects, visit zvex.com.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month*

Join now for unlimited access

US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year

UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year 

Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Prices from £2.99/$3.99/€3.49

Damian Fanelli
Editor-in-Chief, Guitar World

Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas (opens in new tab), was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron (opens in new tab), a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums (opens in new tab). He now plays in two NYC-area bands.