Vibrators used to come in one of two types; The on-off variety and the variable speed ones. Occasionally you would find the two speed ones (Notably the Hitachi Magic Wand) but on the whole your choice was very restricted.

Vibrator Power

While the vast choice in contemporary vibrator models brings its benefits you might be forgiven for wondering what all the terminology means. Here’s our simple guide to vibrator power pattern and speeds:

Single Speed Vibrators

The simplest type of vibrator where you have an on/off switch. You can still get these and if they work for you then great. However most single speed designs available now are limited in this way because of their size. Small vibrators don’t have the space for controls and electronics to allow variable speeds and patterns so use a simple on-off switch. Often their small size is because of their use as miniature bullets in cock rings or tongue vibrators, or simply to keep costs down.

Variable Speed Vibrators

Variable speed vibrators have been around for a long time. Originally controlled by a simple twist-base that was not always reliable and definitely not waterproof they are now equally likely to have an electronic control unit that increases reliability and often means the vibe can be waterproof too. Being able to vary the speed of the vibrator like this means you can tune it to your own body’s needs and your mood.

Patterns – Pulsing, Escalating and Rotating

The use of electronic control units adds more than reliability and the opportunity for a manufacturer to make a vibrator waterproof. It means that each sex toy can allow the user to select from a variety of stimulating patterns

Pulsing/Intermittent – periods of vibration separated by gaps.

Escalating – a continuous sequence of changing power and/or speed that repeats until you turn off the vibe or select another mode.

Rotating – Not quite what you would think. In vibrators with two or more motors positioned throughout the toy the stimulation can be synchronised so that each vibrating motor works together or in a sequence with the others to give a sensory experience that moves around. This adds an extra dimension to the fun when implemented correctly.

Random/Combination Modes – As you would expect, these are modes that use all of the above to vary the sensations from your toy and keep things interesting.

How Frequency, Amplitude and Patterns Affect Your Pleasure

Which type of vibration you like is a very personal thing and will change with your mood, the circumstances and even over time as your body changes and even if your taste in sexual stimulation evolves.

What you should understand is how the three elements of Frequency, Amplitude and Pattern interact when you’re enjoying your favourite sex toy.

Amplitude – this is the power of the sex toy, the strength of vibration.

Frequency – this is how rapidly the toy vibrates.

Pattern – how and when the vibrations occur. Obvious really.

Frequency and amplitude are usually linked because most vibes use a spinning weight to create the vibrations. This means that as the speed of the disc increases you feel a higher frequency and more amplitude (power) too. Stronger vibrators use bigger weights and bigger motors to drive them, leading to more momentum as the weight is thrown around and therefore more power at lower frequencies. Of course a bigger weight and motor means a vibe like this will need bigger batteries or will run down the same batteries faster.

Lower frequencies tend to work better inside the body, higher ones outside but that’s not a hard and fast rule (no pun intended).

One thing that does work best for a lot of people is the ability to apply patterns as well as constant vibrations to their sensitive regions. Constant buzzing can become less effective as the minutes go by so having periods of gentler stimulation or even periodic gaps built into a pattern can make a vibe more effective. Again this depends on you, your mood and exactly where you are applying the vibrator. As you can see vibrator power isn’t as simple as it first appears.

We always recommend with sex toys that practice makes perfect and experimenting with vibrators is the sort of practice that everyone enjoys. So make sure you have plenty of lube to hand, fresh batteries (or a fully charged vibrator if it’s rechargeable) and allow yourself plenty of time to experiment!