What are "buzzy," "zingy," and "rumbly" vibrators?

Must-​know terms before you buy a vibra­tor (HINT: it's about more than just vibra­tion intensity!)

Rumbly vibra­tors, at best, are like a low-​pitched wob­ble bass at an EDM show that rat­tles your res­pi­ra­to­ry sys­tem. Think, "Holy shit; it's like an earthquake."

They're heav­ier with a big­ger range of motion for more sig­nif­i­cant sen­sa­tions, trans­fer­ring deep­er into the skin. As such, they don’t need as much speed for strength and can often sound lower-​pitched. They also tend to be qui­eter, since human ears don’t pick up on the low fre­quen­cies as much.

Other analo­gies I’ve made for a rumbly vibrator’s move­ment include:

• The purr of a cat
• The thrum of a sewing machine
• The low revving of a car engine

Buzzy vibra­tions, in con­trast, are surface-​level and high-​pitched, like a mosquito’s wings flap­ping at high speed in your ear. Vibrators with light weights inside tend to be buzzy and rely on speed for power.

Of course, buzzy and rumbly are sub­jec­tive. Not every­one agrees exact­ly what counts as rumbly, so I'll sometimes:

• Record vibra­tion audio and mea­sure the pitch, so the geeki­est read­ers know how deep or fast it goes
• Include a video of a vibra­tor in water to show how big its move­ments are and how much they stim­u­late the senses

I’ve added a third cat­e­go­ry, “zingy,” for vibra­tors with decent ampli­tude or weight that still get high-​pitched. They’re strong but might feel pinchy to some users. Some vibra­tors are low-​pitched but also quite weak, and I’ll note that, too.

The TL;DR of Buzzy vs. Rumbly Vibrations

In short, I would define:

• Thuddy as next-​level rumbly and thrum­ming, almost like a tap­ping massage
• Rumbly as low pitch and rel­a­tive­ly heavy weight or big range of motion
• Zingy as some­where between rumbly and buzzy
• Buzzy as high-​pitched and stay­ing at the sur­face level

There’s no sin­gle best vibra­tion qual­i­ty, but it’s hard­er to do rumbly right, so I find it way more notable when a vibra­tor has some heft to its motor.

In one sen­tence: buzzy vibra­tions make fast but teeny-​tiny waves when dipped in water, while rumbly ones make big­ger, more force­ful motions that splash.

Shopping for a rumbly vibra­tor? Toy man­u­fac­tur­ers that tend to do rumbly right include We-​Vibe, Je Joue, and BMS Factory. There's always vari­a­tion depend­ing on size and price range, though. Think of brands as start­ing points and read the indi­vid­ual reviews!

Super Smash Cache

PLEASURE PRINCESS. COMPACT, HIGH-​CAPACITY HUMAN. CERVIX SORCERESS.

I've test­ed over 400 sex toys and love div­ing deep for cer­vi­cal orgasms, A‑spot stim­u­la­tion, and kinky odysseys into the subconscious.

Mesmerizing mind­fuck­ing or phys­i­cal fist­ing? Opening books or legs? Why not all of the above?

Can't get enough?

• • Read more about me and my plea­sure protocol/​philosophy
  • Book a plea­sure pep talk with me for one-​on-​one peer sup­port calls
  • Leave a tip via Ko-​Fi or PayPal