Let’s face it: a true 60’s Shin-Ei Uni-Vibe is NOT a very viable monetary option for most of us guitarists, as they sell regularly for over $1200. Now, those who can afford them apparently love ’em, and we’ve all heard their sound on numerous classic recordings through the years. Names like Hendrix, Gilmour, Trower and Anastasio immediately spring to mind when mentioning this brilliant effect, and for many of us, those are 4 extremely influential players. Well, MXR realized this and decided to make an affordable chorus/vibrato pedal that was compact, easy-to-use and, most importantly, easy on the wallet: the Uni-Vibe® Chorus/Vibrato.
Aiming to recreate that wonderful, classic effect, the MXR team somehow managed to get all the lush, gooey, shimmery tones heard on so many albums jammed into a nice, neat, well-designed and compact pedal. This is KEY to any hard-working touring player, as pedalboard space can be crucial, and this little guy barely takes up any. Plus, with all the modern components and true-bypass switching, the malfunction likelihood is next to nothing, compared to the old units, which after so many years need constant upkeep and maintenance.
The Uni-Vibe® Chorus/Vibrato is simple to control, yet boasts a wide array of sonic textures. In regular (Chorus) mode, you can easily dial up sounds from The Police, Nirvana and Rush, adding that nice bit of shimmer to your guitar’s tone. The Level controls how loud or soft the effect is overall, the Speed controls how fast or slow the sweep is and the Depth lets you adjust how intense the pedal’s output will be. There’s a special Vibe button as well, and when pressed, the pedal goes into Vibrato mode, which essentially takes your guitar’s dry signal out of the path, and produces only the pitch-shifter signal. This makes for a whole new dimension of sounds, and will send you right into “Machine Gun” territory: not a bad place to be, if you ask me.
Simple to use, easy to maintain, great sounding: these are all aspects any of us want in any of our pedals, much less one that can recreate classic album sounds with ease, and is super fun to discover new sounds with as well. MXR has produced a ton of great pedals over the decades, and the Uni-Vibe® Chorus/Vibrato is right up there with the best of them.
Submitted by Mike B, Website
