MXR M68 Uni-Vibe Chorus Vibrato Pedal Review - Sweetwater Sound

This video is all about the MXR M68 Uni-Vibe pedal. This pedal re-creates an iconic sound in a seriously user-friendly format, as well as giving it some modern upgrades. I spent some time test driving the M68 and found that it is very musical, easy to use, and works great with other pedals. Really cool to have the Uni-Vibe sound so easily accessible!
Housed in the rugged, no-nonsense, MXR small-box there's not a wasted inch on this pedal's face. I say that because the original Uni-Vibe was physically monstrous by comparison and notoriously unreliable. True-bypass switching, standard 9V power operation and an on/off, status-indicator light that also pulses in time to the speed setting are a few of the modern upgrades that help make this pedal so convenient.
MXR tweaked the circuitry to get the Uni-Vibe "vibe", if you will, and they succeeded. It does all of the stuff you'd expect a Uni-Vibe to do including the Trower/Hendrix thing. In this video, I was playing it on its own to highlight the features, but in experimenting, I had it hooked up with a few different overdrive/distortion pedals and the M68 is a champ. Having a Level control made it even easier to get killer tones because this type of effect has a perceived level drop when engaged. The Level control allowed me to compensate for that and to send the proper level to the other pedals and amp.
The Speed control runs the gamut from pulse to quiver and the Depth control goes from shimmer to undulate; they both have a wide range to work with. Lower settings are very subtle and higher settings are downright mind-bending. My favorite settings for both controls tended to be various combinations between 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock; slower or faster, shallower or deeper. Of course, the extreme settings are fun when you need them!
There are two modes on the M68, the default "Chorus" mode and the switchable "Vibe" mode. That's the tiny button in the top, left corner. In Chorus mode, the pitch-shifted signal generated by the M68 is blended with the unprocessed, dry guitar signal so the two ripple against each other. With the Vibe button depressed, the M68 is in Vibe mode and the dry guitar signal is removed, leaving only the pitch-shifted signal. With low to moderate Speed and Depth settings the effect is subtle but with higher settings it gets seriously warbly. Yet another sound to goof around with, awesome!
If you're at all interested in the Uni-Vibe sound this is a great unit. If you're a serious Uni-Vibe fan that doesn't have a lot of pedalboard real estate, the M68 is a no-brainer. I had a lot of fun playing the MXR M68 Uni-Vibe and I hope you enjoyed the video. Thanks for watching!
-- Don Carr

[@vintagelife6879]

so good to see steve windwood doing this lol

[@Glockinmyrawrie]

He looks nothing like steve winwood, he looks more like kenny g without the curly hair

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

No, that's Reg Mombassa from Mental As Anything.

[@neilbarbu]

Amen Yes Don!!!! Better alternative than the reissue by Korg

[@ComeAndTakeItTX1835]

Is that Dawn Carr?

[@junoschannel5855]

This pedal is not a Chorus, but a 4 stages Phaser.

[@davidj.steiger3178]

Brilliant, Captain Obvious…

[@chrisdaviesguitar]

Can you get that Robin Trower sound, as in Bridge of Sighs?

[@UnremarkableMarx]

Yeah just no good way to ramp quickly. I know sometimes when you rip the whammy forewards and move the sweep of a univibe expression pedal, you get that vertigo effect. But can do trower for the most part

[@ricky4214]

I was looking for a chorus or univibe, I tried a few things including this which is mediocre at best..get yourself an EQD The Depths

[@judeodom2428]

Could I use this as a booster if I turn the depth all the way down.

[@sweetwater]

Hello! Technically, yes. But I wouldn't recommend doing that, because you'll still get a little bit of the effect. Also, it is not built to be a clean, or pleasantly colored boost pedal. Thanks for the interest!
Kevin Spunde, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, [phone] ext. 1732

[@TheJasperfarstreet]

yes, you can you as a boost. If you put the pedal in vibrato mode, and put the delpth all the way down. I don't here any change in pitch. It's a cool sound!!

[@LewWelchThePoet]

😎👍🏿🤘

[@BlueberryStinkFinger62]

No photo cells so it's not authentic

[@davidj.steiger3178]

Brilliant, Captain Obvious!

[@ch1nmus1c16]

“The speed controls the speed, and the depth controls the depth” and wtf is the depth?

[@jjulch]

Ch1nmus1c 1 easy...speed controls how quickly it goes up and down. Depth changes how far up and down it’s pitch goes.... just listen to it.

[@shckltnebay]

BIG POS correction small POS, cuts all the highs out of your signal

[@billp9775]

what kind of shoes are you wearing?
strange shoes imo

[@Danielsfield]

Awesome Job