MXR Micro Chorus

ManualsBrandsMXR ManualsChorus/Flanger/Phaser PedalsEffects UnitLike many other MXR, M134 Stereo Chorus is a classic: First of all, it is an analog piece and it delivers a beautiful, wide floating sound that can be rarely heard from today's digital devices

136 Guitarist May 2010

MXR MICRO FLANGER & MICRO CHORUS

£119 & £109

EFFECTS

aunched at NAMM 2010,

MXR’s Micro Flanger and

Micro Chorus are in fact

reissues of a pair of pedals from

the early eighties. At the time,

MXR had the larger, mains-

powered Flanger and Stereo

Chorus pedals in its line-up and

the Micro Flanger and Micro

Chorus were the company’s

more compact versions – the

same size as the Phase 90,

DynaComp and so on. Back in

the day, the earliest versions

lacked status LEDs, but these

were soon added and are

present on the reissues.

The new pedals also sport

sockets to take standard BOSS-

style barrel connectors so they

can run from a power adaptor

as well as from a 9V battery

accessed, in classic MXR style,

by removing the pedal’s

baseplate – held on by four

cross-head screws. One other

new feature that the reissues

have is true bypass switching,

bringing them in line with

modern pedal mentality.

Micro Flanger

MXR says that the Micro

Flanger is based on the classic

sounds of the MXR M117

Flanger, featuring many of the

same flanging effects as that

pedal. Where the M117 has four

knobs, the Micro Chorus loses

the manual and width knobs,

getting down to basics with just

a speed knob to control the rate

of cycling and a regeneration

knob to take care of the

intensity of the f langing effect.

Sounds

The Micro Flanger utilises a

100 per cent analogue, bucket

brigade device design to deliver

vintage flanging tones, and in

practice it doesn’t disappoint,

providing a sound that’s

reminiscent of the big grey

eighties MXR. Most of the

variation comes from the speed

knob, which runs the gamut

from that classic

cyclic shift in

tonality through to

a warble not unlike

a fast rotary

speaker. Dialling in

regen intensifies

the whole shebang

as the flanging

sweep becomes

more obvious and

the sound takes on

a more trebly,

metallic timbre,

but never getting

into the really

clangy stuff that a vintage

Electric Mistress is capable of –

the MXR grey flanger is more

polite. If you want weird sci-fi

flanging you may wish to look

elsewhere, but if it’s smooth

deep flanging with a range of

sounds to complement your

tone you want, try this.

Micro Chorus

The Micro Chorus also features

old-school bucket brigade

technology and offers real

simplicity of operation with a

single knob set-up. Whereas

BOSS chorus pedals have

always offered variable rate and

depth, the MXR has just a rate

knob to adjust the effect.

Sounds

The sound of the Micro Chorus

is nice and rich and it delivers

all the different sounds you’d

expect from a chorus pedal at

the various knob positions. The

lack of a depth knob seems

irrelevant here as the depth of

the chorus effect has been

factory-set to somewhere

between ideal and perfect!

Excellent stuff, ranging from

adding some shimmer through

to a very realistic impression of

a fast rotary speaker.

Verdict

As well as having a cool sound,

both pedals have other pluses.

If you’re concerned about

roadworthiness, both are

weighty and solidly put-

together and seem like they

could stand up to plenty of

underfoot punishment.

A possible concern for some

is that the pedals bases are

made of smooth metal, with no

rubber attached for grip, so it’s

possible that they may move

around underfoot, but as most

guitarists seem to be mounting

their pedals on boards these

days it’s not too much of an

issue. The same goes for the

battery access – you may need

to keep a screwdriver handy if

you rely solely on batteries, but

if you use an adaptor all is well.

We’d rather the adaptor inlet

was at the top rather than the

side of the pedal though.

Compact size, true bypass

and bright LEDs are all major

plus points, but they wouldn’t

count for much if these pedals

didn’t have the sound. Happily,

however, they do, so give them

a listen.

MXR Micro Flanger

& Micro Chorus

£119 & £109

Two MXR pedals from the eighties make a comeback.

Those were the days... by Trevor Curwen

The Rivals

The Electro-Harmonix

Small Clone chorus pedal

(£59) is a single-knob

analogue pedal. The Electric

Mistress was E-HX’s classic

flanger from the period –

available now as the Deluxe

Electric Mistress (£89). In

the eighties both MXR and

E-HX were overshadowed by

the rise of Japanese pedals,

notably BOSS, whose latest

offerings are the CE-5

Chorus Ensemble (£86)

and BF-3 Flanger (£107).

Behringer also has various

options, such as the Chorus

Space-C (£34) and Ultra

Flanger (£34).

The Bottom Line

We like: Solid build quality;

classy vintage sounds

We disliked: Four-screw

battery access

Guitarist says: Big flanging

sounds in a small package;

solid chorus with refreshing

simplicity of operation

MXR Micro Flanger

PRICE: £119

ORIGIN: USA

TYPE: Flanger pedal

CONTROLS: Rate, Regen

CONNECTIONS: 6.4mm jack input

and output

POWER: Nine-volt battery or DC

adaptor (not supplied)

DIMENSIONS: 121 (d) x 70 (w)

x 33mm (h)

JHS & Co

01132 865381

www.jimdunlop.com

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