The Animals Pedal Car Crush Chorus/Vibe is a compact chorus and vibrato pedal built to produce the vintage Uni-Vibe modulation sound with a simple set of controls. Animals Pedal describes it as a chorus/vibrato pedal made for creating that vintage modulation sound simply, with three knobs and a toggle switch1. It went on sale on March 7, 2017, according to the maker's history page2.
A compact Uni-Vibe-style chorus and vibrato
The Uni-Vibe began life in the late 1960s. Animals Pedal describes the Car Crush as a modulation effect based on the psychedelic Uni-Vibe born in that era1. The original Unicord Uni-Vibe was designed as a chorus/vibrato for use with keyboards, for a Leslie speaker type sound, as Bob Sweet wrote on analogman.com5. The Car Crush distills that idea into a small pedal: Pedal of the Day's reviewer called it compact and easy to use, able to slide into any pedalboard configuration in a second, and found it takes away all of the hassles and great expenses of trying to find, purchase and maintain an original Uni-Vibe, with astonishingly good reproduction of its sound3.
"Compact and easy to use, the Car Crush takes away all of the hassles and great expenses of trying to find, purchase and maintain an original Uni-Vibe, with astonishingly good reproduction of its sound."
The pedal offers two modes. In Chorus mode, the reviewer heard some nice, warm, lush chorus tones, getting back to a bit of the New Wave sound popular in the '70s and '80s. In Vibrato mode, the reviewer said it really goes back to the '60s, bringing on a special and intelligent-sounding Uni-Vibe tone, which works wonders when paired with a good overdrive or distortion pedal3.
The controls: Depth, Rate, Color and a mode switch
The Car Crush keeps its interface to three knobs and a toggle:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Depth | Acts as an intensity control, giving you as much or as little of the effect as you desire3 |
| Rate | Sets the speed of the modulation effect3 |
| Color | Acts as a tone control, fine-tuning the frequency response to your liking3 |
| Chorus-Vibe toggle | Selects between the chorus and vibe effects4 |
The Color knob adds versatility beyond a straight tone sweep. Pedal of the Day's reviewer found you can even coax some reverb-type tones out of this gray-blue beauty, making it a pedal that will have many applications in a rig3.
Specifications
Animals Pedal lists the following on the current product page4:
- Input impedance: 500k
- Output impedance: 10k
- Chorus-Vibe switch selects between chorus and vibe effects
The current version of the Car Crush Chorus/Vibe is an update on the previous model: Animals Pedal says battery replacement is now easier, the footswitch is placed closer to the front to improve playability, and the tuning has been refined to widen the overall tonal range4.
How it compares
Dunlop's MXR Uni-Vibe Chorus/Vibrato is the other compact Uni-Vibe-style pedal in this space. Dunlop describes it as delivering classic textures and tones with a smaller footprint and a simple three-knob interface, with Level, Speed and Depth controls6. Pedal of the Day's reviewer called it an affordable chorus/vibrato pedal that was compact and easy to use7. Both pedals take the same approach: the full Uni-Vibe sound in a small, simple box. For more on the effect type, see Chorus Pedals and Vibrato Pedals.
Where it sits in the lineup
When Pedal of the Day covered the Car Crush in June 2017, it was the second out of five total pedals in the Animals Pedal lineup3. The maker's history page records the Car Crush Chorus/Vibe going on sale on March 7, 20172.
Videos
Mike Hermans
Pedal of the Day
GUITAR HERO ギターヒーロー and LEP INTERNATIONAL
Questions
Is the Animals Pedal Car Crush based on a Uni-Vibe?
Yes. Animals Pedal describes the Car Crush Chorus/Vibe as a modulation effect built on the psychedelic Uni-Vibe born in the late 1960s. Pedal of the Day's reviewer found it gave an astonishingly good reproduction of the original's sound, without the hassle and expense of finding, buying and maintaining an original Uni-Vibe.
What does the Color knob do on the Car Crush?
Color acts as a tone control, fine-tuning the frequency response to your liking. Pedal of the Day's reviewer also found you could coax some reverb-type tones out of it, which makes the pedal useful for more than just chorus and vibrato sounds in a rig.
What is the input impedance of the Car Crush Chorus/Vibe?
Animals Pedal lists the input impedance at 500k and the output impedance at 10k on the current product page for the Car Crush Chorus/Vibe.
Does the Car Crush work with overdrive and distortion pedals?
Pedal of the Day's reviewer thought so. In Vibrato mode the reviewer heard a special and intelligent-sounding Uni-Vibe tone that works wonders when paired with a good overdrive or distortion pedal, and called the Car Crush an excellent modulation device overall.
Where does the Car Crush sit in the Animals Pedal lineup?
When Pedal of the Day covered it in June 2017, the Car Crush was the second out of five total pedals in the Animals Pedal lineup. Animals Pedal's history page records the Car Crush Chorus/Vibe going on sale on March 7, 2017.
Sources (7)
- Custom Illustrated CCV coalowl #01, Animals Pedal
- HISTORY - Animals Pedal, Animals Pedal, 2017-03-07
- Animals Pedal Car Crush Chorus Vibrato, Pedal of the Day, 2017-06-09
- 【10/26(月)16:00まで10%OFF】Animals Pedal Car Crush Chorus/Vibe, Animals Pedal (animalspedal.jp)
- Sweet Sound Ultra Vibe, analogman.com, 2017
- MXR® UNI-VIBE® CHORUS/VIBRATO, Dunlop (jimdunlop.com)
- Dunlop MXR Uni-Vibe Chorus / Vibrato, Pedal of the Day (pedal-of-the-day.com), 2014-12-20
