The BBE Mind Bender is a dual-mode analog vibrato and chorus pedal from BBE. It uses a bucket brigade delay (BBD) circuit, the analog delay-line technology behind most classic chorus and vibrato pedals, and a single mode switch selects between the two effects1. MusicRadar described it at launch as producing "a wide range of lush vibrato/chorus and rotating speaker effects"2.
The pedal was announced in February 2008 alongside BBE's Soul Vibe rotary speaker emulation pedal, with a U.S. list price of $209.002. An updated version, the Mind Bender MB-2, was reintroduced in 20131.
Vibrato, chorus and rotating-speaker sounds from a BBD circuit
The Mind Bender is an analog pedal built around a bucket brigade delay circuit2. In a BBD design, the signal is handed off step by step along a chain of capacitor stages, which delays it slightly. Modulating the speed of that handoff with a low-frequency oscillator wobbles the delay time, and that wobble is what a listener hears as chorus or vibrato. When the delayed signal is blended with the dry signal, the result is chorus; when the dry signal is dropped, the pitch wobble on its own is vibrato. That is the difference the Mind Bender's mode switch makes.
Guitar World's launch coverage said the pedal "bends the sonic boundaries from gently pulsating to spacey ray gun effects," which points to the range available from the two knobs1. MusicRadar's description also included rotating speaker effects among the sounds it produces2, the character of a spinning speaker cabinet, though BBE built a dedicated pedal for that job in the Soul Vibe.
The controls: speed, depth and mode switch
The control set is minimal: two knobs and a switch5.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Speed | Adjusts how slow or fast the effect is4 |
| Depth | Sets how deep or subtle the modulation is |
| Mode switch | Toggles between Vibrato and Chorus modes4 |
A blue LED indicates both on/off status and the pulse rate of the speed control, so you can see the modulation rate at a glance2. Pedal of the Day also noted a beefy mil-spec circuit board inside4.
History: a take on the BOSS CE-2 and the MB-2 reintroduction
The Mind Bender's circuit has a clear ancestor. Josh Scott of JHS Pedals called it "a really clever take on the BOSS CE-2 analog"6. The BOSS CE-2 Chorus, released in 1979, was itself the compact follow-up to BOSS's original CE-1, and it offered independent Depth and Rate controls where the CE-1 had a single Intensity knob78. The Mind Bender follows the same two-knob layout with its speed and depth controls.
The pedal was announced on 8 February 2008, when MusicRadar reported the two new BBE pedals and their U.S. list prices2. In February 2013, BBE Sound reintroduced the pedal as the Mind Bender MB-2, an updated version of the original19. The reintroduced MB-2 kept the authentic Bucket Brigade Delay circuit and the vibrato and chorus modes, and arrived with a new metallic water blue finish and a psychedelic logo graphic1. Vintage Guitar covered the update in March 20139.
What reviewers and players made of it
Delicious Audio's Adam Lippmann reviewed the MB-2, covering its controls, bypass, noise level and settings, and confirmed it "uses a bucket brigade delay" in true analog fashion5. He also highlighted the practical touches:
"It also has an easy-access battery compartment, like the old DOD pedals from my youth… no screws for you folks who don'"
What the maker documented lines up with what a player gets: the Mind Bender uses the BBD (Bucket Brigade Delay) circuit, the classic approach to analog chorus and vibrato, and carries a blue LED that indicates on/off status and pulses at the rate of the speed control2. It runs on a nine-volt AC adaptor (U.S. only) and carried a U.S. list price of $209.002.
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Questions
Is the BBE Mind Bender true bypass?
Yes. The Mind Bender uses true hardwire bypass, so the signal passes through without the effect when the pedal is off. Reviewers at Pedal of the Day and Delicious Audio both describe it as true hardwire bypass, which keeps the bypassed tone clean on a pedalboard.
Does the BBE Mind Bender run on a battery?
Yes. The Mind Bender MB-2 has an easy-access battery compartment with no screws to remove, which Delicious Audio's reviewer compared to old DOD pedals. It also runs on a nine-volt AC adaptor, which BBE supplied for the U.S. market.
Is the BBE Mind Bender analog?
Yes. It is an analog pedal that uses a bucket brigade delay (BBD) circuit, the same family of chip used in classic analog chorus and vibrato pedals of the late 1970s and 1980s. Delicious Audio's reviewer confirmed it uses a bucket brigade delay in true analog fashion.
How long is the BBE Mind Bender warranty?
BBE covers the Mind Bender with a five-year warranty. That applied when the pedal was announced in 2008 and was still listed as a 5-year warranty when the updated MB-2 version was reintroduced in 2013.
Can the Mind Bender do a rotary speaker sound?
Partly. MusicRadar reported that the Mind Bender produces a wide range of lush vibrato and chorus and rotating speaker effects, so it can suggest that character. BBE also made a separate pedal, the Soul Vibe, designed specifically as a rotary speaker emulation.
Sources (9)
- BBE Sound Reintroduces Mind Bender MB-2 Chorus/Vibrato Pedal, Guitar World, 2013-02-22
- BBE Mind Bender and Soul Vibe pedals, MusicRadar, 2008-02-08
- Mind Bender Vibrato/Chorus MB-2 by BBE, RockBoard PedalPedia (rockboard.de), 2026
- BBE Sound Mind Bender Vibrato Chorus, Pedal of the Day, 2016-11-14
- Oldies But Goldies: BBE Mind Bender MB 2 Vibrato/Chorus, Delicious Audio, 2015-04-09
- WHY BBE PEDALS ARE AMAZING, JHS Pedals
- CE-2W Chorus by BOSS, RockBoard (rockboard.de PedalPedia), 2026
- The PX-1 Plugout FX: Timeless BOSS Pedals Reborn, articles.boss.info, 2025-06-06
- BBE Updates Mind Bender Vibrato/Chorus, Vintage Guitar magazine, 2013-03-08
