Dunlop Authentic Hendrix '68 Shrine Series Uni-Vibe

The Dunlop Authentic Hendrix '68 Shrine Series Uni-Vibe Chorus/Vibrato is a mini chorus and vibrato pedal from Dunlop, sold under the Authentic Hendrix license. It is an analog pedal packed into an MXR mini housing, and Dunlop describes it as delivering the thick wash of tones and textures of the Band of Gypsys album at a fraction of the size of the vintage Shin-ei unit that Jimi Hendrix used from 1969 to 1970¹.

It is a special edition of the Uni-Vibe Chorus/Vibrato, finished with artwork from John Van Hamersveld's 1968 Shrine Auditorium Jimi Hendrix concert poster, remixed by Simon Berndt of One Horse Town Illustration¹. Dunlop now lists it as a legacy product that is no longer in production¹.

What it does: chorus and vibrato in a mini housing

The pedal is a Uni-Vibe style effect, a modulation effect descended from the original Shin-ei Uni-Vibe of the late 1960s. Dunlop bought the rights to the Uni-Vibe name, and its MXR M68 Uni-Vibe claims to be a faithful reproduction of the original circuit⁶⁷. The Shrine Series version is a smaller take on that design: Guitar World called it "effectively just a downsized MXR M68 Uni-Vibe, complete with the Vibe button, save Von Hamersveld's art"⁸.

The pedal offers two modes. In chorus mode it produces the swirling, Leslie-like modulation the Uni-Vibe is known for; in vibrato mode it produces pitch fluctuation instead. Dunlop's manual says the pedal delivers the thick wash of tones and textures that permeate the Band of Gypsys album in analog form⁵. The original Uni-Vibe's appeal, as MusicRadar's history of the effect notes, was that its speed control was tied to a foot pedal, giving a continuous speed range instead of a Leslie speaker's fast and slow options⁶.

The controls: Speed, Level, Vibe switch and footswitch

Dunlop's manual for the JHMS3 lays out four controls plus the footswitch⁵:

The VIBE switch works simply: with the switch in its OUT position the pedal is set to chorus mode; push the switch IN to engage vibrato mode, indicated by an associated LED⁵. The Speed control sweeps from 0.5 Hz to 10.5 Hz, a range that runs from slow, syrupy swirl to fast churn⁵.

Power and connections

Setup is a standard two-cable affair: run a cable from your guitar to the JHMS3's INPUT jack, then another cable from the OUTPUT jack to your amplifier⁵.

The pedal is powered by the Dunlop ECB003 9-volt adapter or an MXR Brick Series power supply, each sold separately⁵. There is no battery option in the facts Dunlop publishes, so plan on a adapter or a power brick when fitting it to a board.

Dunlop's manual also publishes measured specifications⁵:

History and versions

The Authentic Hendrix '68 Shrine Series is a set of special editions in MXR mini casings, each pairing a Hendrix circuit with custom artwork. The Uni-Vibe Chorus/Vibrato edition carries a custom finish featuring John Van Hamersveld's 1968 Shrine Auditorium Jimi Hendrix concert poster art, remixed by Simon Berndt of One Horse Town Illustration¹. The series also includes a Fuzz Face Distortion edition² and an Octavio fuzz edition²⁸.

The series sits alongside an earlier Hendrix mini line, the Authentic Hendrix '69 Psych Series, a collection of MXR-sized micro pedals announced in mid-2019 with psychedelic artwork by the UK-based design crew ILOVEDUST⁹. That series included its own Uni-Vibe Chorus/Vibrato, the JHW3, which Guitar World said delivers "the classic chorusy, Leslie-sounding goodness used by Jimi Hendrix in an MXR mini housing"⁹. The two Uni-Vibe minis are close siblings: both offer vibrato and chorus modes with Level, Speed and Depth controls¹⁰⁹, and both are discontinued⁸¹⁰. The differences are the artwork and the series they belong to.

The broader Uni-Vibe family at Dunlop also includes the full-size MXR M68 Uni-Vibe, which Guitar World reviewed in 2014, noting its speed, level and depth controls¹¹, and the Authentic Hendrix '69 Uni-Vibe, a full-size pedal based on the Shin-ei Uni-Vibe that Richard Purvis reviewed for Guitar.com in 2019¹⁰.

The other pedals in the '68 Shrine Series

The Shrine Series comprised four mini pedals, all now legacy products⁸²³⁴:

• Fuzz Face Distortion: captures two Hendrix fuzz flavors in one mini housing, aggressive silicon crunch and warm germanium saturation, selected by a switch, with Volume and Fuzz knobs and a Buffer switch that allows true bypass switching⁸²
• Octavio Fuzz: updates the circuitry of the original cheese wedge Octavio Fuzz that Hendrix used, with Output and Fuzz knobs⁸³
• Band of Gypsys Fuzz: inspired by a mysterious Fuzz Face Hendrix used at numerous shows between '69 and '70, with Tone, Output and Fuzz parameters and no mode switches⁸⁴

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