Dunlop MXR Uni-Vibe Chorus/Vibrato

The Dunlop MXR Uni-Vibe Chorus/Vibrato (M68) is a chorus and vibrato pedal from MXR that recreates the classic Shin-Ei Uni-Vibe effect in a standard MXR housing, at a fraction of the size and weight of the original¹². It delivers what Dunlop describes as "the same lush, chewy textures that players have used since the late '60s," updated for modern gigging players with true bypass switching¹.

Guitar World's reviewer found it provides "genuine Uni-Vibe effects with thick, rich swirling textures in a pedal," with a simple three-knob interface and a mode switch³. Pedal of the Day's Mike B described it as "a nice, neat, well-designed and compact pedal" that packs the lush, gooey, shimmery tones heard on so many albums into an affordable, easy-to-use format².

What the M68 does: Uni-Vibe chorus and vibrato

The Uni-Vibe is a vintage effect that produces a swirling, modulated texture, and the M68 aims to recreate that classic effect in a modern, compact pedal²¹. The pedal offers two modes: Chorus Mode, where your dry signal is mixed with a pitch-shifted signal, and Vibrato Mode, where only the pitch-shifted signal is produced¹.

Dunlop positions the M68 as classic Uni-Vibe textures and tones from the late '60s, updated with modern components and true bypass switching in a standard MXR housing¹⁵. Pedal of the Day noted that with modern components and true-bypass switching, "the malfunction likelihood is next to nothing"².

The mode selection works through a mini push switch that lets users select chorus or vibe effects, which Guitar World noted is "just like the original unit"³.

The controls: Level, Speed, Depth and the Vibe button

The M68 keeps things simple with three knobs and two switches. Dunlop's suggested setup order is to first use the VIBE switch to select a mode, then set the effect volume, sweep rate and intensity with the knobs¹.

Pedal of the Day broke down the controls in player terms: "The Level controls how loud or soft the effect is overall, the Speed controls how fast or slow the sweep is, and the Depth lets you adjust how intense the pedal's output will be"².

The Vibe button is the key to the two personalities of the pedal. When pressed, the pedal goes into Vibrato mode, which essentially takes your guitar's dry signal out of the path and produces only the pitch-shifter signal². Left unpressed, the pedal stays in Chorus mode, blending dry and pitch-shifted signals¹.

Chorus mode versus vibrato mode

The two modes give the pedal two distinct characters. In Chorus mode, the dry signal is mixed with the pitch-shifted signal, and the manual describes the result as rich and lush⁴. Pedal of the Day noted that in regular Chorus mode, "you can easily dial up sounds from The Police, Nirvana and Rush"².

In Vibrato mode, with the dry signal removed, the effect becomes a pure pitch modulation. Guitar World's reviewer characterized the difference as "Vibe mode delivering subtle, psychedelic swirls and Chorus mode producing deep throbbing bass and thick, chewy, snarling treble"³.

The Hendrix '68 Shrine Series mini version

Dunlop also makes a smaller sibling: the Dunlop JHMS3 Authentic Hendrix '68 Shrine Series Uni-Vibe Chorus/Vibrato. It is packed into an MXR mini housing, at a fraction of the size of the vintage Shin-ei unit that Jimi Hendrix used from 1969 to 1970⁶⁷. Dunlop says it delivers the thick wash of tones and textures that permeate the landmark Band of Gypsys album, in analog form⁶.

The mini version keeps the same control set and mode switching as the M68:

• LEVEL knob controls overall volume of the effect⁴
• SPEED knob controls sweep rate of the effect, with a range of 0.5 Hz to 10.5 Hz⁷
• VIBE switch toggles between chorus mode and vibrato mode⁷
• FOOTSWITCH toggles effect on/bypass (white LED indicates on)⁴
• Bypass: True Hardwire⁴¹²

Its manual details the mode behavior the same way: with the VIBE switch in its OUT position the pedal is set to chorus mode, and pushing the VIBE switch IN engages vibrato mode, indicated by an associated LED⁷.

What reviewers said

Published reviews of the M68 were positive about both its sound and its practicality³².

Guitar World's 2014 review called it "a rugged, professional-quality pedal" and concluded:

The same review noted one trade-off against the original: the M68 lacks the foot-controller speed adjustment of the vintage unit, but the reviewer judged that "most players will probably prefer the cost savings over this rarely used feature"³.

Pedal of the Day's Mike B summed up his 2014 review:

He also praised the MXR team for managing to get "all the lush, gooey, shimmery tones heard on so many albums jammed into a nice, neat" compact pedal².

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