The Mad Professor Electric Blue II is a chorus and vibrato pedal in a pedalboard-friendly stompbox enclosure, and the second version of the Finnish maker's Electric Blue Chorus. Where the original Electric Blue was a chorus only, the II adds a dedicated vibrato circuit designed from scratch rather than tacked on, plus a Tone knob the original did not have12.
It is an all-analog modulation stompbox built on bucket brigade technology, the classic approach to time-based modulation that gives vintage chorus pedals their character3. Mad Professor describes the design as combining vintage technology with modern engineering for what the maker calls "the most organic and purest analog tone and ultra-quiet performance"1.
Chorus and vibrato modes
The pedal has two modes, chosen with a mini-toggle on the enclosure32.
Chorus mode is designed to deliver slow, traditional chorus effects and faster faux-Leslie type effects and everything in between. Gearnews described the chorus as going from slow and subtle all the way through to rotating speaker type modulation, voiced in the vintage zone2. GuitarPlayer reported that the chorus mode looks to deliver Leslie-esque effects plus richer, more luscious chorus sounds4.
Vibrato mode is a fully original design, described by the builder as "the most expressive vibrato with expanded vocabulary"1. GuitarPlayer noted the vibrato mode aims to offer an "expansive and expressive vocabulary"4. Unlike the chorus, which carries over from the original pedal, the vibrato circuit was designed from scratch rather than adapted, and the builder says it can beautifully function with distorted tones, which extends the pedal's versatility beyond clean setups12.
For players comparing Mad Professor's modulation range, the Double Moon offers a different set of modulation options, while the Electric Blue II keeps the focus on chorus and vibrato alone1.
The controls
The enclosure features four knobs plus the mode toggle, a layout Guitar World called simple-to-use yet versatile35.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Speed | Sets the modulation rate; in Chorus mode it also affects several other parameters, optimizing the delivery at fast and slow LFO settings1 |
| Depth | Sets the modulation and intensity6 |
| Mix | Blends the wet and dry signals, letting you combine them to taste4 |
| Tone | Ranges from warm/vintage to bright/modern colors1 |
| Mini-toggle | Switches between chorus and vibrato32 |
The Speed knob is the most involved of the four. Turning it alters multiple things at once, so the pedal sounds just right whether slower or faster swirls are dialed in, rather than simply changing the rate and leaving the character fixed1.
The Tone knob is the main addition over the original Electric Blue, which had no such control. It allows a range of colors from warm and vintage to bright and modern, so the same modulation can sit with an older amp or a brighter modern rig1.
What the press made of it
Gearnews found the sound quality as high as ever, writing that "the sound quality, as expected, is as high as ever; this box has some fantastic modulation effects on board"2. The site also judged it a great fit for players looking for sweet, organic analog chorus and vibrato tones in one pedal2.
"The sound quality, as expected, is as high as ever; this box has some fantastic modulation effects on board."
Delicious Audio added the Electric Blue II to its list of Best Chorus Pedals1.
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Questions
Is the Mad Professor Electric Blue II analog?
Yes. It is an all-analog modulation stompbox built on bucket brigade technology, which Mad Professor combines with modern engineering for what the maker describes as the most organic and purest analog tone with ultra-quiet performance. The chorus and vibrato circuits are both analog designs.
What is the difference between the Electric Blue and Electric Blue II?
The original Electric Blue was a chorus only. The II adds a dedicated vibrato circuit designed from scratch rather than tacked on, plus a Tone knob that ranges from warm and vintage to bright and modern colors. A mini-toggle switches between the two modes.
Does the Electric Blue II vibrato work with distortion?
Yes. According to the builder, the vibrato effect is completely its own design and can beautifully function with distorted tones, which extends the pedal's versatility beyond clean modulation setups.
Who designed the Mad Professor Electric Blue II?
The pedal was designed by Jyrki Rahkola of Mad Professor. The vibrato mode is a fully original circuit designed from scratch rather than adapted from the chorus, and the builder describes it as the most expressive vibrato with expanded vocabulary.
Sources (6)
- Mad Professor Electric Blue II, Delicious Audio, 2021-03-31
- Mad Professor Electric Blue II Chorus Vibrato pedal hitting stores soon, gearnews.com, 2021-03-10
- Mad Professor's Electric Blue II welcomes a newly designed vibrato effect to the vintage chorus party, MusicRadar, 2021-03-10
- Mad Professor Unveils New Electric Blue II Chorus, Vibrato Pedal, GuitarPlayer.com, 2021-03-10
- Mad Professor introduces versatile new Electric Blue II Chorus, Guitar World, 2021-03-10
- Mad Professor Electric Blue Chorus Pedal Review, Premier Guitar, 2012-09-05
