TC Electronic Mimiq Doubler

The TC Electronic Mimiq Doubler is a guitar-doubling pedal that TC Electronic launched in September 2016, billing it as the world's first realistic guitar-doubling pedal¹. Double-tracking, recording the same guitar part twice and panning the two takes apart, is a studio technique that thickens rhythm parts and widens the sound. The Mimiq brings that effect to a pedal, so a single player can get it live, in the rehearsal room, or while recording at home².

The pedal works with what TC Electronic calls a proprietary doubling algorithm, which the company says recreates the random yet subtle changes in time, pitch and attack that occur when a part is genuinely double-tracked¹. In other words, the extra layers are not simple clones of your signal: they drift slightly in timing, pick attack and pitch, the way a second real take would.

What it does: studio double-tracking in a pedal

Guitar World's launch coverage described the Mimiq as the first guitar pedal to offer authentic studio-grade doubling, a device TC Electronic billed as the world's first realistic guitar-doubling pedal¹. The point of the effect is thickness and width: with stereo I/O, the maker's press material said musicians can go from subtle tone-fattening to head-spinningly huge sounds¹.

MusicRadar's review put the pedal's reach plainly: it replicates double-tracking in the studio, the bedroom and the rehearsal room and, most impressively, onstage². Performer Mag's reviewer, Chris Devine, noted it is a standard pedal size, so it fits a normal board⁶. Delicious Audio described TC Electronic's pedal as an affordable stompbox presented as "the world's first realistic guitar doubling"⁷. The Mimiq Mini Doubler, covered below, is the compact sibling.

The controls: Dubs, Tightness and Effect

The Mimiq keeps its panel simple, with an Effect knob that adjusts only the level of the overdubs, a Tightness control that adjusts how much variation there is in the extra layers of guitar, including variations in time, pick attack, and pitch, a Dry knob that adjusts how much of the input signal is sent to the outputs, and a Dubs toggle that selects the number of additional guitar layers that will be mixed with your original guitar signal⁸.

The overdub selector gives you a choice of 1, 2 or 3 overdubs on top of your dry signal⁶. The Tightness control, in TC Electronic's own description, "defines how tight the doubling is. From almost superhumanly tight tracking to a more loose and laid-back performance"¹. Set tight, the layers track your playing almost exactly; set loose, they wander more like a second human take.

Pedal of the Day noted that the Effect knob works on the overdub level only, and that used in conjunction with the Dry knob, which sets how much of the input signal reaches the outputs, you can dial in the desired balance between your original part and the added layers⁸.

Mono and stereo operation

The Mimiq has stereo inputs and outputs⁵, and MusicRadar's review covers running it in either mono or stereo². The two experiences differ, according to Performer Mag's review.

Devine found the mono effect a bit too subtle to be worth the effort, but in stereo mode he called it amazing, with a stereo image that was instantly massive⁶. He also found that using it on clean tones can add snap and sparkle to almost any sound⁶. MusicRadar's overall verdict on the pedal was short: "Does the job, and does it darn well."²

The Mimiq Mini Doubler

In April 2017, about seven months after the original launched⁹, TC Electronic announced the Mimiq Mini Doubler, which MusicRadar called the world's smallest realistic guitar-doubling pedal⁹. It was available worldwide in May 2017 at $99⁹¹⁰.

Delicious Audio describes the Mini as a slimmer version of its bigger, stereo brother, a compact pedal that creates the impression, in mono, that your guitar track was double-tracked¹¹. TC Electronic's own page for the Mini is still live¹².

The Mini does away with the original's toggle, which could add a third or fourth dub on top, so it doubles only⁹. Its controls are tightness, effect and dry⁹. TC Electronic's press release said the Mini brings the same live-guitar doubling as its bigger brother, studio-grade double tracking in a compact enclosure¹⁰, and Delicious Audio noted it simulates all the intricacies and imperfections that create the classic double-tracked guitar effect with a tap of your toe¹¹.

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