Universal Audio UAFX Brigade Chorus and Vibrato

The UAFX Brigade Chorus and Vibrato is a compact chorus pedal from Universal Audio, voiced after the vintage BOSS CE-1 Chorus Ensemble. It carries over the CE-1's two modes, Chorus and Vibrato¹.

What it is and where it came from

The pedal the Brigade models needs little introduction among chorus players. The BOSS CE-1 Chorus Ensemble is a mains-powered unit featuring both chorus and vibrato modes³, and JHS Pedals' history of chorus pedals notes of the CE-1, "It has an amazing vibrato setting."⁴ Guitar World's Trevor Curwen, reviewing a BOSS preamp pedal, looked back at the original this way: "While the CE-1 provided luxurious chorus and vibrato"⁵. MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley has also noted the CE-1's place in history, describing how the Vibrato side of the unit has dials for Depth and Rate⁶, and MusicPlayers.com's Scott Kahn pointed to its "multiple footswitches and controls for both chorus and vibrato"⁷.

Universal Audio's version is a digital recreation of that analog classic. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio describes it as "voiced after the iconic, vintage BOSS CE-1 Chorus Ensemble" and offering "the two modes of the CE-1 (Chorus and VIbrato)"¹. gearnews.com's Bob Malkowski puts it the same way: "The Brigade Chorus and Vibrato emulates the classic BOSS CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, a bucket brigade-based device"². The CE-1's stereo chorus and vibrato sounds are what later BOSS reissues have aimed to reproduce as well⁸.

Mono, digital, and how it compares

Two practical points set the Brigade apart from both its model and its siblings:

• It is mono. De Gregorio notes that the Brigade is "mono just like it (the Astra is stereo)"¹. The CE-1 itself was a stereo-effect unit in character, so players wanting a stereo output from the CE-1 sound would look at the Astra instead.
• It is digital. Both Delicious Audio ("This digital recreation of an analog classic"¹) and gearnews.com ("Offering emulations of the BOSS CE-1 Chorus Ensemble"²) describe it as an emulation, where the original CE-1 used bucket brigade analog circuitry².

That digital approach also puts it against analog alternatives. Malkowski observed that "Boss, for example, offers the fully analogue Waza Craft CE-2 for a similar price to the Brigade Chorus and Vibrato," and noted the price point puts it up against strong competition².

The controls

The Brigade keeps its panel simple, with three knobs¹:

The CE-1's own vibrato mode worked the same way in principle, with dials for Depth and Rate⁶.

The Brigade in the UAFX range

The Brigade sits inside a wider family. It is about one-third of Universal Audio's bigger multi-modulation pedal, the UAFX Astra, as De Gregorio puts it¹, and Malkowski adds that "You'll find a CE-1 setting offered on the Astra, one of the very first UAFX pedals"². So a player who wants the CE-1 sound in mono has the Brigade, while the Astra carries the same setting in a stereo multi-effects format.

GuitarPlayer's 2025 chorus pedal roundup listed "the Universal Audio UAFX Brigade Chorus & Vibrato" among its picks⁹.

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