MXR Pedals Capsule Collection and Future Intended Targets

Obviously a few more MXR Minis have materialised since I did said overview back in 2021 - where I have still to get the Mini Booster, Carbon Copy, Dyna Comp, and Raw Dawg Screamer. I may very well end up with all of those eventually, I did consider the Carbon Copy Mini for this roundup, but those prices are still holding pretty high - so I need some kind of sale / discount to make that happen!

MXR is particularly strong on Phasers too - and I obviously underline that by owning 2 of its Mini Phases and the compact Stereo Phase 99. I'm always fascinated by the relative strengths of different categories of pedals - particularly across the top 3 (by sales) of Boss, MXR / Jim Dunlop, and EHX. MXR is mostly a fairly even selection - with a fair smattering of Minis - but still leading on compacts overall. The Joshua and Layers have long been on my list - and I have had opportunities to get at least one of those at a discount - but there were other higher priorities at the time - as often happens.

I think it's fairly certain I will pick up my 4 or 5 remaining targets (with the Carbon Copy Mini too). I could also have snagged a Gran Torino - but that's sill relatively new. And there have been times when there have been a few Shin-Juku Dumble Drives in circulation, while currently there's just one overpriced on on Ebay as far as I recall. What I get and when is always dependent on pricing, timing, opportunity and relative priorities. I always have severe projects on the go, and several missions for each month,  Where those remaining ones could happen relatively quickly, or else take a few years to land under the right circumstances!

There are some really great MXR visuals on this site - with interesting selections / curations of those pedals - the two above visuals are mostly about Fuzzes! While generally it's a somewhat eclectic mix - even though it does partly lean into fuzzes and phasers!

So here is my selection of 24 pedals :

• M234 Analog Chorus - $129
• MB301 Bass Synth - $269
• CSP038 Brown Acid Fuzz [discontinued] - $149
• M296 Classic 108 Fuzz Mini - $119
• CSO039 Duke Of Tone Overdrive Mini - $149
• M94SE Fat Sugar Drive - $129
• CSP033G Gran Torino Boost Overdrive - $149
• CSP041 Hybrid Fuzz [discontined] - $169
• JHW4 Jimi Hendrix '69 Psych Series Band of Gypsys Fuzz Mini [discontinued] - $130
• JHW1 Jimi Hendrix '69 Psych Series Fuzz Face Distortion Mini [discontinued] - $130
• JHW2 Jimi Hendrix '69 Psych Series Octavio Octave Fuzz Mini [discontinued] - $130
• JHW3 Jimi Hendrix '69 Psych Series Uni-Vibe Chorus / Vibrato Mini [discontinued] - $130
• M309 Joshua Ambient Echo - $239
• CSP203 La Machine Octave Fuzz [discontinued] - $139
• M307 Layers Harmonic Sustainer - $229
• M306 Poly Blue Octave - $219
• M279 Deep Phase - $109
• M290 Phase 95 - $109
• CSP099 Phase 99 [discontinued] - $169
• MX100 Rockman X100 Analog Tone Processor - $229
• CSP035 Shin-Juku Drive (Dumble - Shin Suzuki) [discontinued] - $129
• M294 Sugar Drive Mini - $129
• M236 Super Badass Variac Fuzz - $149
• CSP027 Timmy Overdrive Mini - £149

Where the  M299 Carbon Copy Mini Analog Delay ($179) is on the periphery of that rundown - It's still holding it's price too well!

And the other 4 remaining target as mentioned are the Gran Torino, Joshua, Layers, and Shin-Juku - those will all definitely happen. It's just a question of timing - and pricing!

Individual details below as usual :

Controls - Low (Cut > Flat Cut), High (> Flat), Leve, Rate, Depth

Ports - Input, Mono Out, Thru.

A really cool Stereo Output Analog BBD Chorus which I've featured on this site a number of times - I got this one for such a great price - less than half price for a pedal in excellent condition! This is a really decent analog chorus - sounds excellent too!

Controls - Voice Button, Shape Button : Triangle / Sawtooth / Square, Dry/Synth Mix [Voice Mix / Compression], Synth Sub Mix [Noise Mix / Output Gain], 4 Pole LPF Cutoff [Filter Envelope % / Gate Sensitivity], Envelope Attack & Decay [Fade-in Time], Dry Thru FX], % Resonance [Glide / Tracking Mode - 4 Strings / 5 Strings / Guitar], Modulation [Modulation Blend / Output Mode - Stereo etc.]

Ports : In, Out, Tap / Exp / Audio Stereo Out.

I was really lucky to get my hands on this one so quickly - I think I managed to and one of the very first Bass Synths into the UK. For some reason Coda Music had one in stock - and I was able to snag that really quickly - so it arrived on July 4th - the day before the Brighton Guitar Show. This pedal sounds superb, and the 8 included presets are so iconic - giving you the bassline sounds for Michael Jackson's Thriller, Stevie Wonder's Boogie on Reggae Woman, Herbie Hancock's Chameleon, Parliament's Flash Light, Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer, Björk's Army of Me, Nine Inch Nails' Head Like a Hole, and Deadmau5's Ghosts N Stuff - genius!

Controls - Output, Tone, Fuzz.

Another cool take on the MKIII Tone Bender - not quite up to the benchmark of the PigDog JuJu Fuzz, or the EQD Black Ash for that matter - but still very decent sounding. I really love MKI, MKII and MKIII Tone Benders - they're each so distinct - and we have a variety of different branded takes on those legendary circuits - mostly excellent sounding!

Controls - Output, Buffer Button, Fuzz.

I believe this is largely a simplified take on the Fuzz Face circuit - Silicon only here - while the JHW1 Jimi Hendrix '69 Psych Series Fuzz Face Distortion Mini gives you both Germanium and Silicon Transistor options. I feel that it's about right to describe this as a streamline version of he Hendrix Psych Series Fuzz Face - also lacking that slightly more iconic artwork!

Controls - Volume, Drive, Mode : Overdrive / Boost / Distortion, Tone.

A pretty decent one-channel take of the Analog.Man King of Tone, can also be argued to be a mini size to the more functionally similar Prince of Tone - in fact all 3 sound slightly different - while obviously very much in the same ballpark. I quite liked this one when it landed - while the Decibelics Rivus Mini is a far better take on the source pedal. Decibelics' Guillem Vilademunt has a very find touch when it comes to his Mini Pedal Creations - he's pretty much in a class of his own, and still using THT parts!

Controls - Volume, Tone, Drive.

Interestingly MXR released their Sugar Drive Mini first - their take on the Klon Centaur. That was then followed by this cool fuchsia pink Fat Sugar here - which takes a leaf from the Wampler Tumnus playbook - in featuring a little more in the low-end register. This pedal also does a fantastic take on the Ernie Isley 'Summer Breeze' sound - I forget the artist who introduced me to this pedal - but it is recorded within this blog - let me just double check - that is surely the advantage of the AI! Of course - it was James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers!

Controls - Hi, Mid, Lo, Volume, OD Button, Gain.

A really cool extended features Overdrive with lots of range - all the way up to a very decent Distortion - and with 3-Band EQ to finely shape the output. This one looks as good as it sounds - and is still on the target list - in fact I could have snagged it in this most recent sweep - but I had kind of run out of funds - so will get it another time! Oh and this one has really good dynamics and touch sensitivity too - we will find out how good it is in due time!

Controls - Volume, Fuzz.

An OK Hybrid / Mixed Germanium Silicon Transistor Fuzz I got at the same time as Hello Sailor Effects Hybrid Abbey Road Fuzz, the Loe Sounds BLow, and the Spaceman Effects Hybrid Charon Fuzz. Those other 3 have better Harmonics and Dynamics, alas the the MXR Hybrid Fuzz's output doesn't quite match its superior looks. I did a roundup of Hybrid Fuzzes - and alas the MXR one was the least good sounding one! I don't want to be unduly harsh here - but I expected so much better from the MXR one - the other 3 here sound superb, and the MXR Hybrid is distinctly last place!

Controls - Output, Tone, Fuzz.

The first of the Jimi Mini Psych Series - this one is based on his Band of Gypsys period and is supposedly similar to the Octavia Fuzz, but minus the Octave part to that output. All 4 Jimi Hendrix Minis are superb - and I think they revived this series later with a different set of artworks. They're well worth owning as far as I'm concerned - a really cool series for sure. Actually there is a Mini Hendrix CryBaby too which I have still to add - part of the same series, but under a slightly different Jim Dunlop brand.

Controls - Volume, Fuzz, Transistor : Silicon / Germanium, Buffer : On/Off.

This is an every way fantastic 2-in-1 Germanium and Silicon Fuzz Face - looks great, sounds great, works great. It's very much a secret weapon fuzz - and one of the best Mini pedals MXR have made to date - the Transistors on board are proper THT Premium Quality too - really exceptional. This pedal gave me high hopes for the MXR Hybrid Fuzz - but that one's a major disappointment in comparison to tis one - really superb!

Controls - Level, Fuzz, Octave : On/Off.

And for this Mini '69 Psych Series we also get a really great Octavia Octave Fuzz - beautifully balanced and suitably richly textured. The '69 Psych Series is so well executed - one of the very best selection of Mini Pedals out there and pays gratitude tribute to the legendary Jimi Hendrix. I really like all of these mini - and that combination of looks, features and fidelity of output makes for a really superb experience. I'm surprised they didn't box them up into a collector's set - and including the Hendrix Mini CryBaby too - that would have been the cherry on top!

Controls - Speed, Level, Depth, Mode : Chorus / Vibrato.

And finally for the '69 Mini Psyche Series we have a really smart take on the Uni-Vibe. It doesn't really complete with the best of Uni-Vibe's that I have - but it delivers a suitably decent output - and importantly pairs really well with all those Psyche Series Fuzzes. This is quite a distinct take on a Uni-Vibe - but it really works too - and it works so well within the context of the other pedals in this selection. It's also the only Mini Uni-Vibe I have - which is super handy, and easy to accommodate on the board when space is tight!

Default Controls - Echo 2 : On / Off, Trails : On / Off, Delay (50ms - 1000ms), Modulation Intensity, Voice : -1, +1, +2 Octave Blend, Regen (Repeats), Division : Quarter / Dotted Eighth / Eighth / Triplets / Eighth + Dotted Eighth, Mix (Effect Level), Ctr Side Switch : Tap/Exp / Ctr / Audio, Engage Footswitch - hold for 1s for Tap Tempo.
 
Echo 2 Alt : + Delay = Hard/Soft Flashing, + MOD = Symmetrical / Synced Echo 1 & 2 Regeneration On/Of, + Voice = Stereo CW / Mono CCW, + Regen = Echo 2 Regen Increase/Decrease, + Divisions = Echo 2 Divisions (1/8s = 1/16s), + Mix = Echo 2 Mix.
 
Trails Alt : + Delay = 1/4 Note Tempo / Solid, + Modulation  = Depth & Release Trails for Rate, + Voice = High Cut Filter : 12kHz > 2 kHz > 200Hz, + Regen = Reverb Decay, + Division = Compression Threshold Low > Hight, + Mix = Reverb Mix.

I had a couple of opportunities to get this at a decent discount - but I missed out both times as I had other priorities on at the time. And now prices are back up to MAP levels again - so I will need to extend my patience a little further. I'm a huge fan of The Edge, and know exactly how I would deploy this one and where on the board. I've really just been waiting for the right opportunity and timing - this one is pretty nailed-on for me - I just need to snag one at the right time! Really clever in how it's a Stereo Pedal, and how you have some many different options on offer here and including Reverb too. Really smart pedal - with 3 functions on every knobs - one that you will need the manual not navigate fully!

Controls - Octave Button, Output, Tone, Distortion.

A really cool expressive Octave Fuzz that I've had on my wishlist for a very long time - and it featured in my 2019 MXR Fuzz Quad also. I lucked out here and came across one in pristine condition and for a rather decent price. A lot of those discontinued are being viciously scalped - way above market levels - but that I guess is the nature of greed and exploitation. I was lucky to find one for a decent price and in really excellent condition - it looks pretty much brand new. This one's a little more muscular than the '69 Psyche Series Mini - which is a touch sharper too - while both sound really excellent.

Controls - MIX [Wet Level][+Single=Mod Amount][+Sub=Mute Dry], SINGLE : 3-Layers / Single Layer, TRIG [Auto Layer Trigger Sensitivity][+Single=Delay Time][+Sub=Delay % Dry], ATTACK [Layer Fade-in Time][+Single=Mod Blend : Chorus > Tremolo][+Sub=Sub Root], SUB OCT [Sub Octave Transpose][+Single=Tap Tempo], DECAY [Layer Fade-out Time][+Single=Diffusion][+Sub=Stereo Output], [Single + Sub Oct =

Restore Defaults], FOOTSWITCH } Engages Layers / Hold to Freeze Layer / Double-Tap clears all layers!

A highly unique 3-layered Harmonic Sustainer - which has been on my list since it first launched. It's not quite top priority for me - as I still haven't decided where I would deploy it on the board, how, and in what circumstances. It's the opposite to the Joshua - where I know exactly all those conditions. This is the only Layered Harmonic Sustainer that I'm aware of - I definitely want one - but don't yet know how or where I would deploy it. For sure it will happen - but needs to be the right opportunity and timing for me - as usual!

Controls - Fuzz On/Off Button, Mono / Poly button, Dry Level, Sub-1 Level, Sub-2 Level, Modulation Rate, Oct+1 level, Oct+2 Level.

A superb sort of evolution of the Blue Box Octave Fuzz - which trebles down on that with multiple simultaneous octaves, an onboard Fuzz, and LFO Modulator. So you can to all kinds of smart things in combining all those aspects of the pedal. Somewhat akin to a Blue Box on steroids I guess. It's a pretty decent proposition - where I feel every part of it could be tweaked and improved a little - but when you use all those elements in combination it still sounds superb. I kind of put this in the same category as the Bass Synth Joshua, and Layers - all of those are multifaceted multi-fx pedals - with a wider range of tones and textures on board. Most of those share the same 2 Push-Buttons and 6 x Knobs topologies - while the Layers it a little different in its makeup - but adheres to similar functional parameters.

Controls - Mode : I (4) / II (8), Speed, Feedback.

The most recent of MXR's Mini Phaser - this double down on the Stages with 4 and 8 in place of the 2 and 4 of the Phase 95 - we also have 2 knobs here with the addition of a Feedback control. This is understandably deeper and more intense that the Phase 45 and Phase 90 voicings you get on the Phase 95.

Controls - Mode : 45/90, Speed, Script Off/On. - Mode : 45/90, Speed, Script Off/On.

This is the one Phaser that everyone should own! You get both Phase 45 (2 Stages) and Phase 90 (4 Stages) phasers with both Block and Script Voicings - and of course with that single Speed dial. For me those are still the most benchmark Phasers out there, albeit Boss's PH-1R and PH-2, and EHX's Small Stone are kind of essentials too! While everyone should start with the Mini Phase 95 - it's the perfect device for that category really!

Controls - Stacking : P/S (Parallel/Series), Vintage Mode : Off/On, LFO Sync, Speed 1, Speed 2.

My favourite MXR Phaser is Twin Speed and Outputs in Stereo. Alas now discontinued - I guess it didn't take on fully, As far as I'm concerned this is the smartest MXR Phaser to date - and there's a few of us that still really love this pedal - one of my favourite phasers for sure.

Controls - Gain Mode : Clean 2 / Clean 1 / Edge / Distortion, Volume (Master), Input Gain / Compression, Chorus : Off/On, Internal Mono > Stereo Output Switch (via TRS Cable), CTRL - Remote Gain Mode Switch - e.g. MXR Tap.

This has been a major success for MXR this year - and the first 2 batches as such sold out super quick. I didn't realise how quickly this was selling and made a slight miscalculation - which meant I had to wait until batch 2! I quite like this, but it;s not quite perfect - and I feel it could do with a little more output volume, and a little more tweaking and fine-tuning of those voices. You get very close - but for me that device isn't entirely stand-alone, and I need to supplement with further boost to deliver the sort of output I want. Still has a very interesting 80's Mids-Forward flavour - augmented by Chorus of course. A properly smart circuit - and I love the forma of it - I don't feel it's fully honed towards it's full potential!

Controls - Dark button, Output, Tone, Gain.

This has been a long term target for me for a while now. I have had opportunities, but as I frequently mention - I've had other higher priorities which got in the way of those opportunities. When I did a sweep around a fortnight ago there was only one of these available - going for $328, and when I did the sweep again during this write-up there are now further 3 lower cost ones. Alas the budge is already blown for the month - and chances are when I. get funds again here will be fewer options again! This is by the same guy that does the Shin's Music Dumble Drive pedals - excellent pedigree - and I really want this one for my growing Dumble collection - it will happen for sure - but may get overridden by newer priorities at the time - the quest goes on!

Controls - Volume, Tone, Drive.

So I have both Compact (Fat Sugar) and Mini Sugar Drive varieties of MXR's Klone circuit. In fact back in the day I did a Quad visual with the Decibelics Golden Horse, Wampler Tumnus, Tone City Bad Horse alongside this Sugar Drive. I've long favoured Decibelics's Golden Horse - while before that I had also acquired the excellent Wampler Mini Tumnus. I didn't feel I particularly needed the other two, while now I have the Sugar Drive also - which kind of means it's inevitable that I complete that set too - and add the Tone City Bad Horse - which I believe is also the same as the earlier Movall Minotaur - which I may also pick up just for fun - if I can find one!

Controls - Tone, Variac (5V > 15V), Output, Gain.

This is another one that has been a long time coming - and that I picked up in a recent sweep. A really smart classic fuzz with Variable Voltage Bias / Variac / Starve Control - which you can take from 5V up to 15V - to delver a white variety of full-on fuzz textures. I'm so glad I landed this and the La Machine at around the same time - as I'm always very much about Fuzz! When most everything else has turned to digital - we will still have analog Fuzz!

Controls - Clip : Asymmetrical, Symmetrical Light, Symmetrical Heavy.

And last but not least we have the Mini Timmy which is also excellent - as with most of the other Minis - not quite the same as compact or larger originals - but close enough within that ballpark - and those are still great tones. There are reasons why I would pick up this in place of the full-size Timmy - but I still use both. Of course there is a footprint consideration there too - so it really plays into the dynamics of Pedalboard Tetris - in terms of fitting the most possible flavours onto your board!