Gear Reviews
Opposite Ends
The MXR M234 Analog Chorus and M87 Bass Compressor
For decades, players in virtually
every music al genre have been fa milia r
with MXR pedals; the name connotes a solid road-warrior stompbox
associated with great tones from ’70s
through today.
The Analog Chorus M234 is designed to capture the properties of a
classic chorus pedal with a few perks.
It has the Rate a nd Depth knobs found
on most chorus ped als, but there’s also
a Level control, and separate Low and
High controls, which is markedly
different in that both go from
a significant cut of frequency
when rolled completely off
to an actual “flat” frequency
response when b oth are tur ned
all up all the way. Players who
like to experiment will dig
this, since chorus pedals tend
to be harsh i n either EQ curve.
And single-coil guitars can
be brittle-sounding with the
wrong chorus, so rolling off
high-end helps tame them.
The opposite holds true in
low-end response with hollowbody instruments and
basses, which can turn to
mush in a heartbeat with
certain chorus effects.
Keeping the A nalog Choru s
straightforward and simple,
MXR gave the pedal a small
housing, used standard 1/4"
input and out put jacks, a long
with an additional through
output for dry signal.
With a few strums, the
Analog Chorus offered the
classic sonic signature for
which MXR is known, most
notably in ter ms of lushness.
It’s hard to beat an analog
chorus for war mth and tone
shaping, whether you’re
playing g uitar, bass, or even
a vintage synthesizer. From subtle to
warble, t he Analog Choru s will appea l
to chorus junkies.
The Bass Compressor M87 offers
a new approach to bass compressors in that it uses MXR’s Constant
Headroom Technolog y (CHT), which
incorporates the concept of a highquality studio compressor in a compact box. Starting with a transparent
signa l – not a lways the case w ith some
compress ors, whic h signi ficant ly color
tone – you have a five-knob setup w ith
controls for Input, Output, Attack,
Release, and Compression Ratio. It’s
rare to have this much control in a
compress or pedal . Even more impres sive in this true-bypass gem are 10
gain-reduction-status LEDs that give
an im mediate wa rm-and-fu zzy v isual
to monitor t he compress or’s f unction .
Plugged into a variety of
instruments ranging from
vintage basses to exotic active instruments and even an upright, the M87
did not color the tonal properties
in any shape or form. Studio-grade
compressors should only do the job
they’re designed to do – even- out note s
and add articulation and attack when
needed. The Bass Compressor did
just that without sounding squashed
or unnatural, no matter the bass
instrument.
Experimenting further with the
M87’s claims of being studio-worthy,
we put it through the paces with a
variety of guitars and synthesizers.
Again, the results fortified MXR’s
mission; guitars smoothed out nicely
while retaining their character and
the ability to completely dial in the
effect due to the five-knob layout is
a knob-tweaker’s delight. Consider
that it’s the size of a Phase 90, and
it’s a package tough to beat. – Sean
O’Bryan Smith
mxr m87 bass comp,
m234 analog chorus
Price: $318 (M87 Bass
Compressor), $170 (M234
Analog Chorus)
Info: mxr.com.
VINTAGE GUITAR Decemb er 2011 VintageGuitar.com
Loading...