OVERDRIVE- JOYO JF-21 Splinter Distortion ...oh no! ..not another Rat!!!

 JOYO JF-21 SPLINTER DISTORTION 

Yes folks yet another Rat. 

The layout is as 

$50.00 USD

expected with a volume, gain and filter/tone control. It does have two toggles. On lets you switch to Mosfet clipping for a tube like vibe. 

The other switch lets you switch to give you the Turbo Rat sound with its heavy mid boost.

All Rat pedals use an OpAmp with clipping diodes and the differences are far less than the similarities. This is typical of the many gourmet brands.They back off from the near Fuzz qualities towards a OD like the Boss SD-1. I own both a ProCo Rat II and a Boss DS-1 so I love them both.

CONCLUSION

To me this is not a Rat but it is a great sounding hard clipper OD. If I wasn't downsizing my board than it could easily be on my order list :-)

PICKUPS- ____ MJ's ...40 YEARS OF HANDWOUND PU's FOR THE STARS

 MARICELA JUAREZ 

At Seymour Duncan if a Star plays a PU "MJ" makes it! In fact she designs it. She has done so for 40 years. Even when you can buy the PU off the shelf she hand winds the ones that those Stars gets. 

I have one myself that I cannot divulge the details :-( 

The Most I can say is Mr. ZZ was involved :-)

OVERDRIVE- PETTYJOHN Chime MKII ..it may be the best transparent drive ever ?? ...or ?

PETTYJOHN CHIME MKII OD

$300.00 USD
  (0uch!)

This is all about really usable low to medium gain OD's. 

The trouble I find with all I've tried is they sound like your clean sound blended with the dirt. The lower the gain the more 'fake' they sound. Others have a problem with lower gain sounds that are not smooth. The dirt sounds broken up so much that it sounds like it is controlled like a modulation pedal creating a distracting rhythm.

If a real amp has kind of a zzzzzz to the dirt sound, the current low gain drives sounds like 

z z z z. Or worse still Z Z Z Z. OK for a Fuzz ...but crap for a simulated amp mild crunch tone.

The Chime is definitely a contender.

You get a level and gain with a germanium diode side for warmth and an LED diode for a higher smoother gain. A knob lets you blend the two. Another knob is a high pass filter to tighten bass and low gain frequencies that can bury detail in the mid to high end harmonics The biggest victim is the chime in a Strat.

Hendrix's famous near clean sound was a Germanium Fuzz with his Strat volume backed off. The Marshall's at the time only pushed out a light Crunch. The increase in resonance was from the shear volume being pushed 

back through the pickups. 

The germanium blended with a LED and the very high head room of the pedal 

is on paper an obvious approach to letting you just click on the pedal and 'poof' 

there you are with the same Hendrix thing.

Well maybe? My first impression is you get at the very least a powerful substitute.

CONCLUSION

I'm intrigued. I am looking for something between Hendrix and Mark Knopfler. I seem to be hearing videos when a Strat is demoed performing  low gain or cranked, but not that blend. 

Pedals I have tried, and there have been countless both cheap and beyond stupid have not impressed me once on my board. This pedal just may be the closest. I am impressed by the academics to the approach that no one else has seemed to addressed before for a low gain OD.

The price has jumped $50 since just a short time ago. They claim the price of parts has jumped because of shortages and increased shipping charges. I find with all but the 'CHIME' there are credible other choices to PettyJohn.

  

GUITAR- BOAZ One ...plastic guitar?...they laughed at Ned Steinberger so assume nothing

 BOAZ ONE   MODULAR GUITAR

Not a new concept but perhaps better executed. 

The idea to make a guitar with a choice of necks, interchangeable PU's, and even body styles changed by clipping on different parts to a center frame.

Once it is setup nothing warps. It NEVER needs a set up. If you need a different sound you order a different PU module and clip it in ...in seconds.

There have been a dozen prototypes over the last few years but a production model should be ready by February. I say production but these guitars are virtually made by one guy in his shop in Israel. Master builder Luthier Boaz Elkayam. Yes Luthier, this guy can even make a serious handmade acoustic. 

This is a real guitar not some guy at Lego with an idea for another toy.

The video is long but I highly recommend it. The middle is bit slow but don't miss the last third. It is live from the Boaz Shop. You will get a very good no bullsh@t overview on both the guitar and better still the guy that makes it.

$450.00 USD
It was predicted in 2019 to be $250.00 USD
over the last year shortages of everything from raw materials to
finished parts have as much as tripled. Cost of shipping
has tripled ...twice!

CONCLUSION

Everyone will have a list of what they do not like. I for one find the body to be far too busy looking. It looks like a plastic model toy of a Spaceship from an upcoming Star Wars film. 

The built in stand is unnecessary and on many homemade stages at small clubs unsafe and unusable.The module for the PU's and controls could be designed to fit modules that clip in PU's separately. Simple plates to screw in HB, P90, Strat, Tele etc. with wiring inside with clips so no soldering would be needed. Then the buyer would have the choice of PU types and hundreds of brands. 

GUITAR- BURNS ...back, again? YES... second rate crap? ...not this time

BURNS GUITARS

So Simon Gilson and Terry Hope sold their business PMT which is the biggest music store chain in the UK. Now they are on a totally new venture. They are resurrecting Burns guitars. But this time it is the real deal, not just Burns shaped bodies with off the shelf dirt cheap Fender style hardware. Yes they are going to authentic replica's of the originals and plan to even have a Custom Stop in the near future.

In the 50' war torn UK put heavy duties on everything to help British companies to recover. Fender and Gibson in particular felt entry in the Brit market would be a costly money losing venture. They did from time to time sell to very small Brit companies one off purchases of a few dozen guitars but that was it. 

Jim Burns teamed up with Alice Louise Farrell who had the capitol and facilities to make Jim's guitars im 1959. By 1960 Burns was the biggest seller of guitars in Brit. Hank marvin with the Shadows had several instrumental hits in a style similar to the State side Ventures playing a Burns. Players like Page, Mark Bolan etc. started out playing a Burns.

Burns whammys were licenced
out to many makers
incl. Gretsch

In '65 do to the big guitar boom thanks to the Beatles the Baldwin Organ Company felt owning a Brit guitar company would be a great money maker.

They bought the company. Jim Burns had a partnership but it did not include any ownership. Over a short time the only thing Burns on a Burns guitar was the Burns printed on the headstock. The company tanked. The name was sold several times but only to those wishing to make a buck with Burns on the headstock.

So hopefully in a couple of years we will see all the models back with original specs.

The Bison. Total Burns!

The famous Burns Tri-sonic
made famous by Brian May

The scrolled headstock used on both
the 12 string and some 6 string models

Ideas for innovation and new instruments? It is unlikely that this Burns Imperial will be made but never say never.

Maybe??? Probably not :-)

DELAY-CRAZY TUBE CIRCUITS Time ...a digital delay with a tape delay vibe at it's very best!

TUBE CIRCUITS TI:ME DELAY

$220.00 USD

Early digital tech certainly could not create the refined crystal clear detail of the current chips but it had very organic quality due in no small part to the very excellent digital to analog converters. 

In many ways it is the best of digital with the best of analog in one sound. You get the warmth of all analog minus any mud and the clarity of digital but not the unnatural glassy even metallic like and often thin sound.

It has a very old school tape delay type vibe with the popular modulation control to mimic the wow and flutter of tape. It has the standard controls including those for timing and the usual tap function. 

CONCLUSION

It is pleasant change from the endless delays with a dozen features to create yet more ambient sounds.

99% of any style of music we fill our days listening to has zero ambient delay or reverb. The odd time it is used it is done so  like salt and pepper on a meal. Very sparingly.

TUBES- DIY trouble shooting for Dummies, lol

 THE HOME MADE TUBE TESTER 

Good ol' Phil has a video showing the age old trick to find a bad tube and
replace it. If you take your amp to a shop you usually get charged the minimum one hour rate to do what is a simple DIY. It is not unusual to find a shop that has to farm out to a tube amp tech as many shops even if they are in house got their training from a school that focuses on consumer electronics which are all solid state. The point is that it often is actually cheaper to buy a whole new set of tubes which gives you the bonus of swapping out your whole set in an emergency or taking your time and swapping out one at a time. Add to that you have no down time which can be weeks.

In the video it mentions a stick. No stick? Then use the stick I have used for decades ...a damn 'pencil' it is the perfect stick. On the other hand you may have a chopstick kicking around.

POWER TUBES

BIAS OR NO?

In basic Rock player terms a tube amp is meant to have its power tubes matched. The power tubes are the large ones. The small ones are preamp tubes. A tech can meter the power tubes and adjust them. The maker supplies a schematic and in it it says what they feel they should be set at. If you have an amp with two power tubes (or more) that came in your new amp and one dies you change it and then it is recommended to have a tech match it to the others.

BIG BUT

Big names have often went bolistic because their amp has lost its sound after doing all this. They are correct!!! In short an unbiased amp may indeed sound better.

MY POINT ?

If you do not have the money just swap out the offending power tube. If it sounds OK ... then fine. You will not damage the amp.

the fine print

While sitting here writing I have the back off my Plexi 

checking tubes. I am getting crackle like you get from moving

a noisy pot at random. Some days none, some days relentless.

Today just a bit with long periods without. I change out one Pre

and will do one at a time if it does not stop. So far no noise

but I will have to give it about a half hour. 

an hour later

I freaked!!! I could not hear even a low hum from the speaker!!!

I plugged a cord in and messed with the jack. No it was not

blown. 

I then hooked it up and it was still dead quiet!!!

I started playing. It was noticeably louder and clearer

...and as I said dead quiet.

Thank you god :-)

a day later

The AMPTATA T5 CHECKER 

A Toy? ...I just discovered this little device a stripped down tube tester. It is for checking and doing your own BIAS on specific power tubes. There are 3 models each covering different power tubes. You get the one that has your amps power tubes. At $35.00 USD with free shipping on Ali Express it is worth the risk. I ordered one. If it only works once I will be ahead of the game. Shop time has to be a minimum of $35 no matter where you live. If all it tells me is that I have a bad tube I am still ahead even if I can't sort out any BIAS thing. I am sure that you have to adjust from inside the amp and you have to know where to and not kill yourself. But like I said just knowing which tube is toast is worth it.

2 weeks later

WTF ...my amp cut out & went dead  at rehearsal today!!!

A fuse did not blow ...but I was crapping myself.

It did not distort or get noisy so I start thinking

all about big bills and a wait well into the new

year because this or that tube or part can not be found.

Out came the screwdriver,

I must thank the gods ...it was another preamp 12ax7

I can't complain they are all about 3 years old.

OVERDRIVE AUDIO KITCHEN Fake Plastic Trees ...very, very different ...killer but OUCH!!!

 AUDIO KITCHEN    

 FAKE PLASTIC TREES 

$420.00 USD

Steve Crow started the biz to make make small practice/recording studio amps 27 watts or less that would literally be state of the art. Players like Angus Young and Reeves Gabriel have bought them, and so have countless recording studios.

Any pedals have been primarily tube preamps.

They do not base the design on traditional favorites. 

They strive for a full rich tone that is above 

all else sensitive to your touch. 

Great expression is number one.

The 'Plastic' is something new as it uses 

JFETS but it ties in a transformer and

a faux amp circuit so that the pedal truly reacts 

like in a convincing a tube amp manner.

CONCLUSION

The sound is aimed at the Blues, Country and Roots thing. it's very organic and transparent. Add a classic Fender like a Deluxe or Bassman and you have one killer rig. Impressive but pricey.

OVERDRIVE- TC ELECTRONIC MojoMojo-Paul Gilbert ...the old one got 'hate' reviews ...will this one ???

 TC ELECTRONIC MojoMojo-PAUL GILBERT 

$80.00 USD

Who's Paul Gilbert? The question should be who hasn't, lol. If nothing of all the 'Super Star Players' he plays the cleanest, tightest most precise on the planet yet throws in emotion with a shovel.The original MojoMojo has been on Paul's board since day one and is on all his recordings.

It has Brit vibe but with an even boost across the whole mid range not at around 1k like a Tube Screamer. It can hit everything from low-medium gain up to high gain but stops when it hits a Modern Metal near Fuzz thing. With the signature version the headroom and gain has been greatly increased and is noticeably better than the original pedal. 

The layout is bass, treble, gain and level with a boost switch.

CONCLUSION

It has a very fat warm sound and the bass unlike most OD's has it's resonant point  more in the 130Kh range than much lower which is the natural sweet spot thump that a Marshall 4x12 cab exaggerates. I find that the mids pushing such wide range boost gives the pedal to much honk when kicking in a lot of 

gain. It is great on leads and if you use it it the lower gain area it gives you 

a very full sound. 

Unless you use a very Fender like clean sound it could get muddy and have a 

lack of any good bight. With the boost off and the gain backed off there are 

indeed a lot of usable sounds in that classic area of mid gain bluesy sounds.

CHORUS-ONE CONTROL Little Copper Chorus ...when is a Chorus not ...mind blower!!!

 ONE CONTROL  LITTLE COPPER CHORUS 

$150.00 USD

Like many of this Japanese product this is designed by Bjorn Juhl. Famous for decades with his creative pedal designs. I have never been a big fan even although I have had two I find when he designs something typical like a MIAB it is rather average or he builds pedals that are more weird and unusable in a conventional sense. I feel many reviewers feel the same as this pedal has been out for a couple of years yet is totally under the radar. I was expecting in this case a conventional Chorus, very good but poor value for money as even the Chinese companies are offering pro sounding units for their still cheap prices and brand names are building pedals of equal quality with more usable features and a sound as good. 

This time I was in for a shock!!! This little box with 3 simple and typical looking layout is in my opinion... very, very different.

NUTS & BOLTS

Let me tell you the basic tech that makes this different. The usual modulation in a chorus is caused using a triangular wave form. As the name implies it creates a sharp boost with a quick decay and then repeats for the following cycle. Bjorn uses a sine wave round and smooth to the point of making that constant rhythmic pulse of the chorus disappear. Every time a Chorus modulation drops after a cycle you get a volume drop which thins out the sound on all Chorus pedals.. He cleverly fill that with a mid boost.

It pedal sounds like it has some complex logarithm voicing in a ambiance reverb pedal but it is all analog. The big deal is with a reverb pedal the sound  basically appears after you play a note or a cord. The units sound is married to your guitars sound so you are free to play virtually anything without the pedal dictating what will work and what will not but you get that ambiance like effect.

CONCLUSION 

This thing is total killer. Nothing sounds like it. Like the Uni-Vibe it a pedal that should have it's own name. If this pedal is a Chorus than a Uni-Vibe is a Phaser. Neither are true!. It is a really unique modulation pedal.

It also very hard to find. Most One Control dealers do not have them listed. Others have no stock.

DID THE GOOD OLD DAYS OF MUSIC ACTUALLY EXIST ???

 WTF !!! MUSIC WAS BETTER IN THE PAST!!!

At 74 you know, I was 'there'. Like all young players I was cynical of a lot of the junk that was on the radio. So straight up I was blown away by what music was actually selling at the top of the heap. Sure down below this '20 top sellers' listed below was I'm sure lots of one hit wonders. The thing is there are always 20 brilliant bands. Yes even at this moment. The BIG BUT is they are not offered to the masses. By that I mean the recording industry neither supports or promotes them. The average everyday consumer in any era primarily consumes from information they can not escape.The biggest selling soft drink has always been Coca Cola. They also spend 10 times the money to promote it.

On the other hand modern tech has made music virtually free. You can download for a few dollars what would cost on vinyl records a few hundred dollars. A band that sells the downloaded equivalent of one million records today makes about $1500.00. That's $375.00 each in a 4 piece band. Not enough to live on let alone pay for the gear needed or even transportation to a gig. Add to that the time to write rehearse etc. To get it all done means that they are working for 6 cents an hour at best.

I always saw myself as an artist since I was 20 when I stopped worshiping other bands and wrote my own tunes. 

Even now I rehearse with my band 4 days a week for 4 hours a day. I spend 2 or 3 hours every day on music theory and writing. I expect to perform in 2022. It will cost me more to play than I will make. in short I will play for free. Like any artist I am 100% self absorbed by my art form. I have long since gone past any self pity. I am going to do this until I am dead. As for those that think if I was any good I would be a financial success etc, etc ...they can go f-ck themselves, lol  

There will always be the 'artists'. There will be another short period time when they part of the public's conscious. 

It will dwindle but it will happen again decades later. It always does. 

In the meantime 6 cents an hour will have to do, lol.

CIRCUS TOP 20

The chart below from a Pop culture magazine of the 70's shows what was being listen to over one typical month in 1972 ,1973 era. The artist played, wrote, performed and recorded all their own music. Compare that today's manufactured music when an equivalent chart can show 20 recordings where the performer does not even choose their own wardrobe. 

the fine print 

Well for both the listener the player and the music biz in general

there truly were the 'good ol' days"

CHORUS- MOSKY CE-Nano ...a Boss CE-2 clone ...impressive sound! ...more impressive price $25 !!!!

 MOSKEY CE-NANO CHORUS 

$25.00 USD

The Boss CE-2 Chorus was the first Chorus in the compact casing that every pedal since has come in.compact. They nailed a killer sound that has been arguable equaled but never better. Every year their is a new high priced clone of it. My vote for the best is Jam Pedals Waterfull at the scary price of $270.00 USD. So our question is how does this stack up.

I would say it is noticeably clearer and actually fuller sounding but other wise in the ballpark. So if you think clearer and fuller make it inferior than it is time to close this review and check another, lol. I don't see too many of you not reading on :-)

CONCLUSION

There are a lot of Chorus pedals out there that sell for around two hundred that my ears tell me are quite nice but not remotely better. I have an Ibanez that is very good indeed with it's own sound, a great sound it is too. But it is not better. If I had a Ferrari would I not take out my Porsche 911 out as often? On a dead clean sound small trifles may make 

a bit of difference but I was looking for a third chorus to use on my second channel to 

fatten a Fuzz or occasionally an OD. I think I just found one.

THE FINE PRINT
When the Boss came out in the late 70's I waited for the Ibanez. I was working part time at a pro shop and it was slow

so I spent the whole afternoon choosing. I picked the Ibanez. It had this slight etheral thing going on

very 'spacey' Sci Fi. That is why I have the mini reissue I added it when I sold the Strymon with all the digital modulation FX. I hated it. To me they all sounded like sonic photographs of the analog paintings. I also bought the NUX Chorus which they since slapped on a different paint job and renamed it for their new vintage pedals. I had had  the NUX before as it was so good they never discontinued it since they opened 12 years ago. 

My point is when choosing in the 70's it was like choosing between two bowls of gourmet ice cream of my to favorite flavors, lol.  

Today I did not have a 'Eureka WTF moment over the Boss or the Mosky  ...or for that matter the MXR or the 

Walrus or the Earthquaker, or any pedals talked about in hushed reverent tones. They all have a very pleasant but workman like sound but nothing unique in the basic tone.

I did get blown away by the Jam Pedals Waterfall, I could see a premium for that, Maybe not $270.00 USD . If it were $200.00 I would be tempted, lol. 

It is more etheral and Sci-Fi spacey than the Ibanez by a mile. It is a thing that is killer if you play clean but I use at least some low gain dirt with all my pedals like my  Chicago  Stompworks Blooze Maker ($75) which is very authentic sounding clone of the old Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal.

Those that  know my rig know I have 3 channels. One for low gain drives, one for medium gain drives and one for high gain. They all have their own comp, delay and verb. My medium gain  channel  does not have a chorus. I would like a bit of chorus for a bit more girth. on a couple of tunes. The kind of thing with a very slow rate of sweep and a lot of depth where that rhythm of the modulation is all but disappeared. Heavy modulation sounds are for flat picking chords with a strum here and there, I certainly do not need  that for this channel. I would prefer a mini as I am down sizing and adding a full size pedal would be self defeating. I also do not want two of the same makes of pedals. Different makers always put their own touch on any pedal. I will give it some time to sink in. For now it is this pedal or pass on the idea. 

UPDATE:

Check out the Post:  ONE CONTROL Little Copper Chorus

an actual different Chorus with different tech used to

make its very different sound. 

@$150.00.00 not a crazy price 

but not a classic sound so you decide.

FUZZ- ANANASHEAD MK2 Fuzz ...Tone Bender Heaven !

 ANANASHEAD MK2 FUZZ 

$130.00 USD

The Tone Bender MK II Fuzz is considered to be the best of the best Fuzz pedals ever made. Originals sell for thousands and perfect part for part reissues sell for $750.00 USD. Can a convincing clone be affordably made. It certainly can. There are still some of the NOS Russian germanium transistors that are in every way the same spec as the very, very few exact originals. The trick is meticulous matching them as ALL germanium transistors are notoriously precocious about how they function when teamed together.

No one is as meticulous as Pedro Garcia in getting them right. I have two of his pedals and they are lifetime keepers. One I use frequently on tunes that I would rather scrap than play without that pedal. In short no one is shipped a second rate Fuzz. Trust me this is no guarantee with his competitors.

CONCLUSION

The think about all Anamashead pedals is you cannot help but notice the understated and tasteful enclosures. They look like what they are, a pro's pedal not a toy. 

No one buys just one Annashead pedal. It is only the first one that can be hard to buy. Be warned. If you get this pedal you will be back for another much sooner than you think.

UNI-VIBE- MXR M68 Uni-Vibe... it holds its own in a sea of both cheap or pricey clones ...hear for yourself

 MXR M68 UNI-VIBE  CHORUS/VIBRATO 

The Original UniVibe was an attempt to create the sound of a 

Leslie tone cabinet. 

$130.00 USD

To simplify it had a rotating horn spinning in one direction and a 15" speaker in the opposite direction. This cabinet was meant to give you the sound of a Pipe Organ's sound bouncing around inside a Gothic cathedral. The Uni-Vibe is a faux sound of a faux sound. They both failed but each created a sound that is unique to itself and dead cool.

Digital technology has now allowed one to get an effective Leslie sound. Neo Instruments Vent 122 is the hot one for the beyond perfect Leslie sound. At $400.00 USD it has a big OUCH factor.

THE FIRST 'VIBE'

I won't do the whole 1968 Uni-Vibe history. It is enough to say that a Japanese company Shin-ei used an optical circuit to create a convincing vibrato circuit. They put in several several phasing filters at key frequencies and you got an odd modulating device. Using actual light has  lot of problems with being stable. It can be moved out of focus 

if the pedal is bounced, and kicked around. The Canadian company Diamond Pedals solved that problem around 2004 so everyone going that route can make a stable clone. 

A dozen gourmet companies all boasting they have nailed the original have and keep springing up. Since all sound different ..then who has nailed the original, or in fact who cares.

ENTER DUNLOP

Dunlop has a history of picking up bankrupt companies that made a great effects pedal but it fell out of fashion. They have the Fuzz-Face, the Cry Baby Wah the Echo-Plex and of course the Uni-Vibe. 

They also take that old tech and redesign them just enough to get rid of bugs that make them unreliable, excessively noisy or indeed inconsistent. The original builders changed parts and sources of parts depending firstly on cost and availability. This could be as often every month. After a year you could have several different sounding pedals, lol. Of course some reliable players become the source for the MXR version.

If you are familiar with a Chorus pedal this is similar. The noticeable difference is sweep of the modulation is very deep but it has an airy quality. The end of the sweep does have a bit of an abrupt decay which can be annoying if you set the units level too high. Dirt sounds smooths these out yet and encourages interesting artifacts that nearly resemble sputter and spit in a very interesting way. Keep in mind Hendrix put the original pedal on the map and it was the heavy Fuzz used with it that made it work so effectively giving the tone a self destructive thing to the overall sound.You can use it's vibrato function on it's own which can double it's use.

It has a switch so you can use the vibrato function on it's own. I find you can get a very good emulation of the old Magnatone amps from it.

CONCLUSION

The cool thing is the MXR does a great job in context. It is not a gourmet pedal but it is not a budget pedal and it has a 'goldilocks' price.

HOW TO USE A UNI-VIBE WITH DIRT

COMPARE A FEW MORE

I know a guy who has an original Uni-Vibe that he got from the estate of Jimi Hendrix's roady. It is highly probable that it was in fact one of Jimi's many pedals. He owns a store and he sells many brands of Uni-Vibes. According to him the JHS one sounds the closest to the original. 

I find this interesting because in the video below the guy plays both the JHS and the MXR.

So by comparing the JHS to the MXR you can decide if the MXR accurate or not in the ballpark. Personally I do not hear an obvious difference in important things like fullness, clarity or detail.

In short it is like deciding which of two apples is more red. The point is one would have to be green for it to matter. I checked the hottest of the cheapie. The NUX. It definitely sounds like a Uni-Vibe. It has a very nice clarity and detail in the sound. BUT! It sounds tiny. The sound is not full and any tails to the sound fade away very quickly.

FULLTONE DEJA'VIBE

-

$215.00 USD

This is the first of the gourmet Uni-Vibes that put both Fulltone and the Uni-Vibe back on the map after a long time of falling out of favor with players in general.  It uses vintage parts etc. but has a very robust build. The perfect choice between authenticity and real world reliability and performance. According to the Vibe-Eccentric it is not the most authentic. It is however probably on more recordings than all others.                                                                                                         The thing is if this is your first 'Vibe' it is adequate as a pro keeper but not a pricey bail out. Other modulation devices are like icing on a cake but a Un-Vibe becames part of the cake. Or if you like it is comparable to going from a six string guitar to a 12 string. A 12 is a much more foreign instrument than you may imagine.

DRYBELL VIBE MACHINE v.3

This is the session players dream U. V. with an excellent take on the
original, a bright version that is often the only sound on many U.V. pedals.The 3rd choice is an impressive custom patch.                                                                All 3 version's have won a 'Best of the Year' awards.There are many UniVibe pedals. Like many pedals there is probably not a 'best' but several that are one of the best.

THE FINE PRINT

I have a Fuzz on order where in one demo the guy used a Uni-Vibe to show

you how cool the Fuzz sounded with it. I also have a tremolo I only need 

for one tune. If I get a Uni-Vibe I got that covered too. I am down sizing 

so pedals that can handle more than one thing are bonus.

I ordered a mint used one on the cheap.

RATS ...More of them ...I think they must be multiplying

 A RAT & a RAT & a RAT & a RAT & a RAT & a RAT  & another RAT!!! 

CHORUS- BIYANG CH10 Aqua Chorus ...nothing budget about the sound ...only the price

 BIYANG CH10  AQUA CHORUS 

$45.00 USD

This company has been around for years. It is family business and has been run like a gourmet pedal maker from before the there was even the term 'gourmet' for pedals. The Biyang CH7 was pedals predecessors has been around for 10 years and is still available. The original pedals came in the same large enclosures on the E-H big Muffs. Even the C-10 is 8 years old. It is really just the CH7 in a the popular standard Hammond B type casing. It is all analog and still handmade. Fortunately they took the 'if It ain't broke don't fix it. It has a heavy vibe to the classic Boss CH2. Both have a bit of chime and a killer bloom to the sweep that unlike anything but the very pricy pedals does not have a sharp fade at the tail of the sweep. This make the sound very full. Both have a very airy quality compared to others that sound dense. The guitar is enhanced but nee competed with.

CONCLUSION 

The only Chorus that struck me as better is the Boss Waza Craft CH-2W at $210.00 USD and the Jam Pedals Waterfall at $270.00 USD. In short, up to 5 times the money to get just a nudge better with the sound.