Jacques Stompboxes Meistersinger

Very easy to play. Three knobs...rate, depth, and effect level.

Setup: MIM strat, Ibanez AS83 (ES 335 style), or Taylor acoustic-electric --> crybaby --> line 6 compressor --> MI Audio Blues Pro (will go with me to the grave) --> TS9 --> Jacques Meistersinger --> MXR Carbon Copy --> Line 6 Verbzilla --> Epiphone Valve Junior.

The reason I bought this pedal was because of the effect level knob. I was heart-set on the Ibanez cs9; I think it sounds awesome. But my gripe with chorus pedals is that they are either on or off, no middle ground. A lot of times chorus isn't very usable because it's so obvious and overpowering. The meistersinger solved this problem (for me anyway). The effect level knob allows the user to dial in the exact amount of chorus desired. Again, this option was the reason I bought the pedal. But beyond that, the sound does not disappoint. I was blown away at the transparency of this pedal. It's a chorus pedal that you forget you are using until you switch it off. Crystal clear, bright, and warm...awesome. It will be on my pedalboard for good.

I have only had the pedal for a few days. I bought it used on ebay (like the rest of my pedals), but it seems really solid. My only concern is the footswitch (it's no Boss or MXR). The switch barely "gives" when pressed, almost like a touch screen device (seems delicate). I don't play out, so I'm not worried about a backup, but we'll see.

Not applicable, but it's a small company. After reading other reviews, this can be a good thing: easy to contact, personable, etc.

I play rock, blues, reggae, funk, etc....anything that leads to a jam. I like this pedal. For what I wanted, it's perfect (sound, features, price). I saw it on musician's friend and was intrigued by the gleaming reviews. I found some audio samples on the Jacques website and liked them, so I decided to give it a try. Ebay is a great place to find cheap gear (when it's an actual auction rather than a store offering "buy it now").

Overall, this pedal is awesome. Killer sound quality, and very usable. I would definitely recommend it to anybody. I'm obsessive when it comes to gear, and I researched a lot of pedals before I committed to this one. The only other pedal I was looking at, besides the Ibanez cs9, was the MOEN Choir Chorus, which sounded good on youtube, but had awful reliablity reviews on here. Everything else was out of my price range.

The meistersinger provides all that I could ask from a chorus pedal. If it was stolen, I'd buy another one in a heartbeat.

Dead easy

My 'gold standard' when it comes to chorus sounds is, predictably, Andy Summers, so when I am judging a chorus my main concern is whether or not it can give me those beautiful Police tones.
Despite its small size, and average price (compared to boutique stuff, at least), the Meistersinger really does do that job admirably.
CE-1 tones are there (although the rate won't go fast enough to give you the faster CE-1 vibrato effects, and the top-end is preseved better on the Meistersinger so the overall effect comes across less 'warm').
The addition of the blend control is just a masterstroke - you can easily go from very in-yer-face chorus, to subtle, dimensional effects with a simple twist of this knob.
The basic chorus sound is most definitely 'vintage analog', but without the noise and tone-sucking usually associated with the aforementioned.
Whilst it is not true-bypass (it is buffered - in my opinion as good as, if not better, than TB) there is no detectable tone-sucking.
The pedal is MXR-small, runs on 9V battery or 3.5mm DC adaptor (like the older EH pedals and the ProCo RAT).
My set-up is usually Strat/Gibson ES135-->quality pedals-->Fender Twin or Deluxe.

I play in a few bands: contemporary worship, jazz, funk/soul and I this pedal gets used in all of them.
The 1st for a subtle 'dimensional' effect, the 2nd for Pat Metheny/Bill Frisell/John Abercrombie-type sounds, the 3rd for warbly or slow&heavy effects.
I think it is excellent value (although it's more expensive than your run-of-the-mill units) and, unless you want those fast leslie/vibratone effects (in which case get a Ross or an Arion SCH-1) you would do well to get hold of this baby.

Three knobs. Rate, depth, effect level. Any setting you choose is a good sound. Extreme rate setting is certainly always with every chorus pedal a matter of taste.

Setup is Gibson Firebird 76 - Teese Wah - Analogman SunLion - Fulltone FD 2 - Keeley Comp - Sweet Sound Electronics Mojo Vibe - Jacques Meistersinger - Fulltone Supa-Trem - Bogner Extacy.

The meistersinger is an analog pedal and is mono but sounds wide like stereo. Somehow your speaker and box gets a companion. It definetely has this very warm old boss ce 1 sound (always detuning a little down) which you also find with the old roland jazz chorus combos. I own an old roland jazz chorus 60 watts. So I know what I am writing about.

I own this pedal now for one year and it has been in heavy use. No complaints at all.

I never contacted the company.

Just a quick review (30 min of playing, blues junior amp).
I never, never liked chorus effects (I had the very first from boss, I just couldn't stand it and traded it 20years ago for top-of-the-line rollerskates!!! That's how I hated chorus), be it pedal or rack unit.
In fact I went to check the fat burner, and the meistersinger was on the board so I pushed on the pedal just to see what happens.
Crash! It's the noise my jaw made when falling to the floor!
Read on

Absolutely KILLER tone, unbelievable bar none.
It is fresh, deep, lush, velvet but very focused, very usable.
I still think I was dreaming!
The dimension it adds to your clean tone cannot be described, go check one and fast!
It is now on my list of must-have (unfortunately must-buy) things...
No noise, only f...good tone.

Owning a jacques tube blower I would say very very reliable.
Analog...

Best support where I live, can't be beat.I mean it.

One could say it is not stereo. What I know from 20years of playing, gigging, recording is that mono is all you need.
And I have the feeling it would not be that good with a stereo output.

I only played clean with it, sorry for the dirty guys...
Where I live, a shitty boss costs almost the same price, a shame!
Hope this helped, thanks for reading

With Rate, Level and Depth it is very easy to use.

I play Strats with Lace Sensor PUs into different Amps an in combination with Fulldrive II and a TRex Delay in the FX line.
My problem was to find a good sounding Chorus without stereo outputs. Most choruspedals sound good in stereo mode but lost quality, when played on a single mono amp.
The "Meistersinger" is the only pedal I know, that sounds good in mono setups. It is not so flangy like other digital choruspedals. The effect is warm and bright and remembers to the old grey Boss Choruspedal. I like it very much.

Semms to be very reliable. For its littele size it is very heavy. The switch works very sensible and without any noise.

Never needed customer support.

I like this chorus most of all mono pedals. I would buy it again. For stereo setups there is the TC chorus, i like too.

This pedal is extremely easy to use, 3 knobs: rate, dept, and level.

I play an Ibanez RG into a Peavy Studio Pro. This chorus is excellent. You can dial in lots of different settings, from a slow, phasy vibe to a deep, lush chorus. It can do an Alex Lifeson chorus to a tee. The effect level knob is useful for keeping the effect under control and not overpowering your sound.

This is the pedal's only weak spot. The pedal itself is sturdy, but the switch doesn't seem as sturdy as a BOSS. The battery door is also a problem, it doesn't stay in place all that well. That's nothing some tape can't fix, though ;)

I've never dealt with Jacques, but I hear he is easygoing and understanding.

This pedal is wonderful. I play everything from Pink Floyd to nu metal and this has all my bases covered. It also sounds great on bass. The price is pretty steep for a new one (because it's analog and amde in Spain), but if you can pick it up cheap I highly recommend it.

You can get good sounds immediately at most settings. When going for the fast leslie effect it's best to back off on the depth. There is a brief manual included that is adequate for this pedal.

I use a Zero aluminim body double cutaway guitar with 2 P 90's into a Jaques Tubeblower overdrive/distortion unit, Barber Direct Drive, Vox Wah, Jaques Meistersinger, and MXR Analog Delay, then into a DR Z Maz 18. The pedal is very quiet. You can get a great Alex Lifeson effect when combined with distortion or Overdrive. This pedal works well with all the others in the effects chain.

I have not had the pedal long - about 3 weeks - so I don't know about reliability, but it is well made. Since I am not dependent on effects -I use them for color, I use most pedals that have a good reputation for quality without a backup. If I was playing full time again and needed to provide specific sounds, I'd probably use a backup, but I'd want it to be an extra Meistersinger.

I have no experience with the company regarding a problem with the pedal, but I did get good response when I emailed some questions a couple times prior to buying. Jaques emails himself and is very helpful. based on this limited experience I don't have an opinion on service but the preliminary communications were excellent.

I play a variety of music such as blues, country, pop, R&B, Eric Johnson type stuff etc. I've been playing guitar about 35 years.
If the Meistersinger was lost or stolen I'd replace it with another one. I love the sound of this thing. I like it much better than the Boss, Voodoo lab, Ibanez, and some other pedals I've used or tried out. My only complaint is that the contact points for the battery are sprung copper strips and you need to wedge a small piece of cardboard or something similar between the battery and side of the casing to maintain electrical contact. Until you figure this out, you'll think that the pedal doesn't work.After you get used to it though, it really doesn't matter because it's faster to change the battery, and there are no clips or wires that may break on you. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a great sounding Canalog chorus.

Very easy, usual RATE and DEPTH plus an additional E LEVEL. The E LEVEL is a mixer, blends in your original signal an the "chorused" signal.
The manual is photocopied on a folded 4.5 X 10.7 piece of 40 pound green paper. (Who cares!).

Not noisy at all, the effect can go from barely noticable to full swirl. Not a leslie swirl but a very "chorused" swell. It does not affect the tone at all and the volume stays constant before and after the effect is turned on/off. This compares to my T.C. 1210 for chorusing. It is nor stereo but I do not play mono. Rich, lush, organic chorus.

Just got it, N/A.

Just got it, N/A

I play everything I like, Police, Hendrix, Jason Becker, Malmsteen, Beatles, Chet Atkins, Segovia, Joe Pass, Eric Johnson, Lenny Breau, ...
Been playing for over 35 years. This is one of the best chorus I've had. It's right there on top with the Boss CE-1, T.C. 1210. Not better but in its own class. All these three chorus are at the top of the scale. IMHO.

I agree with Joeb: typical controls, easy to use...

For my test, I ran my Zion TurboGlide through an early 60's Fender Princeton, loaded with a Celestion vintage model speaker. Amp has been modified by Paul Rivera, nearly 20 years ago. My standard for chorus is my ancient Roland JC-77 stereo chorus amp. I was looking for a unit that I could run mono with my Princeton, and also use on my acoustic, set up with the LR Baggs I-beam and pre-amp. It's a good chorus, no doubt. And I'll probably never find a mono unit that suites me. Again, I agree with Joeb's review.

I almost always gig without backups, other than spare strings. Unit looks to be very well made.

The website is interesting. The "manual" was a printed sheet, but adequate.

A good unit. Couple of things to note: the battery loads easily from the bottom. The 9v input is male. I returned it to MusicToyz.com (good company, LOTS of selection) because I frankly didn't think it was worth $149. There is a very little noise (certainly acceptable) but at that price, I like the Rocktron Tsumami better; it's quieter, and can be run in stereo. I tried out a Marshall SuperVibe yesterday, and would purchase that ($89) before the Jacques. Bottom line? Very good unit, but overpriced, IMHO.

Very easy to use, just like most chorus pedals. Knobs for rate, depth and effect level. Effect level is a very useful knob on this particular pedal. On light EL settings the chorus is a nice shimmer on top of your guitar sound. Heavy EL settings are very Andy Summers sounding yet always useable.

I am using the meistersinger with a Tele and an Ibanez Artist - both single coils and humbuckers sound great. Other effects in the chain are EH Q-Tron-->C.O.B.-->Hot Cake-->Vox Valve Tone-->BJF Dyna Red-->Meistersinger-->Nick Greer Sonic Boom!-->amp, a Carvin Bel Air with Weber Cali and Weber Thames speakers.

I havent't owned a ton of chorus pedals in the past, but this is the best I've played through so far. Great chorus sounds for soloing, which I thought my TC Electronics chorus pedal was poor at. The shimmery chorus offered up sounds good from subtle to watery-shimmer chorus sounds, although this thing never gets to a muddy or soupy sounding chorus. Very transparent too, doesn't redo your EQ when engaged. The effect is dead quiet and is true bypass.

Besides the usual chorus sounds, this pedal does a great Leslie thing but only with a fast-leslie setting. Not enough "flange" style chorusing to get real phasey or anything.

I have heard others complain of volume spikes or drops with their chorus pedals such as the Clone Clone or others, but there is no change in volume with the MS.

Overall, this pedal produces exactly the type of chorus I wanted and then some.

This is my first experience with a Jacques pedal, but it seems sturdy and well constructed. The pictures on his website make the pedal look plastic and cheap, when it is actually mostly an MXR-sized metal enclosure with plastic knobs and footswitch. The pedal weighs more than a pedal this size should, which is a good thing.

The footswitch part is more sensitive than the others it resembles - Boss and Ibanez. The click is fast and you don't have to step very hard at all on the pedal. I can see that over time the rubber on the footswitch top will be the first part that gets scratched up.

Have no idea about customer support, but I have always heard that Jacques will answer emails promptly and he is good about making repairs or adjustments should those situations arise.

This was exactly the pedal I needed to cover chorus sounds. I traded away my TC chorus pedal for a BJF Dyna Red and now I have the Meistersinger, so I am perfectly happy. My band plays lots of soul stuff, so the Leslie sounds come in handy. We also will do some Pretenders, so that chorus sound is absolutely nailed with this pedal. This is a tremendous bargain compared with other chorus pedals on the market. It's not stereo, but I only use one amp live and I wouldn't record tracks with a chorus pedal anyway.