Marshall SV-1 Supervibe Chorus

I found this pedal to be very easy to use, even though the controls are not the standard speed, delay time, depth, and mix that I like to see on higher end chorus pedals. The instructions included with the pedal are very clear and give several good example settings that can be used as a starting point.

I have a Yamaha UD Stomp which is a fun pedal and can certainly cover the range of sounds that this pedal can cover, but I wanted another chorus for "quick and dirty" sound adjustments that does not require the thought and time for programming as required by the UD Stomp (similarly with a delay pedal). The price for this pedal was very good, so I decided to try it. It fits the bill quite well.

I have a large collection of effects pedals and am always rotating them in and out of the mix. I also have a pretty large collection of guitars. I am using this pedal primarily with a Carvin Holdsworth Fatboy through a Carvin Legacy amplifier or a Fender Hotrod Deville for fingerstyle jazz playing. The only other effects I have combined with it right now are an Ibanez Echo/Delay which I am using for very subtle analog-like delay. The pedal is plugged into a large chain of other (mostly true bypass) boxes, though, and does not seem to add noise or degrade the signal. Contrary to what at least one other reviewer posted, the pedal does not add any noise when used with an AC adapter. In my case, the power is coming from a Furman SPB-8 powered pedal board which is plugged into one of the outlets of an ART SP 4x4 power conditioner; there is pretty good isolation from ground noise etc.

This chorus pedal covers a range of sounds from very light and subtle shimmer to classic chorus sounds. It covers the range of sounds I wanted for this particular application. For really deep or unusual chorusing and/or pitch-bending/wiggling type sounds that can be obtained by adjusting the delay time along with the rate, depth, and mix, then you need to spend more money on a pedal like the Fulltone ChoralFlange (which I also own and use as a Flanger) or the Yamaha UD Stomp. You can adjust feedback on the UD Stomp as well, which is usually an adjustment found on Flangers and not Choruses (the UD Stomp is a programmable Delay and modulation device).

This pedal is built like a tank. It is extremely heavy for its size. I don't gig right now so I am not concerned with its reliability in a live situation, but if I were to go live I would always have a backup (and I have enough pedals for that...).

I have never dealt with Marshall so I am not rating this category.

Overall, I give this pedal a good rating for doing what it is supposed to do, being structurally sound, and available for a very good price used. For adding a slight shimmer or classic chorus sound to fingerstyle jazz or chord strumming it is a great pedal. It is not the right pedal to choose if you want weird modulation effects - it is not designed for that.

It takes a little time to get a good sound out of it. The controls can go into the "overboard" range if they are dimed. Restraint is the key here. It has a lot of play with the settings but I found one basic sound I really like and I pretty much leave it there.

I used this with this setup: Carvin strat with SD mini-humbuckers-> phase 90-> Guvnor or Jackhammer-> Ibanez analog delay-> mxr noise gate-> supervibe-> stereo out into a 1965 Pro Reverb and a Hot Rod Deluxe. This chorus sounds amazing when properly tweaked. Very watery and glassy. I mostly use it on clean tones. It has more definition but a little less warmth than my other choruses, a CE-2 and a Rocktron Tsunami. It tends to work better with the neck-pickup clean sounds than the other two, but gets a little sharp and edge-y when used with heavy distortion and the bridge pickup. Stereo seperation is decent, and gets much better when I kick in my delay and phaser. I was on a kick to get rid of my digital stuff and would have sold it if I hadn't discovered that it's analog. Guess I'm lucky I kept it as it has a very clear and unique tone to it. I'll give it a ten because I feel it performs exactly as it was intended to. It's no more noisy than any other chorus. They all add a little noise...

Hmm...I already had one fail on me. One of the outputs quit working and it started humming loudly after about two months of very light use. I've had the replacement for over a year and it seems to be okay.

As I said before, the first one failed after 2 months of light use. Spent quite a while figuring out who to call and then had to pay for shipping to send it back. Marshall advertises a five-year warranty but fails to mention that these Indian-made pedals only get a 90-day guarantee. I only found that out after calling the distributor. It's a pretty crappy warranty considering how much these things retail for...I'll give it a low score hear because of the short warranty.

I play blues, classic rock - Trower, Clapton (cream-era), Pink Floyd, etc. Occasionally some Hawkwind psychadelic stuff. Been playing guitar off and on for 6 years, Bass for 10 years. If it were stolen I would consider myself lucky they didn't take the Rocktron Tsunami chorus which I prefer greatly over this one. It's a good chorus, but I wouldn't replace it.
When I bought it I didn't really compare it to anything, as it was on sale real cheap ($59). It was the only true-bypass chorus at that price. I was really amazed to open it up and find only ANALOG chips in it! Id give it an 8.5 overall, but since I can't I'll round it up to 9.

Bought this used for $50.00 CAN. Not difficult to figure out. Just keep the speed low (that's how I like it).

Not noisy at all. Running it with a boss metal zone with an old kramer guitar through a jcm900 combo. I loved the fact that there is NO level control. Sometimes level control is good but not on every ******* boss pedal i own!

Haven't had it that long, but like I said I bought it used with a few dings on it and I haven't had any trouble. Left the input plugged in over night once and it totally killed the duracell, so get an adapter.

I actually contacted Marshall to see if they had an owner's manual for the unit. They explained in email that there is no manual for it. They were courteous and all but some suggested settings would have been cool.

Don't want to go too crazy here, but I love it. Best 50 bucks I've ever spent on guitar equipment. Like the looks, like the sound. Never really fooled with chorus effects before so you may want to try a few before deciding on this one.

4 knobs : Speed (chorus rate) / Depth (intensity) / Wave (fixed - variable) / Filter (cut or pass, frequency bandwidth)

It's not difficult to get a good sound out of it (if you're familiar with modulation effects it won't take you longer than a few minutes experimenting), but it heavily depends on what sound you're after! To put this straight: if you're into warm, deep chorus sounds (like Electro-Harmonix' Small Clone): forget it! On the other hand: if you're looking for bright, shimmering, polished chorus (a bit like Boss choruspedals) with a touch of flange & rotating speaker feeling, you're all set!
The suggested settings in the manual are all very usable, I particularly like the "ensemble" setting.

At this moment I use this stompbox in the following setup: Gibson Les Paul > Boss turbo distortion > Marshall Supervibe chorus > Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 100 W > Marshall 4x12" cabinet.
Sound quality is great, especially on clean sounds (if combined with a Boss Flanger it's amazingly similar to The Cure's early clean guitarsound!). No significant noise.
It's stereo too, but I haven't had the opportunity yet to connect it to 2 amps.
I would like to stress once again: in my opinion the sound is absolutely GREAT, but it might perhaps not be the sound that YOU (yes, YOU!) are looking for! It's all a matter of taste. If you're planning to buy a chorus pedal, go to your musicstore and make sure you try several different boxes so you can compare... play and your ears will do the rest!
I'm overall satisfied with it. My only complaint: this pedal adds a considerable amount of gain and also a bit of extra treble to your sound. If you have 'hot' guitar pickups, your clean sound might get overdriven. Roll down the volumepot on your guitar a bit to prevent this. If it weren't for the superfluent additional gain, I would give the Supervibe a 9 for sound.
(oh, I almost forgot: I also use this pedal for my bassguitar and it sounds fantastic! I can get that typical early 80's new wave/gothic bass sound a la The Cure/Cocteau Twins/Dead Can Dance/Joy Division with it!)

Never had any problems with it. Looks sturdy enough to bear life on the road and accidental drops.

I'm into several styles of music, but I mainly use this pedal for 80's rock and new wave. If it were stolen I'm sure I would buy it again as soon as possible!
I've been playing for more than ten years.
I also own an Electro-harmonix chorus pedal (the 'Small Clone') which is very nice as well, but you can't compare both pedals. Like I mentioned above, they each have totally different sound characteristics, which makes that I use them for different purposes. Generally, I noticed that the Supervibe seems to work especially well for clean sounds on guitars with much sustain and humbucking PU's (eg. Les Paul Models); the E-H Small Clone does a great job combined with distortion, on Strat-style guitars.

This unit is relatively easy to use. The manual gives an adequate explanation of functions. No major tricks here. As on many "stompboxes," a little more "finger space" around the knobs would be helpful, as would larger and clearer markings. But it's no worse than other brands.

I play chord melody jazz guitar. I really like to keep things simple. Occassionally, however, I delve back into my childhood and start playing those old Van Halen and Rush songs. I have one amp: an Evans AE100. If you are unfamiliar with Evans Amps, they started making amps for lap steel guitar. Jazz players discovered that they were powerful, lightweight, reliable and very clean amps. The AE100 weighs less than 30 lbs. and has an eight inch speaker in a ported cabinet and it cranks out 100 watts! This amp is incredible, but it's only clean. I use the Marshall Guv'nor Plus in front of it as the soul (and sole) source of overdrive/distortion (a great pedal). The Supervibe, the only other pedal I use, provides strong chorus that goes from vintage analog to shimmering and sparkly. You can also coax pseudo rotary and vibrato sounds from it. The sound is thick and lush, whether originating from a Tele, a 175, or a Strat. I use the chorus to play glassy single-coil apreggio passages (think John Petrucci) as well as distorted chorus (think vintage Alex Lifeson). I also have a Boss Super Chorus and, side by side, the Supervibe has a much stronger effect and a bigger tone. Anyone who thinks there isn't enough effect from this pedal needs to try a new battery!

All metal casing seems reliable. Time will tell.

Hopefully won't need to find this out!

I've been playing for over twenty-five years, semi-professionally. I've played just about every conceivable guitar over the years! Although I could play pretty much any style, I tend to lean toward traditional jazz with influences like Joe Pass, Jimmy Bruno, Howard Alden, and progressive music (the "thinking man's rock") ranging anywhere from Yes to Spock's Beard to my favorites: Rush and Dream Theater. This is the best sounding chorus I could find for the money and really nails the tone.

Pretty simple to figure out. The manual comes with some good settings.

I pretty much stick to one setting and thats the "ensemble setting" that is shown in the manual. I really like the way it sounds. I must say that ive never played any other chorus pedals and i pretty much bought this thing off the reviews ive seen here so i cant really compare to the others out there. One problem that i have with this pedal is NOISE, and lots of it. When using a battery, this pedal is dead silent. but when im using a power supply and turn it on this thing sounds like its picking up radio waves like crazy. Now i originally thought it was my power supply but im not getting any noise with my boss pedals so i know there is nothing wrong with the power supply. Im using a maxon/godlyke switchmode powersupply. but with the supervibe it is noisy. Now i talked to someone with a boss 9v supply and he said he gets NO noise. so basically its really neither the supervibe or the switchmode causeing the hum. its really just that that particular powersupply for whatever reason is not very compatable with the marshall. but really marshall should have done something with the input jack to account for a problem like this. im gonna have to buy a noise suppressor just because of this pedal. Really if i didnt have the noise problem it gets an 9 for sound, but because marshall has a little glitch in the input jack im giving it a 8.

ive only had it for about 2 months and its run flawlessly so far. The thing seems like its built pretty solid. About a year ago i ordered this pedal from one of the mail order companies and when i got it, it did not work at all. it was completely dead. so i returned it and exchanged it for a different pedal. I suspect that that pedal was probably owned by someone else before i bought it since it was not in plastic when i bought it. Maybe he/she broke and returned it and then they sent it to me.

Overall its a good affordable chorus pedal. Noise is a problem depending on what power supply you are using. The switchmode power supply im using shouldve worked noise free with this thing since its an universal adapter that is capable of powering just about any 9v pedal out there. but really the marshall has a grudge against certain power supplies.

its a bit fidly and you have to realy mess with it to get the best out of it. maual hepls though so you can tweak the pre sets to get your sound right

Not a bad chorus pedal and nicely prices but there are better out there. the Boss super chorus is a little more expensive but a better pedal overall

its a marshall. your great grand kids will be playing these pedals long after your dead

Never dealt with them. No need. I think they have merged complaints departments with Carlsberg. What a boring job that guy must have.

I play hard rock/metal and I only use chorus on my clear sound to give it a bit of deapth and smoothness. When using it with distortion it tends to sounds a bit mushy. Sorry Marshall but you know you can do better.

This unit has a huge variety of sounds available, especially when you combine it with changes in pickup/amp etc.
I tend to use the unit to just add some depth to the sound - I'm not really into the extremes - so the unit suits me fine.
Coming to terms with what each of the adjustments does -even with the somewhat inscrutable manual takes some real patience - but it does pay off.
I'm just a hacker so I cant compare too well to more expensive units.
One thing they dont say in the manual is that if you have your guitar plugged into the pedal, with the effect off, the unit is in 'standby' mode - it will still drain the battery.

Peavy blazer, Ashton guitar (2*humbucker very cheap prs/strat knockoff) and a marshall bluesbreaker.
If you dont use a regulated power supply, the hum is overpowering! Actually kind of funny since the hum seems to be subject to effect setting. Maybe some interesting effects on the offering here!
This thing eats batteries. I left the unit plugged in (I mean the jack from the guitar plugged into the input port) overnight and the new 9V battery was dead the next morning.
With a regulated power supply or battery very quiet. On some of the more extreme settings noise does creep in - but not too bad.
I compared this in the shop aginst the korg 100 and zoom 707II multi-effects units and liked this pedal *much* better. The multi-effects units might be convenient, but even with the shit gear I have, you can hear the difference.

Built like a brick
Dont gig, so no backup.

no need so far.

Really nice pedal. Lots of control and range of sounds.
Eats batteries - dont buy one without a *regulated* power supply (unless you like chorus'ed hum).
Excellent value for money with quality build - get one.

Input <---> Output 4 knobs.It's easy.

I'm using a Cort guitar with an Peavey Studio Pro 112 and it's sounds beautiful. No noise, it's not hard to get the good settings. I confront it with Boss chorus and INHO Marshall kicks Boss's ass. Honestly it's great sound.

It's built like a TANK. No more to say.

Never dealt with it.

If it were stolen I'll buy a same one. I use it to play rock, metal, blues and jazz and it's good for this. It got a beautiful design and with this thing we can procure different sounds. I recommend it to everyone. PS. Sorry for my English ;)

It is very easy to use.

This unit sucks! The Chorus is too subtle, and what is worse, this thing has nothing uni-vibey or leslie like. You can manage to sound like a crappy Fender Rhodes piano if you play with the settings. And it sucks your tone like a mosquito sucks blood.It doe not matter wether you are playing clean or dirty. It's still good for nothing. I was using a Fender American Vintage Re -issue Strat, an American Tele and an SG, through a Peavy Classic 50 Combo.

It looks relaible, probably not the switch, which was very loose.

Never dealt with the company.

Like I said, This Chorus Pedal is not even worthy of the money of a beginner.I chose the Danelectro Cool Cat over this rubbish.