MXR Carbon Copy Bright review

An old friend with a new accent

  • £149
  • €198
  • $228
Reviews
By
( )
published

MusicRadar Verdict

This pedal from MXR is a bright idea, brilliantly realised.

Pros

  • +

    Simple to use. Cuts like a dream.

Cons

  • -

    None.

MusicRadar's got your back Our team of expert musicians and producers spends hours testing products to help you choose the best music-making gear for you. Find out more about how we test.

While the original MXR Carbon Copy has many admirers, taste is subjective, and some users pined for a brighter-sounding analogue delay.

The Carbon Copy Bright is MXR's answer to those prayers and again, it's all-analogue - so unlike most digital delays it's not a greedy guts when you run it on an all-nine-volt battery diet. You can plump for a mains adaptor, but that'll cost you extra.

You get three main controls here. Delay alters the speed of the effect from a room reverb and rockabilly slapback to a longer Edge-style response with a maximum of 600 milliseconds. Regen is a contraction of regeneration, and basically governs how many repeats you get when you hit your guitar strings.

Mix alters the ratio of dry signal to effect. It's all very straightforward.

There is one more control, however. The modulation button adds some chorus to the delay for a bit of wow and flutter, mimicing the sound of an old tape echo box. You can tweak the modulation effect with the width and speed controls inside the pedal.

Okay, the name obviously didn't give the designers any sleepless nights, but you can't fault their hard graft when you plug this little green pedal in. The sizzle here is the brightness, and while the original Carbon Copy is a cracking bit of kit, this new edition cuts through with more authority, and doesn't get buried in a mix like some analogue delays.

Ed Mitchell