Testing the Universal Audio UAFX Compact Brigade pedal - Brigade manager

From plug-in to pedal

As with the UAFX, LA-2A and 1176, Universal Audio has adapted the Brigade plug-in into a guitar pedal. The plug-in version, released in 2016, reproduces the sounds of the famous 1976-vintage Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, the daddy of all choruses. With the Brigade, the brand thus offers a mono digital chorus/vibrato pedal, aimed at guitarists and bassists. The pedal comes in a cardboard box, which also contains the instruction manual. For each of the pedals in its UAFX series, Universal Audio includes a highly intuitive user manual, with all the necessary information on one A4-size page. Unsurprisingly, the Brigade’s chassis is the same as we discovered when testing the 1176 and LA-2A. It’s a reasonably sized chassis with jack sockets and power plugs on top. The pedal is painted military green with sky-blue decorations. It incorporates three potentiometers, a two-position switch and an LED whose color indicates the active mode — I’ll return to this later. Like the other pedals in the series, the Brigade is well-appointed. Its potentiometers and switch inspire solidity and sturdiness. A USB-C port on the left-hand side is used to update the firmware. Finally, its foot switch is a very quiet Soft Touch.

Like the Boss CE-1 from which it takes its inspiration, the Brigade offers a relatively limited number of settings. There are potentiometers for : 

• Level: adjusts the pedal’s overall output level
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• Rate: adjusts Vibrato speed
• Depth: adjusts chorus and vibrato depth and chorus speed
• Vibrato/Chorus switch: toggles between chorus and vibrato
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On the rear of the pedal are two small switches labeled Bypass and Preamp. The Bypass switch toggles between Buffer and True settings and the Preamp switch activates or deactivates the built-in preamp. Indeed, the CE-1, released in 1976, was equipped with a preamp that added a certain character to its chorus and vibrato effects. That preamp also ensured a constant level with the pedal engaged since chorus tends to lower the volume as it changes the instrument’s attack. Universal Audio had the smart idea of integrating this preamp into the Brigade. You can decide whether or not to activate it. But the brand has gone one step further by offering the possibility, when using the Buffer, of leaving this preamp active even when the pedal is switched off. The Level setting can then be used even when the Brigade is not engaged. Having taken a look around, I installed the Brigade on my Pedalboard and began my testing.

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A modern CE-1?

I placed the pedal at the end of the chain on my Pedalboard, just behind my TC Electronic Combo Deluxe 65'. I tried the Vibrato mode first. From the first notes played, the enveloping effect of the vibrato was immediately apparent, even with the Depth setting low. Universal Audio has dramatically extended the range of this vibrato, which can oscillate more slowly, more rapidly, but also more intensely than the original CE-1. That’s pretty cool and makes the pedal quite versatile. It can generate a subtle, very slow vibrato and also much more bizarre sounds with high oscillation speed, bordering on ring modulation. Like the Boss CE-1, the Brigade is easy to master, as it doesn’t have a lot of controls. Once you’ve got the hang of the knobs and switches, all that’s left is to choose whether to add a little more character with the integrated preamp. The latter adds a specific character, taking it towards a more classic sound. This preamp is applied (or not) to the Dry signal. When the selector is OFF, the preamp is not applied. When ON, the preamp is applied to the Dry signal when the pedal is activated and in True Bypass mode. On the other hand, when the pedal is in Buffer Bypass mode, the preamp on the Dry signal is activated even when the pedal is switched off. It’s a well-thought-out feature that allows you to enjoy the pleasing color of this preamp at all times. The LED at the top of the pedal changes color according to the type of Bypass selected and the status of the preamp.

Vibrato – Slow

00:0000:37

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• Vibrato – Slow00:37
• Vibrato – Medium00:42
• Vibrato – Fast00:46

• Red: preamp OFF – Buffer
• Orange: preamp OFF – True Bypass
• Violet: preamp ON – Buffer
• Green: preamp ON – True Bypass

I finished with the vibrato by turning up the gain on my Combo Deluxe 65' a little for a vintage crunch sound. The pulsation provided by the vibrato is quite musical and gives movement to the sound, making it stand out better. I then activated the small switch to switch to Chorus mode. In this mode, pedal adjustment is even simpler, as only the Depth knob is used to adjust the chorus. It increases both the intensity and speed of the effect and is extremely well-balanced. The sounds obtained over the entire adjustment range are all good and can be used in specific contexts. The chorus is pleasant to play and listen to. It has all the qualities you’d expect from a Boss CE-1 but with some very welcome modern features. However, the pedal could have been quieter. I quickly explored the possibilities offered by the preamp before concluding this test. The sound is more transparent without the preamp, so whether or not to activate it will be a matter of personal preference. However, taking advantage of this preamp, even when the pedal is switched off, is quite pleasing. It brings a vintage graininess and a specific color by removing a hair of midrange and slightly increasing the low midrange. 

Chorus – Slow

00:0001:11

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• Chorus – Slow01:11
• Chorus – Fast01:00
• Chorus – 80s Vibe01:02