The Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978 is a Chase Bliss Audio reverb pedal. Close alternatives include the Keeley Realizer Reverberator Chromalux 2K24 Custom Shop and the UA> Heavenly. It pairs well with the Dumble Steel String Singer and the Marshall JTM45 45W Tube Guitar Amp Head.

Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978

Chase Bliss Audio · pedal

Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978 is a motorized-fader studio reverb pedal built with Meris, modeled on the vintage Lexicon 224 digital reverb, with Hall, Room and Plate algorithms across three selectable fidelity modes. Standard mode targets the authentic late-1970s 24kHz/16-bit character of the original hardware, HiFi mode runs at 48kHz/32-bit for a cleaner modern sound, and a lo-fi mode uses higher pre-delay for gritty, filtered textures. Room gives a lively, grounded sense of natural space, Hall offers slower-building, richer waves, and Plate acts as a dense, flexible glue reverb. It suits studio and stage players wanting a genuinely vintage-flavored digital reverb rather than a pristine modern algorithm, with motorized Automatone faders for instant preset recall.

What stands out

  • “Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978 is a motorized-fader studio reverb pedal built with Meris, modeled on the vintage Lexicon 224 digital reverb, with Hall, Room and Plate algorithms across three selectable fidelity modes”

    — from the listing

  • “Standard mode targets the authentic late-1970s 24kHz/16-bit character of the original hardware, HiFi mode runs at 48kHz/32-bit for a cleaner modern sound, and a lo-fi mode uses higher pre-delay for gritty, filtered textures”

    — from the listing

  • “Some reviewers found the improvement over other high-end reverbs modest relative to price, while others specifically praised it for restoring flavor they felt from cleaner modern digital reverbs”

    — from the reviews

  • “it suits studio and stage players wanting a genuinely vintage-flavored digital reverb”

    — from the listing

  • “Its main use case is studio recording and stage rigs where a distinctly vintage-voiced Room, Hall or Plate reverb is wanted over the cleaner sound of pedals like Strymon or Eventide units”

    — from the community notes

  • reverb
  • digital
  • modern
  • high end
  • delay
  • stage
  • studio
  • gritty

Good for

  • Live
  • Studio

Genres the Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978 is commonly used in

  • Alternative Rock
  • Ambient
  • Post Rock
    citedInferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
  • Lo Fi
    citedInferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.

Amps that pair well with the Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978

Dumble Steel String Singer

Dumble

25% match

fills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → smooth)

Where this leans bright, Dumble Steel String Singer answers back smooth

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Marshall JTM45 45W Tube Guitar Amp Head

amplifier

24% match

fills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → warm)

Run Marshall JTM45 45W Tube Guitar Amp Head after it and the bright edge settles into something more warm

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Orange Little Bass Thing

Orange

14% match
$681.58via Reverb

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Run Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978 in Orange Little Bass Thing's effects loop, clear of Orange Little Bass Thing's own gain stage

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Orange Terror Bass

Orange

14% match
$752.75via Reverb

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978's pristine voice goes in Orange Terror Bass's effects loop — it's not there to compete with Orange Terror Bass's own warm character

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Orange BT1000H Terror Bass 1000-Watt Bass Amp

Orange

14% match

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Put Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978 in Orange BT1000H Terror Bass 1000-Watt Bass Amp's effects loop, clear of Orange BT1000H Terror Bass 1000-Watt Bass Amp's own gain stage

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Ampeg RB-112

Ampeg

14% match
$372.92via Reverb

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Run Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978 in Ampeg RB-112's effects loop, clear of Ampeg RB-112's own gain stage

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Ampeg V-4B 100w Bass Head

Ampeg

13% match
$1899.99via Reverb

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Run Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978 in Ampeg V-4B 100w Bass Head's effects loop, clear of Ampeg V-4B 100w Bass Head's own gain stage

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 Bass Amp 30th

Aguilar

13% match

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978's pristine voice goes in Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 Bass Amp 30th's effects loop — it's not there to compete with Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 Bass Amp 30th's own warm character

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Pedals that stack with the Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978

Hughes & Kettner Tube Rotosphere MKII The Analog Leslie Simulator

pedal

23% match

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Run Hughes & Kettner Tube Rotosphere MKII The Analog Leslie Simulator after Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978 in the signal chain, where it won't crowd Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Mojo Hand FX Nebula Redux

Mojo Hand Fx

22% match
$139.69via Reverb

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Keep Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978's pristine voice out front: Mojo Hand FX Nebula Redux goes after Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978 in the signal chain so its warm voice doesn't muddy it

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Wampler Latitude Deluxe Tremolo

Wampler

21% match
$169.95via Reverb

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Put Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978 after Wampler Latitude Deluxe Tremolo in the signal chain, where it won't crowd Wampler Latitude Deluxe Tremolo

Comes earlier in the signal chain

TC Electronic SCF Gold Stereo Chorus

TC Electronic

18% match
$83.90via Reverb

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Keep Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978 after TC Electronic SCF Gold Stereo Chorus in the signal chain, where it won't crowd TC Electronic SCF Gold Stereo Chorus

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Caroline Guitar Company Somersault

Caroline Guitar Company

18% match
$219via Reverb

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Keep Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978 after Caroline Guitar Company Somersault in the signal chain, where it won't crowd Caroline Guitar Company Somersault

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Greer Mizuki blue

Greer

17% match
$199via Reverb

fills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → warm)

Greer Mizuki blue leans warm right where the bright tone needs it

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Strymon Zelzah -Dimensional Phaser

Strymon

17% match
$337.13via Reverb

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Put Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978 after Strymon Zelzah -Dimensional Phaser in the signal chain, where it won't crowd Strymon Zelzah -Dimensional Phaser

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Catalinbread SFT

Catalinbread

17% match

fills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → warm)

Where this leans bright, Catalinbread SFT answers back warm

Comes earlier in the signal chain

See all 119 pedals that pair with the Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978 →

Alternatives

Keeley Realizer Reverberator Chromalux 2K24 Custom Shop

Keeley

61% similarity

Shared character: high end, reverb

UA> Heavenly

Universal Audio

58% similarity
$169via Reverb

Shared character: mix, reverb, studio

Strymon blueSky Reverberator

pedal

58% similarity

Shared character: digital, mix, warm

Neunaber Wet Mono Reverb Pedal

pedal

56% similarity

Shared character: high end, digital, mix

TC Electronic Hall of Fame 2

TC Electronic

55% similarity
$111.97via Reverb

Shared character: reverb, digital, mix

Dophix Leonardo Compressor

Dophix

53% similarity
$156.34via Reverb

Shared character: reverb

Walrus Audio Lore

Walrus Audio

50% similarity
$249via Reverb

Shared character: delay, mix, reverb

Fjord Fuzz Mime

Fjord Fuzz

49% similarity

Shared character: mix, warm, reverb

Mooer Ocean Machine 2 Devin Townsend Signature

Mooer

49% similarity
$223.29via Reverb

Shared character: digital, delay, reverb

Universal Audio Evermore Delay

Universal Audio

47% similarity

Shared character: high end, reverb, studio

Boss RV-5 Digital Reverb

pedal

44% similarity
$81.48via Reverb

Shared character: digital, reverb

Old Blood Noise Endeavors Obne Dark Star

Old Blood Noise Endeavors

44% similarity
$299via Reverb

Shared character: delay, reverb

See all alternatives to the Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978 (cheaper + boutique) →

Questions people ask

What are good alternatives to the Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978?+

The closest matches in character are the Keeley Realizer Reverberator Chromalux 2K24 Custom Shop, the UA> Heavenly, the Strymon blueSky Reverberator.

What pairs well with the Chase Bliss Automatone CXM 1978?+

Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Dumble Steel String Singer, Marshall JTM45 45W Tube Guitar Amp Head, Orange Little Bass Thing — Where this leans bright, Dumble Steel String Singer answers back smooth.

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