Last year in 2023, MOOER released its Prime Stomp S1 multi-effects pedal, to great critical acclaim. The device expanded on MOOER's previous pedalboard creations, applying a more sleek, lightweight, and, most importantly, chargeable design. Now, the company is turning heads once again with the Prime Minimax M1, an upgraded device that improves functionality not only for electric guitarists, but for bassists too.

Packed inside the Prime Minimax M1 are 149 high-quality effect models across 10 banks, each of which contains 4 patches. These include amp and cabinet simulations and overdrives, along with dynamic, modulation, delay, reverb, and EQ effects, as well as empty user slots. Most notably, though, 20 of the amp and cabinet simulations have been curated specifically for bass guitarists, showing MOOER's dedication to providing support for this additional audience.

As with the Prime Stomp S1 and other recent MOOER multi-effects pedals, the Prime Minimax M1 is supported by the MOOER Cloud, a cutting-edge framework for preset sharing. Not only does this allow guitarists to customize and share their favourite M1 creations via the Bluetooth-compatible MOOER Prime app, but it also supports the importing of third-party IR files of up to 512pts. As a result, the 149 built-in effects are greatly expanded, with users able to simulate their favourite classic amplifiers, cabinets, and tones, whether they have downloaded them online or recorded the IRs themselves.

Taking an all-in-one approach to guitar practice and performance, the M1 also includes a built-in drum machine, complete with 40 different drum grooves and 10 metronomes. This goes hand-in-hand with the 80-second looper, with which guitarists can record electric and bass guitar phrases, play them back, and overdub them, all with simple footswitch presses. The looper can even be triggered automatically through signal detection, ensuring that loops always begin perfectly to form a perfect loop. Moreover, the looper can also be synced with the drum machine, a combination of which results in an all-in-one suite for songwriting.

Rather than the four footswitches found on the Prime Stomp S1, the Minimax M1 features just two footswitches, facilitating a more compact and streamlined design. Each footswitch is multi-functional, supporting a variety of tasks, such as browsing preset slots, triggering loop recordings, activating the device's built-in tuner, the tap tempo functionality, and interacting with the drum machine. The status and information of these features are visualized through the device's LED screen, along with indicators for Bluetooth activation, charging, battery life, and footswitch status. Two buttons are also provided-one to activate the drum machine and another for the device's power toggle.

In contrast to MOOER's recent flagship device, the GE1000 Li, the Prime series focuses heavily on portability and compactness. Weighing up at just 190g and 12cm in length, the Minimax M1 can fit comfortably into any backpack and most pockets, facilitating on-the-go guitar practice and performance. To add to this convenience, the M1 can be charged by USB through its built-in 2000mAh lithium battery. As a result, with the device's portability, guitarists can truly use this multi-effect pedal anywhere, anytime.

Continuing MOOER's reputation for providing flexible audio routing options, the design of the Prime Minimax M1 inputs and outputs are varied. Of course, the usually 14" mono input and 14" stereo output are available, as well as the 3.5mm output for headphone practice and monitoring. However, further options are available, such as Bluetooth 5.0 support for audio playback, allowing users to stream audio from another device to play along with. The device's USB-C port can even be used for OTG recording, allowing users to record their creations directly into the MOOER Prime mobile app.

Overall, the Prime Minimax M1 is yet another welcome addition to the pedal producer's range of multi-effects pedals. In particular, it marks a new level of portability for MOOER's device portfolio, showing just how much functionality its design team can pack into such a small box.