All Tube Chorus pedal hunt...

[Acquistapace]

Recently I've been expanding my rig for a doom/drone project (yeah, I know) and I've got the amps perfect now. Everything's coming together... except I'm needing a chorus pedal that won't throttle my tone, and the solid state choruses I'd owned/used/demo'd have all left me wanting for low-end boom and high-end clarity. I'm playing a short-scale 6, and responsible for a great deal of the tone. My plan is thus:

Hellcat 6 -> A/B/Y---> Orange Rockerverb 100 - Orange 4x12
|
------> tube chorus - Acoustic 450 - Acoustic 301 18" folded cab

The chorus is really alluding me. I've searched here and poked around on Youtube for something that'll really open up the low end to an enigmatic otherplanar rumble. Effectrode makes an all tube chorus and I'm betting it smokes, but it costs more than my bass OR my amp, and I haven't even heard it yet (videos on their Tube Vibe are impressive though, to be fair).

Any ideas on something warm, perhaps more tuned to bass?

[JanusZarate]

I wouldn't limit yourself to all-tube chorus pedals. Almost every chorus pedal out there is non-tube, and the lack of tubes has no bearing on whether or not a chorus pedal can sound great.

My favorite chorus pedals have been "non-bass" ones (for example, the EHX Stereo Electric Mistress, whose parallel chorus can be used by itself for a warm, liquidy, and spacious effect).

Hmm... is there a particular bassist's chorus sound which you've become enamored with? A lot of famous bassists have used chorus at some point or another.

Also, what have you tried so far that you can remember? Giving us a stronger background on what you've used and why you didn't like them will help us a lot.

[CliffD]

-Analogman clone chorus (just got it, sounds great, can't describe it yet)
-Fulltone CF-1 (loved this chorus pedal, low end retention, kind of metallic, can find em used)
-Diamond Halo (has a cool phase tone along with the chorus, they sound great blended)

I've tried and owned all three, I think they all are great on bass, each with its own flavor.

[bassteban]

I'm intrigued- I have not heard of a tube chorus.

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by bassteban

I'm intrigued- I have not heard of a tube chorus.

IIRC, you almost never see them because the tubes aren't part of the actual effect circuit. I remember reading an article by Howard Davis on how tubes can't generate an audio delay, and thus can't be used to create chorus, echo, reverb, flanging, and other similar effects.

The tubes in Effectrode's chorus pedal are most likely just preamp tubes and nothing more. They're "warming up" your tone before they hit the chorus circuit. The actual chorus effect is still created using solid-state components, like any other chorus pedal.

Plus, I find it hilarious how they're advertising the use of the tubes in that particular pedal... it's misleading to a surprising degree. It's not entirely false, but they're certainly catering to uninformed tube fanatics.

[whoatherechunk]

the should model a chorus after the almighty roland jazz chorus

[Past 11]

Originally Posted by MysticBoo

IIRC, you almost never see them because the tubes aren't part of the actual effect circuit. I remember reading an article by Howard Davis on how tubes can't generate an audio delay, and thus can't be used to create chorus, echo, reverb, flanging, and other similar effects.

The tubes in Effectrode's chorus pedal are most likely just preamp tubes and nothing more. They're "warming up" your tone before they hit the chorus circuit. The actual chorus effect is still created using solid-state components, like any other chorus pedal.

Plus, I find it hilarious how they're advertising the use of the tubes in that particular pedal... it's misleading to a surprising degree. It's not entirely false, but they're certainly catering to uninformed tube fanatics.

I've never heard of tube chorus either, but yeah...lots of hype out there. I use the Boss bass chorus and it does me just fine (it leaves my low end alone). If chorus means that much, I'd do a road trip to some music stores and let my ears do the thinking. Ya never know...might save some bucks.

[bongomania]

Most so-called tube-based effects are just regular effects with a tube replacing one of the transistors for a gain stage, with minimal actual benefit to the tone.

[RickenBoogie]

I settled on a Maxon CS 9Pro after trying and buying about a dozen other chorus pedals. It has a delay time control, aside from the speed control, which adds another whole dimension to the effect.

[JimmyM]

"Eluding," not "alluding."

[cybersnyder]

Originally Posted by FreaqyFrequency

Seriously...there are some great chorus pedals out there, and VERY little of their tone has to do with their gain or transistor stages.

I would personally recommend the HardWire CR-7. Some great sounds in that box.

+1. Great pedal.

[roflol]

Originally Posted by bongomania

Most so-called tube-based effects are just regular effects with a tube replacing one of the transistors for a gain stage, with minimal actual benefit to the tone.

you'd be wrong ;< the input buffer on any circuit can have a huge affect on the tone!

[rcubed]

A tube chorus? HA! It's for suckers who think tubes are the only way to go.

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by roflol

you'd be wrong ;< the input buffer on any circuit can have a huge affect on the tone!

He's not addressing the buffer, though - he's just saying that tubes in these sorts of circuits often simply replace a gain stage transistor. That's a separate matter.

[fishtx]

If these are so amazing, why haven't we heard more about them?...

[SteveMcB]

No tubes.
You need an old peavey BAC-2 biamp bass chorus.

Chorus is applied only to the highs. The signal passes through a crossover in the pedal, and only the highs are processed. No low-end suck at all

Out of production, but cheap on ebay.
Steve

[bigntasty]

I hit a home run back in 1979 when I forked out $75 for a new MXR Stereo Chorus pedal. That one had a hardwired power cable on it. I believe they use a separate power supply on the current model, and the controls are different. You see the originals bringing around double their original price when they come up for sale online.

Also, I'm not sure that higher price is always a guarantee that you'll get a better pedal. It all comes down to personal taste, what you're trying to achieve, etc. I'm currently using an Arion Bass Chorus that does a nice job.

[rcubed]

Using BYOC's chorus as an example, you'd need seven tubes for it to be "all tube" and that's not including an additional two ICs needed.

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by roflol

you'd be wrong ;< the input buffer on any circuit can have a huge affect on the tone!

Can but very often DOES NOT have a "beneficial" and noticeably "tubey" tone effect in the case of cheaply-designed toob preamp stages. If you think I haven't owned about three dozen tube preamps and A/B'ed them carefully against each other, and against clean solid state preamps, then you'd be wrong. And this wouldn't be the first time you've said something both hostile and ignorant about electronics here.

[seamonkey]

I think "All Tube Chorus Pedals" is called a "Leslie"