Chorus on Bass -when & how do you use it

[Waxhead]

Hi guys - I'm a long time guitarist & been playing & gigging bass also for about 5 yrs now.
Luv my bass too and have a history of using many guitar effects pedals over 25 yrs.

I know Chorus pedals well and presently have 2 I've used for guitar.
Have an old Boss CE-3 and a much better newish Analogman mini-chorus.
I've plugged the CE-3 into my bass and it sounds ok but I find bass effects (except for envelope filters) unsatisfying on bass in general

Sooo chorus on Bass - Questions ??

When do you use it. Any particular type of music it's best suited for ?

Do you just use basic chorus settings or do you go for Leslie effects also.

What are some excellent recorded chorus bass examples I should listen too.

Do most Chorus pedals suck out bottom end on Bass like many OD pedals do.

Do you use your Chorus pedals in the loop of your amps or do you guys place it up front ??

thanks guys

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Chorus was heavily (over)used in the 80s, particularly with fretless bass; it can actually sound dated now because it was used so often back then. It generally does not affect the low end. It can sound very cold and distant, almost metallic if used heavily. Jeff Berlin uses chorus all_the_time- if you have heard one of his albums, you've heard a lot of chorus Used sparingly, it can sound very nice, and definitely makes your bass stand out.

[kevteop]

I think most people who use chorus on bass these days are adding it after a fuzz and/or an octave divider to do cheesy euro-dance bass sounds.

People who use straight chorus are ironically aping the sounds of the '80s, or we just think they're being ironic and in fact they love that sound. :/

[kb9wyz]

I use a chorus pedal usually only when there aren't a lot of other instruments, or they are all acoustic. Even then, I play with the depth up, the rate down, and set to a level that is not clearly perceivable when the other instruments are playing. I turn it up to see where it's at and then turn it down until I can't tell it's there anymore (or at least tell that it's a chorus effect anymore). I do this to thicken the sound.

[N.F.A.]

When I played in a pop band/folk rock band I used it all the time. I biamped and used the chorus on the high end, above the crossover. It sounded dreamy that way. Chorus sounds too muddy otherwise for me. Now playing in a hard rock band and not using it at all anymore though.

[audiomitch]

I'll use it sparingly to just pop above the fray once in a while. My Boss CEB-3 has a frequency control, so I only apply chorus to the higher frequencies and leave the bottom end alone.

[dan_doh]

Justin chancellor of tool uses a lot of chorus.

[nostatic]

With the Polytope you actually can use it as a lead boost. You get some degree of chorus effect, but you can also get a gain bump and cut with it.

Kinda depends on the particular pedal as to how it can be used.

[blindrabbit]

Originally Posted by N.F.A.

When I played in a pop band/folk rock band I used it all the time. I biamped and used the chorus on the high end, above the crossover. It sounded dreamy that way. Chorus sounds too muddy otherwise for me. Now playing in a hard rock band and not using it at all anymore though.

I had a similar history. The band I was with in the early-mid 90s was a pop-rock band, and I used a fair amount of chorus, especially on songs where the bass line really drove the melody. It also seemed to fit on a lot of the cover tunes we did around that time - REM, Nirvana, and the like. Conversely, I don't think I've ever used my chorus pedal when playing blues.

I still like it as an effect, but probably tend to be more cautious with applying it these days. My current source of joy is messing around with fuzz and overdrive.

[loopmantra]

intro's-gives a little 'pro' sound and also makes your bass sound rich and not sterile(altough i would also use reverb on intro's-for the same reasons)
chorus-to make it stand out,as opposed to verse,and to boost up the dynamics(octaver is also good at this point of the song)
guitar/keyboard solo(and especially double-back-to-back guitar solo)-fattens the sound,and also boosts dynamics a bit(another good spot for octaver)
bass solo-no comment.we all know what chorus efx does to a bass solo
in my opinion these are the most expected parts of a song for you to play with a chorus efx,but,as always on TB-it all narrows down to what kind of music,style,equipment you own/like,and what would YOU like your bass to sound like...

[Waxhead]

ok thanks very much guys
That gives me a good summary.
I'm in a hard rock outfit at the moment so probly won't plug in a Chorus for that but got an idea now of when it might be useful.

All other comments welcome

[kokoshmusun]

I play in a trio and use chorus not so audibly (to achieve an 80's sound or anything) but just to thicken up and add width to the bass, especially when our guitarist isn't playing chords. I think it was recommended to me in this forum when I asked what I can do to cover more ground with the bass in a trio and it works fine for that, but I don't think of it as very essential (it will probably be the first to go when I want to achieve the same using a different pedal, like an octaver, and I need space on my board). It's nice though, it really thickens.

[Reaper Man]

I use it as a subtle effect on a select few songs- such as Pink Floyd- Breathe

[skidrawk]

I use it when it calls for it in my 80's cover band. Some Journey, Cindi Lauper, The Cure, etc.

[NortyFiner]

I like to use just a touch of chorus (actually my BF-3 flanger tweaked to act like a chorus) when playing otherwise clean. It helps to fill space; I think of it as "enlarging" my sound, like what others said earlier about "thickening" their sound. Same idea, different words.

[marijn van gils]

Originally Posted by skidrawk

I use it when it calls for it in my 80's cover band. Some Journey, Cindi Lauper, The Cure, etc.

Yes, "girls just wanna have fun" just cries for some chorus!
That's how I use it too, as I play in a partyband: to get some cheesy (but also great?) 80-ies sounds, and also to thicken up some synth sounds.

[Waxhead]

Originally Posted by skidrawk

I use it when it calls for it in my 80's cover band. Some Journey, Cindi Lauper, The Cure, etc.

ok love Cure.
What Cure songs do you use chorus for ??

[sunbeast]

Much of the early Cure stuff had chorused bass, as well as Joy Division, New Order, and many other bands in a similar style from the 80s. I use chorus quite a bit myself, and when I do use it it is a pretty much "on all the time" effect to give the bass a nice present shimmer. I wouldn't be dissuaded because it was so used in the 80s any more than I would be dissuaded to use delay on guitar despite a few decades of its heavy (over)use. If it adds to your music then use it!

[blindrabbit]

Originally Posted by Waxhead

ok love Cure.
What Cure songs do you use chorus for ??

I used to use it on Lovesong.

[LiquidMidnight]

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

Chorus was heavily (over)used in the 80s, particularly with fretless bass;

+1 I love chorus, but I never cared for the sound of chorus on a fretless...at least for the most part. I always thought that Mark Egan's great fretless playing took on a little bit of cheese when he had chorus going on.

I use an EBS Unichorus and, for the most part have been very happy with it. As far as cover material, I generally use it when the original bass line has a prominent chorus effect. So that means Sweet Child o' Mine gets some chorus (it's a beautiful thing when you hit that opening melody on the bass with the chorus dialed in just right) and I've used it when playing Tool. I also use an extreme setting in Three Day's Grace's Break right after the guitar solo. I think that may actually be a heavily flanged bass, but an extreme chorus sound seems to replicate it rather well.

As far as original material goes, I've always liked using chorus on chordal work.

This kid uses some nice chorus on this bass solo he played for his school's talent show: Joel Schroedter- bass solo (carvin lb75 A) - YouTube