Tried out some chorus pedals today

[Brad Barker]

I've had my Ibanez CS-9 reissue for nearly four years now, and while it's done its job, I've now got a wandering eye for a more versatile chorus unit, especially since I plan on using my effects with guitar. The CS-9 has a relatively narrow range of "speed." (Pardon my ignorance, but maybe there are trimpots for this? I never pried it open before...)

Today I spent some time at the Starving Musician (walking distance from my summer apartment ) and tried out three chorus pedals: The Electro-Harmonix Stereo Clone Theory, Boss CE-5, and Visual Sound V2 Liquid Chorus.

In the tradition of fellow East Bay Bass Talker, Mystic Boo, here are micro-mini reviews...


EHX Clone Theory:

Holy God, the noise! Noise, noise, noise. Total deal-breaker for me. I recall the CS-9 having a little bit of noise, too, on account of it being analog, but nothing near the Clone Theory. (In retrospect, I should've A/B'ed it against the store's CS-9--I don't have my bed in town yet, let alone all of my pedals.)

Trying to ignore the noise, I tried out some settings. The first mode had the sort of chorus sound that I'm used to. The speed and depth controls had a very good range, too. The chorus sounded warm and natural. Mode 2 sounded really wacky at even moderate values of the other parameters. I didn't even bother with the goofy third mode.

In short: I would have put it on my "to buy" list for the first mode alone (and I really do mean alone), but the noise is just out of control.

Two out of five bass players would acknowledge that this pedal rocks:

Boss CE-5

Way back when, I probably should've gotten this unit over the CS-9, if only because of the equalization this pedal offers. With the bass set to "flat" (i.e., dimed) it had a huge chorus sound. Unfortunately, the speed range is in the same neighborhood as the Ibanez, so it won't be able to nail the modern guitar modulation sound I would like to have at my disposal.

Three and a half bassists would acknowledge that this pedal rocks:

Visual Sound V2 Liquid Chorus

Alright, this pedal is the reason why I started this thread. After doing a few searches (), I didn't see any dedicated threads about it, though correct me if I'm wrong--I usually am!

After telling the clerk that I was pretty disappointed with the pedals, he handed me this pedal and said that most people rave about it. I plugged in with expectations consistent with equal parts doubt and excitement. After twiddling with it for a bit, I found that this pedal has some of the widest ranges of usable sounds I've heard.

In addition to speed and depth, it also had "width" and "delay time" knobs. I can't find an explanation for what these do, exactly, and it was hard for me to tell how they qualitatively changed the sound. I found that I liked the delay time around 1 o'clock or "earlier," otherwise the effect just got goofy. I really don't know what the "width" knob does--I was exactly scientific with my knob twiddling--but it would make sense if it had to do with the stereo chorusing.

The sound, to my ears, had more "life" to it than the CE-5, though it did not have the same capabilities for a bass-y chorus. I believe the sound was a little brighter than the Clone Theory, though it would be hard to imagine it being nearly as bright as the CS-9.

The only thing I can really fault this pedal on is its ugly-as-sin aesthetics. It's not a sexy-lookin' pedal, imo. But the sound and functions more than compensate.

Four and a half out bassists would acknowledge that this pedal rocks:

[Crabby]

I agree the Clone Theory was way too noisy to be acceptable. I had one for a year and never turned it on. I may not be a big fan of chorus on bass anyway but the noise of the Clone Theory was too much for me. It did sound very good as a bass chorus though.

I had a japanese Boss CE-3 for a long time kicking around and it was not very good for bass as there was a loss of low end and definate muddying up of the tone when engaged. never tried the CE-5.

[KarateKid25]

Havn't tried any of the other ones you mention, but the Boss CE-5 was on my board for a while

I found it to be quite subtle at times, but a generally nice sound all round IMO.

[JanusZarate]

Beware: your abundance of free time + Starving Musician = you'll be in there often.

BTW, Chorus 1 on the Clone Theory has a preset depth. The Depth knob is disabled in that mode. As for Vibrato mode, don't even bother unless you're into the bizarre and don't mind a significant drop in low end and volume...

I LOVE Chorus 2, though. Even with the noise.

[Brad Barker]

Originally Posted by MysticBoo

Beware: your abundance of free time + Starving Musician = you'll be in there often.

BTW, Chorus 1 on the Clone Theory has a preset depth. The Depth knob is disabled in that mode. As for Vibrato mode, don't even bother unless you're into the bizarre and don't mind a significant drop in low end and volume...

I LOVE Chorus 2, though. Even with the noise.

no wonder you switched over to the ebs unichorus after a while. i'm surprised i didn't hear the speaker hiss from your clone theory days when i was in florida. i guess the 'mistress is hiss-free, right? (sounds like i'm setting you up for a pun, there... )

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by Brad Barker

no wonder you switched over to the ebs unichorus after a while. i'm surprised i didn't hear the speaker hiss from your clone theory days when i was in florida. i guess the 'mistress is hiss-free, right? (sounds like i'm setting you up for a pun, there... )

Actually, my Stereo Electric Mistress review already had a pun about that. Something about how she's silent when I want her to be.

But yes, the Mistress has ZERO noise in both the flanger and chorus sections. It's a beautiful thing for recording. The flanger and Filter Matrix sections aren't for everyone, but I think most people would be pretty satisfied with the chorus. It's actually on the warmer side of things, and pretty distant from the Clone Theory.

I'd describe the Clone Theory as "icy", with a larger delay time that caters to dramatic pitch modulation. The Mistress, meanwhile, is warm and "watery".

The Clone Theory's hiss is there in the recordings, but my tone wasn't as bright at the time, and I don't use tweeters... both of which made a huge difference on the resulting noise level.

As for the EBS... I initially was looking for a Clone Theory equivalent, but when I saw the multiple modes of the Unichorus, I thought I'd give it a go even though the clips I heard presented a dramatically different chorus tone than I was seeking.

In the end... I decided the EBS was a really good subtle chorus and flanger. It was awful for dramatic tones (except in P.M. mode, which I liked a lot... it's similar to Chorus 2 on the Clone Theory, but nowhere near as bright).

[Valerus]

Try some analog.man or maxon

[bassman1185]

I just picked up a first generation H20 the other day, and I love it so far. Beautiful, organic-sounding chorus and nice warm analog-style delay. It is a space hog, but it is essentially two pedals in one, and it only eats up one jack of a power supply.

[Brad Barker]

Originally Posted by Valerus

Try some analog.man or maxon

way out of my price range, but if one of'em shows up at the starving musician, i'm definitely going to try it out. (especially the analog man.)

[Brad Barker]

Originally Posted by MysticBoo

Actually, my Stereo Electric Mistress review already had a pun about that. Something about how she's silent when I want her to be.

In the end... I decided the EBS was a really good subtle chorus and flanger. It was awful for dramatic tones (except in P.M. mode, which I liked a lot... it's similar to Chorus 2 on the Clone Theory, but nowhere near as bright).

yeah, the ebs is extremely subtle. it's been a while since i played through it, but i recall being very underwhelmed.

[RickenBoogie]

I liked the original H2O, but the size was unacceptable. Clone Theory, yeah, that noise was it's demise. The Electric Mistress is awesome, if a little bizzare. My top choice and current chorus is the Maxon CS9Pro. Fantastic pedal, warm analog stereo chorus, mmmm tasty.

[Brad Barker]

went to the starving musician (again!) to work with the visual sound v2 liquid chorus a little more. i think i have the hang of it, minus the delay time. the chorusing is the "wobbly" kind, which is my favorite kind for guitar. and i can dial the "wobbliness" down since it's such a tweakable pedal.

the speed controls the speed of the wobbles. the width controls how "wide" the wobbles go. the depth controls the apparent volume (in a sense) of the wobbles.

it's very easy to dial in a completely "immersive" sort of chorus sound. i played the ibanez cs-9 before and after the visual sound, and it hardly even sounded like the effect was even on in comparison.

the only reason why i didn't walk out with the pedal then and there is because i've got some more expensive items i'm essentially obligated to get. () but it's definitely on my to-buy list.

i played the line6 space chorus, too. it was a used model, so the price was very tempting. the pedal weighs a friggin' ton, though. no batteries or anything, and it had to be something like 2 to 3 kg. the pedal wasn't as tweak-able as the liquid chorus or the ce-5, with just a speed, depth, and color knob, and then a switch to go from "chorus" to "unusable." ()

with some careful tweaking, there's a wide range of sounds available on it, though it's really easy to go into space-cadet territory. (hence the name?) the sound, overall, felt a little "flat" compared with the liquid chorus, though maybe in a double-blind study, i wouldn't find it to be the case.

[Brad Barker]

UPDATE!!!

i went back to the starving musician today while walking around town on a sunny afternoon and decided to check out the used boss dc-3 (digital dimension--the knobby one, not the preset-y one) and compare it with the visual sound liquid chorus.

Boss DC-3

this has what i think 'boo means by an "icy" sounding chorus. it sounded especially good in stereo mode. the controls were effect level (blend), EQ, speed, and depth. personally, i like the blend dimed, though i'm certainly not an "always on" chorus guy. the EQ seemed to be able to dial in quite a bit of treble in the chorusing sound. at no particular value of EQ did i experience significant loss in low end. the speed was able to get well into leslie-like territory, which i liked.

what i DIDN'T like, though, was that when i played double-stops, there was definite "hissing." when bypassed, this hissing was absent. right there, the deal was broken--i don't want noise from digital equipment, especially when it costs a buck-fitty used.


Visual Sounds Liquid Chorus (redux):

love the sound. super-watery; wet-n-wild! but this time, i DEFINITELY noticed an EXTREME jump in volume with the effect on compared to off. it was intolerably large. with no level control on the unit, there is no way to dial the gain back. there was still a jump in volume--probably by the same amount--even with all but the "delay time" knobs at minimum value.

(there was also some popping with the switch, though i'll give the pedal the benefit of the doubt, as it was powered via battery.)


in conclusion, i'm heartbroken over this latest development and am still on the hunt for The Ultimate Chorus Pedal.

[Jared Lash]

I don't know if you'll find one to test, but I really like the George Dennis Chorus Flanger.

IMO it's the opposite of the Boss chorus pedals (most of which I hate) in that it isn't metallic or icy but very organic. Even the flanger sounds are warm, though that means extreme, jet sound flange isn't available.

For me, chorus just isn't an effect I use often enough (or flanger for the matter) so it's going to be included when I sell off eight or so pedals in the next couple weeks.

If I DO need chorus, the detune setting on the Boss PS-3 is good enough, though I still like the GD a whole lot more.

A lot of people like the Cool Cat. It wasn't for me, but Spanky's got a demo video of it floating around here.

[Brad Barker]

Originally Posted by TheBigO

I don't know if you'll find one to test, but I really like the George Dennis Chorus Flanger.

IMO it's the opposite of the Boss chorus pedals (most of which I hate) in that it isn't metallic or icy but very organic. Even the flanger sounds are warm, though that means extreme, jet sound flange isn't available.

For me, chorus just isn't an effect I use often enough (or flanger for the matter) so it's going to be included when I sell off eight or so pedals in the next couple weeks.

If I DO need chorus, the detune setting on the Boss PS-3 is good enough, though I still like the GD a whole lot more.

A lot of people like the Cool Cat. It wasn't for me, but Spanky's got a demo video of it floating around here.

just watched the 'pants video. "i know you want more, but... you're going to have to buy me dinner first." *immediate end*

the cool cat seems to cover the same "middle ground" territory as the cs-9, so i'm not swayed. i'm thinking i should just get a leslie/vibe* type pedal for the super wobbles.

in fact, i'm thinking of the danelectro chicken salad. i can't wait until they come out() because i want to buy like three or four of them!

...or just one, and then rehouse it (like i'll eventually do with the french toast that's on its way) because they're built like fischer-price toys!


*no jokes!

[Ryan Mohr]

I am very interested in the new Danelectro CC-1 Cool Cat Chorus from the new line. It is getting great reviews on TGP, and for 50 bucks you get true bypass, metal jacks, an eq control, blend control, and speed and depth controls. Here is the one I am talking about - http://www.guitarcenter.com/Danelect...31-i1400958.gc

[fishtx]

I would also suggest you try out the Guyatone micro chorus. I picked one up off the bay for about $50. I really liked it...nice sounding Chorus pedal...

One knock I found with the pedal was it has a slight volume spike when engaged....but tone wise...it is really nice...and small...easy to squeeze onto a relatively full pedalboard.

[whoatherechunk]

Have you tried the EHX Small Clone yet?

[andvari7]

Or the EHX Stereo Polychorus? Of course, that does not actually EXIST, so...

[Crabby]

I just bought the yellow MXR stereo chorus and think its fantastic on bass. It has eq controls which are great for tweaking the overall tone and the little switch that applys the effect only to the highs is a godsend. i cant believe this baby isn't more popular here on TB.