Almost 50 responses before he gets a direct answer. This isnt a poll but I'll vote for the bass clone. Works for me on the rare occasion I use it.
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Chorus For Bass. Am I Insane?
- Thread starter Auspuff
- Start date
Wowa, a resurrection of a zombie thread!
Since I last wrote on this thread back on 2020, I've flipped my Strymon Mobius and now use a Source Audio Lunar. It's the most analogue sounding digital Chorus / Flanger / Phaser I've ever used. It can nail any Boss Chorus including the DC 2 Dimension. It's got 12 modulation engines, 10 controls (under the hood) and a comprehensive 4 band Parametric EQ, a High Pass filter and a really cool low retain mix knob. It's basically a mixer with a low pass filter, so you can blend in just the low end unaffected clean.
Since I last wrote on this thread back on 2020, I've flipped my Strymon Mobius and now use a Source Audio Lunar. It's the most analogue sounding digital Chorus / Flanger / Phaser I've ever used. It can nail any Boss Chorus including the DC 2 Dimension. It's got 12 modulation engines, 10 controls (under the hood) and a comprehensive 4 band Parametric EQ, a High Pass filter and a really cool low retain mix knob. It's basically a mixer with a low pass filter, so you can blend in just the low end unaffected clean.
Chorus is my favorite bass effect after compression. I've owned a lot of them but my favorite has to be the Ibanez CS9- it's like the CS-2 but just better. Its not complicated and the metal housing feels very solid for a foot pedal. The purple color is the best part I think
A lot of the Boss choruses are very subtle- the CS2, CEB3, and even the DC3 I had were subtle and didn't pop out as much as I wanted. The CE-2W is cool too for the CE-1 mode, but having never played a CE-1 I can't compare. When I had that I was trying to get the Continuum sound out of an effect rather than double tracking and the CE-1 mode on the CE-2 sounded the closest.
The T21 bass boost chorus had entirely too many knobs on it and I resold it instantly.
I also really like the DOD Deep freeze I think it's called bass chorus, the high end boost makes it stand out nicely and doesn't kill the low end. Just not a fan of the footswitch for playing live
A lot of the Boss choruses are very subtle- the CS2, CEB3, and even the DC3 I had were subtle and didn't pop out as much as I wanted. The CE-2W is cool too for the CE-1 mode, but having never played a CE-1 I can't compare. When I had that I was trying to get the Continuum sound out of an effect rather than double tracking and the CE-1 mode on the CE-2 sounded the closest.
The T21 bass boost chorus had entirely too many knobs on it and I resold it instantly.
I also really like the DOD Deep freeze I think it's called bass chorus, the high end boost makes it stand out nicely and doesn't kill the low end. Just not a fan of the footswitch for playing live
I personally prefer using flanger where you otherwise would have used chorus.
That said the Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble sounds gorgeous!
The Boss CE-2W got a CE-1 mode, there are a couple of higher end clones around of the original unit, or for budget the digital CE-1 model in the Zoom multi effects is actually pretty damn great, likewise goes for the Line 6 multi effects, also previous generation of Zoom and Line 6 multis, or you could try to find the discontinued Valeton Aquaflow Vintage Chorus, which is a budget analog clone, and the discontinued Voodoo Lab chorus is a CE-1 clone as well.
Nothing beats the CE-1 when it comes to chorus.
That said the Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble sounds gorgeous!
The Boss CE-2W got a CE-1 mode, there are a couple of higher end clones around of the original unit, or for budget the digital CE-1 model in the Zoom multi effects is actually pretty damn great, likewise goes for the Line 6 multi effects, also previous generation of Zoom and Line 6 multis, or you could try to find the discontinued Valeton Aquaflow Vintage Chorus, which is a budget analog clone, and the discontinued Voodoo Lab chorus is a CE-1 clone as well.
Nothing beats the CE-1 when it comes to chorus.
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I love the Boss CE-5. Has the classic Boss chorus tones, but has Low and High cut knobs that make it ultra useful in letting the bass cut through without getting too muddy or tinny sounding.
Also the Digitech Nautila. A bit "watery" sounding , but gorgeous and a lot of control over the wave forms and tone.
Also the Digitech Nautila. A bit "watery" sounding , but gorgeous and a lot of control over the wave forms and tone.
Iron Ether Polytope is at the top of my list, but I only have one, on my big board. Going the other direction, although it is a Boss knock-off, the Mooer Ensemble Queen(specifically for bass)does a decent job on a budget. The Tech 21 Boost Chorus, while not true bypass, is commendable.
Chorus is something I love to use, perhaps too much so I have to be deliberate. My long time favorite is the Ibanez CS9 but these days I am using a Mini that sounds just as good to my ears. I also like using the TC 3rd Dimension for more subtle modulation. For live I have a bunch of patches using chorus, detune and a few other modulations on the Zoom MS60 pedal that is the anchor.
