My personal pet peeves with pedals

[Topkat13]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[AudioTaper]

Ugh.

(good start to a thread, huh!? )

You know the deal. Your pedalboard is basically done and you're happy, but suddenly you realize there is still some space on your board if you move things around. Move that, get a cable, make it nice and clean - suddenly you have an idea of getting just one more pedal.

Cool.

Your compressor is fine even though the fact that it runs off a tube and has to warm up beforehand kinda pisses you off, makes you think of something akin to an old friend who you love and hate at the same time. Your pre is amazing and gets everything done with room to spare, your lush and moody reverb instantly transports you into a different world as soon as you pluck a note... And then, there is space left.

So you wonder.

Maybe a chorus would be great. Yeah that sounds good. Oh but basically none of them have a mix/blend/level/clean knobs to make it even remotely usable on a bass (hey, I dont want to be either at 0 or a 100, where is the fun in that on bass). Then you find that one that you like that has all the knobs you'd want, but it doesn't really sound that unique or special, it just makes you go "meh whatever".

So you keep digging.

Cool art? Check. Sound? Check. Functionality? None.

Okay, next.

Cool art? Check. Sound? Check. Functionality? Check. Oh but it's no longer made and no one is selling it anymore.

Next.

Cool art? No, what are you, stupid? Chorus is supposed to be baby blue ONLY. Sound? Take it or leave it. Functionality? Check.

Okay, so finding that unicorn chorus that looks sick, sounds good, has the knobs you would want AND is available is kinda hard and it doesn't matter if we are talking used or new.

"screw it then, ill get something else just to fill the spot! How about a fuzz"

Find a buncha fuzzes that are ok but not amazing sounding that you could get, but then you stumbled upon a video of someone running a reverb into a chorus and you toss out the idea of getting a fuzz and you're back to square one, looking for that perfect chorus pedal again...

Tsk.
Tsk.

Sigh...

Hey! What's wrong with baby blue pedals?! As a longtime owner of a Boss CEB-3.... I can totally understand.

You want to have a lot of fun, run a POG2 into a reverb and chorus. I built the Reverb from a PedalPCB.com board. Seriously lacking in artwork (I'm getting there with the right printer) but it sounds pretty good.

Also, following for ideas on a good chorus. With artwork.

 

[Admiral Chew]

With artwork.

With artwork, you say… As mentioned further up the thread I think the Malombra has one of the best finishes I’ve seen on any pedal (the picture doesn’t convey how excellent the deep, dark sparkle finish is).

 

[AudioTaper]

With artwork, you say… As mentioned further up the thread I think the Malombra has one of the best finishes I’ve seen on any pedal (the picture doesn’t convey how excellent the deep, dark sparkle finish is).View attachment 4705882

Yeah I saw the post and was checking them out. I like the different waveform options. It's a very pricy pedal...

The Walrus Julianna looks nice also.

 

[Admiral Chew]

Yeah I saw the post and was checking them out. I like the different waveform options. It's a very pricy pedal...

The different waveforms do make it very versatile and it can cross into territories beyond being only a chorus.

Apologies if I’m touting too expensive a solution. I picked one up on Reverb and I’m in Europe so it may be that it works out a bit cheaper on this side of the Atlantic, particularly when used.

 

[RJ]

Like yourself, I’m pretty picky and have similar requirements. It’s usually means I hunt longer but end up with exactly what I want.

If artwork isnt a requirement the Boss bass chorus is cheap and sounds pretty dang good.

They Keeley Seafoam is the best chorus I’ve ever used on bass or guitar.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

I have a Santa Fe themed Julia that I think is the bees knees for bass & guitar alike. That one ticks all my boxes to include cool art. I even like the origin story of why it's called Julia.

 

[MtManiac]

Ampeg Liquifier. No cool art, but it’s purple, kinda glittery, and the Ampeg logo is the raised and polished metal chassis. Plus it sounds dope.

 

[Wangus67]

I second the Keeley Seafoam+. Just about 9 o’clock on each setting to give a nice full presence. ADT mode, please…

 

[smeet]

All it has is speed, depth and some switches. No blend or anything. Sounds kinda nothing special to me? And the art is just, well, it just is.

If you care that much about looks, I can’t advise you. But the Waterfall is really the only chorus that I have enjoyed on bass. It has no blend and no HPF but still sounds better than all the ones that do (that I have tried).

 

[jbhaugh]

I've never found a real need for the clean blend and the Boss CE-2W works great for me. Why bother with unicorn hunting when the original is the real deal? When I'm using chorus I want the slightly thinner New Wavey sound (think the Cure) and the CE-1 settings on the CE-2W are actually a little thicker than I need most of the time.

If I decided I wanted a clean blend I would get my local electronics guy to mod it for me, probably.

 

[AudioTaper]

I've never really wanted blend only on chorus. I do want a signal chain blend/loop to take all the pedals out with a true bypass or be able to blend in the dry.

Is there a reason the chorus needs a blend? Asking because I feel like you know something about it that I dont, and I want in on the secret also

 

[Nuage420]

I've never really wanted blend only on chorus. I do want a signal chain blend/loop to take all the pedals out with a true bypass or be able to blend in the dry.

Is there a reason the chorus needs a blend? Asking because I feel like you know something about it that I dont, and I want in on the secret also

Damnationaudio.com Bloop

 

[AudioTaper]

The different waveforms do make it very versatile and it can cross into territories beyond being only a chorus.

Apologies if I’m touting too expensive a solution. I picked one up on Reverb and I’m in Europe so it may be that it works out a bit cheaper on this side of the Atlantic, particularly when used.

Everything is expensive. Ha!
That said I have a Source Audio C4 with a HotHands3 and Disaster Area controller. A good chorus wouldn't even he half the cost of that setup....
So no apologies necessary.

 

[Derek Williams]

I've never really wanted blend only on chorus. I do want a signal chain blend/loop to take all the pedals out with a true bypass or be able to blend in the dry.

Is there a reason the chorus needs a blend? Asking because I feel like you know something about it that I dont, and I want in on the secret also

Chorus is already a 50% blend between dry and wet (fully wet would be a vibrato). having a blend control just lets you adjust that balance, it's not essential.

What can be more useful is a HPF on the wet side if you want to avoid the low end pulsing. Bass specific chorus pedals will usually include this, either at a fixed frequency or adjustable. I just use digital modulations, and they usually include an adjustable HPF (currently using modulations from a Quad Cortex).

 

[Nev375]

The Earthquaker Sea Machine doesn't get enough love around here, but its a really useful and unique chorus on bass.

Top mount jacks too!

 

[packhowitzer]

I have really enjoyed this chorus pedal so far. It's thick and syrupy but doesn't lose any low end in my experience. I wish I had gotten the MF Delay as well. And I don't know if these count as good graphics, but I like the look of this pedal.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

I'm not really hung up on the art thing...

I did go for the Midnight Limited Edition Strymon Mobius over the Blue, obviously. Moy bueno on the effects, mess with to taste and then blend with an XOTIC X-blender, with phase adjustment/desk quality EQ, in an adjustable effects loop. I have a boring White JHS 3 Hall Reverb looping through the pre/post I/O's on the Mobius. I did put a nice light blue Barefoot Switch Cap on it. It kills for a big ambient hall reverb and that's all I need.

The Mobius also has some weird special effect stuff, a bit crusher and a filter I can make work when/if I ever need that sort of thing...

It's utility/sound/space/cost for me, art is cool, too.

 

[LightForce104]

Providence Anadime Bass Chorus ended my chorus lust. It has a hpf so you can really dial it in. Kind of hard to come by, but it definitely does the job perfectly, lacking in the art department but the sound makes up for it.

Not hard to come by right now. They're in stock on Amazon for ~$180 brand new, shipping free from Japan.

 

[6-3-2]

The art isn't there, but I do like my Aguilar Chorusaurus. It obviously sounds great on bass and has a mix knob. My only "complaint" is I wish it had a little more high-end sparkle, but that's not hard to coax out with adjusting the tone from my bass.