Peter Hook chorus: alternative to Clone theory (not analogue man)?

[Sound&Fury]

One more because it's such a Hooky classic. No intention to hijack the thread!
BTW: this is just iPhone, but as you can hear the Bass Clone gets you in Hookyland quite nicely.

 

[robbroncs]

My solution to getting the Hooky tone was to get an exact clone built of his vintage EHX Clone Theory. Obviously, the thing nails the sound. I've not had much chorus GAS since getting it a year or so ago.

thanks to your help, i got one of those awesome clones. but the hum was a bit too much. the new EHX Bass Clone is a sweet alternative! i think one day i'm going to have to put the EHX in that sick Peter Saville enclosure

 

[sunbeast]

thanks to your help, i got one of those awesome clones. but the hum was a bit too much. the new EHX Bass Clone is a sweet alternative! i think one day i'm going to have to put the EHX in that sick Peter Saville enclosure

How does the Bass Clone compare tonally with your Clone Theory clone??!!

 

[blindrabbit]

How does the Bass Clone compare tonally with your Clone Theory clone??!!

This is a good question. @robbroncs, did you get one of the "new" Stereo Clone Theory pedals? If so, those definitely suck. My clone of the vintage CT sounds fantastic. That said, I'm intrigued by the new Bass Clone, and so would also like to hear if you did actually compare the new BC with a vintage CT.

 

[boristhespider7]

This is a good question. @robbroncs, did you get one of the "new" Stereo Clone Theory pedals? If so, those definitely suck. My clone of the vintage CT sounds fantastic. That said, I'm intrigued by the new Bass Clone, and so would also like to hear if you did actually compare the new BC with a vintage CT.

Possibly a little harsh blindrabbit, imho. Personally i find the RI CT does a decent job, but i admit i haven't tried an origonal CT or the new bass clone (yet!). Here's a track i did on my RI CT just to give an idea of the sound, no other processing, just bass (Fender P) > CT > 8 track. Sounds even better with slight delay a la Hook.
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Do you know what chip you have in your CT? Where did you get it made? I'm interested

 

[blindrabbit]

Possibly a little harsh blindrabbit, imho. Personally i find the RI CT does a decent job, but i admit i haven't tried an origonal CT or the new bass clone (yet!). Here's a track i did on my RI CT just to give an idea of the sound, no other processing, just bass (Fender P) > CT > 8 track. Sounds even better with slight delay a la Hook.
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Do you know what chip you have in your CT? Where did you get it made? I'm interested

That clip does sound decent. I should clarify that my own experiences with the RI SCT are not positive, and most clips I hear of it aren't that great.

As for my clone, it has an MN3007. I'd love to get one built with an SAD1024, but those chips are tough to find. That, plus the fact I'm so happy with my existing one, means the SAD1024 is a project on the backburner.

I had my Clone Theory built by Master Effects - there is another thread in this forum going on about him right now. I pulled together a group buy, we had 5-6 of them built in a batch. Mine has effectively killed off most of my chorus GAS.

 

[DirkP]

First time live with the Bass Clone on my board yesterday. Really loved it.

Here's a clip from that gig. The band is Ian Kevin (Joy Division tribute).
Settings on the BC: depth between 1 and 2 o' clock, rate 11 o' clock, bass and treble flat, X-over off.

I like that version, good singer. I've listened to Ceremony, too. The Bass could be louder during the verses, where Hooky plays those fat octaves. I wish your band would make a version with Ian's lyrics, not what New Order transcribed when they listened to the rehearsal tapes. Again, great band. Would like to see more of the bass player, but that is a common complaint among us...

 

[boristhespider7]

That clip does sound decent. I should clarify that my own experiences with the RI SCT are not positive, and most clips I hear of it aren't that great.
As for my clone, it has an MN3007. I'd love to get one built with an SAD1024, but those chips are tough to find. That, plus the fact I'm so happy with my existing one, means the SAD1024 is a project on the backburner.

My RI CT also has an MN3007 chip in it. Anyone know what chip is in the Bass Clone?

Btw, an older thread that's worth a read for anyone that's interested in CT's and chips: Clones of the Clone Theory?
Johnk_10 mentions how he owned a CT with a SAD chip but found it way too noisy...he's now built one of the MN3007 ones too

 

[robbroncs]

How does the Bass Clone compare tonally with your Clone Theory clone??!!

I got the Master Effects clone, with the unknown pleasures etching. it's just like the original...but with the added noise of the original as well.

they both nail that "Hooky" sound, though. that being said. the bass clone seems more versatile to me in the chorus department, especially for bass.... but they are different pedals. the clone clone has a vibe option, as well as a flange switch.

 

[NortyFiner]

Sounds to me like there's an opportunity here for a boutique builder to make a pedal specifically imitating the old Clone Theory and Peter Hook sound.

 

[boristhespider7]

the clone clone has a vibe option, as well as a flange switch.

Don't want to go too off topic but could you explain what these are? What's the vibe option do? And the flange: does it add flange as well as the chorus effect?

 

[blindrabbit]

I got the Master Effects clone, with the unknown pleasures etching. it's just like the original...but with the added noise of the original as well.

they both nail that "Hooky" sound, though. that being said. the bass clone seems more versatile to me in the chorus department, especially for bass.... but they are different pedals. the clone clone has a vibe option, as well as a flange switch.

Funny, I have the exact same pedal and I don't find it to be noisy. Even more notable is the fact that I typically run 2-4 gain stages before the pedal, and 2-4 gain stages after it as well, so if there was any noise to be had from it, I should be hearing it in spades!

 

[robbroncs]

Don't want to go too off topic but could you explain what these are? What's the vibe option do? And the flange: does it add flange as well as the chorus effect?

There is a knob that fades from Vibrato to Chorus. and a switch that adds light flange to the effect

 

[blindrabbit]

There is a knob that fades from Vibrato to Chorus. and a switch that adds light flange to the effect

Great demo vid. Such a nice chorus, I just love it. What do you think @Sensei Tim?

 

[Sensei Tim]

I love this chorus. I haven't had a chance to try it on bass that much, but i love it on guitar.

as far as noise, I use NOS MN3007 BBD chips. some of them can be a bit more noisy than others. such is the nature of the beast, unfortunately.

 

[boristhespider7]

I love this chorus. I haven't had a chance to try it on bass that much, but i love it on guitar.

as far as noise, I use NOS MN3007 BBD chips. some of them can be a bit more noisy than others. such is the nature of the beast, unfortunately.

Is this faithful to the origonal CT circuits? Some of the orignal ones also had an "edge" setting on them. Anyone know what they did? Add more treble eq?
Which one did Hooky use? Edge or flange version? (I can't hear flange on his bass signal in Joy Division or New Order)

 

[blindrabbit]

Is this faithful to the origonal CT circuits? Some of the orignal ones also had an "edge" setting on them. Anyone know what they did? Add more treble eq?
Which one did Hooky use? Edge or flange version? (I can't hear flange on his bass signal in Joy Division or New Order)

Maybe I can pop in...when looking for copies of the circuit, I wasn't able to find one with the Edge switch, so that one couldn't be built. For that matter, I wasn't able to find a version of the SAD1024 circuit either.

From reading up on interviews with Peter Hook, he has many (like 15-20+) vintage Clone Theory pedals that he has used and does use. They don't all sound alike, probably due to the aforementioned variations in the circuit as well as two different chips being used, not to mention weak manufacturing tolerances in that era. However, I think that the version that I had @Sensei Tim build is the closest sounding chorus that I've found to Hook's tone. Disclaimer - I've not had a chance to play actual vintage pedals, I'm only using my ear from listening to recordings.

 

[Sound&Fury]

I like that version, good singer. I've listened to Ceremony, too. The Bass could be louder during the verses, where Hooky plays those fat octaves. I wish your band would make a version with Ian's lyrics, not what New Order transcribed when they listened to the rehearsal tapes. Again, great band. Would like to see more of the bass player, but that is a common complaint among us...

Thanks for the feedback!
Our show was filmed by the people of the venue... a bit of an odd camera angle indeed.
Totally right about the Ceremony lyrics. All of our interpretations are heavily based on JD live albums and bootlegs, except for Ceremony.

 

[robbroncs]

I love this chorus. I haven't had a chance to try it on bass that much, but i love it on guitar.

as far as noise, I use NOS MN3007 BBD chips. some of them can be a bit more noisy than others. such is the nature of the beast, unfortunately.

the pedal is sweet. especially the saville enclosure. but there was quite a bit of hiss when engaged. i'm sure i'd use it again if i ever added a gate to my board. which with my GAS, is always a possibility

 

[Sensei Tim]

One thing that I just thought of now;
There are quite a few CT clones out there, but most of them are either a) tuned for guitars and their frequency responses or b) use cheap/fake/out of spec BBD chips. I bought a lot of 20'of then and put at least a third of them into the unusable pile because they were so noisy. Don't get me started on fake Chinese mn3007 chips either...

One possible good thing is that there is a company called coolaudio that recently started making some of these vintage mn chips (bbds, clocks, etc) that are used in all of "those" classic chorus, modulation and analog delays using modern semiconductor manufacturing processes- this means more consistency from chip to chip and less noise.

I haven't had a chance to try any yet, but they are definitely on my list of things to check out!