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Talk to me about Chorus Pedals

Snakeman1066

Snakeman1066

Sep 17, 2007
6,331
6,357
Central Valley
#1
Currently using a T-Rex Bass Sweeper and am really unsatisfied with it.....it's a one trick pony
and it does not play nice with some of my other pedals..though I dig the purpe LED

I like a high/deep Depth but with a small/short rate

Years and Years ago I had a Digitech Multi voice Bass Chorus I loved some of the settings on it...it was nice and thick but also lush...but could be super "ICY" as well.....and it did a good job of pulling off multiple voices....but I hate the Boss style enclosures and switches.....not much luck with them...
(are these capable of being re-housed?)

is there anything out there that is a combination of digital and analog that is capable of keeping the low notes but also capable of pulling of multiple voices?

what should I be looking at?

(keep in mind no boss or digitech type enclosures please....)
 
#2
Snakeman1066 said:
Currently using a T-Rex Bass Sweeper and am really unsatisfied with it.....it's a one trick pony
and it does not play nice with some of my other pedals..though I dig the purpe LED

I like a high/deep Depth but with a small/short rate

Years and Years ago I had a Digitech Multi voice Bass Chorus I loved some of the settings on it...it was nice and thick but also lush...but could be super "ICY" as well.....and it did a good job of pulling off multiple voices....but I hate the Boss style enclosures and switches.....not much luck with them...
(are these capable of being re-housed?)

is there anything out there that is a combination of digital and analog that is capable of keeping the low notes but also capable of pulling of multiple voices?

what should I be looking at?

(keep in mind no boss or digitech type enclosures please....)
Click to expand...

Hey let me first start off by saying I'm a bit young to be a part of the chorus craze of the 80s. I play modern rock,metal.

I tend to like choruses that are a bit different than that old type of chorus. out of all the boss choruses the ce-5 chorus ensemble is actually my favorite. I also once owned the Digitech bass multi chorus. It was cool in that it was pretty dramatic. You definetly knew when it was on but I agree the highs in particular could be a bit harsh. Personally I really like chorus sounds that don't actually come from chorus pedals. Have you ever tried a reverb pedal with a modulation setting? Hardwire rv-7, boss rv-6, TC hall of fame, hardwire supernatural, and the Digitech polara all have a mod setting. What this does is put modulation on the reverb instead of your initial note. So it's kind of a wet and Dry chorus type of vibe. You have to be careful with how long the reverb is, Keep it really short but i really like that sound. Another chorus type sound are the deep and shallow setting on the bass whammy. It doesn't sound cheesy and you have a bit more control over it with the expression pedal. The boss pitch shifter pedals like the whammy have some can also create a nice chorus sound. Many delay pedals like reverb pedals also have modulation setting as well.
 
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#5
heard very good things about the Tech21.....I will give it a whirl if I can find one in the wasteland that is central California

Source audio pedals don't do much for me aesthetically not to mention I'm not a big fan of Swiss army type pedals...as I already have a flanger and phaser I like...

keep the suggestions rolling in...
 
#7
Although I don't own one at this time, the best chorus I've had is the MXR Stereo Chorus. It's big, yellow and 18v, but man, the sound.... three knobs (intensity, width, rate), its own bass/treble knobs, a filter switch that garantees low end from here till doomsday... if I could justify having a dedicated chorus pedal on my small board, that's the one I'd get RFN.
 
#9
Regarding the Tech 21 Boost Bass Chorus, as a former owner of one, I felt it was a rather sterile, lifeless pedal. It was cool in that it had the option of no LFO, but the essential overall tone was digital and cold as ice. I sold it without regrets. Weirdly enough, even though I kind of dislike Mr. Black as a company, I am seriously considering a Double Chorus if one comes up used. That pedal, although DSP based, is one mean sounding chorus pedal.
 
#10
I've got a ton of chorus pedals. I like pretty much what you like...low rate but deep. My current favorites are:

Tech 21 Boost Chorus Bass. It's very versatile and useable

Aguilar Chorusaurus. Also versatile, just keep the rate low. It goes really fast in short order

Boss CE-5. It's awesome, cheap, and a classic for good reason. It's probably my favorite chorus
 
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#12
TC Electronic's Corona Chorus provides a very broad range of chorus effects. It includes a three-way toggle that allows you to choose between TC's classic Stereo Chorus Flanger mode, TonePrint or their Tri-Chorus defaults that give you a range of choruses from subtle and shimmery to vintage and warbling. The added benefits of their awesome TonePrint function allows you to download different chorus effects to your liking as well as tweak every imaginable parameter to customize your own settings and set that as your defined TonePrint setting. It's really the Swiss Army knife of pedals IMHO.

TonePrints - Corona Chorus | TC Electronic
 
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#13
thanks guys for the help I have a starting point at least...

The Local Guitard Center Has the MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe, The TC Carona, and the Tech 21 in stock so if off to try them this morning

I did find a demo of the Tech 21 that I really liked it perfectly nailed the Chorus tone in my head at one point in the Video
 
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#14
MGR said:
Regarding the Tech 21 Boost Bass Chorus, as a former owner of one, I felt it was a rather sterile, lifeless pedal. It was cool in that it had the option of no LFO, but the essential overall tone was digital and cold as ice. I sold it without regrets. Weirdly enough, even though I kind of dislike Mr. Black as a company, I am seriously considering a Double Chorus if one comes up used. That pedal, although DSP based, is one mean sounding chorus pedal.
Click to expand...

I Liked the "ICY" voicing of my digitech
 
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#16
The Markbass chorus/flanger has excellent manual controls (input gain, effect speed, width and blend [clean to affected]), true bypass, allows the user to save/use/edit three chorus settings and three flanger settings, all of which are accessible via footstomp. The great thing is that you can use a Mac or PC to edit the effects parameters via USB cable and free software (including an 8 band graphic eq that can be setup to use a different tone for each affect as well as all of the other parameters). I don't know of any other chorus/flanger with that feature.

The display is bright, it has a clip warning light, stereo/mono out, and is built like a tank. It uses a 12v power adapter (no battery) that can be bought from guitarcenter online for $20.

I've used one for 18 months and, considering the construction, customizable tones, and USB/software interface and wouldn't consider another. BTW, it sounds awesome.

Check it out (forward to about 5:50 for a software demo):
 
#17
rtav said:
The Markbass chorus/flanger has excellent manual controls (input gain, effect speed, width and blend [clean to affected]), true bypass, allows the user to save/use/edit three chorus settings and three flanger settings, all of which are accessible via footstomp. The great thing is that you can use a Mac or PC to edit the effects parameters via USB cable and free software (including an 8 band graphic eq that can be setup to use a different tone for each affect as well as all of the other parameters). I don't know of any other chorus/flanger with that feature.

The display is bright, it has a clip warning light, stereo/mono out, and is built like a tank. It uses a 12v power adapter (no battery) that can be bought from guitarcenter online for $20.

I've used one for 18 months and, considering the construction, customizable tones, and USB/software interface and wouldn't consider another. BTW, it sounds awesome.

Check it out (forward to about 5:50 for a software demo):
Click to expand...


Thanks....I have heard good things about this pedal....

However:

Footprint is entirely too Large !!
 
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#18
Zooberwerx said:
Still what I use. Dirt-cheap on the secondhand market...somebody gave me mine...and my tin ear can't hear much of a difference when compared to the upper-tier products.

Riis
Click to expand...

I don't get on with the Boss/Digitech enclosures or that style foot-switch I manage to break them constantly....

again could these be rehoused in a different box? with a different switch?
 
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#19
Oh, how I miss my MXR blue face delays. Both eventually died and parts to repair are hard to track down. If I find something that does all the stuff they did, I will buy it. I loved the ability to take the mod rate as high as 1K and get FM effects. Also that clean dry plus chorused delay, with HF roll off due to the bandwidth limits at longer delays. I have a newer MXR Digital Time Delay that is good at what it does, but it doesn't have the extra mod rate range. The Korg PME Chorus and Flanger are great for more typical effects, but of course they are ancient too.

Otto
 
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