best chorus pedal (favorite)

[feyshay]

I've gotta say thank you to those that recommended the Fulldrive 2. Exactly what I wanted. I returned my TS-9DX (which I liked), but the Fulldrive 2 blows it away.
What would you get for a chorus pedal? BTW--I'm a huge fan of Pat Metheny.

[hopeless_opus]

Chorus pedals. I've only used a few, but these are ones I like:

Boss CE-2
Ibanez CS-9
- each of these is a rich vintage effect, smooth and subtle, like The Police

EH Small Stone
EH Poly Chorus
- Nirvana sound, plus more extreme roating speaker effects

Fulltone Choral Flange - very expensive, an amazing pedal (is it worth the $$$?)

Guyatone Micro Chorus - I've only played around with it in a store, it's really nice

There are lots of other ones that look interesting and might be worth cheking out; Voodoo Labs Analog Chorus, Visual Sound's H2O, Maxon CS505 among others.

One other suggestion, a Roland Jazz Chorus amp. This is a very clean SS amp that has one speaker purposefully slightly out of phase with the other one which provides a very natural and smooth chorus effect. It is "THE" classic 80's chorus sound. (I'd be willing to bet Metheny used one at some point, everyone else did)

of the pedals, I like the Ibanez, Boss and Guyatone ones the best. ymmv

Good Luck!

[Ruudman]

Ditto on the Ibanez. It's a goodie.

The Voodoo is also good, you can get a decent leslie sim with it.


ruudman

[blackcatdigi]

The old TC Electronics pedal... Forgot the model years ago!

[threm]

The discontinued Redwitch Medusa got rave reviews


http://www.musictoyz.com/guitar/pedals/redwitch.php

Arion SCH-1 used to be a budget choice but prices have been going up.
http://www.harmony-central.com/Effec...Chorus-01.html

The Retro-Sonic is inspired by the legendary CE-1


http://www.retro-sonic.com/
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/sho...5&pagenumber=2
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/sho...threadid=79026


Analogman Clone Chorus is another fave by many. Good faux leslie, several different versions.


http://www.analogman.com/clone.htm

http://musictoyz.infopop.cc/eve/ubb....1&m=5281015871

[squeegybug]

Ditto TC Electronic, the SCF. Classic, rich and musical. Also has pitch modulation, which I often prefer. But overall I like delays better than either one.

Steve

[max cooper]

Originally Posted by hopeless_opus

EH Small Stone
EH Poly Chorus
- Nirvana sound, plus more extreme roating speaker effects

Technically, the Small Stone is a phaser, so named for the Stones, I believe (who way over phase-shiftered the guitars on the '81 tour IMO. The 'watery' Cobain pedal is the Small Clone.

But they're both great!

I know it's not a pedal, but the Bomb Factory Voce Spin is one of my fave effects hands down, including pedals and rack-mount stuff. Truly awesome! I mention it because it's modulation-y in a chorus kind of way.

[Power Supply]

Have you ever heard the Jacques Chorus pedal?
I found it in a shop full of weird pedals and I bought
it on a whim. It's pretty sweet. A nice mid boost too
without being annoying.

[hopeless_opus]

Your right - the Small Clone is the Chorus, I get those mixed up.

Feyshey,

From www.jazzguitar.be/guitar_rig_pat_metheny.html

These are apparently the effects Pat Metheny uses;

"Roland Gr-300" guitar synth, "Digitech 2101 GSP Guitar Pre amp" and the "Lexicon Prime-Time Digital Delay"

For Chorus, he uses two Lexicons simultaniously, with different delay times to create a natural reverb effect. surprisingly, it's actually similar to what U2's The Edge does, just with much shorter delay times.

"The output of the Digitech, just like the Acoustic 134 (his amp), is connected to 2 Lexicon digital delays, one on his left at 14 Ms and one on his right at 26 Ms. Each delay has a slight pitch bend controlled by a VCO (sine wave), what makes his guitar sound chorused. It's this 'natural' chorus that Pat is after since he doesn't like chorus coming out of a box." (www.jazzguitar.be)

I think you could get a desirable tone with almost any of the pedals people have suggested on this thread. But, to try and really nail Pat Metheny's tone try using two Delay pedals with the delay times from above. (14 and 16 ms) The closest combination for simulating Pat's sound (short of getting the two Lexicons) might actually be a Chorus pedal (for the short delay/detuning effect) and a delay pedal set at 26ms. Anyway, just some more suggestions to play around with....

Good Luck!

[Matt Hepworth]

Subtle, schmuttle. If I only want a hint of chorus I'd use a BOSS, or a plug-in.

I want to HEAR the chorus, personally, so nothing comes close to the Electro Harmonix Small Clone (or Polychorus, if you must).

After using it, other pedals sound like they're not even on.

[Pohaku]

I'm intrigued by the Robert Keeley modified Boss CE-2. You need to send in your own CE-2 (I just happen to have one). For $70 for the speedy upgrade mod you get:

* All electrolytic caps replaced, they get old just like in a tube amp!

* Pair of electrolytics swapped out for Metal Film to reduce 3rd order harmonics and distortion.

* Maximum performance, Gold-Socket Burr Brown (same company that brings you the finest D/A converters) op-amp used to decrease noise and increase fidelity.

* Power supply filter modded so that standard power supplies work better. Higher voltage leads to better headroom.

* 2 version of the mod available--Standard HI-FI and the SPEEDY CE-2.

* SPEEDY CE-2 has much increased rate control. Get crazy pitch-bending effects like the Clone Chorus!

* The SPEEDY CE-2 still gets super slow rates, so nothing is is lost, just speed to gain!

* In the Speed mod, you get all of the hi-fi mods, plus we make a circuit board with additional upgrades and a small potentiometer to have a MASTER speed control. This allows you to have full control, from slower than stock speeds, to zanny pitch-bending weirdness. All with a super fine tone of the Hi-fi modification.

Anybody had this done? I'm thinking of sending mine in.

[Igotsoul4u]

Bumpin this one up because I need to buy a chorus pedal. I have a mod effect on my memory man hazari but it robs me of the delay. Playing some police stuff so chorus and delay are obviously needed. Analog man or jacques is in the lead right now. Would like to keep in $200 or less.

[The Elf]

Some of these are probably out of budget, but worth looking for...

1 - Boss CE-1. The first and best IMO - corny, but true. Probably out of budget though. Pretty much THE early Police sound.
2 - EH Clone Theory. A bit noisy, but I wouldn't hold that against it. Try to get the mains version, rather than the battery-driven Small Clone. Much loved by The Edge, I have been informed.
3 - Boss CE-3. Often overlooked, and so likely to be found a bit cheaper than the CE-2. Very nice sound - don't really know why it seems second best to the CE-2, which never exited me much.

HTH!

[Croaker]

another vote for analog man here. I love their pedals. Good company to deal with too.

[teo]

EH Small Clone or TC Stereo Chorus.

[Babaluma]

boss dimension c dc-2
fromel custom lush/seraph

never been a big fan of the "guitar under water" sound, prefer my chorus to be more subliminal.

[steveyraff]

As a modulation junkie, this is the one of the most versatile and highly used pedal or effect I've ever used. Before I bought it I tried out literally dozens of chorus pedals. This was exactly what I was looking for. It says 'FLANGER', but really, you can pull anything out of it. It was great for all kinds of chorus, phaser and flange. The BOSS chorus pedals were good if you only wanted subtle effects I found. A lot of the leading Chorus pedals were good at subtlety. But I wanted something that could be really rich and deep and even overpowering if i wanted it to be.

This done it all, you can literally get any sort of modulation effect and you can take it from very subtle to overpoweringly rich and deep. You can even set it so extreme that it just makes weird sound effects. Or set it so lightly it just smooths up a clean tone. Whatever!

Well, its my personal favourite coming from someone who has been through a lot of effects pedals/racks etc.

Steve.

[LizardKing]

I've tried a lot of chorus pedals, both on bass guitar and synths.

The first Boss chorus pedal, the CE-1, sounds very warm but lacks a rate control. Somewhat annoying as you can alter the rate in vibrato mode. The later Boss chorus pedals sound too muddy for me.

The Electro Harmonix Small Clone can be had for an excellent price online, and has the same "clangy" analogue tone of the legendary Clone Theory pedal. Rate is controlled by a knob, but depth is simply a two position switch.

The Electro Harmonix Clone Theory is out of production, but is the best analogue chorus I've used. I don't know how similar sounding the current Poly Chorus is, but EH claim it's the successor to the Clone Theory.

The Electro Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man can do chorus as well as analogue delay. I use it on analogue synths, where the metallic sound of the Memory Man complements them well.

[roger]

best chorus pedal.....hmmmm......ask me....oh i dunno......about 15 to 20 years ago. 'chorus' is the devil!...no wait....autotune is the devil....chorus is one of his nasty little harpies!

[Mike Caffrey]

MXR stereo chorus - the sound of Hiram Bullock!

[syntax]

Good advice on the modulated delay to get the Pat tone!

Honestly, if you want to get into his neighborhood, you have to go stereo. Two amps: one straight in, and one with a short modulated delay. Try it; you'll see. He described switching to stereo as bringing the expressive feeling of his guitar closer to a trumpet (or something to that effect). BTW this is also how Jaco got his sound. It wasn't chorus but the interaction between a short delay and his fretless J-bass.

Also be sure that the talented backup guys singing your lines are in stereo, too:
YouTube - Pat Metheny Group - Have you heard

Of course, the other major jazz guitar chorus tone is Sco's. If you like the Scofield chorus tone, grab an Ibanez CS-9/10, crank up the rate, and pick down by the bridge.

[amcnally336]

Analogman Stereo Bi-Chorus with the deep switch!
You get 2 choruses in one box...
I like to set one on slow and deep, and the other on shorter and faster.
The deep switch is a MUST! This sounds great on Bass as well!
The stereo option makes an AMAZING Leslie!
You can get them used for about $250...well worth the money!
Do not compromise...accept no substitutes! Your tone deserves it!

[biggator6]

I like the aforementioned TC chorus/flanger.. can be subtle, or VERY seasick-sounding.

[Igotsoul4u]

I ended up going over budget in true slutty fashion and snagged a Red Witch Empress Chorus. I prefer highly versatile gear and the red witch empress chorus is as versatile as I could hope for. It really does go from a completely clean shimmer to lush and warbly. The bonus is the tremolo switch. I also think I could use this pedal as a boost. Other requirements met are true bypass, standard 9v boss style power jack, and a smallish footprint. I will post a review after I get to know her a little better. Stoked!!!

[Igotsoul4u]

Just found out andy summers uses it. I was looking to nail his sound since I play some police covers. guess I will be sounding authentic.

[LimeMusic]

I'd have to say that the Boss DC-3 Digital Dimension is the best chorus I've used. It's really subtle, but it can add so much depth... It's just a unique sound....

[Dave Marcus]

Hi,

I am looking to replace a now-dead chorus that I use for a very odd purpose. I play a concertina, an accordion-like instrument that has a very clean and somewhat thin sound. I use the chorus to make the instrument sound like a much richer accordion - thickening the sound and adding just a touch of warble.

What's the best chorus to use for this particular purpose? Am not wanting to break the bank and have no need for a serious effects module for this purpose; and I don't need enough effect to sound like an effect.

Thanks,

Dave

[jim_18_66]

Check out the Biyang CH7 or CH8.

analog pedal, true bypass, 3 knobs: speed, spread and blend. (tone knob replaces blend knob on the CH8) powered by battery or 9volt plug in

Don't use this pedal with a one spot adaptor. I was doing this before i bought my voodoo labs pedal power it made a lot hum and a clicking in time with the chorus modulation.

when plugged into the Pedal power, i can dime all the knobs and all I hear is chorus. no clicking, no hum

There is a demo on youtube.check it out

$58 on Ebay

[Joe Porto]

Not a big enough fan of chorus to have a dedicated pedal, but I've used several delays....Chandler Echo, EH DMM, Super Time Line, Publison, etc. to get some really nice rich chorus sounds when needed.

Just about any delay with modulation time/rate controls can do chorus, and if they can get down into the 2-4ms range, can do flange as well (by adding regeneration).

[Liquid360]

Originally Posted by Babaluma

boss dimension c dc-2

Sounds great on synths.

If you're not already familiar with this site, check it out:
mode zero - phase shifter phaser flanger chorus delay vintage effects photos mp3 demos

They have lots of audio examples.