Chorus Pedals! Tell me about yours!

[affy]

I admit it. I like chorus.

I have some cheap pedals because I am a pedal junkie and pick up things when they go on clearance. I need to learn to resist.

One I like, but it is falling apart. So, it is not reliable.

Another has excellent chorus and a metal housing, but is NEVER off. It's volume still controls the level/volume of the signal even when the pedal is not on. If there is any gain used on the amp, it makes a constant, loud, sweeping sound. This one needs a hammer taken to it.

Another has a weak, thin chorus. Worthless.

I am looking for one that sounds good, but not expensive. Here are the ones I am looking into now.

Ibanez Tone-Lok TC7 Tri-mode Chorus $69.99. It is not true bypass.



The Boss Super Chorus $89 Don't know about the bypass.





Small Clone $85.50. I am not sure this one has enough knobs for me. I don't think it is true bypass, either.






Digitech Hyper Phase Stereo Phaser $69.95. Metal Housing. Don't know about the bypass.





Danelectro Cool Cat CC-1 $49. Metal housing. True bypass.



I am leaning toward the Danelectro because it is true bypass and all metal.

Advice and thoughts?

[Prages]

I don't have a chorus pedal.

The one you like that is falling apart...how easy would it be to put it in a different enclosure with a new switch?

[Lerxst]

I have the small clone and quite like it. Their description is pretty accurate:

The classic chorus! Analog chorus pedal popularized by Kurt Cobain. The finest analog chorus sounds: from clear, rich and dimensional to warm pulsating warbles, can be intensified with the Depth Control. Simple tweaks generate exciting doubling effects. Chiming 12-string tone, or Leslie-like warbles

Current production EHx small clones are TB...and have been for a while IIRC.

Quick Specs
True bypass
9-volt Battery included
Optional 9DC-100 power supply available

http://www.ehx.com/products/small-clone

[Mark Wein]

I have a vintage Arion SCH-1 that I love but is disintegrating. Not sure what I am going to replace it with although I am considering getting some sort of kit to try building just for fun before I spend real money on something nice.

Pf the batch I'd probably try the Small Clone first.

[Help!I'maRock!]

my chorus pedal is my Jacques Prisoner delay. it's a modulated delay, so if i simply want chorus, i can turn off the repeats. i can also set my Foxrox TZF flanger for chorus. if i were buying a new chorus pedal, i'd look at the Visual Sound Liquid Chorus.

[warren0728]

i have an original 18-volt danlectro cool cat chorus....i like it but i've never tried a different one for comparison....

[affy]

For those of you that referred to the one I like, it is the same as Mark's, I think. I would have to dig it out (if I could find it now), but think my old one is one of the classic Arions from the 80s. I got it in 1989 from Musicians Friend because it was the only music store I could contact. I lived in rural SE Texas at the time. Serveral years ago, I thought to replace it with another Arion. It would be the same, right? Wrong. Not even close to the same sound. I felt swindled.

What's more is that the old pedal was quiet. The newer one, not so much.

It would not be worth moving to a new enclosure because I would need to replace the adjustment pots, also. I fought with them until they got to the point of working sometimes, but were totally unreliable. The battery cable kept breaking off at the board, also. It was simply breaking down.

Now that I think about it, I have an old RockTek chorus pedal from the 80s also. Rocktek, you may remember, was a cheapo pedal. However, that one was a gem as far as sound and quiet. I put in a A/B switch right before the pedal to check bypass and could not tell the difference. Again, it was made cheaply. A great pedal, but fell apart after much use.

So, you don't like the Danelectro? I have a Daddy-O overdrive that is a real jewel. If I can find it, I will make a clip for you. It was really reliable, so I thought the chorus may be also.

[affy]

i have an original 18-volt danlectro cool cat chorus....i like it but i've never tried a different one for comparison....

I am not real happy with it being 18v. That is the reason I was looking at the other model. Got any cool clips?

[affy]

One more thing. Before I buy, I have to try that Digitech. It's got more knobs. It must be better, right?

[Mark Wein]

You're making me think I should try and resuscitate my old Arion now.

[Help!I'maRock!]

I am not real happy with it being 18v. That is the reason I was looking at the other model. Got any cool clips?

it's 18v because it wants more headroom. 18v isn't a bad thing.

that said, i had a roommate that bought one of those at the time i bought my CE-2. the dano was sterile sounding compared to the warmth of the CE-2. that said, the CE-2 had a terrible bypass, which is why i ultimately got rid of it.

[Mark Wein]

They make awesome leslie simulators, too...

[telecaster911]

I have the Boss CH-1. It sounds like chorus. I don't particularly like chorus. It sits in the box. I've never had issues with Boss' bypass.

[Knox in Box]

I have one of those Artec Vintage Chorus's. I like it well enough, but I hardly ever use a chorus sounds.

[warren0728]

I am not real happy with it being 18v. That is the reason I was looking at the other model. Got any cool clips?

sorry....i don't have any clips (you don't want to hear me play anyways)....i haven't used it in a long time but did like it when i did....

[affy]

All you people with chorus pedals sitting in a box, wrap it up and send it to me. LOL

[Sad Navigator]

i have an original 18-volt danlectro cool cat chorus....i like it but i've never tried a different one for comparison....

I've got this one. I dig it. You can find them pretty cheap used. It can do some nice, subtle sounds putting just a little bit of lush on things.

[jaxn slim]

I use a Line 6 MM-4 with an expression pedal, and I set it so the expression pedal adjusts the speed of modulation. It's not the best-sounding chorus I've ever heard, but its versatility works really well for my 90s rock cover band.

[affy]

it's 18v because it wants more headroom. 18v isn't a bad thing.

Tell me about headroom. Never heard that term used with a pedal, before.

[Help!I'maRock!]

Tell me about headroom. Never heard that term used with a pedal, before.

it's the same as on an amp. it required more juice to provide a clean signal. TGPers talk about running distortion pedals at 18v all the time. which makes no sense at all, because they're supposed to distort, not provide clean headroom. at the same time, a pedal like the EHX Frequency Analyzer (ring mod) sounds so good because it runs at 40v. its about what the circuit requires.

[affy]

it's the same as on an amp. it required more juice to provide a clean signal. TGPers talk about running distortion pedals at 18v all the time. which makes no sense at all, because they're supposed to distort, not provide clean headroom. at the same time, a pedal like the EHX Frequency Analyzer (ring mod) sounds so good because it runs at 40v. its about what the circuit requires.

I had just never heard of it used with a pedal before. When I was at the university to learn electrical engineering, I was very interested in making effects. The professors would not even answer questions regarding signal mods (the bastards!). They thought I was wasting my time.....and I was, but they could have at least answered a few. I built my first distortion box in 1988. It was a lot of fun. I thought everything ran on 9v.

I found a Craig Anderton guitar effect book in the library. It had never been checked out. I wore it out. I did not have pre-formed circuit boards. I started with bread boards and tested, then kept radio shack hot for the little hobby circuit boards.