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Good Chorus pedals?


Anthony_J

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Posted

Hey fellas,

 

It's about that time I add some more pedals to the board and this time I'm looking at chorus pedals.

 

So far I've looked at the Boss Super Chorus but I don't like that it's not true bypass as with most Boss pedals.

 

I was checking out the T.C. Electronics Stereo Chorus but it's out of my price range.

 

I'm trying to cop Eric Johnson's clean tone. Very ethereal sounding.

 

Any ideas or suggestions?

Posted

Guitarest, thanks for the insight!

 

I did actually go to Guitar Center the other day but they didn't have much of a selection only the Boss.

 

I'm planning on Youtubing demos of the pedals you guys suggest.

Posted

I bought a DOD Icebox from GC a long time ago for $20. It has always treated me nice. I admit I don't use effects much. Seems the older I get, the more I take the Angus Young approach. Maybe I'm just getting lazier. :)

Posted

I still use my old 80's Boss CE-2 Chorus because I have it already and it has a nice sound.

I actually like a good Flanger better as it can get that nice chorus effect but also get even more detuned and "sick" but I don't have one anymore. The CE-2 along with my Fulltone MDV-2 give me all the "swirl" I need for the sick long bendy stuff.

 

The Fulltone Chorusflange is nice, but no longer made. The Fulltone website shows a new version soon to be released tho.

I've heard a bunch of good chorus pedals.....hard to say. You just kind of have to listen to them all and find the one that works/sounds good to you.

Posted

I like the Ibanez CS9 a lot. Looks like a pink/purple Tube Screamer. The chorus is subtle but analog and very smooth sounding.

Posted

For chorus effects I've always preferred flangers ( more specifically the A/DA type flangers such as my Ibanez Airplane Flanger ) basically because you get a nice chorusy effect but without the chorusyness. The Airplane Flanger is $150 new and is great if you want Alex Lifeson/Steve Stevens/Pat Travers style chorus-flange ( think "Snortin' Whiskey" by Travers or Rush's "Red Barchetta" ), or Gilmour/ Summers type swirl ( Run Like Hell right!!! ). It also has killer Leslie sounds and you can also get it to do a fixed wah type filter ( very cool for solos. Very Micheal Shenker ). Its amazing. But the big part of the EJ chorus tone is running stereo. You can get an HBE THC Chorus for $215. Also, check out the Tc Corona. It should get you that sound. The new MXR Analog Chorus M-234 looks pretty sweet too.

Posted

I have to say there's nothing that compares to my T.C. Electronic.

 

 

+1. The T.C. Chorus is the best i've heard. You can't go wrong with the old Boss CE-2 either. I've got one that I did the "Hi-Fi" mod on, and it'll give the T.C. a run for it's money. You can find them on Ebay fairly cheap too. I paid $60 for mine a couple years ago.

Posted

I just recently replaced my fulltone mini dejavibe with a sweet sound mojovibe. As Bob Sweet has passed the pedal is not easy to come by but is still being made and is easy to find. It is a very nice univibe clone that can be subtle like the dejavibe but can also get very spacey which the dejavibe can't. As I'm not familiar with Boss pricing the pedals I mentioned may very well be out of your price range, but are worth researching and seeing if a little extra money would be worth the investment to you

Posted

The Danelectro Cool Cat Chorus for around $55 is a great bargain as it gives you anything from subtle to full on exagerated chorus effects.The Danelectro pedals are also bullet proof.

Posted

I have my old MIJ '84 (Green Lable) Boss CE-3 (CE-2 ciruit, with added stereo mode).

It works just fine, for anything I need to do. [biggrin]

 

CB

I have one those too. It sounds good. It's pretty limited though, and I'm not too into the one or two sounds it makes.

 

What does the green label actually mean? I know it's MIJ, but does it use different BBD chips or something?

Posted

Why do you want true bypass? If the pedal is in a long chain of pedals or at the end, a good buffer pedal can be much needed. Although I don't care much for the buffers in Boss pedals.

Posted

I got a Greenhouse Effects Stonefish chorus for Christmas. I like it a lot. Roy is a cool guy - bought one from him direct - none of these in the shops in the uk! - free T shirt and pick and quick delivery. Very happy.

 

Here is a demo from youtube (not mine).....

Posted

I have one those too. It sounds good. It's pretty limited though, and I'm not too into the one or two sounds it makes.

 

What does the green label actually mean? I know it's MIJ, but does it use different BBD chips or something?

 

Well, to be honest, Dub, I don't use "chorus," (or any other stomp boxes, except OD & a Leslie like pedal) that often.

We just don't do the kinds of songs, that need them, apparently. So, it's "limited" sounds, are OK, with me.

Besides, if I was going to spend 2-300 bucks, on a pedal, it will be the Jangle Box, for my Ric-12-string!

 

As to the "green label," it was changed from "black" to show it was compliant with USA FCC regs, at the time.

I don't know if components were changed, somewhat, to comply? Not sure! Maybe someone else, here, knows

that answer. :unsure:

 

CB

Posted

Why do you want true bypass? If the pedal is in a long chain of pedals or at the end, a good buffer pedal can be much needed. Although I don't care much for the buffers in Boss pedals.

 

Would you mind explaining this a little bit more, EVOL?

 

 

Also, by the looks of it. I think I'm going to go with the T.C. Electronics. I think I might be able to snatch one from eBay at a decent price.

 

I haven't been able to find that Greenhouse Effects Stonefish! It sounds so good! I might go with that instead if it's not much more than a TC used.

Posted

You already have like at least 2 or 3 pedals with buffered bypass unless you modded them.

 

A good buffer can help restore your bypass signal sound after it is degraded by running through a bunch of cables, jacks, wires, and switches. A bunch of true bypass pedals will probably result in some treble roll off (aka "tone suck").

 

CB I don't use chorus much either. I'm more a fan of vibrato so I don't really have much use for a chorus without a mix control that can go fully wet. I do really enjoy the chorus sounds out of my Cosmichorus though.

 

Chorus is really hit or miss for me. It's nice if used tastefully, but it's really easy to sound super cheesy with it.

Posted

You already have like at least 2 or 3 pedals with buffered bypass unless you modded them.

 

A good buffer can help restore your bypass signal sound after it is degraded by running through a bunch of cables, jacks, wires, and switches. A bunch of true bypass pedals will probably result in some treble roll off (aka "tone suck").

 

 

This is what I am talking about, Anthony_J.

 

A pet peeve I have developed is people saying they only want true bypass, but when you ask them why they cannot tell you. Not trying to be a jerk face or point some finger at you like I was your dad. Building a pedal board is an art form so it's a good idea to read up on pedals and true bypass vs buffered.

 

My general rule is pedals that work like an extension of you pickups (fuzz boxes, OD pedals) need to have true bypass pedals before them as not to interfere with the signal. My tuner goes first so it has to be true bypass because my next three pedals are a Fuzz Factory, <F word> OD, and an OD808. That's enough true bypass so to get the my signal some support I have at least one buffer pedal next. And not all buffers are the same. Cheaper pedals tend to have tone sucking buffers. Something like the Malekko Ekko 616 will have a good buffer you'll love to use.

Posted

Here is a breakdown of EJ's rig from around 2000:

 

Main A/B switch:

 

A Side:

Vox Cry Baby (Late 60's) through BK Butler Tube Driver (Mid 80's) into a '68 Marshall 50 Watt Head with a 4X12 Marshall Cabinet (Late '60's)

 

B Side:

Signal goes into a Secondary A/B Switch

 

A Side:

Echoplex (Mid '70's) through a new T.C. Electronics Stereo Chorus into 2 - Fender Deluxe Reverbs with JBL Speakers

 

B Side:

Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face into a '68 50 Watt Marshall Head with a 4X12 Marshall Cabinet (Late '60's)

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