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Chorus Pedals - A Blind Tasting


stewblack

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My collection of chorus pedals is expanding like a universe of swirly things. But which one will make the cut? Which ones will be consigned to the FS forum? Thought it might be fun to line a few of them up and canvass opinion here. Just for a bit of fun you understand. I won't make up my mind until they've been tested in a band context. So a simple little exercise played as close to the same each time as makes no odds , no preamp, all just direct to my pc. If this sparks any interest I'll tell you which the 5 pedals were. if anyone cares still after that, I'll reveal which was which.

 

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17 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

Number 3 is my favourite. I hate number 4 which seems to act like a flanger at the same time.

I'm using a JAM Pedals Waterfall, maybe it's in there too.

I hear you. Number 4 has a thick, clumsy kind of sound. In its defence I was able to dial in very similar settings on three of the others but 1 and 4 are bit of one and two trick ponies. 

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#1 for me - Sounds like an original 2 knob Boss... i had the 2 knob Amdek self build kit copy...

Got a Arion 3 knob chorus, thats in the Arion flight case with Tuner, Metal Master and Flanger, with my eldest for the GTR...

Also got cheap Wholenote (Ibanez Tank Series Clones) 3 knob Chorus and matching Phaser.

I likes 'em set way more subtle than your demo, in speed, depth and strength.

Is #5 the Zoom?

Please PM me the results

Edited by PaulThePlug
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I didn't like number 4. I couldn't tell a lot of difference with the others, though 2 sounded more bassy than 1. All except 4 sounded good as chorus effects and suited what you were playing, I guess which one to keep depends on how they sound with a band and what you want to do with them? Also whether versatility is something you're after with those effects too. 

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2 hours ago, uk_lefty said:

I didn't like number 4. I couldn't tell a lot of difference with the others, though 2 sounded more bassy than 1. All except 4 sounded good as chorus effects and suited what you were playing, I guess which one to keep depends on how they sound with a band and what you want to do with them? Also whether versatility is something you're after with those effects too. 

Really good points. I must add I'm not trying to catch anyone out here I'm genuinely interested in what people think. 

The versatility is indeed important to me, and some of these pedals are literally doing as much as they can while others have more room for adjustment. 

Thanks for taking the time to have a listen. I appreciate it 

Edited by stewblack
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The first 3 sounded very similar, but I am slightly leaning towards the 1st one as my favorite, as it sounded more open and had a bit more sparkliness going for it, something that the other 2 perhaps were slightly lacking at, all 3 had a nice thick lushness to them though, the 3rd to me sounded pretty much like the 2nd one, just with a bit more low end, I think maybe from having the balance between the modulated signal and the clean signal tipping slightly more towards the clean signal than the 2nd chorus, out of those 2 I personally preferred the slightly wetter and slightly brighter tone of the 2nd chorus. 

The 4th as several people already has pointed out had a quite flanger like quality to it, actually to me it sounded more like a flanger with a strong chorus -esque character than an actual chorus effect, it didn't sound bad in anyway though, as far as I am concerned it actually even sounded pretty great, just not something I would pick if I were going for a straight chorus effect.

The 5th was brighter than the others, but not in sparkling kind of way, rather in a slightly unpleasant/annoying, at the same time both somewhat anemic and biting, way, to my ears at least, seriously lacking lushness, and to my ears it also had a somewhat artificial/synthy flavor to it that I personally don't think suits a chorus effect.

My guess is that the 1st one could very well be the Zoom emulation of the Boss CE-1 from the stomp box multi effect pedals, which happens to be my own favorite of all the Zoom chorus models, including those of the newer Zoom line of multi effects, though if the Zoom chorus you chose is not actually the Boss CE-1 model then the last, 5th, one could very well also be the Zoom chorus in this test, my first guess however still is that the Zoom chorus is the 1st one and the CE-1 emulation.

As for the 4th flanger like one my best guess is an EHX Deluxe Electric Mistress, or at least some variant or clone of that circuit.

@stewblack Please PM me the results, as I am very curious. 

Edited by Baloney Balderdash
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2 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

The first 3 sounded very similar, but I am slightly leaning towards the 1st one as my favorite, as it sounded more open and had a bit more sparkliness going for it, something that the other 2 perhaps were slightly lacking at, all 3 had a nice thick lushness to them though, the 3rd to me sounded pretty much like the 2nd one, just with a bit more low end, I think maybe from having the balance between the modulated signal and the clean signal tipping slight more towards the clean signal than the 2nd chorus, out of those 2 I personally preferred the slightly wetter and slightly brighter tone of the 2nd chorus. 

The 4th as several people already has pointed out had a quite flanger like quality to it, actually to me it sounded more like a flanger with a strong chorus -esque character than an actual chorus effect, it didn't sound bad in anyway though, as far as I am concerned it actually even sounded pretty great, just not something I would pick if I were going for a straight chorus effect.

The 5th was brighter than the others, but not in sparkling kind of way, rather in a slightly unpleasant/annoying, at the same time both somewhat anemic and biting, way, to my ears at least, seriously lacking lushness, and to my ears also a somewhat artificial/synthy flavor to it that I personally don't think suit a chorus effect.

My guess is that the 1st one could very well be the Zoom emulation of the Boss CE-1 from the stomp box multi effect pedals, which happens to be my own favorite of all the Zoom chorus models, including those of the newer Zoom line of multi effects, though if the Zoom chorus you chose is not actually the Boss CE-1 model then the last, 5th, one could very well also be the Zoom chorus in this test, my first guess however still is that the Zoom chorus the first one and the CE-1 emulation.

As for the 4th flanger like one my best guess is an EHX Deluxe Electric Mistress, or at least some variant or clone of that circuit.

@stewblack Please PM me the results, as I am very curious. 

Thank you, pm'd 

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1 or 2 for me, I don't mind which. 3 had too much audible pitch wobble, 4 would have been OK if I was looking for a subtle flanger, and 5 was just too bland.

The big test for chorus though is how it sits (or disappears) in the mix, which you can't tell from a solo'd instrument.

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5 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

1 or 2 for me, I don't mind which. 3 had too much audible pitch wobble, 4 would have been OK if I was looking for a subtle flanger, and 5 was just too bland.

The big test for chorus though is how it sits (or disappears) in the mix, which you can't tell from a solo'd instrument.

Quite agree. An effect for recording is very different than one for gigging  Or can be

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I liked 3, quite liked 1 & 2. Without hearing the bass without effects it's difficult to know but I did get the feeling that 5 might have had the least effect on the actual tone of the bass but not so happy with it. 4 was pretty awful. TBH any of 1, 2, or 3 would do me in a pinch (which isn't to say that I wouldn't look for the exact sound I wanted).

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11 hours ago, GarethFlatlands said:

1 & 2 sounded a little too dry for me. 5 was doing well until the clipping on the last note. 4 was more phaser than flange to my ears! I'd stick with 3 personally, if I'm using a chorus then I want it wet sounding and 80's. I'd be interested to know what they were too.

Thanks for taking part! 

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9 hours ago, tauzero said:

I liked 3, quite liked 1 & 2. Without hearing the bass without effects it's difficult to know but I did get the feeling that 5 might have had the least effect on the actual tone of the bass but not so happy with it. 4 was pretty awful. TBH any of 1, 2, or 3 would do me in a pinch (which isn't to say that I wouldn't look for the exact sound I wanted).

I agree with you, impossible to make a definitive judgement from one clip played by someone else. Thanks for taking part. 

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3 was maybe a little brighter to my ears than the other three, but all much of a muchness really. I quite liked 4 personally, not as a chorus sure, but as it´s own effect - like a phaser or dark, thick flanger without the usual hollowness and without much of an audible sweep. I´d quite like the answers too please.

Edited by bobbass4k
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4 hours ago, dannybuoy said:

I'd just post the results to the thread now that it's been up for a while.

#1, which seems to be most people's favourite, is quite surprising and not even a chorus pedal!

Interesting! #1 was my favourite 4 and possibly 5 were flangers to my ears.

Yes I'd like the list posted on here 😁

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As many folk quite rightly noticed I totally messed up on number 4 and selected a phaser clone thinking it was the chorus clone on a Zoom MS-60B 🤦🏼‍♂️ 

 

The list in full :

 

01) Mooer Pitch Box not technically a chorus pedal but the 'detune' mode is effectively a chorus.

 

02) Boss CEB-3 Bass Chorus

 

03) Behringer FX600 Digital Multi-FX

 

04) Zoom MS-60B EHX clone

 

05) MXR bass chorus deluxe

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7 hours ago, stewblack said:

As many folk quite rightly noticed I totally messed up on number 4 and selected a phaser clone thinking it was the chorus clone on a Zoom MS-60B 🤦🏼‍♂️ 

 

The list in full :

 

01) Mooer Pitch Box not technically a chorus pedal but the 'detune' mode is effectively a chorus.

 

02) Boss CEB-3 Bass Chorus

 

03) Behringer FX600 Digital Multi-FX

 

04) Zoom MS-60B EHX clone

 

05) MXR bass chorus deluxe

Ahh very interesting! Especially as i thought number 5 was a flanger and is the chorus that I use! You sure you didn't press that flanger button down? 😁😂

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