Chorus pedal for bass.

[nilorius]

In near future, i am thinking of a real good bass chorus pedal. Currently - i am on Aguilar - Chorusaurus II. It's not cheep so i have to be shure. I also understand that this is a lot of question of everyones own taste, but anyway. What's Your story with this pedal ?

[Waddo Soqable]

Depends what you want from it I guess, there's one called "Past FX New Division" that's supposed to be a superior version of the old EH Clone Theory, though you can get EH's modern version of the C. T. I've heard some say the EH modern versions not great. ( genuine vintage ones are expensive and can die on you) 

Plus these above are likely rather Peter Hook ish though I'd think. 

There's loads of chorus pedals out there mostly aimed at guitar, though I wouldn't let that put me off, speaking of which, i've got a TC Electronic SCF gold which is quite good but fairly subtle, and an old Boss Me 50 (not the bass version) that's got quite decent chorus options, presumably lifted directly from the old Boss chorus range. I'm using this stuff mainly with Bass VI type instruments and combined with one (or sometimes two) EH Memory man pedals though, so probably fairly different from what you'd be doing your good self. 

Chorus is great imho, though as I'm from the 80s I would say that.! 

[Waddo Soqable]

Why the confused fizzog? I answered your question as to what's your story with chorus pedals. 

 

 

[nilorius]

5 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

Why the confused fizzog? I answered your question as to what's your story with chorus pedals. 

 

 

Well, that was - too detailed for me.🤣

[LukeFRC]

If you looks around the forums some of the best analogue chorus for for bass seem to be...

EHX small clone 
Walrus Julia
MXR bass chorus

Tech21 bass boost chorus
Providence Anadime bass chorus. 

Cheaper options like valet on aqua flow, or various analogue chorus from nux, joyo etc

 

The first is easy to find, the next two less so. 
There's an anadime for sale here... If I was looking for a chorus right now that's what I would get, heck I'm tempted to get it and compare it to my bass boost chorus and see what I like the best. I've only just noticed you're not in the UK so this link is slightly less useful... 

 

 

In the digital realm you've got things like TC electronics corona chorus - which might do toneprints - or depending on your set up the zoom ms-70cdr could do chorus and everything else if you wanted it too... 

[ezbass]

I tried a good number of chorus pedals that were available, when I was looking for one. I settled on the EBS Unichorus and have been using that ever since. It has chorus, flanger and pitch modulation settings (I just use the chorus setting). I’ve had that for at least 15 years (along with an EBS octave pedal) and see no reason the change. In that time the only maintenance that has been required, has been to resolder the connections to the footswitch, when they became cracked/dry last year.

[Downunderwonder]

I only replaced my Cool Cat because it was a heavy lump. Actually it sounded more lush than the MXR that was the better fit on my sumo board. Nought wrong with cheapies if they sound how you want.

[bartelby]

14 hours ago, Waddo Soqable said:

i've got a TC Electronic SCF gold which is quite good but fairly subtle,

 

I've tried: 

Digitech Bass Multi Chorus
DOD FX60 

Trace Elliot Quad Chorus

Boss Bass Chorus

 

And none of them really did it for me, then I got the TC Electronic SCF gold. My search was over.

[northcountrybob]

I've used a CE-2B which was great, the Walrus Julia which is great, but I'm currently using an EQD Aurelius. 

 

Aurelius has a clean blend, and you can switch between knob settings, and one of 6 preset settings with the foot switch (as well as on/off). Has an expression input too. I think it's as nice as the CE-2B and Julia for bass. 

[uk_lefty]

Personally my view is you need to try a load to see what you like. 

 

Best chorus:

Helix Stomp 70's chorus

 

What I use now:

TC Corona using the Duff McKagan toneprint

 

What I've used in the past:

Behringer, every one I bought didn't work and got sent back

Boss CE-2B or whatever it was called, just didn't like it, couldn't get the right sound 

Hartke bass chorus, this was really good, only sold to go to multi FX

 

Why I use the TC now... I like that I can dial in different toneprints if I need to, but to be honest the Duff toneprint suits what I want from my basses whether fretted or fretless. I don't use chorus a lot but when I do I want it to be heard, I don't want it too subtle, and I sometimes add delay or trem afterwards.

[paul_5]

I've used Boss CEB-3 and CEB-2

DOD stereo chorus (old blue thing)

NUX Mod Core Multi effects pedal.

Zoom patches on 3000B and MS-60B

 

What I now use:

 

EHX Small Clone.

 

I just prefer the sound of the EHX. The Boss ones were too subtle, and the DOD I can't really remember too much about.

[Fionn]

The MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe is an amazing pedal. So rich and musical, with a lot of control options. The thing I loved most about it was the ability to craft exactly where in the frequency range the effect sits, thus being very mix-adaptive (the crossover helps

too). So many chorus pedals cause a bass to be lost in the mix at subtle settings, but not this one.

 

I have regret about selling it. I’ll pick up another at some point.

[SumOne]

I like a Bass chorus to only apply the chorus effect to the higher range as it feels a bit sea-sick/wobbly to have it on lower range too. So Bass specific ones like the Boss CEB-3 (with low filter), and the EHX Bass Clone (with X-over switch) get my vote. The Boss is more subtle, EHX more full-on.

 

I havent used the Chorusaurus but see that it has a blend so that should keep the low end from being too wobbly (I assume you can't stop it 'chorusing' the low end effected signal though). I dunno, £250 seems a lot. 

[Waddo Soqable]

8 hours ago, bartelby said:

 

And none of them really did it for me, then I got the TC Electronic SCF gold. My search was over.

It's a good pedal certainly, though I always stack it with something else, particularly as mentioned, the Memory Man which also has its own chorus element in there too. 

[jimbobothy]

... I've currently got a TC Corona mini that sounds really great, a TC 3rd Dimension that seems again nice (but not a versatile due to only push button controls), a VFE Choral Reef, a great pedal that uses two different chip sets and has loads of control. Lastly I have an EHX Eddy, I think this one would probably work better on guitar as some of it's features are very hard to hear on bass, it also sounds a bit too soft for my personal tastes.

 

Out of the lot, even though I love analogue stuff, the TC Corona mini does indeed sound great, with the added versatility of tone prints you really can't go wrong with it (and the fact that used ones in the UK go for around £40 - £50!)

[jimbobothy]

... I forgot I've also a clone of an Earthquaker Devices Seamachine. That is a kind of chorus/reverb pedal that can sound great, and finally a Dr. J Shadow Echo that for the price is really great. Don't let the less expensive prices put you off in any way. The Dr. J looks like a boutique pedal but is very reasonably priced.

[0175westwood29]

I run a boss ps-3 now but my fave is a moog clusterflux….. however that’s not really viable and I’ve taken mine of my board to protect it tbh 

[Baloney Balderdash]

The all analog now discontinued budget Valeton Aquaflow Vintage Chorus, which is based on the legendary Boss CE-1, but in a much much smaller enclosure and with more controls, sounds not short of amazing.

 

 

The Boss VB-2 Vibrato, or the budget clones of it the Behringer UV300 Ultra Vibrato or TC Electronic Tailspin Vibrato, mixed in parallel with clean signal, via for example a Boss LS-2 or similar effects loop mixer, makes for a really lush amazing sounding chorus effect as well.

 

And actually the digital Boss CE-1 emulation on the Line 6 M5, or on the Line 6 Helix as a legacy effect, or on the Zoom MS-70CDR, actually sounds surprisingly good too.

 

Edited September 20, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[Franticsmurf]

I've tried a few (Behringer Ultrachorus, Rowin, Sonicake, Eden I90 and a couple from the Zoom MS60b) but I keep coming back to the EHX Bass Clone. Now I have the Plethora X3, I've found a close match with one of the Corona Chorus Artists patches ('Gold') and convenience means I use it. But the Bass Clone is the one for me.

[TeresaFR]

I've just always liked the EHX sound, so when I decided to get rid of my Small Clone, it was for a Bass Clone - smaller package, more sound sculpting ability and that's a win in my book. I wouldn't be averse to trying other choruses but I'd want to have a good try before I buy.

[pn_day]

This might be controversial, but if you are not sure, try a decent digital multiFX to find a chorus sound you like, and then see what it is meant to model.

 

I'm a fan of the Line6 Helix line - and have an HX Stomp - but there are many other alternatives out there as well.

 

Good luck on the search.

 

I've changed and use reverb more than chorus - even on a fretless. YMMV

 

Phil

[tauzero]

On 13/09/2023 at 10:23, uk_lefty said:

Personally my view is you need to try a load to see what you like. 

 

Best chorus:

Helix Stomp 70's chorus

 

I've been trying to set up a decent chorus sound on the HX Stomp and having no luck at all, until I got rid of the speaker emulation and suddenly chorus and flanger worked properly.

[uk_lefty]

37 minutes ago, tauzero said:

 

I've been trying to set up a decent chorus sound on the HX Stomp and having no luck at all, until I got rid of the speaker emulation and suddenly chorus and flanger worked properly.

I used to put the 70s chorus into plastic chorus or something and it sounded good. I thought speaker emulation and IRs weren't good on the Helix, they just seemed to muffle things for me.

[TeresaFR]

The people saying good things about the Helix 70s chorus - I believe that's the one a bassist friend of mine has used since she switched over to a full Helix set-up and having heard her playing through it, it does sound really good. It wasn't the only effect in the signal chain but it was very much present.

[LukeFRC]

This thread isn’t helpful - at the weekend I was playing through my tech21 chorus and having a whole “if I sold this I could get x instead” :s