I guess I'm a chorus pedal guy now -thanks -you bunch of ******

[Aceman]

Yeah - I NEVER see any love for the Distortion Factory.

 

[devastone]

Digital works great for chorus, delay, and reverb, not so much for distortion, at least not in those days.

 

[GuitarStv]

Digital works great for chorus, delay, and reverb, not so much for distortion, at least not in those days.

I don't love chorus all that much . . . but have always preferred the sound of analog choruses/flangers (noise and all) to digital ones. There's some very audible magic going on in those circuits that isn't modelled easily.

 

[NegativeEase]

I don't love chorus all that much . . . but have always preferred the sound of analog choruses/flangers (noise and all) to digital ones. There's some very audible magic going on in those circuits that isn't modelled easily.

So the unit that proved that Chorus would solve my loss of meat in my tone switching gains, pickups and such was an old Boss digital Chorus/Ensemble rack unit.

to your point, I should try some analog ones too.

My local music store will let me take home 20 Chorus pedals and try them all for several days and pick which one I want if I ask -

-so I'll probably start with that approach.

 

[devastone]

So the unit that proved that Chorus would solve my loss of meat in my tone switching gains, pickups and such was an old Boss digital Chorus/Ensemble rack unit.

to your point, I should try some analog ones too.

My local music store will let me take home 20 Chorus pedals and try them all for several days and pick which one I want if I ask -

-so I'll probably start with that approach.

We expect a full report/score card.

 

[GuitarStv]

So the unit that proved that Chorus would solve my loss of meat in my tone switching gains, pickups and such was an old Boss digital Chorus/Ensemble rack unit.

to your point, I should try some analog ones too.

My local music store will let me take home 20 Chorus pedals and try them all for several days and pick which one I want if I ask -

-so I'll probably start with that approach.

There's a softness that the analog ones have that's very appealing. The old Boss CE-2 and big box EHX Small Clone both definitely have it.

 

[Dudeman7]

This is the CE-2 clone I built:

 

[Gtrjunior]

This is the CE-2 clone I built:

Are you able to control the volume of the effect or just the rate and depth?
Do you notice a volume change at all? Maybe that control isn’t needed in that circuit?

 

[Mincer]

Chorus doesn't tend to have the volume decrease, like a phaser would. Many old chorus pedals only had a rate and depth control.

 

[Dudeman7]

Are you able to control the volume of the effect or just the rate and depth?
Do you notice a volume change at all? Maybe that control isn’t needed in that circuit?

This one is unity gain so no volume boost or drop, regardless of how loud you are running your rig.

The only chorus pedal I've come across that changes the volume is the Homebrew Electronics THC. That one has a little volume boost whether you want it or not. It annoyed me in my bass rig but I quite like it for playing guitar. It's not much of a boost but it's enough to let parts I use chorus on stand out that little extra bit.

The one I built is the same circuit as the Boss CE-2 and I was able to find some NOS BBD chips so it uses the same analog components as the original CE-2. Mine has a little wider adjustment range on the Rate control but other than that and the true bypass switching, it sounds like the real deal Boss pedal.

 

[Gtrjunior]

This one is unity gain so no volume boost or drop, regardless of how loud you are running your rig.

The only chorus pedal I've come across that changes the volume is the Homebrew Electronics THC. That one has a little volume boost whether you want it or not. It annoyed me in my bass rig but I quite like it for playing guitar. It's not much of a boost but it's enough to let parts I use chorus on stand out that little extra bit.

The one I built is the same circuit as the Boss CE-2 and I was able to find some NOS BBD chips so it uses the same analog components as the original CE-2. Mine has a little wider adjustment range on the Rate control but other than that and the true bypass switching, it sounds like the real deal Boss pedal.

Where did you buy the kit?
I’m interested in trying my hand at a build one of these days.

 

[Dudeman7]

Where did you buy the kit?
I’m interested in trying my hand at a build one of these days.

This one isn't from a kit. I bought an Analog Chorus PCB from Build Your Own Clone and supplied the components myself. I had just about everything I needed on hand already.

Since it turned out so well, I ordered the complete Analog Chorus kit from BYOC but it hasn't arrived yet. I'll build that one to compare with mine and I'll likely give it to a guitar player buddy of mine.

A word on the BYOC kits: they seem to be of excellent quality. The PCBs are nice and thick with heavy traces so they can be forgiving if you make a mistake and have to use a lot of heat to desolder something. The components they spec are nice too. The one's I have built all have 1% resistors, nice caps, socketed ICs and good switches. It costs a little more to get the kit from them than putting your own together but the convenience and quality are worth paying a little extra for, IMO. Easy, "paint by numbers" instructions are good too. You don't have to know how to read a schematic to build one of these.

 

[Mincer]

BYOC has a few chorus kits that sound very good. They aren't too hard to build, either.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Very cool, guys. One of these days I’ll give it a go.

 

[Dudeman7]

Very cool, guys. One of these days I’ll give it a go.

The key to success is to be patient and take your time with each step. Don't try to work on it while you're distracted, angry or in a hurry. Also, having a sharp conical tip on your iron is helpful. I built my first pedal with a wedge tip and it was a pain in the ass.

Good luck!

 

[Mincer]

Do you set your Phasers on Stun or Kill when you play out live?

can you repost a link to some of your recorded work using your phaser sound? curious.

I will have to record something, as I added it to the board after recording the last album. I set it to pretty slow, using either a real Small Stone or a model of one, with the rate about 10:00.

 

[NegativeEase]

I will have to record something, as I added it to the board after recording the last album. I set it to pretty slow, using either a real Small Stone or a model of one, with the rate about 10:00.

so Phasers are not set to Funky either?

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

This is the best chorus I’ve owned. It was a gift from one of my guitar repair clients.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Securb]

I set it to pretty slow, using either a real Small Stone or a model of one, with the rate about 10:00.

I have so many Chorus\Phase pedals is disgusting. Still, I do not have a Small Stone and I love that pedal especially on Rhoades tones. I need to buy one but I do not need one.

 

[Mincer]

I dig the Small Stone over the Phase 45 or 90- it sounds 'chewier' to me, as if it becomes part of the sound, and not slathered on top, if that makes sense. Some analog-style tap tempo delay and a Small Stone, and I have pretty much every clean sound I need.