Re: Looking at chorus pedals
Hey Geoff,
That's a great side-by-side comparison of the Retro-Sonic and the CE-1. I'm impressed with how close the Retro-Sonic comes to the original CE-1 -- very impressed. I do like the extra chime you get from the CE-1 better, but a used CE-1 is at least as expensive as a new Retro-Sonic, if not more expensive.
Are you using any compression in that clip, Geoff? Sounds like there's a little in there, but that may be just the magic of your vintage Strat.
- Keith
Hey Keith, no, there's no compression on the recordings, just the Strat through the Loop-Master switcher and into the two choruses (chori?) In my discussions with Tim Larwill from Retro-Sonic, we ascertained that his CE-1 is decidedly darker than mine, and that was the unit he based his Chorus on. He sent me the details of a couple of mods involving removing one cap and changing the value of another, which will bring the Retro-Sonic in line with my CE-1, one of which I had done prior to making this comparison clip. I haven't had the other mod done, but I have been loving what the Retro-Sonic does live, it's a stellar chorus on both clean and overdriven sounds, and the Vibrato side is simply stunning for a quick blast of warbly Lesliesque goodness.
The other advantages are that the CE-1 is a hefty beast to be dragging around on a pedal board, is noticeably noisier, and has an inherent impedance mismatching problem, since it was really originally designed to lean more toward use with keyboards than guitar. There's no doubt that the CE-1 has a certain magic which may never be beaten, but the Retro-Sonic is a worthy contender, and in the heat of battle, provides an eloquent beauty that would be difficult for any current production chorus to match. By comparison, an original 80's Japanese CE-2 sounds like a toy, overwhelming the entire guitar signal with mush. The only thing that comes close to the classic 70's beauty of the CE-1/Retro-Sonic is the DC-2 Dimension C, which on its No. 2 setting is remarkably close to the CE-1 set at 9:00. The rest of the chorus story is a matter of personal taste, and some will prefer the more 80's sounding chorus effect, which to my ears is more like caca on a stick. Despite being a late 80's product, the DC-2 has a foot in both camps, with its No. 3 setting being closer to the 80's caca, but the No. 2 setting being firmly rooted in the CE-1 tradition. Of the three, the Retro-Sonic stays on my live board, due to its stunning quality and versatility.
Cheers....................................wahwah
