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Have we talked about a good Chorus pedal lately?


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Back in the '80s I got a pretty great chorus sound out of the Boss BF2 flanger, but the other night at band practice our other guitar player kicked on his Boss CE5 (I think) and I was surprised how good it sounded. It wasn't over-the-top like '80s choruses could be, but just a nice airy kind of shimmer. The funny/stupid part is, I had a CE5 and sold it because it sat on the shelf.

I don't need a chorus pedal. No, really. We're probably a one-and-done after this next gig (singer/harp/creative force health issues) so more gear is ....well, just something more to be sold later on. And besides the BF2, I have a Keeley 30MS that is probably plenty good enough for the job.

But even so, what you guys using for a chorus-type pedal/sound? The Boss WAZA Craft CE-2W seems to be the sh!t, according to reviews.

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5 hours ago, hamerhead said:

The Boss WAZA Craft CE-2W seems to be the sh!t, according to reviews.

It's got the goods. RobB sez: "Check it out."

Two modes (CE1 and CE2). The vintage CE1 mode can get a nice, watery/wobbly vibrato. The CE2 mode is classic chorus without being overwhelming. I sold my MXR analog chorus when I tried the CE-2W.

 

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I've got the only 2 chorus pedals I've ever owned:  The Boss Super Chorus and the Mooer Ensemble King.  The Boss sounds more...modern, I guess.  The Mooer actually does a nice job acting like a CE-1.  The knobs are small and a little fiddly, but all you really need is to dial them in once.    

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I bought Jaye's CE-2W.  It is a great pedal.  I was looking for that perfect 80s chorus, and this pedal does exactly what it should.  

I regretted selling my ehx Stereo Polychorus, so I bought another one. It has a lot of settings that get away from just being a chorus pedal.  The flanger is really nice.  

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Is there such a thing?? I used to get some great stacked chorus out of my Rocktron rack units, never found a pedal that'd keep the spoon standing... I'd do a Intelifex Pedal if they decide to make one. 

Screenshot_20210624-231351_DuckDuckGo~2.jpg

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I use an old CE-2 for my small chorus sound and a BF-2 for my giant chorus sound.  I tried the Waza, but thought one mode was too much and the other mode too wimpy.  It wasn’t worth the Waza dollars for little or no improvement over the old CE-2.  
 

The CE-3 is a good old-school chorus that doesn’t get the inflated vintage price.  
 

I just watched Bill Ruppert’s demo of the EHX Eddy.  It sounds great and is a do-it-all chorus/vibrato.  It’ll do the ‘80s chorus sound, plus a lot of modern wobbly weirdness, too.

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13 minutes ago, Rich_S said:

I tried the Waza, but thought one mode was too much and the other mode too wimpy.  It wasn’t worth the Waza dollars for little or no improvement over the old CE-2.  

Interesting take. I was a chorus hater, especially in the 80's when every metal guitarist castrated their OD sound with twinkly, BBE exciters and blankets of chorus. I used a Dunlop Rotovibe thru much of the 80's, but it wasn't a true chorus pedal.

True, the MSRP is steep. Glad I got mine for $80. 

13 minutes ago, Rich_S said:

The CE-3 is a good old-school chorus that doesn’t get the inflated vintage price.  

It really is the standard chorus pedal. Roland has lead the way for 60yrs making classic musical equipment.

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Back in the 80s I used a Rockman’s chorus setting…now I use a Kelley Dynomyroto tri chorus….butI find I rarely use chorus…occasionally I use an Eventide  on recordings, but a chorus just sounds so weak….I pulled out the Keeley today and am determined to get some great sounds…I really need to figure out how to use a cHorus effectively.

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Just now, Jakeboy said:

I pulled out the Keeley today and am determined to get some great sounds…I really need to figure out how to use a cHorus effectively.

The Keeley a pretty cool pedal. I think where it falls down is that it does TOO much. The chorus sound nails that 80s washy swirl, the leslie sim is okay. I did like the Rotoflange setting. You can get some pretty disgusting, tripped-out Mahogany Rush stuff with it. I found I was always bending down to try new settings, but finally just settled on the chorus sounds.

 

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I have only started to use pedals the last two years and don’t have many. I picked up a Super Chorus in the past year and like it when some chorus is called for. Still have an ADA TFX4 rack multi effects. That chorus gets intense quick and can do a good fast Leslie, or think Black Hole Sun. If you run the delay signal to another amp, it sounds great on slow chorus.

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44 minutes ago, RobB said:

Interesting take. I was a chorus hater, especially in the 80's when every metal guitarist castrated their OD sound with twinkly, BBE exciters and blankets of chorus. I used a Dunlop Rotovibe thru much of the 80's, but it wasn't a true chorus pedal.

True, the MSRP is steep. Glad I got mine for $80. 

It really is the standard chorus pedal. Roland has lead the way for 60yrs making classic musical equipment.

I should clarify.  I generally use chorus for the clean jangley bits.  Think James Honeyman-Scott and Robbie McIntosh with The Pretenders, or Johnny Marr.  When I switch the BB Preamp on, I almost always turn the CE-2 off.

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39 minutes ago, Rich_S said:

I should clarify.  I generally use chorus for the clean jangley bits.  Think James Honeyman-Scott and Robbie McIntosh with The Pretenders, or Johnny Marr.  When I switch the BB Preamp on, I almost always turn the CE-2 off.

Of course, same here. Lifeson really pioneered using chorus with OD. He always sounded huge and killer, never washed out. 
 

My favorite thing these days is chilling on the bed, fingerpicking with a clean, light chorus sound. Hours go by…I swear it’s better than meditation. 

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13 hours ago, Rich_S said:

I should clarify.  I generally use chorus for the clean jangley bits.  Think James Honeyman-Scott and Robbie McIntosh with The Pretenders, or Johnny Marr.  When I switch the BB Preamp on, I almost always turn the CE-2 off.

Great taste in guitarists. Three of my favorites! 

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I still have my Boss CE-2 chorus. I prefer the wide stereo spread of stereo chorus though. I use an old Korg DL8000R effects processor for my chorus/delay/reverb. The tri-stereo chorus sound that I can get from it is absolutely bomb!  

 

                                                                                                                                                                             Guitar George

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Got two I love. Boss CH-1 Super Chorus and a Way Huge Blue Hippo. The Boss is great for that 90's wash sorta chorus. The Hippo is a lot like my old CE2 but has a vibe mode too and is just lush...

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The CE-2 had been a staple on my board for as long as I can recall, but it got bumped to backup when I got the (now, renamed) JHS VCR.  It does all the groovy '80s stuff I dug, and with a compressor, it's damned useful.

 

 

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A friend gave me an Ibanez CS-9 years ago and I've never needed anything else.  I even bought a second one here from Len because mine was acting weird at one point (I got it fixed so now I have two).  I use it for a very slight chorus on a couple of solos and with both knobs at about 2:00 for a nice rotary effect on a couple of others.  Other choruses seem to suck out some high end but the CS-9 doesn't.  Here's a good comparison of the Boss CE-2 vs. the CS9. 

 

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I've accumulated:

  • Ibanez CS-9 Stereo Chorus, with Speed and Width controls
  • Mooer Ensemble King, with Level, Depth and Rate controls
  • Arion SCH-1 Stereo Chorus, with Rate, Depth and Tone controls, and a Direct/Stereo switch
  • Red Witch Empress Chorus with stereo out and Mix, Depth, Voice (delay time) and Velocity controls, as well as brighter/darker and chorus/vibrato switches
  • Mr. Black Vintage Ensemble, mono out, with Intensity, Depth and Rate controls

The Arion's tone control gives it versatility moving between lushness and lightness. The Empress is unique in this bunch, having rotary control of time, although that comes with the cost of increased noise as time is increased, which contributes to my love/hate relationship with it. The Empress does have a Mix control, something I find useful on the Ensemble King and Vintage Ensemble as well. The CS-9 is a good-sounding chorus with sparkle and basic controls, the Vintage Ensemble is designed to replicate the CE-1 sound, the Ensemble King covers CE-3 territory, and each has its place.

Listening to demos of the JHS Emperor Chorus (which reportedly is based on the Arion circuit) and reviewing its features like tap tempo and expression pedal control, it looks to me the best current one-and-done chorus. Do any of you have that beast?

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On 6/27/2021 at 5:42 PM, tommy p said:

A friend gave me an Ibanez CS-9 years ago and I've never needed anything else.  I even bought a second one here from Len because mine was acting weird at one point (I got it fixed so now I have two).  I use it for a very slight chorus on a couple of solos and with both knobs at about 2:00 for a nice rotary effect on a couple of others.  Other choruses seem to suck out some high end but the CS-9 doesn't.  Here's a good comparison of the Boss CE-2 vs. the CS9. 

 

I had a CS-9 on my board for decades precisely because it was a sweet-sounding chorus without the Boss Seasick Wobble.  Set properly, you didn't notice it until you turned it off.  Then it was the TC Electronics SCF.  Both went in a pedal purge.  Nowadays it's the TC Corona chorus.  More fiddly and there's some stuff I don't use, but it's a good sounding, lush when it needs to be, a bit more zingy when that's called for, good build quality too.  Gets a great Dyno-my-piano chorus in stereo.

 

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