Chorus Pedals Hate or Love

Double

Double

New member
I have come to just hate the sound of the Chorus effect. I have played a couple of Jazz Chorus Amps that were not bad sounding as long as that Chorus was turned off. Though I still love the sound of a Leslie even some of the Leslie simulators are good.
Now it seems like every other guitar player has one on his pedal board and most leave them on all the time, it is really getting old. Again it is an effect use it for a effect not all the time. It’s like the 70’s when Phasers were the hot item but at least they died out. I think it’s time to give all Chorus pedals a funeral.
 
I've never (in >25 years) had one. In the last couple of years, I keep thinking I want to get one, but whenever I go look at them, I'm like, 'nahhh..' I guess I have a multi-effects unit that has a chorus effect. I think a stereo chorus could be cool, but you'd need a stereo amp, or 2 amps.
 
I've never been a big fan of the chorus sound either. It's not so bad on a clean guitar tone, when used lightly it can add some depth and sparkle to a clean tone. But I really dislike it on distorted tones. Reminds me of like 1980s shredder tones. ADA preamps and lots of hairspray.
 
If you have a chorus pedal (like the Boss CE-5) that has an effect level function, you can dial in just a touch of chorus and it helps fatten the sound without being intrusive.

I've also gotten pretty tired of full-on chorus, though.
 
i bought a chorus on monday. the ibanez cs9. i like it. it all depends on the style of music you're doing i guess. it fits in nicely with the band i'm in right now.
 
I have mixed feelings about chorus. I rarely use it for leads but when playing rythm I find just a little chorus kind of fattens the sound. Chorus is like any other efx, when used a little it enhances, when overused it becomes a distraction. That's my oppinion anyway.
 
I can't stand chorus, never use it. Ever. I lived thru the 80's - heard enough of it in that era to last the rest of my life.

I do think it works better as an effect for recording rather than live use, at least in the type of venues / context that most anyone in this forum would be playing.
 
Much like Zaph has said, a tad of the effect can be helpful...

but once you start hearing the chorus, you've used too much..back off a tad..
 
Yeah, every '80s rock slow ballad had a guitar played clean with a chorus at the intro. It became a parody of itself. Even today's metal bands have fallen into the trap.
 
I have a Vox ToneLab SE pedal board. It has so many effects it is overwhelming. I have relied on only a few of them, one of them being a stereo chorus effect that is really only chorus in one channel and dry signal in the other. When they are both mixed it is amazing and a completely different sound than anything I have ever heard.
VP
 
I occasionally use a pair of roland jazz chorus amps with my Rick 360-12.

The sound makes me jizz a little bit.

It's a one-trick pony, but boy is it a nice trick when you need it.
 
I like chorus, but I almost never use it.

It's a very pretty effect, especially when it's a bit on the subtle side, but the problem is that it seems to rob a guitar of all "body" and "presence" in the mix. For some contexts, that's great - it really helps clean rhythm guitars sit back and blend in to a mix (for an obscure example, track down a copy of Floater's "...All the Stories But One" off Glyph). For others - say, heavy rhythm guitar, or almost any guitar solo - that's the exact last thing you want.

So, i really do like the sound of chorused guitars... But I only ever use it when mixing if I want a guitar part to fade into the background, and I don't own a chorus pedal and don't really have any desire to.
 
For me it comes down to mono vs. stereo. Like it in stereo, won't touch it in mono. Since I don't have a stereo amp set up, that means I may record with, but never jam live with it.

(Though if I had suppercrap's set up, I'd prolly get a bit moist over it as well.)
 
I like it too, my favorite effect actually......but I only like it on leads/solos. I'd rather have punchy hard hitting clean rhythms than put fx on rhythms to cover up my sloppy lazy fingerwork....

I'm finally gonna break out of the chorus box. I got a mint flanger and I'm installing a Pedalhackers kit on it. But still I will keep it subtle, not obvious....
 
Dani Pace said:
I have mixed feelings about chorus. I rarely use it for leads but when playing rythm I find just a little chorus kind of fattens the sound. Chorus is like any other efx, when used a little it enhances, when overused it becomes a distraction. That's my oppinion anyway.
Click to expand...

I completely agree. I also used to use it a lot for clean guitars but I'm really
getting into flanger now, gives me a more crystally sound that I'm looking for.

But yeah, a little chorus on rhythm guitars to fatten it without REALLY hearing
it can work wonders. I have a preset set up at the moment for a distorted
rhythm sound, and I love the sound. I have a touch of chorus on it and I can't
even hear it, but take it away and I hate the sound.
 
It's like a spice: a little bit can make something delicious, too much can ruin the recipe....
 
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