Tag Archives: guitar effects

MXR Analog Chorus Pedal

Written by admin on December 21, 2011 — Leave a Comment

Who hasn’t heard the “syrupy and liquid, sparkly and lush” sounds of a chorus pedal?  There might be a few of you saying “I haven’t… – well, I don’t think I have!” The Chorus effect has been around for ages and is most associated with the music of the 80s. While you may not be familiar with the effect itself, I’m pretty sure you have heard it used in a number of songs.

From Metallica’s “Nothing else matters” to almost every Nirvana song, a large number of The Police songs and The Cure, Chorus has been used to great affect in many songs.

“The chorus effect is something that you would normally find in string instruments. When you actually listen to a string ensemble, the instrument would sound like they are a choir of angels singing, thus the name of the effect”. – EzineArticles.com

So, what is it exactly a Chorus effect?
From Wikipedia: “In music, a chorus effect (sometimes chorusing or chorused effect) occurs when individual sounds with roughly the same timbre and nearly (but never exactly) the same pitch converge and are perceived as one. While similar sounds coming from multiple sources can occur naturally (as in the case of a choir or string orchestra), it can also be simulated using an electronic effects unit or signal processing device”.

Chorus occurs when a slightly detuned and delayed “clone” of a guitar signal is played back with the original, producing a subtle (or sometimes not-so-subtle) doubling effect, which creates a thicker, lusher tone.

The original effect was produced by the Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, though later effects would add multiple detunings and delays to produce a rich, glossy animation and MXR Analog Chorus is probably doing the best Chorus effect right now.

MXR has brought back the classic sound of the analog chorus with the predictably named but lovely sounding Analog Chorus.

Perhaps the pedal by itself could look weak for some, and of course, simple! I think is is simple but it is a nice pedal and it looks very friendly on its aqua blue color.

What does this pedal feautures?

The MXR Analog Chorus has five control layout featuring Low and High EQ controls, Level, Rate, and Depth for maximum flexibility. And if you want to grab crowd´s attention, You will need this pedal, not just because how good it sounds but because of the brightness of its blue LED – some guitarists say is the brightest blue LED on the planet! But hey, if Andy Summers didn´t mind using this MXR pedals for a while, Why would you?

What about the sound?
With the MXR Analog Chorus You will be able to move from Robbie Blunt’s tone on Robert Plant’s “Big Log” sounds to the deeper undulations of Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” with just a few tweaks of the Level and Depth control. In between that You might notice Andy Summers-inspired lushness and even a convincing “Black Hole Sun”.

The magic and simplicity of this pedal is that it is all about the Level and Depth controls – By tweaking these ones, you will go on trip from the underground to galaxy! Period!

If you are looking for the Classic 80′s chorus sound, this pedal is for you!

Posted by Luis Tovar

Posted in Electric Guitars, gear, guitar effects / pedals | Tagged , , ,

How to select Guitar effects

Written by Jamorama on February 24, 2009 — 8 Comments

POST UPDATED – see comments for more guitar pedal information !!

Guitar effects. What a selection these days. You don`t need a burning stratocaster or the Jimi Hendrix account at New York`s Legendary Manny`s guitar store to find yourself spoilt for choice with a bewildering array and vast multiplicity of choices.

What I`m saying is that there are thousands of them. Back in the early 90`s I used Zoom effects – their half rack midi controlled 9050`s were completely wild at the time and offered convenience, portability, stereo output and ridiculous amounts of parameter control. It sounded like Steve Hillage on speed or the Ozric Tentacles. Nowadays I`m taking a simpler route to guitar sonics and using my hands, a bit of reverb and maybe a Loop station or a Hot Cake, or VALVE distortion pedal. All you have to remember is that it`s up to you. Dont overwhelm yourself with too much tap dancing unless you really want to. Maybe try some digital modelling if you`d prefer instantaneous sound emulation. Or if you really prefer the sound of an L.P. to a compact disc settle for something more traditional like a quality distortion pedal and a valve amp. I know a few artists who still dig that whole 2 inch tape scene in the studio and dont like recording to digital at all…..almost as though digital is like throwing ice cubes into a metal bucket whereas analogue is the sound of hummingbirds drinking from a waterfall…Look after your signal, I`m in two minds bout it myself but sometimes youve gotta compromise.

The secret is to use your ears and your hands. Not your eyes, or your wallet or the company`s advertising spend or endorsees.
Remember the Edge from U2 has popularised an entire sound and melodic approach from intelligently using delay (and some beautiful skeletal arpeggios), Tom Morello kicked the ass out of the wah sound with a Digitech Whammy pedal with Rage Against the Machine and Jeff Beck tends to just let his fingers do the talking (with a bit of wammy).

After years and years of experience what I will say is that turning on and off one or two effects at a time without scrolling through menus gives you plenty of time to play, less margin for error and simplicity is just that. When it all goes wrong can you still plug straight into your amp and get through the show? Having kicked dodgy pedals off the side of the stage and plugged straight into an amp instead I know how I prefer my rig.

I once ran a toaster in  my effects line, timing the toast so it would pop up at the peak of a solo.
Sounded and tasted great!

Get the sound you want in the way you want – that`s all you need to consider.

Posted in gear, guitar effects / pedals