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Chorus guitar effects
If you ever enjoyed the chiming sound of a twelve string guitar, or been impressed by the fullness of the sound created by two or more guitars playing together, then you can value the effect that chorus pedals create.
The chorus effect can make a single instrument sound like there are actually several instruments being played, adding thickness to the sound.
Let's analyse what happens when two people play instruments in unison. They will not play in precise synchronization and there will be some delay between the sounds they produce. The pitch of the two instruments will also deviate a little.
This effects can be easily implemented with a delay line controlled by a Low Frequency Oscillator(LFO). The delay is set to aproximately 20 milliseconds and the LFO constantly varies this time with +/- 0-5ms.
The LFO waveform changes slowly (less then 3 Hz) . The chorus sound can be controlled by changing this waveform's amplitude, frequency and shape.
The sine waveform produces a very smooth sound as the pitch is constantly changing.
The triangle LFO only produces two pitches and the change between the pitches is sudden.
The log wave is smoother, but there is a jump at the end of each cycle with an abrupt change in the pitch as well.
Common knobs in chorus pedals:
The delay knob controls the minimum delay time that is used. If you set the delay to a very small value, the chorus will act as a flanger. Optimal delay times range between 20 and 30 ms.
The sweep/depth control sets how much the total delay time changes over time (the amplitude of the LFO). The sum of the sweep depth and delay parameters is the maximum delay used in processing the signal. The sweep depth also increases the pitch modulation introduced by the delay line and large sweep depths will create a "warble."
The speed/rate control sets the LFO frecvency. It adjusts the rate at which the LFO waveform repeats itself, afecting the pitch modulation too. Increasing the speed rate is equivalent to compressing the LFO waveform in time, which makes it steeper, giving more pitch modulation.
Comercial products:
Arion SCH-Z Stereo Chorus Pedal
The Arion SCH-Z Stereo Chorus is a cheap pedal using BBD technology to get a superior low-noise chorus effect.
This is not a "high-end" pedal, a little bit noisy and needs a noise gate, but sometimes cheap is what you need. You can't really go wrong if you know what to expect from a pedal at this price.
Weight: 12.8 ounces
DigiTech XMC Multi Voice Chorus Pedal
With the DigiTech XMC Multi Voice Chorus Pedal you can morph through a whole range of voices for an almost unlimited supply of lush multi-voice sounds.
The Multi-Chorus features Level, Speed, Depth, and Voice controls and the outputs include Left/Mono and Right.
Weight: 3 pounds
Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble
The CE-5 Chorus Ensemble is a high quality chorus effect covering a wide frequency range and featuring low- and high-cut filters. This lets you create any kind of chorus effect from a mild, natural chorus to the clear and penetrating stereo chorus effect popular in contemporary music.
Weight: 7 pounds
