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I have no idea if any of you here could relate to a bout with depression. It's that sinking feeling coupled with a real need to stop existing so that everything would seemingly be solved. Of course not.

I'm in no way asking you to indulge in depression but be informed that we need to be mindful of people in such a mental condition. I have been depressed since having to stop work & offload some gear just to get by. This country is putting up a front to champion re-employment for those seeking work past their retirement age. However, those in need of re-employment before that retirement age due to compelling circumstances (eg. health, lucidity, parent care, etc.) - who is lobbying for such individuals? Employers continue to scrutinize potential employee background to fit their organizational goals. Age & medical condition are outstanding considerations to prevent unnecessary turnovers & preserve continuity. If these are messed up, it's a costly affair especially for profit maximizing entities. All these promises of employment / re-employment are politics at its best because these politicians are not the employers.

Yesterday was a down time for me & it was an arduous episode. But I'm thankful for the gear in my possession that helps displace bleak moments. A quick acoustic + chorus moment did it for me. Folks, it's important to have that something to help you recover your senses. It could be music, alone time, a short vacation, an ice-cream moment - anything. In short - don't lose your grip. More importantly, if it's beyond control, please get help. 

Leaving this here. Hope it reaches you in good time whenever that may be.

Pic: SOS S'pore

CH/DC

The chorus adventure continues. Managed to compare these two side-by-side. I have no PSU in the mean time, had to borrow one from work to power the DC-2w, hope I remember to return it soon 😅 

Anyway, the settings for DC-2w are all presets but darn these are addictive & they sound awesome for solo applications. For the CH-1, I tend to use it for super clean tones & dial down the rate. I am now coming to terms with clean tones namely due to the fact that the chorus unit helps increase sensitivity. As a light picker, this helps tremendously.

Chorus-ing

It's that time in (my) life where one steps back & re-visit a detestable discourse only to realize it's actually a missing ingredient to attaining self-actualization. I hate acoustic guitars. OK to be fair, majority of them. Classical guitars rank below this aversion. Those slippery nylon strings are impeding my playing potential more than anything else. Then came this idea to pair the squeaky clean classical guitar tones with the chorus pedal to perhaps give a semblance of hope in embracing this other aspect of guitar playing & hey, presto! Things are actually more likeable now. 

The BOSS CH-1 is, in my opinion, the standard to beat for chorus tones. It's a no frills take on how chorus should sound like. Come to think of it, is there such a benchmark to begin with? But that aside, the CH-1 is simply... good. Some appraisals soon.

Dimensional weekend

It's a Saturday without distortion. Kept things clean today to appease the Dimension C application. I'm not a clean tone person by any means but today was enjoyable. There's something about the chorus & clean tones that everyone should embrace. Not to mention, a touch of reverb. Also, cleans & single coils are good friends. 

Clean supplements

My bouts with the clean tone continues. Having a good clean tone is actually a bucket list thing & 'good' remains subjective; on some days it's likeable, on other days, appalling. The three pedals you see above are pretty much it for now. Usually, I would omit a drive unit in the line up, just the tuner & chorus. Everything else, the amp will speak for the tone. However, being a light picker & struggling to pick & fret firmly is a constant challenge as I have always relied on high gain to 'amplify' the slightest of touches. Hence the inclusion of the Tube Screamer in the line up. A weak drive is important to me to preserve the clean chime. I wouldn't say this is a final consideration. 

CC

I've been messing around with clean tones lately in an attempt to level up my finger picking. It's a little tricky if one is too accustomed to excessive gain / drive levels. A light touch won't work well because poor attack would translate into barely audible notes at the amp end. So I appreciate the role of my (hard) picks in making me play well. To address this concern, a chorus pedal is added into the effects lineup to spur some gain into the mix. Folks, pedals have a gain capacity even though no GAIN control is present. This is true if you have at least a VOLUME control in there. 

The chorus pedal you see here is One Control's Little Copper Chorus. Is one of those pedals in a space-saving format but unlike the rest, it's designed to house a battery as seen above - awesome! I'm only using this pedal for cleans, don't wish to have it run on PSU, too cumbersome. The Danelectro battery was the nearest available one  - grabbed & used. I'm just happy that there is a manufacturer out there who does this so it's a win-win situation for players. 

Once Control pedals are available at Davis GMC.

Shimmering blues

The BOSS re-visiting continues. My first chorus pedal was the BOSS Chorus Ensemble (CE-5). I bought it in the mid-90s thinking it would be a formidable combo once I paired it up with my MT-2 but it proved futile. It diluted the hard distortion signal making it sound like there's a proto-tremolo going on in the background. It was awesome for cleans but back then, I don't really dwell in the clean zone (I still don't). It got sold off. Down the road, I bought the Beta Aivin chorus which was basically a BOSS wanna be but that got cleared out as well. There was an Ibanez CS9 along the way which just didn't click with my applications. Just last year, I re-invested in the CE-5 & again, it was ditched. I simply don't have any use for a chorus unit until recently.

That's when I paid tribute to the single coil pickups for what they are good for- cleans. That's right, I'm OK with single coil cleans but the clean tone is something that I don't play much. However, on days when I'm stuck in a rut, some cleans would bail me out & that's when I decided to invest in a chorus pedal that would be a keeper. The CH-1 was an easy choice, more importantly, it has the features I need: 1) An overall output control because on some days I don't need as much chorus & this keeps me in check 2) Rate/ Depth which are essential 3) EQ which is much overlooked by many players. Be mindful that EQ in this part of your signal chain helps beef things up/ cut through the shimmer. There we go, a simple need met by a reliable, tried & trusted brand name. 

Clean ensemble

Had been busy with this last weekend. Nothing boutique, not quite a breakthrough unit at this point in time either. The reason why I bought the BOSS CE-5 is to reap the benefits of EQ manipulations. Of course, things are a little limited with a 2-band offering but the difference is there. 

I was thinking that this pedal is capable of thickening the tone somewhat while manifesting chorus goodness but not quite. The best way to thicken one's tone is to have more than an amp going in a single sitting- the more, the thicker. If you are living in the digital realm, doubling your recorded parts will definitely give that thicker wall of sound. No guarantee of keeping this one in constant reference. 

JCM clean

I'm beginning to love this amp more. Whatever drive tones it was fabled for, the cleans in here were much overlooked. It accepted the chorus pedal well. The JCM800 wasn't known for go-to cleans. Its JTM/JMP siblings have more appealing cleans & that legendary break up tone unlike the excessive manifestation by the JCMs in general. Yes, I'm still wallowing in clean tones. Not after chimey, crystal clear voicings, just that appealing measure which helps get my ideas through. I'm not looking to buy any more Marshalls in time to come, I'm treasuring what I have right now. 

Lush

Had some playing time yesterday (public holiday); no overdrive, just the Strat & my chorus. I still believe that the single coil pickup does better for cleans compared to its humbucker counterpart. If you wish to get out of a rut, one way to do it is to employ a different set up, one which is preferably not your cup of tea & compel your way through it. 😁

A chorus of approval

I'm ending July with this sharing. I've been plugging solid body guitars into my acoustic amp for clean tones. The tone benefits from the onboard chorus feature, making it a little brighter so that the instrument's tone knob can be of more use to vary proceedings. Many of us are guilty of ignoring the tone control, letting it be at maximum setting regardless of what we play, be it driven or clean tones.

That's right, the key consideration there is chorus; it makes clean tones happier & more defined in terms of clarity. Fellow chorus users, I don't know if you hear this but I am very happy with that slight push in gain when the chorus is activated. I went out to hunt for the most affordable chorus pedal out there to make sure I wasn't tripping on make belief. The Danelectro Cool Cat chorus here was less than $40 & it generates a range of very inviting tones. I'm not a modulation fan, effects like chorus, phaser & flanger are very annoying (to me) & they get in the way of single note definition. However, the chorus is something beneficial for clean tones & shouldn't be written off for its less than appealing performance with distortion in general. 

Waza chorus

I'm not a chorus fan, but had been reading some positive feedback on this new BOSS chorus debuting  at Summer NAMM 2016. It's made in Japan unlike its other Waza siblings so here's how it will serve you:

Selling: MXR chorus

This very new MXR chorus up for grabs (not mine), box included. Velcro at base-plate for easy pedal board attachment. Interested parties to contact Mr. Taufiq: 9-672-739-7. Asking: $100.

EHX: Epitome

Another great EHX release, the Epitome. This followed the 3-in-1 concept of the Tone Tattoo so you have 3 pedals in one chassis here: octave/ chorus/ reverb. For those of us who do not wish to carry separate units for our external performances, it's a neat consideration. Watch this:

SOLD: Modtone mini pedals

I still have these pedals to clear, the Modtone mini Chorus/Delay (there were no follow-ups on previous deals). Have used them sparingly (Condition: 9/10). Asking price: $49 each or $90 for both. Self-collect, of course :-) Please e-mail all queries/ confirmations: dark1349@hotmail.com

Pedals SOLD as at 1230hrs. Thanks to all 7 respondents.

Selling: Beta Aivin Super Chorus (CH-100)

Clearing my other chorus pedal, the Beta Aivin CH-100. I won't affirm its emulation of a certain BOSS pedal, suffice to say it gives the user a contemporary chorus voicing, quite the opposite of a vintage unit.

• Condition: 9/10
• Self-collect (meeting place to be disclosed upon confirmation)
• Price: $44 (final)
• E-mail me for confirmation dark1349@hotmail.com
• No trades/ No reservations

Thank you for reading.

EDIT: Pedal SOLD, 17th Feb, 10.40PM.

In need of juice

 

Last evening's play was met by a minor scare when my volume suddenly took a dip then died. Silence. The amplifier giving way? Guitar giving way? What was it? My amp's LED was still burning bright, so were the LEDs of the other pedals in use. My first diagnosis was the guitar since it has no light indicators to imply its working condition. A straight through plug in revealed that my amp & guitar to be in OK condition. So I had to test each & every pedal in use; the culprit was my Cool Cat chorus. Strangely, the dying battery still had enough power to keep the LED going.

Booming cat

Was too fatigued to get a post going last night, part of it was attributable to playing bass rather excessively. The chorus effect should be everybody's pick should they need to enhance clean tones. A properly tweaked chorus would not overpower the clean tone but give it a chiming blanket. A good chorus unit should supplement all manner of clean tones, the lower frequencies included. The (Danelectro) Cool Cat chorus has no problems making my (Smash JB-1) bass sing, for the better of course. I believe the lower frequencies could benefit from a little chorus crunch & this proved just that.

October's here!

Feline chorus

So I bought a new pedal to supplement my acoustic tone, coincidentally, it sports the same colour as the guitar.

The pedal in question is the Cool Cat (Danelectro) Chorus, a simple supplement for a simple need. Before the final selection, I had the following pedals on my consideration list:

• Beta Aivin CE-100: Chorus Ensemble
• Electro Harmonix: NANO Clone
• Joyo: Classic Chorus

My requirements for a chorus unit are rather fundamental as well; not overwhelming + adequate features control. The NANO Clone is a 1-knob affair, I was looking out for its tone above all else. There was no way to access the effects oscillation speed so it was struck off the list- I am rather annoyed by the higher levels of oscillation as it makes the effect sound too psychedelic. The Joyo has a healthy sweep in both its rate & width controls but it tends to over-power the overall output as it lacks a LEVEL feature once activated- no go for this one as well. The CE-100 has the most number of features on board & would easily appease the player in search of details but in my case, the overall output wasn't rich enough. My idea of a chorus is a rich sounding voice; a tingling effect so to speak, which is the best pairing for an already favourable clean tone- this, the CE-100 does not possess. It isn't a dud pedal, mind you, it will give you a thick, fat chorus if you are in search of such an offering.

So my final pick was the Cool Cat for its rich sounding chorus & blend feature which I deem to be crucial because it determines how much chorus should be in the signal & hence the ability to offer the user a mild or rich register, depending on the need. All for a good $36.00.

Thanks Janet @ Davis GMC for the excessive try-out.

The Biyang experience

Managed to try Biyang pedals today (Tone Fancier Series):

AD-7 Analog Delay:

• Fundamental 2-mode feature is rather limited but these are the working parameters if you don't fancy excess


• Above-average tonal response, in fact, I'd recommend it together with other affordable no-frills delay out there: Ibanez DE7/ Artec SE-ADL/ Carl Martin Red Repeat

CH-7 Chorus:

• Again, the 2-mode offering isn't for the demanding snob


• Nothing too tingling, it's a mild type chorus with adequate depth to project clarity


• Some of us prefer mild chorus as it doesn't phase/ flange-out at upper intensity settings, especially with overdrive/ distortion

DS-7 Distortion:

• 3 modes: NORMAL- regular fry-type, not intense but more protrusive than the proverbial BOSS DS-1/ BRIGHT- enhancement of upper end frequency the presence of which cannot be comprehensively curbed by the tone control/ WARM- enhancement of lower frequencies akin to what a tamed fuzz unit would churn out without the excessive wooliness


• Impressive tone/ distortion sweep

OD-7 Overdrive

• Surprise: JRC4558 tone chip in use!


• 3 modes: TS- as the name abbreviates; classic tubescreamer-type tone, clean in the lower drive settings + the nasal boost at the upper markings/ BRIGHT- as the name implies, more liberty in the treble end without sounding excessively thin/ WARM- more drive in the mix but still treading in the drive domain, this isn't a distortion unit...


• Looks like Guyatone's OD2+ has a worthy match & this Chinese is $50 lesser than its adversary


• A great tool for amp drive boosting as well- love it!!

You are looking for affordable guitar effects but your piggy isn't one to finance extravagant purchases; the Biyang range of pedals might just meet your needs- heck, it would surpass some expectations. I have a minor gripe with the DS-7/ OD-7; in their BRIGHT modes, there's a bump in volume which might upset those who prefer consistency. There's nothing dodgy in terms of construction, these pedals are make/ break units depending on the tone on offer. Nothing rancid to report as far as tone is concerned.

This one made it home with me: