WHAT IS
CHORUS
Here we explain the sound of the 80's...
WHAT IS CHORUS?
Chorus gives your guitar a thicker, richer, and more spacious sound. It creates the illusion of multiple guitars playing the same part simultaneously.
Here's what a chorus pedal does:
A chorus pedal works by duplicating your guitar's signal and slightly altering the pitch and timing of the duplicated signal. This creates the impression of multiple guitars playing together.
The chorus pedal adds a modulated delay to the duplicated signal. The modulated delay introduces slight variations in pitch and time, mimicking the natural inconsistencies found when multiple musicians play the same part.
The duplicated and modulated signal is mixed back with the original signal. By adjusting the width and depth controls on the chorus pedal, you can control the amount of modulation and the width of the stereo image. This helps create a wide, spacious sound.
The chorus effect thickens and enriches your guitar's tone by adding depth and complexity. It can make your sound feel more immersive, as if it's filling up more space in the room.
The chorus pedal is often used to simulate the sound of a choir or ensemble of instruments. It adds a sense of warmth and texture to your guitar's sound, making it sound fuller and more vibrant.
Chorus pedals are commonly used in various genres, including pop, rock, and jazz. They add depth to clean tones, and can help to make solos stand out. Chorus effects are particularly effective when used with clean or lightly overdriven guitar tone, but they can also be used with heavier distortion.
By adjusting the controls on a chorus pedal, you can shape the intensity, speed, and depth of the effect. A subtle touch of chorus can help leads line stand out, or a rhythm part drenched in chorus can give it a nice sparkly sound. Experiment with chorus to find what sounds you like!
Join us as we traverse through a world of chorus...
What Famous Songs Have Used Chorus?
Kurt Cobain used an Electro-Harmonix Small Clone chorus pedal to create the haunting riff that we hear in the intro of this song. He has the rate & depth reasonably high to achieve the iconic sound.
Wendy Melvoin is the guitarist who played the main guitar part in this song. She used a Boss CE-1 pedal with her Mesa/Boogie Mark I and a Rickenbacker guitar to create the airy guitar tone that we associate with this song.
