In today’s age, it is more than
obvious that music production has gone digital.
Fading are the days of reel to reel recorders and manipulating tracks
manually to achieve certain sounds. Used
on instruments like clean, undistorted guitars and keyboards, the chorus effect
yields a very dreamy and ambient tone. In
its first days, the chorus effect was achieved in recordings by an artist
playing a track. Then, very slightly
detuning the instrument and playing the new track directly on top of the
original. This gave the instrument a
shimmering and slightly modulated tone.
The chorus effect can be heard naturally when listening to a choir and
sometimes string ensembles where the instruments have not been exactly intonated
together. This natural effect is
pleasing to the ears because when all of the sub-tones get together, the end
result is a rich, full tone.
Producing the chorus effect
manually can be difficult and almost impossible to control in any setting. Some instruments can produce a chorus effect
as part of their natural design, such as the sitar, piano, 12 string guitar,
mandolin, and accordions. Now, chorus effects are simulated using signal processing equipment. The chorus is sometimes produced by computer
software running in a digital effect processor, or an analog effects processor. Some amplifiers, often acoustic amps or
electric guitar amps, have the effect built-in.
Some keyboard instruments have an electronic chorus effect built in and
some Hammond organs have the effect built in as well. If a hard-wire based effect is needed, chorus
effects can be most often found packaged as a pedal, a rack-mount module, or a
table top processor. Regardless of
technology or form factor, the processor achieves the effect by taking an audio
signal and manipulating it with one or more, delayed and slightly
pitch-modulated copies of itself. The
pitch of the added voices is then modulated by an LFO (Low Frequency
Oscillation), which makes the overall effects sound. Most effects have an interface that allows
for user adjustment of the LFO, pitch modulation, and the overall speed of the
delay.
The basic production of the
effect is above mentioned, but recent improvements and technological
advancements have bread the love of more full and realistic production of the
chorus effect. This desire produced the stereo
chorus effect. Stereo chorus effects
utilize the same processes, but the end result is varied between the left and
right channels and the delay of the LFO is adjusted. The stereo chorus effect produces a more enhanced
sound, as a result, because the sounds are produced from multiple locations
within the stereo sound field.
The chorus effect is a staple in
music. Whether it is produced naturally
or with processing equipment, the effect is used by musicians and sound
engineers across all genres of music.
The effect can even be heard in some spoken vocals and is used in the
audio tracking for most movies and television production. So, when you find your tone thin and you are
desiring a more rich result, do not forget to look to the chorus effect to help
solve the issue.
Some of our favorite Chorus pedals:
Danelectro Cool Cat Chorus Pedal
For under $50, this pedal is hard to beat. It features metal construction, true bypass, and rich analog chorus tones.
DigiTech Hardwire CR-7 Stereo Chorus Pedal
This effect produces a very high quality, stereo chorus sound. It is priced right at under $150 too! It can be used in mono or stereo modes.
ModTone MT-CH Aqua Chorus
This pedal produces a very watery, analog chorus sound. Perfect dreamy guitar sequences. It is priced under $100!
