aNaLoG.MaN Chorus Pedals

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Analog Man Guitar Effects Pedals

2005 blue hammertone w/silkscreening

The Analog Man Chorus pedals are 100% analog, using NOS high voltage MN3007 Panasonic bucket brigade chips for the ultimate in tone. They all have true bypass (since 2000), depth knob, and cool silk-screened, darker blue hammertone powder-coated cases for durability. Also using the best quality circuit boards, double-sided to isolate the signal from any noise, and professionally soldered for perfect, reliable circuitry. These new boards also have more shielding, less jumpers, and no volume drop when the pedal is switched ON. Still has the same awesome sounding circuit! While there are new Chorus pedals popping up lately, most are digital (check out the sound clips with distortion-YUK!) and NONE have the legendary reputation, reliability, and tone earned over 30 years of refinement of this circuit. Also no other company makes so many different models and options- one of ours should be perfect for you.

All of our Chorus pedals are still, and have always been, hand-assembled in the USA.


BI-CHORUS

Bi-Chorus blue hammertone w/silkscreening

In January 2005 we came out with three new pedals, two were chorus pedals. The BI-CHORUS was previously only a custom order, in random cases. Now we have aluminum Hammond style die-cast boxes professionally powdercoated and silkscreened for the production version. Though the Standard Chorus has been selling better than ever, we thought it was time to add some cool features without changing the awesome tone of the pedal that we have spent years refining. And I had been enjoying my custom BI-CHORUS on my pedalboard for some time!


Special BI-CHORUS Features

  1. The BI-CHORUS offers two sets of SPEED and DEPTH knobs, allowing two different chorus settings to be selected without having to adjust any knobs. Not two pedals in one, but two sound presets.
  2. The Bi-Chorus is available with SIDE JACKS or TOP JACKS (as shown above) to allow close fitting or cleaner wiring on pedalboards. Side jacks have the INPUT and OUTPUT jacks on the right and left of the knobs as shown below on the stereo BI-CHORUS picture.
  3. BLINKING super bright LEDs. The selected side's LED, when ON, will blink in time to the chorus speed setting. One is RED and one YELLOW.
  4. Standard MIX trim pot is inside the pedal, to allow adjusting the wet/dry mix. See OPTIONS below for more info on what MIX does.
  5. Same size an standard chorus in a normal MXR style case.
  6. Stereo is optional.

Here is a 3MB avi VIDEO of the BI-CHORUS demonstrating two settings and how the switches work. It is using a $90 Roland Cube amp with my demo Hagstrom guitar and the camera's mic so don't pay much attention to the sound.

The BI-CHORUS is the same exact circuit and sounds the same as the normal chorus. The only difference is the A-B Switch, which allows selecting one of two sets of SPEED and DEPTH knobs, not just a second speed, and the other features above.

Don't worry, we will still be making the standard CHORUS and one more - the MINI CHORUS!


MINI-CHORUS

Mini-Chorus blue hammertone On the left is our new for late 2022 Mini Chorus with deep blue paint and white graphics.

Mini-Chorus stereo with mix knob and toggle

The MINI-CHORUS came out about a week before the BI-CHORUS and we sold the first batch quickly to made it a normal production pedal. The MINI-CHORUS is the same as our standard chorus, but in a smaller, hand stamped box. It is the same SIZE as our small comprossors/juicers, 2.5" wide x 4.75" long x 1.5" tall not including swithes, jacks, etc. These have both battery and DC adaptor power, and the same board inside for the exact same sounds as the normal Chorus. Top jacks is also available for cramped pedalboards. It's a great small chorus pedal with awesome tone! It is available with an external MIX (BLEND) knob and/or a Depth toggle for $25 more each. Starting in 2019, it was made available with the Stereo option (seen on the right), side jacks only and no room for a battery. If you use battery power, we recommend our standard chorus or Bi-Chorus as the mini chorus bottom plate has the circuit attached so you have to be careful when opening it up to replace the battery.

We now have over 20 different versions of our chorus pedal available if you count all the various options. We build them to order to your spec in just a few days. I dont think anyone else offers more than one or two versions of a chorus, so this is pretty unique and something that we can do since we are in effect a custom shop.


A little HISTORY

The original Electro-Harmonix Small Clone was one of the best chorus pedals ever made - with lush, shimmering tones. It was originally made from the late 70s until E-H was forced out of business by the mob gangsters and Japanese chip cartels about 1983. It could run on a 9V battery and was fairly small. This pedal has become VERY popular due to it's use by Kurt Cobain in Nirvana and many others. From some Nirvana web sites:

Kurt used the small clone for the chorus effects on Nevermind and Aneurysm. Visible easily on the Nevermind tour. His chain then simply went Guitar - DS2 - Small Clone - Amp. Used on Unplugged too. Visible in In Utero booklet under "Dumb" and on cover of Wishkah. Towards the end, Kurt got increasingly "effects-happy". He began using the Small clone for solos like School, About a Girl, In Bloom, Serve the Servants, etc.

The SMALL CLONE sounded great for the same reason that old fuzz faces, Tweed amps, and Les Paul Juniors sound so good - Simplicity!. The circuit used was about the simplest chorus that could be built based on the delay chips available at the time. There are no extra devices or circuitry to affect your pure tone. We use the original 1024 stage delay chip for high fidelity at the medium-short delay times that create chorusing sounds. We use New Old Stock (NOS) Japanese made Panasonic MN3007 chips, not the cheaper low voltage MN3207 or current Chinese 3207 chips that most others use. The 3007 chip was used in the original pedals in the late 1970s and very early 1980s and allows higher levels and less noise without clipping your signal. The Boss CE-2 used the 3007 chip, later CE-3 pedals use the mn3207. There is also a Chinese version of the 3207 being made now, a very cheap chip so it's popular. The new WAZA CE-2W and DC-2W use these new 3207 chips. The 3007 chips that we use have not been made for years, but we buy them up any time we can find them, and will use them as long as possible for the ultimate in tone.

Original small clones are always at the top of my want list in popularity but I can never find enough to satisfy the requests, and prices are CRAZY! The first one I had, I sold for $115, mint in the box at the Dallas vintage guitar show in 1993.

We Want Clones!

V1 clone clone gif As a tribute to this great Electro-Harmonix pedal, and due to the need for an excellent analog chorus, aNaLoG.MaN decided someone must make a pedal like this available. In late 1998, we came up with a duplicate, in a smaller, more rugged box. AnalogMike organized everything, and with the help of Alfonso Hermida (electrical engineer and pedal designer) we found all the original parts and decided on all the components and layout of the pedal. We also realized after building our first batch that the factory schematic is not quite correct and effects built to that spec will sound a bit weak. So we dissected my original Small Clones and found one tricky part that's value was slightly changed and made all the difference in the sound. I later found a few more tweeks to make them even better sounding, thanks to Electro-Harmonix designer Howard Davis who consulted for me to improve the true bypass and create the stereo option. The pedal is no longer an exact "CLONE", but has been developed and improved in every new version we have made.

The second problem after you somehow find an original Small Clone, is that they just do not hold up well and tend to fall apart electrically and physically. Several people waiting for our first batch got back to me and told me that they had found originals, but were already requiring repair. Ours is built like a tank so it should hold up much better.

Features

I decided not to mess with the classic circuit much but changed a few features that people have been asking for. We added true bypass and a depth knob instead of the two-position depth switch. The depth knob allows any setting from no chorus to full-on chorus, with 25% more depth available than the old depth switch allowed. The true bypass switch is designed for quiet switching with just a slight pop as in any true bypass pedal. Stop losing your tone with your non-true bypass Boss, digitech, line6 etc chorus pedals.

We chose this design for our Chorus pedal because it could have seperate Depth and Speed controls. This will allow my two favorite settings: medium depth / high speed for a LESLIE simulation, and high depth / low speed for a rich, thick chorusing. I also like a medium depth / low speed setting sometimes- this setting fills out your sound without really being noticeable until you turn it off, then you notice something is missing. The old Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble has a cool sound, but with one knob controlling both speed and depth of the Chorus, it cannot be dialed in to my favorite sounds. And it is not really designed to be used with guitar level signals, the CE-1 works a lot better at line level (keyboards, effects loops, etc). We do have a CE-1 mod though to make it work well with a guitar, see our BOSS page for more info.

On the left you can see a closeup view of the circuit board. The circuit board is double sided with plated through-holes as used by the military, this keeps the components perfectly attached to the board.

Why does our chorus sound better than the others that are made today? Both the MN3207 that most others use, and the MN3007 that we have always used, are rated for 2.5% maximum Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) at a certain input voltage level. For the MN3007, this level is 0.78V RMS. For the MN3207, it's 0.25V RMS!! This means the MN3007 that we use can take a much higher input signal level, which means much more dynamic range, and less noise. Think of it as trying to play your home stereo at the same clean loud volume through a 78 watt solid state amp or a 25 watt S.S. amp. The 78 watt amp will have less distortion and noise, and sound much better at higher levels.


 

back of board

For you tech freaks here is what the back of the board looks like. You can see the light green GROUND PLANE which acts as a shield, like shielded cable, for the ultimate in noise prevention. Also note the plated through holes and some more perfect solder joints. This was one of the first boutique uses of such a high quality circuit board.


 

Is this chorus like a uni-vibe?

Not really, a Uni-Vibe is a specific phase shifter and does not use time delay or sound very good as a high speed leslie. Our chorus pedal does true time-delay based chorusing, by delaying your signal and mixing it back into the original signal. It also varies the delay time slightly (modulates it) at the speed set with the SPEED knob. The sound is not like a univibe's "chorus" sound which is awesome for the Hendrix/Trower sounds but not really chorusing. There is much more info on the differences between a Uni-Vibe and a chorus pedal on my FAQ .

Unlike "digital" Chorus pedals, this pedal sips your battery very gently, using only about 7 milliamps when ON (about 10 for the Stereo version). This is only slightly more current than a tube screamer uses. That means an alkaline battery will last over 70 hours in this pedal. It also means you can share the same power supply with several other analog pedals, as long as the voltage stays over 9V you will be fine.

Higher voltage power supplies

All of our chorus pedals come standard with a POWER JACK. This is the hole in the pedal to plug your POWER SUPPLY into. We can sell you an optional power supply, or you can use your own Boss style power supply (or voodoo labs, CIOKS, etc).

Most guitar effects are made to run on 9 volts DC, because 9V batteries are small and popular. But the chips are not really designed for 9V and will run and sound better at higher voltages. We sell an optional 12Vdc or 18Vdc power supply for our chorus pedals (we only have USA versions of these supplies). Higher voltage will give more clean headroom before distortion, more clarity, and maybe a little deeper chorusing. It is especially beneficial if you run a hot (loud) or distorted signal into the chorus. These power supplies will also work great on our tube screamer mods (especially the SILVER mod) and older Boss pedals which specify the ACA adaptor.

You can use the ACA (12V) output on PedalPower2 for any of our chorus pedals. Use the normal PP2 boss style connector cables when using our pedals at higher voltage. The Mono chorus pedals can handle up to 18V max. 15-16 volts is the optimal voltage. The pedalpower LINE6 output is about 16 volts, perfect for our mono chorus. But the LINE6 output is unregulated so it may cause some hum depending on your gain and other equipment.
Our stereo chorus pedals with the standard TXS2-9V nine-volt Stereo Relay switch should not be run at more than 13V or damage to the relay could occur. If you will always run 12V - 18V we can build your stereo chorus with a TXS2-12V twelve-volt relay (do not exceed 18v!) but then it might not work on a battery. The specs for the 12V relay say it will work down to about 9V but I tested one and it worked even at 7V (your mileage may vary!). So the 12V relay should be fine for battery use. You can read the part# on the rectangular black relay on your circuit board to check which version you have in your pedal. We also have a 4PDT switch available now, to switch the stereo output without a relay, and that will work at any voltage.

We do not modify the chorus pedal for different voltages, other than the relay. So you do not have to specify anything on your order whether you will use a 9V battery, 9V power supply, 12V, 18V, etc. The pedals will work at any of those voltages with no modifications inside, except for the stereo relay option as explained above.


Amp's Effects Loops

Most effects pedals do not work well in an amp's effects loop, unless the loop has SEND and RETURN level controls. With those controls, you can lower the signal to match what a stompbox expects to see.
If there are no controls, the loop is probably meant for line-level rack effects units. If your loop does work well with effects pedals, the ones you might want to put in the loop are delays and other delay based effects like reverb or chorus. Most other pedals will sound better before the amp.

If you use amplifier distortion then a chorus may sound and work better in your effects loop. But if you use effects pedals for distortion, you can put the chorus after your dirt pedals on your pedalboard.

There is a pedal available that will convert an amp's effects loop to/from line/guitar level, and has nice reverb too. It's the Fuchs Reverberator. This will allow our chorus pedal to work in any effects loop, PLUS add some awesome sounding reverb! The Pigtronix Keymaster will work for matching levels also.

SPECIFICATIONS

2005 blue hammertone w/silkscreening
  1. True bypass on / off switch, no loss of tone when off.
  2. LED ON/OFF status indicator.
  3. Battery disconnected when INPUT cord removed.
  4. Battery disconnected when POWER CABLE inserted.
  5. Standard Power jack on all models, allows 9V DC BOSS style PSA adaptor (barrel type, 2.1mm x 5.5mm).
  6. 120Vac -> 9vDC Wall-wart Adaptor available for $15 extra.
  7. We also have 12V DC Adaptors available.
  8. Low current draw - under 10mA when ON!
  9. Original EHX Depth switch replaced by depth control knob allowing exact settings of depth.
  10. Speed control knob, from low speed to faster than a leslie.
  11. All aNaLoG full chorus, original 1024 stage bucket brigade chip used for high fidelity, organic sound.
  12. Super high quality circuit boards: double sided, highly shielded for low noise.
  13. Sockets used for all chips, for easier replacement in the rare case of a failure.
  14. JRC4558 op amp used, as in the TS-808 mod, in place of generic 4558 chip.
  15. One year warrantee to the original purchaser but does not cover damage caused by misuse or overenthusiastic stomping. And we will do our best to keep them working forever and for future owners.
  16. Cool silk-screened case with durable powdercoating
  17. Size : Hammond BB size, aqbout 4" wide x 5" length x 2" tall including jacks and knobs.
  18. Input and output jacks are on the sides, beside the switch. We now also have an option for top jacks if you prefer that, for less pedal real estate.
  19. Internal BIAS trim pot does not need adjustment, factory set. But if you experience distortion, adjust it to the middle of the range in which chorusing is heard and the distortion should stop. Also make sure the battery is fresh for least distortion. Here is a picture of a TRIM POT, turn the white center part with a small screwdriver. The factory setting is marked with a black line.
  20. Stereo option! This was the first stereo pedal that was made available with true bypass. Normal (top) output on STEREO version is exactly the same sound as the Standard MONO chorus pedal. The sound from the second output may be a little stronger chorusing.
  21. Stereo is TRUE STEREO outputs. Each side is heard chorused, not like some pedals with one side dry and one side effected. One side dry is simple - any pedal can easily have the wet and dry come out seperate jacks. It takes no additional circuitry on a chorus pedal to do that. However with this type of true stereo on each side, if you record in stereo and later mix or play it back into mono, the chorus will be lost. This is the same with Boss CE-3, Ibanez CS-9, Arion stereo chorus, and most other stereo choruses.



Options

S T E R E O OPTION!!

If you ever play through two amplifiers, or record in stereo with your guitar on both sides, you may be interested in the STEREO option.

The stereo version was suggested to me by Eric Johnson who likes to use his choruses in stereo. I made a prototype (#1 stereo pedal) for Eric and he likes it a lot. The mid 2001 - 2006 models came standard with a STEREO UPGRADEABLE Ver3 circuit board with a header on it to make the additional stereo board attachable. But we ran out of the little stereo boards for those so pre-2006 pedals are not stereo upgradeable.

In early 2006 we added the stereo circuity onto the main chorus board (ver4) so the extra "stereo board" is no longer needed. Here is a picture of the Ver4 boards, mono on the left and with the added stereo option on the right:

bichorus pedals insides You can see the blue BIAS trimpot and the white MIX trimpot near the center of the boards. Note the setting of the white trimpots, this gives you the same sound as the single chorus pedals.


With the stereo option, the sound from the normal output jack is exactly the same as our standard MONO Chorus, so there are no drawbacks to the STEREO model. The stereo option is $50 extra on a new standard chorus or Bichorus pedal.

Stereo Inputs

Stereo inputs are not available, as that would requite two complete chorus circuits inside the pedal. Instead, it's best to put a mono signal into the chorus, and then send the two (stereo) chorused output signals into a true stereo delay with stereo inputs. There are several available, such as the Boss DD7, Eventide Time Factor, etc. Those will preserve the stereo image that the chorus has created. If you really want stereo inputs, we can make a chorus pedal with 2 circuit boards slaved together, but it gets quite expensive and large. We can also do that with two seperate chorus pedals- one master and one slave. One normal cable syncs them to send the master's voltage to control the slave's circuit. The Master can be any chorus version including Bi-Chorus. The slave could be a standard or mini chorus as the knobs don't do anything, though the DEPTH toggle and mix controls will work. Both Master and Slave are designed to work normally when nothing is plugged into the SYNC connecting jacks.

Stereo Modifications on existing pedals

An existing Ver4 Analog Man mono standard or Bichorus pedal can be modified for stereo output for $75. See our REPAIRS/MOD FORM for more info on sending in a chorus for the stereo mod or other options (toggle, mix, etc).

The STEREO version comes standard with TRUE BYPASS for the 1st ever true bypass stereo pedal!

Stereo bypass options (standard mono chorus is always true bypass)

  1. Stereo True Bypass with relay:
    We came up with this option for Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash - he would break his old flimsy 4PDT switch on just about every tour. After putting the relay into many other customer's pedals, we finally got his in our shop and upgraded it, hope his pedal won't be back at our shop again.
    This option works just like the 4PDT option below. But instead of using the 4pdt switch, we use the normal, rugged 3PDT switch and add a relay for switching the stereo output. The relay will use a little more power, about 50% more, so a battery will not last quite as long. A power supply is probably a good idea. You can use a 9V or 12V adaptor but should not use more than 12V or you could damage the relay. We sell an optional 12V adaptor, or you can use the ACA setting on a Voodoo Labs PedalPower2 for 12V. If you lose power, the relay will switch the stereo output to TRUE BYPASS (off) so it won't inconvenience you. We can also install a 12V relay in the pedal if you ask, that will be more reliable at 12V and work ok at 14V.
  2. Stereo True Bypass 4PDT switch : Our original stereo option. We had used a rare and expensive 4PDT switch, it was a little wimpy looking but works and sounds great. It is the same type switch that was used on the Way Huge and early Fulltone and Xotic pedals. It was also used on the Maxon AD-999, the second pedal I have seen with stereo true bypass. There is a new stronger 4PDT switch that we use now, just like the 3PDT switch, so no breakage problems but it may be harder to find than a 3PDT if the switch fails (the relays never seem to fail).
  3. With either of the above options, either output can be used in mono. When off it will be true bypassed, when on it will have chorusing. When OFF, both outputs are connected to the input, like a Y-cable. I recommend using the top output for mono chorus use, this will be 100% exactly the same sound and circuit as if you bought the standard MONO chorus. But you may also like the bottom output in mono use, it is a little thicker and more effected.

 

Bi-Chorus Stereo Bi-Chorus Stereo On the left is the stereo option on the BI-CHORUS with side jacks. The bottom left jack is the stereo output. On the right is stereo with top jacks, all 4 jacks (input, power, output, stereo out) are on top.



BASS GUITAR: Not all bass players use chorus but it's a cool effect on bass and this one will not affect your tone at all when OFF due to true bypass. A chorus pedal is not as strong on bass, so you have to turn the DEPTH knob up higher, especially at slower speeds. It can do a cool leslie/vibrato at high speeds. Deep option (fixed deep or depth toggle) is recommended for bass. Chris Maresh got a MINI CHORUS with MIX knob and DEEP option in late 2011 for playing bass with Eric Johnson. That seems to be the most popular model for bass players. I got an email from another Chris about his Chorus with the FIXED DEEP option : "I want to say that I LOOOOOVE this pedal. The effect itself is fantastic, but, one thing I noticed with it that other choruses lose with bass is the attack... and this pedal somehow maintains the attack with every note. Absolutely killer creamy chorus with a bite. PERFECT for bass. My Zon fretless SINGS with this thing... it's INSANE. Seriously love, love, LOVE it... I've been telling everyone about it."

Depth Toggle option

Chorus with Depth Toggle We now offer a DEEP option, with a three position mini toggle switch. This actually changes the DELAY TIME, unlike the depth knob. The DEEP setting (longer delay time) not only makes the chorus thicker at all settings, but moves the frequency spectrum of the chorus down. This enhances the low frequencies. Sounds great on bass and excellent on guitar too, if you want to be able to dial-in thicker chorus sounds including some warbly, seasick sounds at higher speeds. The second (middle) position (shorter delay time) is a THIN setting, which sounds a little like the tc electronics Chorus. It is a lighter sound, with less low end, and also a little less analog white noise. It sounds a little flanger-like, as a flanger has a shorter delay time than a chorus. The DEEP setting may have a little more white noise. The Third position (normal) is the exact same setting as our standard CHORUS, with no extra noise or change in tone from our normal pedals.

The middle position of the toggle switch is always the THIN setting. On the standard chorus, DEEP is down and NORMAL is up. On the Bichorus, LEFT is deep and RIGHT is normal. But use your ears to see which side is deep and which is normal as some may be reversed (easy to install the toggle switch the other way).

There is no extra charge for a fixed DEEP or THIN setting, or we can add the Toggle for $25 extra at time of ordering (or $50 to mod an existing pedal). On the BI-CHORUS we normally put the toggle switch on top above the SUN. The DEEP switch works on both sides of the bi-chorus.

Mix or Blend control

Chorus is a blend of normal (dry) sound, and a delayed, modulated vibrato-type sound (wet). The standard setting on all our chorus pedals is 50% wet and 50% dry, for a normal chorus sound. With a MIX control, you can tweek it from about 25% to 75% wet, by turning the knob or trim pot. The optional MIX TRIMPOT at the centered setting on the mini or normal chorus it is the normal 50% sound. There is a notch detent on the MIX KNOB at 12:00 so you can feel the stock setting. Mix adjusts only the mono output (stereo output is not affected). MIX is available externally as a knob only on the mini chorus, it is a standard internal trim pot on the bichorus and an option on the standard chorus. The MIX trimpot on the BICHORUS should be turned a little CCW of center for the same sound as our normal chorus. From the centered horizontal setting, turn it just under 1/8 of a turn, to point towards one of the the metal parts of the trimpot, for our standard setting. See the picture above under STEREO OPTION to see this setting. Or just go by ear for the best sound for YOU.

With the mix up high, you can get a reasonable vibrato sound, but without control over the waveshape like a true vibrato pedal. With the mix down very low, it adds sort of a thickening clean boost with some doubling, a nice warm, fat sound, not really a "chorus" sound. The MIX trimpot will make the pedal louder if you turn it far from the center position.

About Options

While we are glad to add depth toggles, mix, etc to the pedal at extra charge, sometimes simple and elegant is best. I got this email to drive home the point :

Hey I've been playing my Chorus even more the past few days and I realized something - IT RULES!!!! The last e-mail was about me asking how to make a "Swiss army knife chorus". I realize now I don't need a chorus that can cover every sound under the rainbow. I need a chorus that sounds bad ass and perfect and I have that! Thanks for your attention to my lame ass questions. And thanks for making the Chorus - a stunning piece of analog magic.

Expression Control for Speed

We can also add an expression pedal control jack for the speed of the chorus. It needs a 1 meg ohm controller, so a normal EXPRESSION pedal will not work. We can supply a metal crybaby type controller to work with the chorus for $95. The expression jack option (the jack on the pedal) is $50.

Here is a picture of the expression pedal connected to the chorus. This expression pedal has an optional MAX SPEED knob on the side so you can preset the maximum speed when you push it down all the way ($25 extra). We can put the expression jack on the left of the speed knob on the standard chorus, or on the top beside the power jack on a mono bichorus. On the Bichorus, the expression jack will work for speed on one side only, and the other side will work as normal.

We have also built our chorus pedal into a wah type shell, with a knob on the side for depth and the "wah" pedal controlling the speed. It has a true bypass switch and LED. These were $285, available on our shopping website as the FOOT CHORUS. Click Here for a picture of one with all the bells and whistles : Stereo outputs (blinking LED), Depth Toggle, external MIX knob. Speed is controlled by the rocker (by foot) and depth knob is always on the side.

Option Chart

These are the options we can do on each pedal, sorry other combinations are impossible.

Standard Mini Chorus Bichorus Foot chorus
Stereo option option option option
Toggle option option option option
Mix Knob option option option* option
Mix Trimpot option option Standard option

* - Mix Control Knob on Bichorus only available without depth toggle (no room for both).

Sound Samples

Beware a comparison demo on youtube by one of our competitors. It shows an older darker blue Chorus with the old pointed knobs, in a more square box, with no chrome bezel on the LED, and it does not sound great. We had some of those type built by a contractor about ten years ago and their machine-soldering did not work well, so some did not sound good. We have been making them here at our shop by hand since then with no problems.

Here are some samples, we will add more soon!
Samples are recorded without any crappy POD or other digital bandaids, just a Fender Deluxe Reverb amp into a cheap microphone into my PC.

floyd.mp3 Some Floyd, on a Tele (Tom). The 1st phrase is just the Chorus, then our COMPROSSOR is added and you can hear how it fills out the sound.

yespolice.mp3 Some Yes/Police, on a Strat (Roger Filgate). No settings are changed, only picking style.

coldshot1.mp3 Leslie sounds - some SRV style playing on a Strat (Roger Filgate). Chorus has speed at about 4:00 and depth 1:00.

Noexitv2.mp3 Here is a DIFFERENT sound, inspired by Jimmy Page's Leslie solo on "Good Times Bad Times". It's from Mitch Stein of the Steve Kimock band, THE HERMANATORS and Jim Weider's Project Percolator. Mitch played his King of Tone through the Chorus into a Two Rock amp.

Here is a good explanation of the depth toggle switch on a BICHORUS by my buddy Donner on youtube.

If you like indie melodic echo and reverb-rich pop, check out The Big Sad by Overlord. You can contrast the digital chorus used on the lead guitar with the warm analog man chorus used by the rhythm (2nd) guitar, comes in at 10 seconds on the left side. This is a live on-air performance.

There are some Bass Guitar samples at the bottom of this link.



Reviews

I have moved customer review to a new page - CUSTOMER REVIEWS.

Kenny's onstage pedalboard, 5/02, with my SNUFF BOX on the left, then the Chorus. Two of my TS9/808 pedals are on the right, and the Captain Coconut in back. He was excited when he first got this chorus pedal in 05/01, he put it on his pedalboard 5 minutes before showtime causing his guitar tech Roy Kelly to nearly have a heart attack! But it worked out great- he used it on many songs all night long, including most of "Blue on Black". The next time I met up with them over a year later, it was still going strong on his pedalboard, and still being used to take his playing up a notch at strategic times. In late 2007 I brought him a BICHORUS to the Experience Hendrix show as he wanted a slow chorus in addition to his Leslie sounds. He was using it through 2008 and hopefully beyond. See my weBLOG for more info on KWS.


In June 2004, Kenny spent most of the month filming a blues music documentary. He recorded and filmed performances with the likes of B.B. King, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Hubert Sumlin, Pinetop Perkins and "Steady Rollin'" Bob Margolin in juke joints, on front porches and in other comfortable settings. He also had the guys from Double Trouble and some from the KWS band on hand. This documentary is available on DVD and CD. For this project, Kenny had his chorus (seen above on the pedalboard and at left in 6/04) shipped to the locations, it was all he needed.


 

Here's Kenny in early 2012 showing his Bichorus. Scroll back a bit for the KOT demo : Premier Guitar Youtube


Dan Spitz of ANTHRAX got a BICHORUS in late 2005 and wrote me :

I'm not easily impressed bro. I usually wait about 6 months to let the newness of something wear off before I comment. At this point I don't see how your chorus pedal will ever leave my custom 'clamshell pedaltrain' board.

I think my Bi-Chorus is coming along with me into my nailed and screwed up coffin and up into Gods hands so I can jam with Hendrix when I arrive.

(In 2007 he got back to me again:) I'm off the road after two years of pounding your chorus pedal into smithereeeeens.... not one hiccup. Just pure waves of chorus/flange/univibe doom for me! It is my only chorus pedal and it will stay that way. Thank you for taking a portion of your life and creating joy for so many of us my brother of tone, we all love you!"


Dan used it on 2005/2006 tours and says he will be using it extensively on the new CD. Here is a picture of Dan and his touring rig in 2006.

Matt Hocking, from the Edgar Winter band, wrote me:
Thanks so much for the advice. I've been using the Prince Of Tone and absolutely love it.... and I've used everything....and I mean everything....your chorus that I bought also blows away my vintage TC Electronics and my original BOSS CE-1...keep up the great work!!



new clones w/true bypass, depth knob

How to get one :

The main delay chip used in the pedal is no longer made (but we have hundreds in stock) and costs more than all the electronic components in most boutique effects (for example all the TS-808 tube screamer clones) so we can not sell these cheap. But they are priced well compared to many of the TS-808 copies, and less than many other high-end analog chorus pedals currently available.


Online Ordering

We have 18 versions of chorus pedals due to all the options we offer, so they are built to your exact specs after we get your order. They take a few days to build and we will email when we process your order and again when your pedal is shipped.

For easy ordering, check out our new website buyanalogman.com . The new website uses a shopping cart for everything so it's very easy to buy multiple items or add in options. It allows using paypal in addition to several other payment methods including credit cards. It also keeps track of status, tracking numbers, etc and allow editing orders after they are placed.



Some artists who use the Analog Man Chorus

Here is a phone message I got on my answering machine from a new Analog Man Chorus player, you may recognize him!

Reeves Gabrels (David Bowie, etc) Got a Bi-Chorus to use with The Cure alongside his King Of Tone in 2023. He wrote me :
The KoT is (of course) outstanding, but the real surprise was the stereo Bi Chorus. I never realised how good chorus could sound with overdrive. Fat, rich and everything the chorus pedals i have been using are not (with some uni-vibey-ness thrown in). It's going right on my Cure board. I love both of them. thanks again. - Reeves

Andy Powell from Wishbone Ash is touring with a stereo Chorus he picked up in early 2003. It sounds awesome with his '67 Flying V and with his King of Tone and TS9DX/808/Mode mods running into it. Ben Granfelt was the other lead guitarist and he got a Black BI-CHORUS, also in stereo, so he could switch between high speed leslie sounds and low speed normal chorus sounds.

Check out Violet Burning if you want to hear our Chorus live. Andy Prickett (lead guitar) and Mike Pritzl (vocals and guitar) both have them on their pedalboards. The bass player does also- that's three of them on stage! They help with their ethereal, alternative sound. Check them out in the Long Beach, CA area or on Northern Records. They sent me their live DVD and CD which are really cool. Andy also uses the Chorus when he plays with CUSH and on most of the Northern Records music that he produces.

AJ Dunning, ex-lead guitar in The Verve Pipe, toured with his, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd seems to turn his on quite often, for over two decades now.

Tony Iommi has one of our older light blue chorus pedals on his Studio Pedal Board. He listed it as used on his 2005 Fused album. He also has a few of our TS9/808 mods which he uses live.

Dave Malone from the Radiators got one in early 2002, and is enjoying it in his live setup with his TS9/808, KOT, DS1/pro, Sunface, modded wah, bicomp, etc.
Also check out Mark Karan, he has one with the DEEP mod after his BICOMPROSSOR.

In 2012, Mick Box of Uriah Heep is using our Bi-Chorus pedal, he picked it up when he was here in the USA. Pat Travers, and Mick Jones, a founding member of Foreigner, are also using the Chorus pedals. Mick Jones' Monitor Engineer Lorenzo Banda (Foreigner, Heaven and Hell, Dio, etc) said The Analog Man Chorus pedal is the best sounding Chorus that I have ever come across. It's undoubtedly the best Chorus pedal on the market.

Flume was using our chorus in most of their new CD, and it's heard on the flash intro on their web site.

Brad Whitford used an Analog Man Chorus on the Aerosmith tour in 2003. Brad Fernquist has one on his board and one for backup for the Goo Goo Dolls tours in 2007.
Richard Williams of KANSAS bought our Stereo chorus in late 2003 to go with his other Analog Man pedals (Bicomp, 808 mods, etc) and has been using it live ever since. Richard got one of our upgraded stereo RELAY switches so the switch would hold up to their heavy touring.
Shayne Hill of Beaver Brown has a unique orange BI-CHORUS, which he uses with his Mini Bicomp and DD6, TS9, BD2, and SD1 mods.
Lloyd Cole bought a Chorus with the Depth toggle.

Gabriel Moses (Macy Gray) is enjoying his Chorus with depth toggle.

Lee Ranaldo was using a BICHORUS in sonic youth with his KoT pedal in 2006.

Al Schnier from moe. got a pair of Bichorus pedals in late 2005. He wrote in late 2006: I can't tell you how much I love my Bi-Chorus. I'm using it about 1/3rd the time these days. Very nice pedal! Here's a shot of Al's large pedalboard with the Bichorus, Bicomp (bottom middle), DD6/hicut (left), and a cool AB switch we made him from an MXR paperweight box HERE . Another great player who has been using our chorus on almost all his clean sounds is John Wesley who I was lucky enough to meet in 2007 while he was playing with Porcupine Tree and again in 2016 when we was opening for Marillion. He's an awesome player in a great British progressive rock band with a nice edge, check them out if you get the chance! Marillion's Steve Rothery is also using a Bi-Chorus, also heard with The Wishing Tree. Steve used our Mini Chorus for most of the cool leslie type sounds on his fantastic 2016 solo album The Ghosts of Pripyat, and also the recent Marillion album. Steve also used his KOT for all his solos on the solo album.


Lenny Kravitz has a few of our two knob Mini Chorus pedals which he's using live in 2008, Craig Ross has one of them in his rack. Guthrie Govan has been using our chorus pedal for years, there is a nice interview with him in Premier Guitar Magazine Mar 2010. Guthrie said, I love the Analog Man Chorus, which I guess is modeled on a Kurt Cobain kind of chorus. If you turn the speed up you get this nice Leslie effect. If you turn the depth up too much you get John Scofield, which is pleasing. In the July 2011 Guitar Player magazine with Guthrie on the cover, he said: The Analog Man Chorus doesn't rob the signal of any low end, so you can get the desired degree of swirliness without sacrificing any of the meat in the tone.

Jared Scharff, guitarist in the SNL band, got some of our pedals about 2007, and was still using them on the show when he sent me a note in 2011:
I never liked chorus pedals. In fact, hated them untill I played the AnalogMan chorus. From the first time I used it, I instantly loved it. First time I felt that a chorus effect was warm and lush. On SNL, I use it all the time as a great faux leslie sound, it inspires me. Every time I turn it on, some guys in the band always turn around and smile at me! Haha. Such an important pedal for SNL! Love it!

Vinnie Moore bought a MINI CHORUS which he is taking on tour with UFO in 2012. Wolf Hoffman of Accept got a standard chorus and is using it in his rack on tour. Here he explains his setup.

James Bay, a great British singer/guitarist/songwriter, has a Bi-Chorus on his pedalboard as shown on thegigrig's That Pedal Show in 2015.

Lee Pomeroy got a Mini Chorus in 2017 while on tour with YES and is using it in the loop of his amp with his Rickenbacker bass guitar for those great Squire tones.

Keep on CHORUSing!

Mike aNaLoG.MaN

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