Why is the Analog Chorus so bad with drive pedals?

[JVL]

Greetings all - I've seen numerous posts about this situation on various forums and I'm hopeful that going to the source might reveal a fix. I so love my Analog Chorus when played clean, but when I place even the slightest overdrive in front of it the volume jumps and the tone just goes to hell (ice-picky, ill defined, no clarity...). Doesn't seem to be any real difference between single coils and humbuckers; both are terrible. All pedals in front of this are true bypass, so I'm wondering if the buffered signal that is present when any of my other preceding pedals are engaged might be causing the problem. Again the pedal is stellar when played with a completely clean guitar signal path. My chain is: guitar>tuner>wah>drive pedals>Analog Chorus>delay>clean boost>amp. I would really appreciate some guidance here; even the name of someone who might be capable of modding the pedal if there is something that can be done. Many thanks!

[TheEnemyWithin]

I've never tried Voodoo's chorus pedal, so I can't confirm or deny what you're hearing. But other analog chorus pedals don't handle distortion well either. My old Boss CE-1 got muddy with a drive pedal in front of it, and I tried a TC Electronic chorus recently and got the same thing. From what I've experienced and read over the years there aren't too many analog pedals that DO handle distortion well.

What drive pedal are you using, and do you like how it sounds without the chorus engaged?

[JVL]

I'm using an Xotic Effects BB+ and an MI Audio Crunch Box (each for different textures, not at the same time). I've actually had good experience in the past with the Visual Sound H20, which has an analog chorus. I was trying to stay with true bypass, but to be honest with you, I believe because my entire pedal board consists of true bypass pedals that I'm suffering some tone sucking when playing just clean into the amp. And to answer your quesiton about whether I like my overdriven and distorted tones, the answer is a resounding yes. My board goes into a Pure Sixty-Four Mean Street Classic 6V6 head and their matching 1x12 cabinet with an Austin Speaker Works KTS-70 and holy smokes...I could not be any happier with that rig and the way it reacts with my pedals. Thanks for your reply and interest.

[James Santiago]

Just curious, what tuner are you using? Just to be sure, all the of the pedals before the Analog Chorus are true bypass?

JS

[JVL]

Korg Pitchblack - great little TB tuner

[James Santiago]

Yup, the Korg is definitely true bypass. How about the delay?

You know, sometimes you might actually need a buffer to bring back some lost high-end definition. The thing with pedals is that you're still going through all those patch cables and stomp switches. (Unlike when you use a Pedal Switcher or GCX which removes the entire signal path and pedal.)

Sometimes I use a boost pedal as a clean boost in an all true bypass rig.

Just thinking out loud here for ya.

JS

[JVL]

Thanks again. I have acquired a dedicated buffer and have placed it in multiple places in my chain. I have also confirmed that the version of my ElectroHarmonix Deluxe Memory Man is indeed true bypass. The "tone sucking" with all pedals bypassed is not horrendous, but I notice it and the buffer does a great job of minimizing/restoring what the capacitance of the cables and TB pedals removes. I think no more than a couple of TB pedals and short cables is probably fine, but anything more than that and a buffer is in my opinion necesary.

As for the Analog Chorus, no matter how few pedals I use (I've isolated down to my BB+ and the AC for testing), with or without the buffer, the AC just doesn't like the overdrive, so it unfortunately went back to the dealer. I have heard that analog chorus pedals are predisposed to this, especially the faithful vintage replicas, but I did go back to the H20 and found that unit (analog) did take better to drive pedals and without the significant volume boost of the AC and with far better maintenance of clarity. An added benefit is that the buffered signal from that pedal is as effective as my dedicated buffer.

Out of respect for your position and your truly excellent products, I should be clear that I don't believe the AC and the H20 are head-to-head competitors and am in no way asserting that the H20 is any better. I belive the AC nails that vintage vibe for the guy that demands a top notch true bypass chorus pedal and that the H20 is a more modern/different interpretation on the Chorus pedal; it is made in China and is not true bypass, though it does utilize a very nice buffer into the chain which in my case is just what the Dr. ordered. For hard core vintage and clean chorus/vibe sounds, the AC is definitely among the best in my opinion. Turns out my needs were just better matched to something different.

Thanks very much for your interest and engagement.

[shredmiyagi]

I used to always think my Boss CE-2 sounded terrible with my Mesa Boogie Mark III's lead channel... continued to sound bad with my Soldano SP-77 preamp's distortion channel... in or out of an FX loop or before the pre.

Then I realized that too much gain and CE-2 chorus isn't a sound I really like theoretically. The main reason I love using chorus with clean is because it makes my sound thick and complex, almost like an organ with a slight shimmer. With hi-gain, it modulates between muddy and ice-picky. I guess even if I get it right, mid 80s VH/Ozzy/Journey hair metal tone isn't really what I want.

It works GREAT with a light overdrive; clean channel with gain pumped up, or a Tube Screamer. If I want some kind of modulation in my distortion channel, I find my flangers to work better.