under the radar sub $100 used chorus pedals

[Speeddemon]

Having tested many chorus pedals, and owning a slew of vintage good ones (Boss CE-2 silver screw, Ibanez BC-9, CS-9, MXR Micro Chorus and Stereo Chorus), one of my favorite cheap and still good chorus pedals is the Mooer Ensemble King.

The list of recent tries that didn't work as well for me:
-Providence Anadime 2 and 3 knob
-MXR Analog Chorus (while it sounds really good, its buffer sucks tone. Instantly darkens it. Try it with an amp that has a footswitchable fx-loop.)
-MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe
-Donner Metric Bender (great on paper, horrible execution)
-Ammoon Chorus (tiny pedal from China)

 

[Shask]

I have several Chorus pedals, and the Digitech CR-7 is one of my favorites also. I also have a CF-7 I like a lot also.

If you want cheap, the Donner Tutti Love Chorus pedals are like $25 new, and are a decent Boss CE-2 clone. A cool one you might find used for $100 is the Source Audio Gemini.

 

[blackba]

i need a few chourus pedals for my rigs.

i have been impressed with my cmatmods and malekko, and i am looking for pedal.

i may get a cmatmods phaser as i miss the one i sold. can be had <$80

i also enjoy the VS H2O v1 which is a chorus and delay, and can be had for $70ish i probably will pick up a second.

_________

i am considering some EHX chorus, but i have a hard time trusting EHX, and i forget which versions are more in demand/better.

Does it have to be below the $100 mark? Still some good ones there. Both of the MXR pedals. The old BBE Mindbender. Of course the Boss stuff. And as someone above posted, the Digitech Hardwire. All of those are good IMO. Even some of the old DOD chorus pedals sound good. The Jaques is a fantastic sounding pedal but I finally got tired of the noise with mine. Was near unusable on heavy stuff.

I recently went through quite a few chorus pedals from Carl Martin to Providence to MXR etc... and kept two. The Boss CE Waza and the Neunaber Inspire of which is currently on my board. Best of both worlds with an analog fix and digital fix. I also have the Keeley Dyno My Roto which does a really good chorus as well but I was using that for Rotary sounds....which I replaced with the Neo Mini rotary pedal however the Keeley is nice, so keeping it. Had the Jaques been usable with lower gain sounds, I would have kept it as it was Alex Lifeson in a box, but man the noise.

Btw/ I don't run chorus in the amps loop anymore, I started preferring it in front several years back.

That stinks you had noise with your Jacques meistersinger. Mine was always quiet in my rig. Did you have the older version with the 1/8inch power jack or the newer version? Mine was the older version with the 1/8inch power.

 

[jabps]

i need a few chourus pedals for my rigs.

i have been impressed with my cmatmods and malekko, and i am looking for pedal.

i may get a cmatmods phaser as i miss the one i sold. can be had <$80

i also enjoy the VS H2O v1 which is a chorus and delay, and can be had for $70ish i probably will pick up a second.

_________

i am considering some EHX chorus, but i have a hard time trusting EHX, and i forget which versions are more in demand/better.

Does it have to be below the $100 mark? Still some good ones there. Both of the MXR pedals. The old BBE Mindbender. Of course the Boss stuff. And as someone above posted, the Digitech Hardwire. All of those are good IMO. Even some of the old DOD chorus pedals sound good. The Jaques is a fantastic sounding pedal but I finally got tired of the noise with mine. Was near unusable on heavy stuff.

I recently went through quite a few chorus pedals from Carl Martin to Providence to MXR etc... and kept two. The Boss CE Waza and the Neunaber Inspire of which is currently on my board. Best of both worlds with an analog fix and digital fix. I also have the Keeley Dyno My Roto which does a really good chorus as well but I was using that for Rotary sounds....which I replaced with the Neo Mini rotary pedal however the Keeley is nice, so keeping it. Had the Jaques been usable with lower gain sounds, I would have kept it as it was Alex Lifeson in a box, but man the noise.

Btw/ I don't run chorus in the amps loop anymore, I started preferring it in front several years back.

That stinks you had noise with your Jacques meistersinger. Mine was always quiet in my rig. Did you have the older version with the 1/8inch power jack or the newer version? Mine was the older version with the 1/8inch power.

Newer. Silver case. Although there are several variants with the silver case. Knob placement, graphics etc. Maybe it's hit or miss as I've seen the reviews of those who had noise issue's. On the other hand LA Sound Design...you see a ton of them on his boards. Clean was amazing, near perfect chorus for that. Gain...wow, noise city. The only reason I kept it as long as I did is I generally don't ever use chorus on high gain, just clean. But was jamming some old Rush for a possible cover gig and as great as it sounded, it was just unusable.

 

[napalmdeath]

i need a few chourus pedals for my rigs.

i have been impressed with my cmatmods and malekko, and i am looking for pedal.

i may get a cmatmods phaser as i miss the one i sold. can be had <$80

i also enjoy the VS H2O v1 which is a chorus and delay, and can be had for $70ish i probably will pick up a second.

_________

i am considering some EHX chorus, but i have a hard time trusting EHX, and i forget which versions are more in demand/better.

I have a clean Hardwire CR-7 if interested. The Hardwire stuff is underrated. 7 modes, sweet pedal. Under the radar, indeed.

 

[Findthetone1]

Ibanez mini chorus. Wish I never got rid of mine.

 

[Speeddemon]

Ibanez mini chorus. Wish I never got rid of mine.

The lilac one that's based on the CS9?

I've heard it has a bit of a metallic ring/clanginess to it, which the original CS9 had too. A CE-2 and its clones typically do not suffer from that. If it's a sound you're looking for, great, but if not, it's something to keep in mind.

 

[Philhouse]

DOD FX65?

 

[JSutter]

I have tried a bunch. The ones I'd recommend:

EHX Neo Clone

Marshall Supervibe

DOD FX65

 

[JerEvil]

I never had issues with the MXR and can be found under $100 easily. Love that pedal.

Source Audio Gemini Chorus is AMAZEBALLS and you can add any of their other MOD effects to it as presets. They are $149 but you can get 15% from Prymaxe and most online retailers.

 

[itsme]

I never had issues with the MXR and can be found under $100 easily. Love that pedal.

Source Audio Gemini Chorus is AMAZEBALLS and you can add any of their other MOD effects to it as presets. They are $149 but you can get 15% from Prymaxe and most online retailers.

Agree. Love the MXR analog. Sounds great

 

[RockyStar]

Digi Tech Nautila
Jam Waterfall
Neunaber Inspire
Providence Anadime
Boss Waza

All have done me right at various price points.

 

[Speeddemon]

I never had issues with the MXR and can be found under $100 easily. Love that pedal.

Source Audio Gemini Chorus is AMAZEBALLS and you can add any of their other MOD effects to it as presets. They are $149 but you can get 15% from Prymaxe and most online retailers.

Agree. Love the MXR analog. Sounds great

Until you put it in a footswitchable loop of a rather bright amp... then you'll notice the loss of high-end, even when the MXR is turned off. Meaning that its buffer sucks tone.

Btw, old DOD FX-60 is great as well. Make sure to get the one with the plastic footswitch instead of the rubber pad-version.