Hi, I just wanted to check back in, as there have been some developments on my end since my last post.
First, after working with D. in tech support–very helpful gal by the way–we determined that I had a defective "intensity" knob, so I sent it back to the retailer for an exchange. Since the knob crapped out less than an hour into my first session with the pedal, I didn't really get a chance to tweak it to my heart's content. Nevertheless, in that short time I think I was able to form a relatively clear picture of the capabilities of the chorus algorithms, since that's where I spent the majority of my time. So I stand by my initial impressions of the chorus patches, which is to say that I'm still a bit disappointed. However, after reflecting on my initial impressions with the benefit of hindsight, I think I might have figured out the problem.
I–and I think I represent at least 90% of the players who will consider this pedal–run my rig almost exclusively in MONO. I might be wrong, but I'll bet that the chorus patches were developed using a stereo setup. This would go a long way toward explaining my disappointment with the chorus algorithms. I've had experience with chorus pedals that sound anemic in mono, but come completely alive in stereo. I'm not certain why, but I suspect it's for the same reason mix engineers check their mixes in mono. Usually, if it works in mono, a mix will sound stellar in stereo–but not necessarily the other way around. And until recently, they were forced to check mixes in mono in order to insure that the mix would work for mono broadcast applications like TV.
So in any event–and please fogive the verbiosity–I think a chorus patch geared toward mono applications is in order. Not a "model" of a vintage chorus, or a clone, or a copy, or whatever. Just something that sounds lush and wide and deep in mono. I suspect that the really great vintage analog choruses have alot in common, and achieve their results in more or less the same way, so this really shouldn't be brain surgery ; ^ ]
Cheers,
Barry
