A guide to the best chorus pedals would have looked out of place up until a few years ago. Though chorus effects have been around since the 1970s, they're most often associated with the ‘80s. From new wave to prog, shred to dream-pop and what would become shoegaze - chorus was everywhere.
Perhaps the reason chorus went out of vogue for a time was that it was often a bit over-the-top. However, this was player and producer choice. Subtle effects are available. Vintage and BBD units are smoother in tone, while many units have a blend control.
Like all fashions, the chorus pedal has come back around - and although it was never in full cryosleep thanks to the likes of Kurt Cobain and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - this re-awakening of chorus has mainly been down to the rediscovery of classic grunge and new-wave records, all of which are covered in chorus.
Mainstream pedal companies and boutiques alike have responded, releasing new and innovative takes on the chorus pedal. With players now spoiled for choice, here's our pick of the best chorus pedals for guitarists.
We've included some in-depth buying advice at the end of this guide, so if you'd like to read more, then that's the place for you. If you'd rather just get straight to the products, then keep scrolling.
Best chorus pedals: Guitar World's choice
If you’re looking for the industry standard in chorus sounds, your search ends with Boss’s enhanced reissue of the classic CE-2. The CE-2W features a standard mode to recreate the thick, lush shimmer of the compact original, but adds a CE-1 mode to deliver another set of iconic Boss sounds, including vibrato.
If you're seeking a no-frills chorus pedal that won't break the bank, then the June 60 Mk II is a great call. It sounds excellent, modeled on the rich, seductive chorus found on the ’80s Roland Juno synths. Consequently, it's equally at home on guitar and synth, with extra options available via external dip switches. Despite the price point, it's even stereo via Y-cable.
Meanwhile, if you're looking to break the bank, then the Chase Bliss Warped Vinyl is a good choice. There are more options than you will ever use before you've even taken into account all the dip switches on the top panel. On top of that, there's additional momentary controls, a redesigned lower-noise circuit, expression and midi control. Did we mention the core sound is great? Well, it is.
Best chorus pedals: Product guide
The Boss CE-2 Chorus, and its big brother predecessor the CE-1 (along with the same effect built into the Roland Jazz Chorus amp), defined the sound of chorus during the late '70s and '80s.
The CE-2W Waza Craft combines two Boss modulation pedals in one – the CE-2 and the mother of all chorus effects, the CE-1, complete with its chorus and vibrato sections. With the exception of the mini three-way toggle switch for selecting the CE-2, CE-1 chorus or CE-1 vibrato modes, a second 1/4-inch output jack (direct-only) that delivers stereo chorus/vibrato effects and the Waza Craft logo embedded in the rubber on/off switch pad, the CE-2W looks identical to the original CE-2.
Sound-wise, it’s the most perfect match we’ve ever experienced between an original product and its reissue – that unmistakable thick, lush, shimmering Boss chorus that we’ve all heard on a million classic recordings from the likes of Rush, the Pretenders and even Metallica.
The CE-2W might have slightly clearer treble, but the textures, tones and character are otherwise identical. The CE-2W’s CE-1 chorus setting produces an even deeper chorus effect with slightly more noticeable modulation and more sense of space and depth. The CE-1 vibrato setting is exceptionally cool and useful, producing a warm warble without the seasick side effects.
Combining the chorus and vibrato effects of both the legendary Boss CE-2 and CE-1 pedals, the Boss Waza Craft CE-2W definitively nails the sounds of both to provide chorus connoisseurs with the effects of their dreams.
The original June 60 was a bargain, with great sounds and high-brow styling. Based on the chorus from Roland's legendary Juno 60 synthesizer, it's also great on guitar.
Like the original June 60, it has stereo out, albeit via a TRS jack output, which is more uncommon for guitar. Still, with its BBD heart, it's an all-analog vintage-voiced stereo chorus for not much more than the price of an unbranded micro pedal.
There's three new settings too - on the front panel, you can access Leslie-like rotating speaker sounds by pressing down both preset buttons. Internally, there's now also a pair of DIP switches that allow you to change the LFO speed between 'slow' and 'fast'. Although it's less exciting, there's also a DIP switch for guitar versus keys input level.
The Way Huge Smalls Blue Hippo Analog Chorus is a miniaturized, pedalboard friendly doppelganger of the original, preserving the same features and sweet tones in a compact pedal footprint. Though it’s not sized as a typical mini-pedal, it’s still small enough to fit into the palm of your hand and is less boxy than its original counterpart, making it super pedalboard-friendly.
Design-wise, the Smalls Blue Hippo has controls for Speed and Depth with a Vibe/Chorus switch to toggle between the two settings. The circuit puts out a thicker and gooier chorus with less shimmer that clearly eschews other, cleaner-sounding chorus units that tend to go for dimensional purity. It's reminiscent of early Andy Summers and Permanent Waves-era Alex Lifeson with its compressed chorus tones (think Freewill).
If swirl is your thing, setting the switch to Vibe offers some serious pulsating textures that can get downright wobbly and liquid. Overall, this Smalls puts out a big, thick chorus and swirling vibrato that are incredibly vintage-sounding.
One of the most-requested reissues in Boss’s history, the DC-2W recreates the DC-2 Dimension C, which strikes the balance between a chorus and 3D audio expander.
The DC-2W provides a relatively subtle effect via its four push-buttons, but can make any signal sound bigger and richer – especially in stereo. This reissue also adds a model of Roland’s SDD-320 Dimension D rack effect, which lends its own flavor of spatial widening.
If you’ve liked the sonic effect and tonal thickening – but not the warble – of traditional chorus pedals, the DC-2W could well be the best choice for you.
The Julia is a fully analog, feature-rich pedal with a wealth of chorus sounds packed inside. In addition to the standard Rate and Depth controls, the pedal boasts a Lag knob – which lets the user set the center delay time that the LFO effect modulates from – for various amounts of “swing”.
An additional cool feature is the d-c-v (Dry, Chorus, Vibrato) knob, a blend control that changes the ratio of dry to wet signal sent to the output. Keep it at zero for no effect, at low levels for subtle variations or cranked for all manner of crazed chorus/vibrato combinations.
Additionally, there’s a waveform switch that toggles between sine and triangle wave shapes – offering incredible control over the sweep of the effect – as well as fully analog circuitry, an LFO LED that blinks in time for visual feedback and true bypass switching. It’s all enclosed in a lavender-hued box with a design as surreal as the sounds contained inside.
The original Warped Vinyl was designed to emulate the sound of an old vinyl record, pairing digital control with an analog core. Part of this aesthetic resulted in a very colored, quite dark, and noisy sound. For certain players, this was exactly what they wanted, but for others it was too hard to integrate into their rig.
This eventually led to a redesign, dubbed the Hi-Fi version. In exchange for dialling back the eccentricities of the original, you get a brighter, more transparent chorus with a far lower noise floor. Yes, it's less like a warped record in tone, but it is more flexible as a standard chorus pedal in return.
With its plethora of controls and DIP switches, almost every element of the Warped Vinyl's sound can be altered to taste. The key part to our minds, however, is the wave-shaping. With this, you can unlock endless chorus variations, as well as some that are unique to this pedal.
Eventide’s TriceraChorus is a chorus pedal which combines three separate chorus voicings – as well as Eventide’s MicroPitch detuning and a Swirl footswitch – in order to create a rich, versatile effect. Whether you’re using the TriceraChorus in mono or stereo, expect to hear your tone broadened to a level that most other chorus pedals won’t achieve.
There are five presets which you can call up instantly, but this list expands to a lofty 127 if you use MIDI or connect the pedal to a computer running the Eventide Device Manager software.
The left, right and center knobs handle the modulation depth of their respective voices and the mix knob lets you choose the amount of chorusing – from chorus through to chorale (the pedal’s emulation of the more complex chorusing found in Eventide’s rackmount units). The six knobs on the front of the pedal control 12 separate parameters which, granted, can easily throw a casual chorus user – but with this pedal being more aimed at an enthusiast, the level of tweaking potential on this pedal is a dream.
Read the full Eventide TriceraChorus review
Best known for the shimmery warble that opens Nirvana’s Come As You Are, the Small Clone is much more than just the preferred chorus unit of Kurt Cobain – and it’s now available in EHX’s more compact Nano enclosure.
Its rich, spacey and fully analog tones offer tons of an otherworldly vibe, and in a straightforward, easy-to-use design. What’s more, it’s got an easy-on-the-wallet price as well.
The Neo Clone’s tools are easy to master: one rate dial and a depth switch. Like most EHX effects, it will take you way, way out of the effect's comfort zone. But it’s capable of some nice subtle warbles and modulations as well. Explore away.
If you want a straight-up, easy-to-operate and, most of all, great-sounding chorus pedal, look no further than TC Electronic’s Corona. A pared-down (at least in its looks) take on the company’s legendary – and considerably more expensive and involved – Stereo Chorus Flanger unit, the Corona is a compact digital pedal boasting just four knobs – Speed, Depth, FX Level and Tone, as well as stereo and mono ins/outs.
There’s also a three-way toggle that lets the user choose between three chorus types, including TriChorus (which uses three stereo choruses with various offsets to produce what TC describes as a unique, very broad and lush chorus) and, yes, Stereo Chorus Flanger-style effects.
The third option utilizes TC’s TonePrint technology – via a USB connection, users can import “custom pedal-tweaks made by top-performing guitarists” into the pedal, or design their own customized chorus effects from scratch with the free TonePrint Editor.
Other features include an optional buffered bypass mode that prevents high frequency loss from long cable runs, Analog-Dry-Through for maintaining the integrity of the analog dry signal path – even when the chorus effect is engaged – and a Kill-Dry feature that removes the dry signal path for use with a parallel effects loop.
The Bubbler Chorus is a smart analog design that offers switchable Slow and Fast speeds with independent Rate and Depth controls. It's similar to ramping between speeds on a Leslie rotating speaker in that respect.
There’s also a Wave toggle for selecting between traditional Sine and Triangle waveforms. A Sensitivity control, meanwhile, works as a sort of dynamic expression function, changing the modulation rate based on how hard or soft you pick.
Additionally, there’s true bypass switching, stereo outputs and the cool features that come built-in to all Fender pedals, including magnetic battery access compartments at the front of the unit and backlit LEDs. All in all, a worthy addition to the chorus pedal market, from a company that knows a thing or two about creating legendary sounds.
Best chorus pedals: Buying advice
What is chorus?
Like vibrato, phase and flange, chorus is created using a delay line. Your signal is split into wet and dry components, with an LFO, or low-frequency oscillator, detuning the wet part. Blending wet and dry back together creates chorus.
Terms like LFO might be bamboozling at first glance, but think of it simply as the rate, a sine wave that you can hear giving motion to the guitar.
There's some interesting side-effects from the close relationship between the various modulations. For example, increasing the wet/dry mix will result in a vibrato effect when the detune becomes more extreme. Alternatively, by reducing the delay time below 25ms, chorus becomes a flanger. Flange effects add feedback for more resonance, which is why chorus effects sound smoother.
This line can be blurry. Famously, Andy Summers didn't use a chorus on The Police's Walking On The Moon. It's reportedly an EHX Electric Mistress flanger, which explains his recent signature pedal.
What should I look for in a chorus pedal?
For our money, the key areas you should look at when buying a chorus are the range of speed and depth, whether it's digital or not, and whether it's stereo.
It's important to look deeply within yourself and decide whether you're a purist. Though there's something magical about the sound of a pure BBD analog chorus, it's undeniable that digital choruses have more flexibility, both in timbres, but also in additional parameters like rate and waveform. Some units can even do ramping or irregular rates. This is where hybrid units like the Chase Bliss can shine – though at a high price.
Whether or not the pedal is stereo won't matter to you if you don't run a dual amp set-up. Nevertheless, it might be that even if you use the pedal in mono, you'll get a chance to use it in stereo for recording. There's few things quite as mind-bending as stereo chorus, especially when used tastefully.
Finally, range is important. If you want seasick, detuned tones, you'll need appropriate depth. If you want to push the rate of the pedal almost into Leslie or rotating speaker for live use, the pedal will need a rate control that is pretty fast when fully open.
Analog vs Digital Chorus
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Today’s chorus pedals deliver a wealth of sonic options that assist with anything from power ballads to subtle tonal thickeners and grungy warbles. Many can do a decent rotary speaker (aka Leslie) simulation, too (think Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun).
Tonal purists will swear by analog offerings, which output the syrupy Bucket Brigade Device swirl that for many defined the chorus sound, especially in the '80s – see Boss’s CE-2W for a prime example.
These old-school sounds have been taken into new territory by more recent efforts from the likes of Fender and Walrus Audio, who have served up additional waveforms to adjust how angular the chorus sounds.
There are certain advantages afforded by digital chorus pedals, however: these contemporary stompboxes can not only emulate their analog forebears, but veer into flanger territory, too – accordingly, TC Electronic’s unfortunately named Corona Chorus is one of the most versatile chorus pedals on the market.
For those of you lucky enough to be running dual-amp rigs, we’d recommend investing in a chorus pedal with dual outputs, too – the 3D effect of a chorus running in stereo is simply stunning.
Also make sure to check out the speed range on these pedals – if you’re after Leslie-style rotating speaker tones, you’ll want a pedal that can go real fast for those rotary warbles.
How we choose products
Here at Guitar World, we are experts in our field, with many years of playing and product testing between us. We live and breathe everything guitar-related, and we draw on this knowledge and experience of using products in live, recording and rehearsal scenarios when selecting the products for our guides.
When choosing what we believe to be the best chorus pedals available right now, we combine our hands-on experience, user reviews and testimonies and engage in lengthy discussions with our editorial colleagues to reach a consensus about the top products in any given category.
First and foremost, we are guitarists, and we want other players to find the right product for them. So we take into careful consideration everything from budget to feature set, ease of use and durability to come up with a list of what we can safely say are the best chorus pedals on the market right now.
Read more about our rating system, how we choose the gear we feature, and exactly how we test each product.
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