Help picking a chorus pedal!!

[newdawnfades66]

Hello all

im trying to choose a chorus pedal to build or buy, i just cant bloody well decide which one, so i need some help and other opinions.

alrighty, the sound im trying to achieve is pretty much in the vein of Dave Fielding of The Chameleons
for example, the opening riff of this song is a good example.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9cN3VWokuM
he used a Roland Chorus Echo RE301

Im looking for a thick lush sound, ive tried vintage boss choruses but i found i had to buy another and run em in series at slightly different setting to get a super lush tone.

Pedals im looking at to buy are:

Red Witch Empress: I love the sound but its expensive, a cheaper option would be great, one thing i love is the delay time control.
Strymon Ola: again expensive but what ive heard sounds good, but ive had bad experiences with digital chorus.
Mr Black Double Chorus: this was my number one choice, but they are hard to get (im in australia) and they are out of stock everywhere.
Electro Harmonix Small Clone: ive played one before but i just cant remember how it sounded (dunno why...) i was thinking of getting a neo for now to see how it sounds again

I also have the opportunity to get a Vintage EH Clone Theory (sad1024), but its a huge pedal and i could rehouse it, but im not sure how small a box i can get it in...

If anybody has any personally recommendations i haven't listed please let me know.

ive also considered building a couple of Zombie Choruses into one box (in case one isnt enough) but there doesnt seem to be much interest in it and the videos ive seen are poor quality...

any help would be appreciated

Thanks!
Alex

[Mark Hammer]

It's a bit like asking which 3-tube (12AX7, 5Y3, 6V6) amplifier with an 8" speaker should you get.

Virtually all BBD-based choruses can be tweaked to mimic just about any other.  In many cases, they are using the identical LFO circuit, and sonic differences come from the particular delay range selected and accompanying lowpass filtering.  The Small Clone layouts work just fine and can be easily modded to produce a variety of outcomes.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

^^^ What Mark said 

+1 for the Small Clone. It can go from subtle to VERY deep chorus.

[deadastronaut]

+1 on the tonepad small clone.....lovely lush chorus..

add a volume though (which most chorus pedals lack) ...

cut out the 10k (jump it)  on the right side of ic2 and use a 100k pot....works a treat for unity..or a little boost..

[newdawnfades66]

thanks the for the replies
is there a delay time mod for the small clone??

[Mark Hammer]

I simply use a 3-position toggle on mine to select between 3 different clock cap values. 

Stock is 150pf.  If you put a 150pf and 220pf in series, that yields 89pf effective capacitance (caps in series are calculated the same way resistors in parallel are).  If you wire up a SPDT on-off-on switch with the centre lug tied to the junction between the two series caps, and each "outside" lug tied to the other end of each cap, you'll get 89pf when neither of the caps is shorted out, 220pf when you short out the 150, and 150 when you short out the 220.  That will get you stock, thicker-than-stock, and something closer to the range straddling chorus and flange (great for slow Leslie sounds).  It isn't as advanced as a continuous delay-time control, but provides easy repeatability, and a decent range of delay times.

[EATyourGuitar]

if you want to sound like that song you linked, you can start by drowning it in reverb getting a flock of seagulls haircut

[bluebunny]

+1 - small clone.  Took me 30 years to find (and build!) my favourite chorus.

[Canucker]

Small Clone and Boss CE-2 are my faves by far.