A good Wah and Chorus pedal?

[Stevepage]

Hey all. I'm considering getting a Wah and Chorus pedal. The Wah, because I'm starting up a Metallica Tribute band for a bit of fun, so I'll need a Wah for some of the solos. A chorus for making my clean tone a little warmer.

Now which pedals would you suggest? I must add that they must have true bypass.

[Afghan Dave]

The Wah, because I'm starting up a Metallica Tribute band for a bit of fun, so I'll need a Wah for some of the solos...

Kirk is VERY discriminating with his use of the Wah... so good luck spotting the rare moments when he tastefully employs that subtle effect. :?

How much money do you want to spend?

[Antag]

IMHO, the MXR M134 Stereo Chorus is the best chorus pedal money can buy.  Perhaps not the cheapest but has an absolutely huge range of chorus sounds & bulletproof construction.  Listen to any of my clean clips in Players to hear it in action...

As for wah pedals, I'm a big fan of the Morley Bad Horsie for ease of use (the switchless operation is a winner, as is starting the effect at the "bottom" of the sweep), great sound, seriously tough construction + the added advantage that the wide base means it will never tip over (though this is a moot point if you attach it to a pedalboard).  However, I appear to be in a minority on this board in holding that opinion.  All I will say is "try it!"

[Twinfan]

MXR Chorus is superb sounding but:

a)  Isn't true bypass
b)  Needs an 18v power supply
c)  Is quite large

I replaced mine with a Tonerider SuperLush Chorus.  Runs on regular 9v power, is a nice size and is true bypass.  For me there's no better option out there, and at £60 it's fantastic value  :o

http://www.tonerider.com/effects/superlushchorus.html

http://www.dangleberrymusic.co.uk/p-176-tonerider-pedals-tonerider-effects-pedal-tonerider-superlush-chorus-pedal-true-bypass.aspx?CAWELAID=346245739

For wah duties, a regular Cry Baby or the Bad Horsie are the standard option.  Try both and see which you like  :)

[Philly Q]

The Wah, because I'm starting up a Metallica Tribute band for a bit of fun, so I'll need a Wah for some of the solos...

Kirk is VERY discriminating with his use of the Wah... so good luck spotting the rare moments when he tastefully employs that subtle effect. :?

 :lol: :lol:

[Antag]

MXR Chorus is superb sounding but:
a)  Isn't true bypass

Really?  I'll take your word for it, however on my pedalboard, I have the ability to bypass all the pedals (which are effectively in a loop) & I cannot tell the difference between bypassing them or having them looped in but switched off.  I cannot hear one iota of difference or any extra noise.

Surely if you use decent cables, quality pedals & a quiet power supply then there's not much to gain from having true bypass?

b)  Needs an 18v power supply

...which is supplied with the pedal. Also, several powersupplies (e.g. Dunlop DC Brick) include a few 18v outputs.

c)  Is quite large

Yep, it does have a larger footprint than, say, a Boss.  But it's not the biggest.  Surely the size of the pedalboard is determined by the pedals on it, not the other way around? :)

[Twinfan]

I wasn't saying the MXR wasn't any good Antag, just some things about it that might not suit some people  ;)

Steve wanted True Bypass, so that's his choice.

My power supply doesn't have an 18v out, so the 9v of the Tonerider is more convenient for me.

Not all of us want bed sized pedalboards!  I have a good sized one, and everything must fit on that.  The MXR Chorus itself, plus it's power supply, take up a lot of room  :)

[liftman]

A Colorsound wah is great with fuzz/distortion and has got a good big sweep. I've got a re-issue but I think they do occasional runs of them.

[dave_mc]

Kirk is VERY discriminating with his use of the Wah... so good luck spotting the rare moments when he tastefully employs that subtle effect. :?

+1 :lol:

+1 on the tonerider chorus, it's very nice.

i'm not a fan of the crybaby. still haven't got round to modding mine, surprise, surprise (though in my defence my computer broke and i couldn't get online to get the parts), but if you are willing to mod, that might be worth considering. There don't seem to be too many good, but cheap, wahs available here, we get gipped on the prices here for most things.

Surely if you use decent cables, quality pedals & a quiet power supply then there's not much to gain from having true bypass?

surely it's the other way round? i never noticed pedal tone-sucking when i used to have cr@ppy gear, but i do now.

not that TB is the be-all, end all, of course. But i'd much rather have TB than a cr@ppy buffer.

[badgermark]

The Wah, because I'm starting up a Metallica Tribute band for a bit of fun, so I'll need a Wah for some of the solos...

Kirk is VERY discriminating with his use of the Wah... so good luck spotting the rare moments when he tastefully employs that subtle effect. :?

 :lol: :lol:

I'll sell you my DIY Hammett signature wah. Everything you need to sound like the man himself.

[Andrew W]

If you're happy spending a lot of money then the Area 51 Wah is the nicest I've played through.  Sadly it wasn't mine and I had to give it back.  I have one of the red Fasel Cry Babies now and have found it to be the best bang per buck to my ears.  I used to have a Budda Bud-wah but it didn't really tickle my fancy (too narrow in its sweep) but that might quite suit you if you're copying the delicate styings of Mr. Hammett.

[tomjackson]

I'm currently using a Digitech Hardwire Chorus which I got from Andertons new for £60 (think it was on offer at the time).  It's solid, sounds great and it is true bypass.  It is digital though so it's pristine for it which to me is not as warm as analog but compared to my Carl Martin (Which I sold) it seems to cut better live.  It is warm and lush sounding but has digital clarity, compared to the softer edge of analog pedals.

I like it but still may try a tonerider....

[Alex]

Wah: For under a 100£ IMO the Zakk Wylde Wah is the best deal. It is really usable and works without problems, does what it's supposed to.

[Dazza1004]

With the wah I would consider a switchless one,

I use the Morley Bad Horsie II. It's so much easier being able to quickly jump on and off with having to worry if it's turned on or off properly. Only downside is if you like to leave the pedal half c--ked a lot it means you need to stand there with your foot on it, or go with a 2 wah set up.

[bucketshred]

Chorus, I have no idea. I find it a bit cheesy so I never really use it.

However, when it comes to Wah Wah pedals (and without going into all the nonsense of boutique stuff) then the Vox stuff has been the sweetest. I've owned both Bad Horsie pedals (which sounded like a cartoon version of a wah and faaaar too modern) and three Crybabies. Two of them were standard, both far too shrill. I owned the Slash Wah and loved it for a while but it was 18v and I never used the distortion.

The only problem is MY Vox is that the feet at the button end of the wah have fallen off (which means I sometimes turn it on and off when wah-ing) and it doesn't have a power suppy as it is quite old.

Paddy