Bass Chorus vs Chorus vs Phaser - What's your choice for modulation?

Which modulation pedal would you choose?

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    137
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#61
I like phaser a lot more than chorus on bass, but without a clean blend, it's like "Wow, the bass is really strong...wait, where did it go? Oh wait, it's back again...oops, now it's gone again," over and over. So I opted for chorus instead. Tried a lot of them and went with the Bass Chorus Deluxe. MXR's Analog Chorus is also really sweet, but I thought I could use the BCD's flanger as well (I can) and the crossover circuit that cuts the effect on the lowest frequencies so you don't get the bass washout (nice feature but I ended up thinking it didn't need it...now put it on a Phase 90 and I'd be all over it).
 
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#63
The t.c electronics corona chorus would be an excellent choice for a chorus pedal for bass. I own one myself and it is a great sounding chorus pedal. it also sounds awesome with overdrive and distortion pedals. if you want one more pedal to add to your pedalboard, give flanger pedals a try. the t.c electronics vortex flanger and the thunderstorm are really good choices.
 
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#65
I have my ceb3 chorus for the subtle up top shimmer only... hate when chorus is applied to the lower strings... and same with flanger / phaser, when they are over used I don’t really like much. Used to use my PS3 in mode 8 for a dual detune type chorus but now can’t stop looking at the digitech nautila, sooo lush with multi voices that even makes the flanger sound sweet without too much fading in and out.
 
#70
Rickter said:
I am looking to add some modulation to my pedalboard and have become torn between Chorus (my preference) versus Phaser. Any mod pedal I get will also be sitting next to a wah pedal.

The main times I would be using this would be during arpeggiated passages in my metal band's songs (Iron Maiden-esque passages)and during particular songs in the praise band sets at the church I play for, so I am looking for something to cover some fairly diverse ground. All of my basses are fretted P or PJ style, but I do plan to eventually add a fretless to the mix as well.

Which are your thoughts on the mod pedals listed in the survey? The top contenders right now are the Boss CEB3 and the TC Dreamscape, but I am open to suggestions.

*EDIT: I will be running an dry DI signal in tandem with my effected signal, so bass frequency loss may not be a deal-breaker where a mod pedal is concerned.
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I would seriously consider the Source Audio Orbital. This way you could have both. Some have had trouble with the interface but it's pretty straightforward imo. It can be had fairly cheap. Its worth, at least, checking out.
 
#72
All of these sound pretty good to me or at worse, good enough. I'm an effects junky and also a tweak geek who likes lots of options. The Dreamscape might be ideal because it's all there in one pedal, you just have to get on with it's sound and are not opposed to using the TonePrint system to customize things. It has stereo/in out , so maybe that helps with connectivity for you.

For my own setup, the TC Corona and Helix made the most sense, although I do have some of these others for adding analog flavor. But again, these two have stereo in/out. I really prefer this whenever possible in modulation and other effects. They are also extremely flexible because of the Toneprint system, and work with a variety of instruments. But maybe you don't need all this.

As RumblinThunder posted, The Source Audio lineup is excellent as well. The Orbital Modulator's phaser won a blind sound test on Talkbass some time back against some well-regarded analogs. But use your own ears of course. I have their Lunar phaser and it excels on bass. They also have their own app system for customizing sounds.

A quick 6-phaser shootout
 
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#73
@Rickter get a Southampton Utility knife, it's easy to use and perfect on my board. Sounds great too!
 

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#75
+1 for Tech 21's Bass Boost Chorus.

However, I do love Henretta's Golden Years phaser for a nice, light effect. It's not a super drippy Bernie Worrell phaser... and for my style, it doesn't need to be.
 
#77
eriky4003 said:
For phasers, consider the MXR 95 which combines sounds from the 90 and the 40!
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Pretty much came here to say this. If you can live without a battery option the 95 is a great pedal if you want variety but don't like fiddling knobs.

I keep the phase speed really slow and mix between 90, 45, and script on/off with plenty of different gigs. Phasers IMO are good for anything with long sustains and pedal tones, especially at subtler settings.

I've recently taken to using the 45 setting on script with reverb for solo tones. Sounds way more compelling than unaffected bass and nobody can quite put their finger on it.
 
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#78
If you are or thinking-of using a stereo rig (excellent for extended-range bass...depending on your range and content preferences), I have found the Digitech ‘Luxe and the Electroharmonix Epitome to be very useful and not tone-sucks. I have had a variety of mod effects from inexpensive to expensive as stand-alone and part of higher end multi-effect units. The Epitome, in stereo imparts a wide stereo image and mod effects really get ‘big’.
 
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