Anyone love modulation?

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psychodave
psychodave
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I have always loved modulation, but mainly preferred phase and flanger sounds. Lately, I’ve been loving chorus sounds. I prefer subtle modulation…not anything overbearing or domination the sound.

What do you guys like?

Here is what I have been tinkering with the past few days.
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I never use much reverb.

I’ve always loved the MXR flanger, but at times it can be over powering. My settings in the above pic make it sound like a chorus. I’ve owned the phase 90 since the mid 1980’s. I would just leave the phaser on all the time. lol
 
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Yep, always loved Chorus. I have a ton of them, and have built several. The Analog BBD stuff like the CE-2 and Small Clone are cool, but I also really like digital Chorus that is mixed in parallel via analog dry through. I recently got a TC Electronics Corona Chorus that has a good TriChorus Sound. I also like the old Digitch MultiVoice Chorus pedals also. I find these better for subtle than the analog stuff. The Rocktron 8-Voice Chorus is legendary.

I also like Flanger, but mostly use it as a hollow metallic sounding Chorus.

I never really got into Phaser or Vibe as much.
 
I dig phasers. Hard to beat the MXR EVH. Sounds killer.

Flangers can be hit and miss for me, but I love the FoxRox TZF2. It can be subtle or extreme with the whole through zero thing. Just a killer pedal all around.

My new favorite modulation pedal, though, is the Jam Pedals Retrovibe mk3. I’d wanted a vibe for years and finally broke down last year. Set to chorus with the knobs between 12-1, and it’s pretty much perfect for that vibe-type of thing.

Edit: I also like the Analogman Clone Chorus. To me it’s more of a workhorse type of pedal. Nothing too “amazing” about it per se. I actually prefer it set more subtle than not. Whereas I think the Retrovibe comes to life when it’s dialed in more obvious.
 
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Modulated delay >>> Chorus. You still get the high frequency swirl but with less low frequency warble.
yes; Holdsworth used 8 parallel modulated delays with different settings for his "chorus" and other sounds.
 
I do love pretty much most modulation but I just find it's mostly a toy that isn't applicable to what I'm doing. I have a Meris Mercury 7 that I mostly bought for fun and games with a pedal steel but the steel didn't have enough levers so I sold it. Let's just say that thing has realms unexplored inside, both horribly dark and eerie sounding and also angelic and beautiful. An amazing unit.
 
Is modulation where you plug something in between the guitar and the aux input on the radio?
If so, than yes.
 
I have always loved modulation, but mainly preferred phase and flanger sounds. Lately, I’ve been loving chorus sounds. I prefer subtle modulation…not anything overbearing or domination the sound.

What do you guys like?

Here is what I have been tinkering with the past few days.
View attachment 321090
Yep, dig it. Those are some great classic pedals there. Even the newer MXR Stereo Chorus is highly underrated. I honestly believe if MXR would put it and the gray box flanger in a smaller footprint they'd be even more popular.

Here is my current board, got all my mod needs covered. The chorus I have been bouncing between the Vahlbruch, Providence Anadime and Neunaber Inspire for a Tri-Chorus sound. Flanger and Phase, I'm all about the MXR stuff with those. And then the AutoFilter is used for the Marty Friedman trick to add a little vocal characteristic to solo lines, basically everything is set to off, turn on the pedal and it gives you this subtle vowel like effect. Very cool.

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the $99 jhs chorus pedal is a great bang for your buck pedal

the ibanez airplane flanger (paul gilbert sig) pedal that is now discontinued is also terrific!
 
Im a big fan of detune which doesn’t have the warble. I also like a digital slap back delay mixed really low in parallel with a dry signal to give some space for leads. I don’t like reverb on high gain as you seem to lose yourself in a mix unless you have the headroom to push through it but it also causes low end to turn to mush. I do like hearing reverb on cleans though as long as it doesn’t get waveboard surfer washout
 
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