Re: [Harp-L] Chorus pedal

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Boogieman Peeps wrote:
<never used any pedals (although I have a Boss DM2 delay that has sat there
<unused for years); thinking about using a Chorus for some tunes where I
<carry horn parts.  any suggestions on make & settings?  swing & jump blues
<in mind.

First of all, guard that DM2 carefully.  Plenty of people like that delay, and if you're not using it you can probably get good money for it.

Second, a chorus isn't the best tool for horn parts.  A chorus is a modulated delay, meaning the delay time is very short (usually around 20 milliseconds) and constantly changing.  The result is a thickening of the sound that has a distinct "whooshing" feel to it, which increases as the amount of chorus in the mix increases.  It's a very nice sound, but not particularly "natural" (whatever that means), and not really suited for playing horn parts.

The best tool for a harp player who wants to do horn lines is an octave doubler/pitch shifter.  I'm very fond of the Digitech RP devices for this purpose, and they're pretty inexpensive.  The Digitechs do one doubled voice at a time; the Electro Harmonix HOG or POG provide multiple octaves and other intervals at once at a much higher price tag.  (You can get a Digitech RP150, which has a nice pitch shifter, for less than $50 used in good condition; I don't think I've ever seen a HOG or POG going for less than $300.) 

Regards, Richard Hunter


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