Arion DCF-1 Chorus/Flanger

nice amount of knobs for fine tuning sounds:

(1)level(blend) + (2)tone(which seems to work like a level knob too?)+ (3)f-repeat( adds nice regen to the flanger portion only) +(4) depth +(5)speed + mode( s,m,l for both chorus and flanger, six settings total both do the same thing for each effect)

one input, two outs(stereo) and a remote + adapter

Anyone who has some experience with foot pedals should find it not to be a problem at all. The fact that there are 6 presets for the flanger/chorus allows for subtlety in the settings. Other than that its not too hard to get up and running quick.

ok. I had to buy this pedal as i was not about to shell out $80-$100+ that some people are dropping on ebay for the sch-1. I used to have an arion sch-1 about 15 years ago and yes, the sound was amazing, but this pedal can just about get you there with some added bonuses.

the 1st setting on both the ch/fla is meant to give you a wide band sound, very useful for that hollow tube sound that does not modulate. with the speed cranked up you can get quite a good vibrato that does not bend the pitch.

the 2nd setting on both is richer and with the depth cranked to the max can give some nice warbling( Think GBV's "Alien Lanes :))

the third setting allows for more of a detuned sweep but adds a nice ambient fast delay slapback which is perfect for getting that frippian "beat" era king crimson. you can almost get identical sounds from settings 2 and 3 the only difference is the added slapback, which i think is really nice.

this unit is nice and quiet. it can also self oscillate into some really nice bending sounds. the flanger never becomes too out of control, which i think is a plus, due to the fact that most other 80's flangers are 1/4 useable and the rest just absurdity.

if your looking to dial in Wire's " i am the fly", this pedal is for you.

all in all the chorus is good, but you can get that and more using the flanger portion.

The big appeal, to me , for this pedal is the fact that it sounds very digital. I think current digital pedals are trying way too hard to sound analog, which is kind of like a deviled egg trying to taste like a plain hard boiled egg, it's just not possible.

it looks to be much sturdier than the regular analog units that arion makes. I dont thrash or stop pedals with a pair of roach-killers, so i really dont worry about breaking pedals on stage or anything. i would use it without a back-up, definatly

hey just got it, give me a year or so..

for 30 bucks, which is what i originally paid for the sch-1 15 years ago, its worth every penny. I know these kind of reviews are used as ballast for e-bay sellers to gouge you with the " look at these amazing reviews " which will link you to this site or review, but just be patient, that is what those sellers hate, and you will end up getting a deal.

for the money and the many different useable sounds, and the icepick in the forehead 80's coldness, this one's for you!

You can get a good sound out of this thing easy. GREAT sounds take a little tweaking.

Just try this thing clean and A/B it. The stereo spread simulation is priceless. The deep chorus mode is the closest thing to an ADT machine than anything I have ever heard. A cool detune effect with a nice little slapback gives you instant ambience without muddying up your tone. It's the all-in-one instant David Gilmour pedal. The deep flange mode is nuts! It is really a "What the hell was that?" kind of effect. Very clean and crisp.

I gig with it, but you have got to keep a backup. Sometimes the sweep on the chorus or flange just don't want to sweep. The pedal is obviously still on, but isn't "going anywhere".

Dear God, use a power supply, because it will either: A) Not work at all and have its little red LED flash on and off or, B) Drain the life out of your batteries just like any other delay effect.

Plastic. Cheap plastic. Damn that plastic cheapness.

Maybe I should give them a call...
Cheap plastic using bastards...

If you want to get an awesome ambient guitar effect, get this bad boy. Instant "Hey You" vibe on arpeggios and open string stuff. Too bad it's made so cheaply, because the sound is amazing. I would die if it completely crapped out on me.

Takes ages to get to grips with. It takes a while to work out what alll the knobs actually DO.

This is a very strange pedal. Sounds digital. But a nice digital. This pedals charm for me is it its versitilty. Turn on chorus 1, Very subtle, chorus 2, a nice warble, chorus 3, whoa!

Seriously, this thing gets SUPER weird on the 3rd chorus and flange settings. You can hear the delayed signal beating back at you, slowing down and speeding up and the pitch ducking and diving. I love noise so its right up my street. The chorus is a little dissapointing but the flange is AWESOME with a real glass bottle-ey sound to the sweep. One of the best flangers I've heard.

It works, but is fragile You couldnt pay me to use this thing at a gig without back up, I keep it to use it in studio.

I wouldnt take it anywhere I thought I might break it. I use it mainly when recording for the amazing flange and the "What was THAT!" crazy effects. Its pretty rare. Effectsdatabase.com dosent have it. Just look at the amount of reviews for it here. Well worth the money I paid for it though.

hello, all. there's roughly six knobs and a selector switch. You might need to take a chunk out of your daily schedule just to play with this thing. the six knobs are labeled : level, tone, repeat, depth, speed, and mode.

the "mode" knob has two functions -- chorus and flanger. there are three settings for each; short, medium, and long.

this unit uses certain amounts of tweakable ms delay time to process the modulated signal and out through your amp. if you're not familiar with delay units, I'd shy away from this because chances are, you'd be VERY confused.

Needless to say it took me awhile to work with it to get a useable sound, and with six knobs you'll be there for quite awhile trying to get the perfect sound out of this box.

speaking of sound, as far as this unit goes, it has a very DIGITAL sounding chorus and flanger. more like a vintage digital sound though. It's very 80s sounding in it's own respect.

as far as the different sounds you can get from this box, you can get some very subtle chorus effects, and you can also get some very, very out of this world alien talk--but not the kind you'd expect. This takes all chorus pedals to the floor for alien warble. this thing sounds like a talking alien in a test tube that's being thrown in the washing machine. SUPER cool... but is it useable? not sure. the chorus is very very subtle though, it's either full on alien talk or it's barely audible.

I did an A/B test between this pedal and my Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble. I kept trying to convince myself that the Arion sounded good, but the CE-5 just smoked it to the floor. It shamed the Arion.

BUT--- there's another function on this box that no other pedal can compete with.

The FLANGER! Ahhh...this thing is the sweetest sounding flange I have heard in a long while. This does those 70s swoops, it's like a spinning speaker thrown onto a flanged tape reel with a hint of chorus and delay. It sounds like you're playing through a GLASS TUBE!!! It's super cool. It reminded me of the DigiTech Turbo Flange sound, except better and more defined. The flanger can get pretty intense -- I thought the unit was going to blow up at me.

and speaking of blowing up -- did you know that this unit self-oscillates? probably not in a way you'd want it to, but mine makes alot of funny noises, kind of like a mix between ripping genuine leather and squeezing a duck really hard. the problem is, it doesn't quit when you shut it off. it's really soft, barely audible, but you can still hear it. I've had to plug and unplug the power supply, unplug the guitar and amp input/outputs, and i've even had to pick it up and shake it, and hit it a few times on it's back to make it stop. oh well...it's going out in the mail today anyways.

Arion reliability. It's made in Japan, but it gives japanese products a bad rep. I've already had one Arion *ALMOST* break on me...I got rid of it before it actually did (see review on SAD-3). Arion has a problem with their Stereo/Direct switches...this one has done the same thing as the SAD-3 did to me in the past, but I fixed it somehow. I think I gave it a good smack on the bottom or the base.

I wouldn't recommend *ANY* Arion products unless they are solely for home or studio use. I would not trust them for a gig, I'd have to go hunt the company down and sue them for embarassment on stage.

I doubt they're even around. Musicians' Friend still sells some of their pedals, but they're almost obsolete. I wouldn't trust Arion's customer support more than you can shake a stick at. Or trust their reliability.

Overall, it's a nice box. The chorus kind of blows water but the flange makes up for it. There's alot of unuseable sounds to be found in this box, so if you're willing to expirament and FIND a use for them, then tally-ho to you, young gentleman.

Personally, the thought of this pedal abruptly quitting on me scares me, but I've gotten rid of it anyway. The self oscillation is unlike a delay unit's self oscillation in that it just makes noise. Very annoying noise. And the way I have to disconnect it and hit it on the back to make it quit working is ridiculous. However, it's a very rare pedal, and if you're a pedal collector you might consider buying this.

It looks like I'm the only one who is willing to review this unit, so as an overall opinion and a final word, i'd like to say, "one man's trash is another man's treasure", meaning if you don't like this box, somebody else will (and vice versa). cheerio!