DLS Chorus~Vib

This pedal has 4 knobs, three of which make sense. The blend, depth, and speed settings are self explanatory. But the "delay" setting, 7 discreetly different settings, are a mystery to me. The difference in them is unclear, although one can hear it. A manual with some description would help. Getting the right sound out of this thing requires some getting used to, and I don't find them very convincing.

I have very little good to say about most chorus pedals and this one is no exception. While it is indeed possible to get many good tones out of this unit, as the previous reviewers mention, this pedal has many flaws that make it difficult to praise.

First of all, this pedal is very noisy when chorus is in. I have a Mesa F-50 and play several guitars through it. Lately, I've been playing my Strat through this pedal and I notice that an otherwise quiet setting launches into a hideous hiss when the chorus is turned on. In bypass, no hiss. In Chorus, lots of hiss. Unacceptable hiss. This is jut plain wrong for a pedal of this stature and respect. (Judging by the previous comments, I thought this thing would be flawless.) I tested this by plugging in my 12 year old DOD flange and voila - no noise in flange.

Second, this chorus has a curious ticking sound when the chorus is off. When I switch off the noisy thing into bypass, the hiss goes away. But there is a very noticable ticking noise in the background. Again, unacceptable.

Third, there is only a very small usable range of sounds. Let me say this another way: Many good chorus and leslie tones can come out of this unit. But there are many more useless, plastic sounding sounds coming out of this thing. It has tons of range and most of that range is horrible or sick sounding. And some of the "delay" settings are just plain unrealistic sounding.

Fourth, this unit really changes your tone in a very noticable way. It is in no way transparent. That's plain and simple. I would like to be able to send my guitar through it and get my guitar chorused. Instead, I get this tuby sounding effect that resembles my guitar a little with chorus thrown over it.

Don't get me wrong, this pedal can sound good, and it's built well. But I can't recommend a hiss factory, especially when you pay $190 for it.

I'm giving it a 10 because its clearly built like a tank. It's very heavy guage steel with nice pots.

Don't know yet. They're getting a call soon...

Very disappointed. Look elsewhere. I bought this thing based on the previous reviews and I'm sad I did. I don't have a local place to try one, so I took it on faith. After all, what other chorus scored a 10? Well, not this on any longer.

i finally got my chorus~vib yesterday. OH MY GOD!!! for one, this is the only pedal that does a tc elect's clean sparkle/shimmer thang. period! my tc finally bit the dust a few years ago, after almost 20 years, & the fact that they still sell for bloody $300 made me step back & have a look around. but it seems to be the vogue to copy the boss ce-2 because they equate it's sound with "analogue fatness"; i always thought they sounded too murky & busy. the tc not only let your guitar sound survive, it always made it sound better. but there was one area that could have been better.enter the dls effects chorus~vib! it does the sparkle/shimmer WITH BODY!!! and it doesn't stop there. it does analog fat as well, but without the murky cloudiness. and it does a decent leslie, to boot! i always felt the tc to be the only choice for a chorus. not any more! the chorus~vib has taken the reins, and adds a dramatic 3d quality to the mix. highly recommended!

Very easy to use. Has Blend, Delay time (rotary switch), Depth and Rate. It's hard to get a bad sound out of this.

Other than the DLS Ultra-Chorus which is the big brother to this chorus and perhaps the original Boss CE-1 (which needs a true bypass mod to truly complete), this is the ultimate chorus pedal. I've owned TC, Fulltone, Analogman, Boss CE1,CE2,CE3, CE5 and CE20 along with Maxon CS505, Ibanez and several others. There's really no comparison. The Blend control (which every chorus should have) allows you to set the mix of chorus to pure guitar signal. It's really nice to be able to just dial in a smidge of chorus for certain things where you don't want to be "swimming" in chorus. I found that this unit nails everything from Holdsworth to Metheny to Eric Johnson to Frank Gambale, the 80s thing, etc.

One important thing to note is that it's true bypass in stereo. As far as I know that's unique among these types of pedals. The TC is buffered bypass but it's a horrible implementation. It really thins your sound out and adds high end. Fulltone has true bypass but only in mono mode. I'm not sure about analogman but rest assured that this pedal gives you your original signal IN STEREO in bypass mode.

One other thing I should mention is that your guitar tone stays the same when the chorus is on. I'm not sure if it's because of the way they utilize the blended signals or if it's just part of their design but the guitar just sounds pretty much like your guitar except with the chorus effect blended in. For comparison, the TC Chorus (which I really like, by the way) changes the guitar tone quite a bit. It happens to work ok in chorus mode but only if you're playing clean. DLS' design allows the guitar to sound great clean, semi-distorted, or full-tilt overdrive.

Built like a tank. No other chorus has this type of construction. Heavey guage steel box. Very well made. You can email the manufacturer and speak with the head engineer directly...

It's also utilizing steel-shaft pots for more reliability

I'm only borrowing this unit so I can't say longterm but I've had no problems with my DLS Ultra-Chorus which utilizes similar construction

Great. You can email the engineer directly.

(I put the price in because that's what musictoyz.com is selling it for but I'm really just borrowing this)

What else can I say? Check it out. You won't be disappointed.

Once you look at the info sheet supplied it is really easy to set up. Great choice of differnt souds

True bypass, no noise. Chorus effects are really great, so is the phaser and leslie. Some of the more extreme settings go a bit off the scale, but thats not really my particular bag. Background chorus works really well. If all this sounds too good, well sorry it just is.Use it with a strat with 'bucker at the bridge as well as a tele through a Peavey Classic 30.

Built like a tank. Don't expect any sort of problem.

Don't know who Dave is but he answered my query on settings by return.

This was a bit of an impulse buy (I'm a bit of a pedal junkie) but now use it in preference to my other chrous pedals. Use it following a CS-2 AND IT SOUDS GREAT! It stays in line all the time now.

Very easy to use. there are a lot of possible combinations but the knobs are very intuitive.

This thing really sounds sweet. true bypass and the warmest chorus I've ever heard. I don't think the vibe part sounds exactly like a 'vibe' but it is still a very nice effect with its own character. I use this pedal at the end of a fulltone supa-trem, reverend drivetrain II and then the dls. I like the stereo-ability of it. it sounds really incredible as a stereo imager with two amps. Most of the time I use this with the rate very slow to give it a slight modulation. it sweetens up my setup really nicely without being overboard, although you can get some really overboard wiggles with this too. the only real weakness are the knobs, hard to adjust with your feet in a live situation, say if you wanted to change the rate without bending over. I replaced the small knobs with some off an old deluxe electric mistress that is dead and now it's perfect. and one final thing, there is a light that modulates to the rate of the effect so you can dial in the right tempo, just like my supa-trem. it's a must have that I never thought I'd use until I had it.

very reliable, built like a tank, no problems so far.

don't know, their web site is nice. lots of sound samples (not realaudio files, yeah!)

excellent, top of the line, chorus. if you're looking for a quality pedal this is the one to get. I tried the H2O liquid chorus, the boss chorus, and this was the nicest.

There are alot of sounds on this gem, so it takes some time to find all the ones you'll use. Believe me, there's tons of useable tones!! Sample sheet is great too.

I've owned them all including the TC Electronics and old bosses. NOTHING can match the superior 3 dimentional quality of the Chorus~Vib or the guy Dave who builds them. The sound is so beautiful. It can be warm or bright and anything in between. I never stop finding great tones from this unit. GREAT JOB DLS!!

Looking inside and out, it's built like a bomb. Very neat wiring and circuit board. Again, great job Dave.

Dave is very responsive and a guy who cares, even if your not a rock star. He's willing to help at any cost. Thanks for all your help DLS!

I know I know, another "10". What can I say? This pedal will always stay on my board. The unit and the guy are all top notch. You have to try this Chorus~Vib to believe it. It's so "REAL"!

This unit is very easy to use and comes with a very helpful instruction sheet. The sounds are excellent. I have used the Analogman Clone and the Maxon 550 which are both fine chorus pedals themselves. This pedal can simulate their sounds and some. Beautiful rich stereo chorus/vibrato or leslie effects.

I play a Americand Deluxe Fat Strat and a Godin LGXT. I come out of the effects send of a THD Bi-Valve into this pedal then back to a Mesa Boogie 50/50 stereo tube amp into a stereo open back AVATAR 2x12. The tone is lush and very clear. No mushyness in the tone at all. The dials are very easy to use and I can get numerous useful sounds out of it. The Chorus/Vibrato/and Leslie sounds are terrific.

The Build quality is outstanding very well laid out and the components are top notch from what I can see. I think you would have no problem with out a back up.

This is the best part. I have contacted Dave with DLS numerous times with e-mails and he has answered all my questions promptly and and assured my customer satisfaction with the product. These guys are top notch in my book.

I play a mix of original tunes and cover tunes. My music has a 70's type rock genere. I have been playing for 20 years on and off and would replace this pedal immediatly if it were lost or stolen. I choose this one after demoing a Maxon 550 and Analogman Clone. Both of these pedals have their own uniqueness and are of high quality. I just feel the DLS Chorus/Vibe is the Mercedes Benz of the bunch. I don't have a specific feature that I love about this pedal. All the features are top notch. This pedal has an important contribution to my song writing creativity and overall tone. I use this pedal in conjunction with a delay in a Wet/Dry cabinet set up in stereo.

3 dial knobs: Blend, Chorus Depth, Chorus Rate...also has a knob with 7 present delay detente settings. One input and two outputs for stereo, or you can select the 'Out A' for a warmer tone or 'Out B' for a bright tone. Includes a page with several different suggested settings for chorus, vibrato, and Leslie sounds. This made it very easier to dial in usable tones. With other chorus pedals I've had to spend a lot ot time dialing in something usable.

This pedal has a lush, full, rich chorus tone. There are lots of options but the included page with sample settings makes it easy to find something you'll like. If you dial it in just right you can also get a nice percussive chorus sound that works well for punchy rhythm tracks.

Setup: Strats and Teles into Holland Little Jimi and BF Deluxe Reverb.
Noise: Very quiet. Pedal is true bypass.
Signal strength: tone is always full and rich. No noticeable volume boost or drop when pedal activated.
Tonality: Should be able to get most familiar chorus tones out of this pedal. They even include a "Rush" suggested chorus setting.
Tonality: the Analog chorus is excellent, feels and sounds just as analog as my Japan-made Boss CS-2. All of the chorus sounds are excellent. Don't use much Vibrato or Leslie effect, but these are very good and very usable.

Very solid, built in a heavy steel housing similar to (but a little bigger than) a Fulldrive 2. Nice powder paint job, very professional finish. Would trust it to use without a backup. Note: Be careful if you remove the rubber feet to help it fit your pedalboard: there's a little star washer that fits between the two pieces of the metal housing, it will fall off when you take the screw out. You can see it easily if you inspect where the screws go through the housing before removing them.

Have not had repair issues, but I contacted DLS effects and asked a few questions before purchasing, also asked a question after the purchase. They were very quick to respond and very friendly.

Bought this from Musictoyz.com 8/02, this pedal just came out. I have a T.C. Chorus, a Boss CE-2, and a Boss Harmonist that has a very good chorus setting. I've also owned/tried just about all the other major chorus pedals out there, including Electro Harmonix (which had that metallic 'crang' feel), Ibanez, Maxon, and the vintage MXR stereo and mono choruses. The Chorus~Vibe is as clear and pristine as the TC chorus, but it has an analog warmth that's missing from the TC. The Chorus~Vibe does all the different chorus sounds but there's an added dimension to the sound. The mono even has a stereo feel to it. The only other unit that comes close to this added spacial effect is the old 1/2 rack Rockman chorus.
This is one of the best chorus pedals I've ever used. I've had it for more than a week and have spent many hours trying different settings with different guitars and different amps, wanted to give it a thorough test drive before posting a review. Also gigged with it this weekend and it passed the "live gig" test: it sounded just as good live as it did in my living room, and it cut through the mix (I've had trouble at times getting my CE-2 to cut through the mix). Another thing I like about this pedal is that once I decided on my favorite setting, it sounded good with my other guitars and both amps. I've used chorus pedals that sounded great with my Strats, but when I plugged in my Teles there was something missing...I had to reset the dials for each guitar and amp. Another cool thing is that my favorite setting works well with a few different Delay settings. I normally use '3,' but is also sounds good on '4' for faster songs. If you want a warm, analog type chorus that is clean and clear enough to cut through the mix, and easy to dial in the sounds you like, I'd suggest giving the Chorus~Vibe a try.