DOD 690 Chorus

Two buttons: effect on/off, speed one/two. Four knobs: depth, width, speed one, speed two. Ample surface area for foot contact, even after a few shots of tequila. This has likely been producing nice chorus sounds for over thirty years. The speed one/two button ramps up or down respectively. This is a very subtle and smooth transition.

This is my first chorus pedal for a long, long while. I have been using rack mounted gear. It occurred to me lately that my rack choruses were kind of thin and lame, so I set out to find a nice pedal. I found two: the DOD 690 and a Boss CE-2. I use both now. They are worthy comparisons. For purposes of this composition, my rhetorical device shall be compare and contrast of these four chorus options: DP/4 Ensoniq rack mounted, DOD 690, MOTU Chorus plug-in, and the Boss CE-2.

The DOD 690 is my first choice when adding chorus to my guitar rig. Subtlty is the key. It is a "transparent" effect. Even with the width and depth maximized, the chorusing is crystal clear. I don't believe there is much in the way of LFOs at play or other Holdsworthian artifacts. It sounds much like the Ten Foot Pole chorus of Billy Gibbons's guitar. Can't remember the album. Maybe El Loco. Anyway, if I leave the DOD 690 on, I often forget that it is. It's easy to assimilate to the sound. The altered tones are silky and comfortable. Switching to a faster speed invokes a Uni-vibe vibe. It's not nearly as thick as the Dunlop, but that is good. Slathering the guitar in effect takes some building up to. This unit provides the listener with an hor'dourves with which to whet their appetite. The whetter the ear, the thicker the tounge. No need to shove it in there willy nilly. It requires foreplaying.

There is a bit of an underlying hiss. The Fender combo picks up on it more than my Mesa/Boogie rig. Noticing the hiss, per amplifier, probably has more to do with their uses--practicing or ruining my hearing, respectively.

I bought it used through eBay. It seems to have weathered a respectable amount of signal. Once I opened the Sherman Tank of a chassis, and the electronics seemed very clean and solidly soldered, routed, secured, and fastened. The writing on the top of the unit is still intact. The buttons function just fine. The knobs do what they state.

eBay.

Then, when I'd like to increase the presence of my chorusing, I engage my CE-2. This adds a whole new layer of tone. As this is an interaction, depths and widths can make or break the relationship. I rarely go to the CE-2 first, but will in a pinch as the Boss on/off lever is somewhat more accessible, but this is likely a matter of its placement on my pedal board.

When I really want to muck up the sound, I will engage my rack choruses. I use an Ensoniq DP/4 and it is the reason I've found these two chorus pedals to begin with. The DP/4 choruses are not for me. They suggest a chorus sound. They are, however, merely images of a chorus--wraiths, specters, apparitions of chorus.

Motu's plug-in choruses sound pretty decent. I don't use them live. Yet. I don't send/return the DOD 690 into Digital Performer either. These are incomparable choruses at the moment. I may try to send/return this pedal, if only for the heck of it.

The DOD 690 plugs directly into the wall (or powerstrip) without a wallwart. I do find that to be convenient. Perhaps it's not. I like that there are no batteries. I believe it could survive a nuclear blast. I hope never to find out.

This is got to be one of the coolest pedals I have. The more I use it the more places I find to use it. Some of the best sounds come when its ramping from one speed to the other. I don't know of any other pedal out now ( except for the H&K rotosphere) that has this feature.
you can set it to be a very gentle chorus, but with the intensity jacked up , it sounds more like a vibe. and a damn good one at that.. Very rich, very complex sounds.
I was going to originally use this to replace my old rockman half rack chorus, running from the line out of one amp and splitting the signal for a stereo rig, but it sounded so good in front of my 67 showman head. I just got to make room on my board for this.,
CONS::::
the pedal is one of the older DOD's a big blue one about the size of 2 regular pedals
has a internal power supply , no wall wart..( really not a con.)
has a very slight clicking sound when in bypass mode. so I dont beleive it is a true bypass. but you must really listen to hear the clicking. in a live situation you cant hear it at all.
PROS:::
Way groovy vintage pedal, with rich velvet, almost liquid, swirls of chours/vibe, that makes me want to play and be creative. how can you put a price on that!
9 for pristine sound quality
99 for coolness and fun factor

looks like its built to last. this pedal was given to me in non working condition. After a trip to the repair guy and $60 bucks later.
It looks like i wound up with a super sexy chorus/vibe that might rival fulltone or prescription, but for a lot less. plus the 2 speed ramp thing is the coolest part of the pedal. sets it apart from the competition. from my point of view.
I gig without a backup. live without a net.

any repair dude should have no problems with this thing.
mine was ready in a day. op-amp and LED replaced.

I play mostly blues/rock/southern/country/its a memphis thang/ little bit of it all. I've had a strat and fender amps giging for 20 years.
I agree with the other opinion here, get one of these, If you can find one. Anything that allows me to nail (George Harrison something & while my guitar gently weeps and a lot of the Austin--- SRV, Bramhall, Ian Moore,etc.) tones, all for a few skins, how could I not love it.

This is an old analog stomp box from the late 70's very early 80's. Next to the Boss CE-1 this was and still one of the best sounding chorus stompers out there (analog or digital). It is difficult to get a bad sound out of this unless you turn the speed past 70%.

Being a old stomp box this critter does not have patches. INstead you get 2 switches: effect on/off and Speed. There are 4 knobs; depth, width and speed 1 and speed 2.

With the 2 speed settings you can have 1 set slow to give you a nice lush chorus and 2 set faster for more of a Leslie warbble. Something nice about the speed switch-when you change speeds the the speed ramps up or down instead of kicking right into it so you get a natural sound. Excellent.

If you need a manual for this you need to go back to preschool

This is what a chorus should be: rich, vibrant and transparent. No tone sucking here. And very very quiet. I am using this with my les pauls, strat, doubleneck and explorer and it complements the guitars tone instead of coloring it. Running through a Peavy Classic 50.

23 years old and still rugged as a tank. Nuff said!

Looked inside it: no corrosion and all leads are soldere cleanly.

Would not know

I've owned a boss ce-2, boss ce-3, EH memory man deluxe, digitech rp-1 and MXR micro chorus looking for the bitch chorus, and none of these did it (see sound quality) The DOD 690 (if you can find one) is it!