Electro-Harmonix Small Clone Reissue

Very easy to use. One large rate knob and a 2 position depth switch. Easy to plug in and play without looking at the operating instructions. Th manual is written a small piece of paper and there's not really a lot to explain so no problems there.

I currently use the Small Clone with a Fender Lite Ash Telecaster (with added series tone) and am looking to purchase possibly a PRS SE Custom Semi-Hollow for a nice range of tones. Tried it with said SE in a shop and it sounded great! My amp is a Laney VC 30-210 (I'll get a Hiwatt Hi-Gain 2x12 50W combo when I win the lottery, lol!) which I find stunning for the price, especially with the combination of Tele and Small Clone.

This is where this pedal is let down. The construction is not the best. The thin metal used on the case doesn't look all that sturdy. The paint on the top is easily scratched. The battery compartment is a little fiddly and uses a screw to access which I'm concerned about threading if I'm not careful. The most annoying part is the switch which is noisy when pressed and (has been mentioned before in these reviews) can maks a 'pop' when connected to an amp and activated for the first time. It's a shame this pedal is sold on its vintage status as much as it's sound as I'd much prefer it was housed in a more robust and noise free box (vintage enthusiasts will be sticklers even down to the tiniest details!).

On the other hand, had this pedal for a year and it hasn't died on me yet, no need for a customer return. Points for that.

I compared this pedal to a number of other chorus pedals. It was the sound that eventually sold it for me. I only wish Electro Harmonix had made a more updated sturdy box but I guess that wouldn't be keeping with the vintage nature of this pedal. -1 for the construction and 9 overall as the sound is stunning!

One knob, a switch and a stiff button.(break in the button before using through the amp or you'll here a loud pop when engaged).

Its not necessary to read the manual unless your excited and on your way home to try it out.

This review is over the reissue EH 4600 Full-Chorus and i give ease of use rating a 5 because although its easy to figure out, i believe an input line level control should of at least been added to smooth out the sound "clips" produced when playing with a heavy hand.(this was just one of the problems i had with it.)

I use a 2004 Gibson ES 333 with original pickups and random amps(mini fender amp, ampeg bass amp, dual caliber mesa). I bought this pedal because it is "All Analog" and already owning an Analog Delay by Dunlop i wanted to keep that warm, unprocessed sound in my effects loop. This pedal produces great sounds(on a clean signal) that i did not here in the Boss chorus ensemble and after 20 minutes of playing with it i became a fan. As for adding distortion i found that running this pedal through a mesa dual caliber with a 12 inch speaker produced a great and surprisingly clean sonic sound(its too bad it doesnt sound great with anything else i tried.)Kurt Cobain has been a great influence to me for many years and i just recently discovered that he used this pedal so i just wanted to see for myself what the fuss was all about.
I give the the sound rating an 8 only because running the pedal through the mesa changed my doubts about its potential as being an important piece in my collection of devices.

The pedal iam reviewing is the one of two i received from a local music store, I tried the first out for an hour and it sounded great. The first was a blemished one that produced a nasty DISTORTED sound with very little chorus(which i noticed when i brought it home) and the new one is more quiet and sounds CLEANER, so there goes it reliability points.
This unit is built like a flimsy tank and it would only make sense if it was priced less for that. Just about every major effects pedals company has improved their products durability such as Dunlop whos MXR pedals are built like bricks that can take damage and can cause more damage if thrown. Iam just afraid i'll crush this thing like the aluminum can it once probably was.

The only support i got was from the guys at the music store who had that "I knew this was going to happen" look on their face when i brought the first one in. They gave a new unblemished pedal at no additional cost. It didnt seem generious as much as it seemed sympathetic, i ignored other more prectigious pedals around the same price only to buy a dinosaur pedal that was once an industry standard and should now be extinct.

I started to experiment with technical sounds created by moog synths, heavy riff picking, and vintage effect pedals for the last 3 years. I am originally a punk rocker who has now had a change of taste. My advice as far as for chosing the right pedals is to always go to a shop that lets you try it out with an amp and guitar similar to your own or arrive home dissapointed. I knew what i was getting(problems) when i purchased the first pedal and Iam glad I got another pedal. Its amazing in its own way and having a legend just feels good and looks good in any effects board. This pedal is known as a one trick pony and take this phrase into consideration when wanting to purchase one.

In the future i plan to purchase a T.C. electronics nova system(an awesome all analog effect board) to accompany a MESA amplifier. Both products are very advanced that go hand in hand and are part of new great developments in instruments for ALL types of musicians.

very easy to use not much to it at all. It didnt come with a manual but it really doesnt need one.

it's the best sounding chorus it could find and i have ever heard.Its very nice, warm and watery sounding. I originally didnt want to buy one but after comparing it to boss and line 6 chorus pedals i had no choice but to buy it coz it sounded so much better than the others. And its analogue NONE OF THAT DIGITAL CRAP!!

it doesnt seem to sturdy compared to my other pedals but i havnt had any problems with it. It it was mistreated i think it would break fairly quickly

never had to deal with elctroharmonix.

For anyone who wants a good quality non artificial sounding chorus pedal i would recommend this pedal. If it were lost or stolen i would not even consider buying anything else.

This pedal is one on the simplest pedals out there. One speed knob, and a width knob.

I actually a/b'ed this with an Ibanez CS-9 reissue, and there was no decernable difference. They both were a little lost in the distortion, but they both had the same analog chorus vibe. Years ago I tried a TC Electronics and thought I'd never find a chorus that could hold a candle to it. The Clone not only has comparable chorus, but seems to be built stronger, and costs less then the TC. I've read about a "pop" that can happen when you engage the chorus, but I haven't had a problem with that. Definitely more character and warmth then any digital chorus.

This pedal had been sitting in the shop for quite some time before I bought it, and there seems to no problems. The stompswitch as a Switchcraft, which I'm a big fan of.

Great analog churus for an incredible price. I never had a chance to try an original, but the only E-H pedal I've heard there be a huge difference between new and vintage is the Russian Big Muff vs the E-H reissue.

Very easy to use

In my opinion there is no better Chorus pedal out there then the Small Clone. You get the best sounding chorus effects out of the pedal! I gig 3 nights a week and have been for the past 12 years and I've gone through a million different chorus pedals until I found this one. You can't beat the this pedal!

Reliability is aboslute shit and the only downside to this pedal. The first one I bought, the switch fell into the body cavity and unless you mail in your owner registration card within 10 days of buying it, the warranty is void. So I had to buy another one. I bought another one and about 2 months later, its sucking the volume and its not working right. I get it checked out at Guitar Center and it has a circuit board problem so they gave me another one. 4 months later, same type of problem. When I step on the pedal, the volume gets cut about 90% and the whole effect isn't there only have of it. I keep it in a professional pedal board case, never beat/stomp on it and never get any liquid on it so I know its the pedal not something I'm doing. If it didn't sound so damn good I'd never buy another one but since its the best of the best, I keep replacing it.

Pain in the ass. You have to mail in the registration within 10 days of purchase otherwise any manufacturer warranty is void. If you do mail it in and something happens to the pedal, you have to jump through a ton of hoops to get it fixed and pay for the shipping so by the time you get it back 3 months and $30 worth of shipping fees later, you may as well have just bought a used one that works for the same price and not have to wait.

Very easy to use, switch doesn't have much use unless you want a really light chorus effect.

Probably one of the best stand alone chorus pedals you can get. Makes digital pedals sound.....digital! Warm.....watery....just the best chorus sound.

Reliability.....electro-harmonix make great sounding pedals but the Small Clone is perhaps one of their worst for reliability. Ive had to open this up and re-solder parts more times than I care to remember just because EH wanted to save on construction cost. Ive gigged with it 3 times and on each occassion the pedal has just randomly cut out my whole signal and then come back on again without me even touching it.
I can guarantee that if you gig with this you will be opening it up sooner or later.....Ive spoke to others who own this pedal and they say the exact same thing!

Whats the point, its fairly obvious what goes wrong when it does and I wouldnt want another one from EH unless they bothered to actually spend some money on its flaws.

Gets 5 because its rendered almost useless for a working musician because of its reliability problems. I have a soldering iron with me when I go gigging but sometimes it just cuts out when it wants to and other times it will be fine. Such a shame because it really is one of the best sounding chorus pedals out there.
If your going to rate a pedal on here wait until you've had time to experience it properly...

Can't get any easier: one depth switch, one rate knob. I am even thinking about getting a Small Stone because of this design.

I run it with a Squier Strat (rewired / new pickups) through a Bassman-like amp (it is not custom, but its brand is unkown by the most: a brazilian company called "Phelpa") with a 4 x 10" cabinet. Its switch might be a little noisy at times, but the switching is usually unnoticed. The effect sounds great; it is very easy to dial in great sounds with it, as well as strange ones - like the ones you get with the depth control up and the rate knob around 4 or 5 o'clock. I don't even miss having a depth knob instead of the switch (although I recognize it would be somehow useful).
I play rock - something between Uriah Heep and Pearl Jam - and it fitted right away, from the first rehearsal.
The only thing I do complain about is that it sounds a little too trebly for my taste. IMHO, it definitely needs a high cut - even through a bassy amp like mine. I have never tried it with a Les Paul or any other guitar with more low end, but I feel it would still sound too trebly; too metallic (at least for me).

Have been using it for more than 6 months now. It seems that I will be able to depend on it for a long time. The aluminum case still looks almost untouched - but, of course, I don't abuse it.

Never had to deal with them.

Great value. I've been playing for 10 years and would definitely buy a new one if it were stolen.

Pretty straight forward. 1 dial and 1 switch. The dial governs rate - from slow tremble to extreme warble. The switch governs intensity which can either be a really 'wet' chorus or a more subtle 'drier' effect. Some people may not like the fact that this is not a dial which can be used to fine tune the depth. I like this pedal BECAUSE of its simplicity.

I use a Gibson Les Paul with Semour Duncans (mostly) into a Marshall JCM 2000. Not the most diverse of pedals but sounds tremendous when used for nice warm chorus work. Come As You Are by Nirvana??? very similiar to this.

Hmmmmmmmm............I know that this firm are very popular and i bought a good few of their pedals in the late '90's. BUT........
I have found them to be unreliable. The small clone tends to die if the battery gets to weak. It doesn't fade to give you some form of warning - it just stops working! Although EHX pedals are the best in sound quality for analogue pedals i have had problems with most of the pedals i have purchased from them. (incl Small Stone, Electric Mistress, Memory Man) The build quality is generally very poor. It is really easy to break off the wiring from the circuit board when you are changing the battery and it is a bit of a rigmarole trying to close the bloody thing up aswell. I use tape for added security. I think that EHX go for looks over functionality most of the time which is disappointing. If you can come up with pedals that are built as well as BOSS but sound as good as EHX you can retire now!!! The rubber feet also fell off quickly causing the pedal to rock about annoyingly and the paint job scratches far to easily. In the box it looks great but when you take it out, it all goes downhill from there.

Yes, called them once and the girl had a cool Bronx accent. Could have listened to her all day!! But seriously...........I live in Scotland and would be dubious about sending a pedal transatlantic to get repaired. If you buy these pedals make sure you have a good engineer close by to fix them!

FOR : Classic rich chorus sound, easy to use, not THAT expensive. Classic '70's sounds.

AGAINST : Fragile pedal, breaks down when battery gets weak, Classic '70's build quality.

It's a pedal, and a simple one at that. 1 rate knob, 1 depth switch. You stamp on it to make it work, you stamp on it to make it stop. The 'manual' (looks like a bad pub flyer) is frankly rubbish, but you don't need it anyway.

It has been said before but it's worth repeating. If you want a generic chorus sound, don't bother with this pedal. If you want a vintage, alternative, new-wave, grunge, or stoner-rock type chorus then this is the only pedal to get. The settings run from a very subtle swirl to full on lunacy, but I reckon 90% of the sweep is usable - all but the most extreme settings.

For reference, I'm using a Gibson LPS - Dunlop 535Q Wah - E-HX Small Stone - Keeley Mod Ibanez TS808+ - Keeley Mod ProCo Rat II - Digitech Whammy - Marshall TSL602. The E-HX Small Clone and a Boss DD-3 Delay are routed through the FX loop. I'm mainly playing grubby British rock.

Ooooh, here we go. Not as tough inside as it looks on the outside - the innards were rattling about loose when I got it. I opened it up and found that the circuit board had been attached to the chassis with sticky foam which had lost its stick. Stil worked okay though, but I had to do a bit of DIY to set things straight. The paintwork looks like it might scratch easily as well. Despite that, nothing has gone wrong with the way it works, so I'll be generous and give it a 7.

Never dealt with them. The website has all the info you'd need though, including a load of live demos.

I love this pedal, despite the iffy quality control noted above. It has a unique sound, perfect for alternative rock, even if (like me) you can't stand Nirv*na. Been playing on and off for 16 years, but only got this pedal a few months ago. I can't understand why it took me so long.

Plug it in and play.

I bought this pedal a little worried I would lose some low end being that I play bass. My roommate owns one and a hardly ever used it, so i decided to gig with the pedal a few times and fell in love. It has its nirvana-esque appeal to the pedal but it really has its range. No low end was lost and the rest is history.

Seems fine so far. Only gigged with it about 10+ times.

I have heard bad things, so I am hoping mine won't crap out. I would hate to have to strange someone. But it has a warranty, so I will be generous.

I play alternative rock and this pedal does everything I need and more. I am planning on upgrading my pedal board with many more electro-harmonix gear because from my experience and others, they are well made products with the sound not many people can turn down.