Maxon CS-550 Vintage Series

Very easy to use, I wish however it had a real knob to change the mix (blending) setting.

I mainly play through Fender and Gibson guitars, Strat, Tele and LP (you name it) into a Boogie Mark4 and a THD212 cab.

I have been on a quest for the ultimate chorus sound for a long time. I bought the Fulltone ChoralFlange few years ago and never looked back. To me, it still is one of the most versatile and beautiful sounding chorus pedal ever made.

I tried the Maxon several times during music shows and was impressed everytime, so I finally decided to buy one as I wanted to build myself a second pedalboard for live use.

To my ears and taste it sounds almost as good as the Fulltone, just a bit different. It has a slightly stronger feedback quality (a little more whoosh sound on the background ala flanger if that makes sense) that takes it a bit closer to a CE-1 than the Fulltone (hence the Police sound so often mentioned).

Otherwise, my description would be; wide, balanced, rich and thick, transparent and clean. Forget this annoying honkiness found on to many choruses. It can go from slight and pretty to huge ans thick without problem. The leslie emulation you can get is quite good as well.

I never use it in stereo, I noticed that output B has less bass content than A. It is also quieter than most analog chorus but just like the Fulltone it has a slight hiss when engaged but nothing problematic, just a normal trade off for a real warm anlog sound.

Someone complained about the volume boost which does happen. If you dont use the blend/mix knob on the back of the pedal to correct this, you will have a bigger, wider and louder signal when this pedal is engaged. Some will like it. This is not a problem for me as I always like to mix the direct and effected signal to reduces the pitch variation effect typical of choruses. My mix setting is around 80% wet/ 20% dry. I often set the rest as follow: speed 9 O'clock, depth: noon, delay time: noon

No problem until now. It looks and sounds very well built.

I play many different style and this pedal is spot on every time I need it. I have been playing for 28 years.

If it were lost or stolen I would buy it again without hesitation.

It is a well built, very good sounding chorus pedal. Appart for the difficult to adjust mix/blend pot on the back it is perfect.

The delay takes a little while to get used to, but it is actually a useful feature. All the standard settings can be found easily with the delay set all the way counter-clockwise. Once you get used to the two knob settings, you can start over and find some new depths with the delay knob (hint: you may have to roll back the intensity of the other knobs to find useful settings here).

I play 50's gretsches and an 80's Ric 360. 63 Bassman with an Maxon 900 Analog delay (true bypass mod), Boss tremelo pedal (Keeley modded), Voodoo lab sparkle drive (keeley modded)Creation Audio Mk 4 clean boost, Retro-sonic phaser and Chorus. While I truly love the Retro-Sonic CE-1 replica, this is just as easy to love for different reasons. A true representation of your original bass, mid and treble come through with the chorusing added, which many stomp choruses don't do. Usually, something is compromised. Highs are trimmed off, or lows are trimmed off, and I've seen mids actually get boosted! Not here. Truest spectrum reproduction I've witnessed...
Anything from the Police to Stevie Ray Leslie-like settings are easy to dial in, as well as UFO sounds and seasick madness.

Built like a Mack Truck

Quickly answered emails with thorough responses

The only down side is a bit of a volume jump, but that is of no concern for me, and Maxon's isn't the only one that does that, anyway. The Retro-Sonic and the Maxon CS 550 are my favorite choruses, but for different reasons (I've tried the Boss CE-1, Voodoo Lab Analog chorus, Retro-sonic ((regular and modded)), Boss CE-2, Roland RE-501, Analogman ((2 versions))and the Maxon CS 550). For me, this is a must have.

There are a lot of possible "sound solution", from easy and clear chorus to strange "japanese sci-fi b-movie".
I work just a little to find a vibrato chorus very useful

The best sound i ever listen to. warm, trasparent, natural...you forget this is an "effect"

Only an elephant can damage it! Little Problem: no 9v battery allowed only power supply

I use it in two different set up: in jazz contest with a Guild Manhattan X-170 and a valve ampli Carvin Vintage 16...i don't need nothing else..it's pure jazz tone
In a rock contest gives richness to my fender american strat power chords.
That's all i want from a chorus (and the other i've tried do it worst)
Finally...sorry for my english..i'm italian :-)

Pretty easy and intuitive.

My rig: Don Grosh Retro Classic (Strat) or Set Neck (Les Paul) into:

Fulltone Fat-Boost > Clyde Deluxe Wah > Fulldrive 2 > Fulltone OCD > Pigtronix EP-1 envelope phaser > Maxon CS 550 > Demeter Tremulator > T-Rex Replica > Dr. Z MAZ-18 or Bogner Shiva

I've had the CS-550 for a year now. It is a really good-sounding chorus - as others have noted, very rich and organic. With the Speed, Depth and D-Time controls, there is a huge sonic palete to work with, from subtle and transparent watery sounds to extreme sci-fi alien effects. I also have a Retrosonic Chorus Ensemble which is a very faithful reproduction of a Boss CS-1, and the CS-550 can come pretty close to the CS-1 sound. The only problem I've had with the CS-550 is that it brightens the guitar's sound significantly, to the point that the bridge pickups on my guitars (which sound really good on their own) can sound rather harsh. I don't have this issue with the Retrosonic unit (which is why the Retrosonic will probably replace the CS-550 on my board). The Retrosonic sounds a bit sweeter and fatter. On the other hand, CS-550 is a little more versatile, with more control of different parameters.

Never had a problem with it and don't anticipate any.

Never needed it.

I've been playing guitar in many styles (from classical to jazz to rock to acoustic fingerstyle) for 29 years. My current band plays all-original music, ranging from blues, to contemporary alternative to classic rock sounds. The Maxon has worked well for everything I've needed it for. As mentioned above, I think the Retrosonic CE is a bit more musical, but I'm tempted to hold on to the Maxon for the more extreme sounds that it can provide. Overall, a really fine pedal.

Super easy. This unit doesn't require any effort to dial in a good sound. It has knobs for Speed, Depth and, my personal favorite, D.Time (Delay) which allows for a variety of colors from subtle flanging all the way to mildly disorienting vibrato-like swirls. Most of the dial dins useable sounds and most of them lie firmly in the realm of chorusing so you should find what you're going for easily.

One catch though (and this is the 9), it has it's own input gain which is a great feauture but it's very difficult to adjust this knob. The manual suggests you just max it out and leave it. I find that it's worth rolling it back a little as it keeps the volume from getting out of hand (more on this below...).

This thing has a beautiful sound. It is very warm and transparent. It just sounds like my guitar but with doubling and shimmer. It's also completely quiet on and off. You'll never know it's on until you strum a chord. Fortunately it has an led for on/off so you don't have to guess.

I've found that the slightly flanged chorus sound is more interesting to my ear as it has a slight sweeping effect to it that makes the sound more complex but I know most users are going to prefer it's very Police-like glassyness that you'll find on higher D.Time settings.

If there is a drawback (and this is minor) it's that with the gain maxed out, the signal gets boosted. Rolling off the gain knob helps but also makes the effect more subtle. This isn't a big deal but it is something you should be aware of and prepared to cope with.

If you get ahold of this guy, here's my normal setting (all #'s are o'clocks):

Speed: 10
Depth: 12
D.Time: 7 to 8

...with the input gain rolled off just a touch to limit the signal boost when you turn it on...

This thing is built like a brick. It's rock solid and I doubt a gorilla could mash it. I'd gig it without a backup in a heartbeat.

Well...they don't make it anymore so I won't hold my breath.

I'm not a chorus guy. It just isn't normally the sound I'm trying to find. Despite that, this pedal will have a permanent place on my pedal board for those moments when I need that glassy color that you can't find elsewhere. I'm using it in a rock group at the moment but it'll probably grace my jazz rig as well for it's complete lack of tone coloration.

Highly recommended.

The usual 3 controls that are typical with chorus units, speed, depth, and delay time. The CS-550 offers a blend control not found almost any other unit out there. The blend control is a pain to tweak as it is a tiny control located on the front of the unit.

This unit's sound quality is simply outstanding. It is the warmest sounding chorus I've used up to this point. And I've used many. What puts this unit on top of heap IMO is the blend control that is featured with the pedal. It lets you blend the amount of desired chorus in with the original signal. This is a god send for me as I only use chorus to thicken up my clean tones up a bit. Chorus pedals typically add highs and thin out the signal a bit and this does not work for me. I set the speed at almost the lowest setting so that my signal does not modulate much on sustained chords. Depth is set at around 11:30 and Delay time at around 2:30. The result is phatt thick pristine clean analog extacy. Oh yeah, true bypass circuitry is standard on these units.

Built like a tank. I have a back up chorus though it is not the same. But I would not gig W\O a back up on this unit. Not that is unreliable, but because chorus is a great tool for clean sound.

Never dealt with Guyatone\Maxon

I play classic Arena rock, 80's rock and some of the new stuff out there. Our band gigs every weekend and this pedal is a great fit for our sound and Style. My gear is as follows. Two Agile guitars, One a les Paul, the other an explorer. And a Jackson Professional for whammy Stuff. The guitars run into a Rocktron Banshee talk box> RMC Teese Wizard Wah> Dunlop Rotovibe> Radial Tonebone Hot British> Two Peavey Tweed Classic 50 watt heads> Peavey 410E Cab. I use a Pedalworks custom effects loop and run a Chicago Iron Parapedal, The Maxon CS-550 stereo Chorus and A Visual Sound H2O delay/chorus combo pedal through the loops. Everything is analog but the delay pedal and I love my tone. Iget many compliments on my tone as well!

See other reviews for detailed instruction on how to use this very complicated piece of electronic equipment. Ok I'll tell ya, three knobs very easy to dial up whatever chorus sound you want.

Very quiet, crystal clear, playing through Music Man HD130. See other reviewers reviews for very descritive details. The english language is a beautiful thang.

Whad da ya think? Hey it's a MAXON no junk crap here!

Musicians Friend not a problem

This is for all the golden eared english language majors, that say there is no such thang as a tin oops ten, "yes there is such a thang as a 10 (beside Bo Derek) and this is one more 10 TEN TEN. Fabulous chorus pedal. Try one you will see what we all are saying is true. See other reviews for details on exactly how I would feel if it were lost or stolen.

Great versatility. All the controls have a wider range than many other chorus pedals. The Delay control is a cool bonus on a chorus pedal giving you control over more of the parameters similar to a rack unit.

Ah, sound. Even within the opinion curve of "excellent" there's still room for a variety of opinions when it comes to sound especially. I like the sound of this unit, and there are many more variations one can get out of it than many other pedals allow. While it's mostly transparent, it does add a "throaty" quality to the sound, a very mild boost in low-mids I'd guess between 350-600hz. The Q for the boost seems fairly tight around this region as everything else around it stays pretty transparent compared to bypassed sound. It doesn't sound as though the signal is boosted overall, though, just a bit around that range so it gives the sound a subtle, soulful, throaty quality about it. And while the variety of sounds you get out of this box is great, that throaty quality (again, it's subtle) can't be dialed out. It's kinda cool, actually, and in many situations I'd love it. It gurgles beautifully, but I can't seem to get a good shimmer out of it like I can out of my Boss CE-2 (w/my VOX AD120VT) or like you get out of a Roland JC-120 (used to have one, but had to hawk it while in college). Love chorus sounds of late 70's Alex Lifeson and late 70's Andy Summers (OK, most of his was probably EH flanger, but still :-).

Another thing about the sound that's interesting, but not what I really like in choruses, is that the mid focal of the soundstage is pretty forward and dry, whereas I prefer how the CE-2 kind of recedes the mid image a bit and spreads it across the stage more widely -- almost adds a bit of wet reverberation to create some space in the sound. Even with the widest delay settings on the Maxon I couldn't get the same sense of space. Now, for many people I'd think this is what's so cool about the Maxon -- except for the slight low-mid boost it sounds just like your dry guitar except with chorus added, whereas other choruses tend to wet your dry sound more and smear it around a bit.

The Maxon is exceptionally quiet with no noise or hiss (except for when cranking to max the depth and delay and then you do hear a bit of swoosh when not playing, but kick the effect off and it's quiet). The CE-2 is more shimmery and seems to retain the span of the frequency levels of your signal better. The Maxon does better gurgle and Small Clone type of watery depths sounds than the CE-2. But I admit, I think the perfect chorus is the one on the JC-120, so I'm planning on getting a CE-1. I haven't been able to compare the Maxon and the CE-1 side/side, but I haved played a CE-1 for several hours (and it did remind me of the JC-120) so I think I've got a decent feel for what a CE-1 offers. It's only my opinion, but while you could probably get close to a CE-1 sound out of the Maxon some probably wouldn't find it close enough. I could get a sound similar to my CE-2, but it still had a bit more forward dryness, narrower soundstage than the CE-2.

One last comparison: The Ross chorus is more similar to this Maxon than the CE-2. I also like the sound of the Ross better (wetter sound than the Maxon to my ears). However, my Ross is much noisier than either the CE-2 or the Maxon and isn't as versatile.

Seems very solidly built. Some might moan about the wall wart, but I've so many wall warts what's the point in complainin any more? It's better than noise/hiss if power supply were in the pedal.

Super quiet, versatile, with a wide range in its parameters, it may be just the type of pedal for those who don't like 80's style chorus sounds but who do want to add a splash of warm, soulful chorus with a slightly gutsy quality to their sound pallette.

Knobs for Speed, Depth and Delay Time, as well as a minipot on the front edge (alongside the input jack) which adjusts input gain.

Requires wallwart power- the pedal is labeled for 10v, but the stock Maxon adapter is very clearly a 9v piece, same as any Boss or Ibanez in circulation. I've also tried this pedal with a 12v adapter, and noted no real difference in performance except increased signal gain.

The only reason it doesn't receive a 10 here is because that gain pot is hard to access.

I've used this piece for recording only, with a vintage Telecaster and Les Paul Custom through a 2x10 Fender Vibrolux Reverb, though I also tried it in stereo with that amp and a Vox AC/30. I'm not a big chorus guy, wasn't in the '80s when they were relatively new technology either, but this is the best circuit of its kind that I've heard.

First off, yes, it can do the old Boss CE-1, just dime the input gain and adjust the delay time match the CE-1s range. That's also to say, it can do anything the CE-2 or MXR Stereo Chorus did and then some. Dial back the gain and you can get the "pristine" sound of the t.c. electronic pedal WITHOUT the signal overload issues which made that box unusable after distortion boxes. Run it in stereo, and find yourself surrounded with modulated signal- some "stereo" chorus boxes only send a modulated sound to one side, uneffected sound to the other, the Maxon sends the modulated sound to both outputs. If you've tried a Dyno Tri-Stereo (or the simulation of that sound in the Line6 modulation modeler), you'll be pleasantly surprised by the Maxon.

I was using this mainly as a Vibratone simulator on some tunes by a local singer in a style which used to be called Cosmic American Music and is now known as "alt-country" (the more things change...), and it did the job as well as any box I've tried.

The only sounds it won't do are the mildly flanged "steel drum" tones which some PolyChorus fans insist on. It's a more traditional chorus sound than that. Also, it's not really a Small Clone clone (er...), in that the sounds tend to be more lush and less metallic. The EH stuff is, as usual, its own beast.

Seems well built. Obviously, gigging pedals which rely on wall warts is tough unless you've got a pedal board or rack system with dedicated power, but this is one of those boxes where, if you need "those sounds" (and lots of session and for-hire players do), I think it's worth the effort.

No idea.

Chorus isn't really an essential part of my sound and I tend to prefer the uni-vibe tone for Big Electric Guitar Music, but when I need it, I know this box has the juice. I liked the sounds this box produced at least as much as any of the chorus patches in the Line6 box, and prefer it for CE-1 and Vibratone sounds over any other option I know of, and that includes the Lexicon rack gear I've tapped from time to time (still the best complex delay lines on earth, though).

The only reason I doesn't get a 10 here is because HC asks us to factor in value, and I see that these go for over $200 new. If I needed a chorus for regular gigs, a great chorus might be worth that much to me, but I'm glad I found it used.

Still, a great example of this type of circuit- makes the t.c. and Boss boxes obsolete.

Very easy to dial in. 3 knobs.

Sound is more organic than any other chorus I've used. I've owned several and this is by far the best. Doesn't destroy or change your tone as much as the rest.

No idea yet but it looks tough and I know Maxon makes quality gear? I may be jumping the gun but I believe it should last and there is a 3 year warranty.

No idea? I hear they're good?

I'd have to give this a 10 because I don't think I'll buy another chorus pedal ever. I go through tons of gear and this is as good as I've seen. I think there could always be something better but I haven't heard it yet? I do think the Teese Picture wah IS as good as IT will EVER GET. That's a definate, this isn't as final.