Rocktron Deep Blue Chorus

Easy to get a good sound, simple layout, three knobs, self explanatory. Had no use for the manual. Noticed the same thing as the previous reviewer regarding the A/C adapter jack, but I use batteries most of the time so its no biggie.

I use a Les Paul Classic and a Gretsch through a Fender Silverface Deluxe Reverb amp. Pedal is not too noisy. Initially, I thought the tones were good. The pedal can give you deep chorus sounds, and some weird sounds. However, as I played with this pedal I noticed two things. First, if you get the depth or intensity too low, the pedal sounds very thin, almost digital (I emailed Rocktron and the pedal is an analog chorus, not digital). Pedal seems to sound best with rate and depth at moderate settings, too low sounds digital, too high sounds too strange and weird. The second thing is this pedal seems to give a slight volume boost, and distorts my clean signal. I tried rolling the volume off on my pickups, and that just made the effect too weak and muddy. I got rid of this pedal and purchased a Small Clone chorus by Electro Harmonix, and the Small Clone does NOT distort my clean signal and it sounds much better across the board. In my opinion, the Rocktron pedal has a sweet spot, and in that sweet spot it sounds great, but that just doesnt cut it for me. My Small Clone sounds great on just about any setting. I dont think this pedal is terrible, I just dont think its that good. Maybe it would work better with single coils, I dont know, its just not my cup of tea. I think I would even purchase the digital Boss chorus pedals before I would purchase another Rocktron chorus. I also have an issue with reliability, which Ill touch on later, but for sound its just average.

O.K., this pedal comes in a large aluminum case, which seems indestructible, but the knobs are VERY loose and feel cheap. By the way, this pedal is made in CHINA. Shortly after I purchased the pedal, the blue LED light started to flicker, then it started to go on and off, and before I got rid of it, it rarely came on at all. The pedal still worked, but I started to have my doubts about the build quality. Bottom line: I didnt trust it.

I emailed Rocktron and asked them if the pedal was digital or analog, and they emailed back the next day. So, for me anyway, they were very helpful.

Been playing for a while now, wanted a good sounding chorus pedal that would be reliable. This pedal was just too quirky for me, with the limited useable sounds and the suspect build quality. I think that the Small Clone is much better, and I also think the Boss pedals are better, even though they are digital. I gave this pedal a chance, I wanted to try something new, but there are better products out there. Ill stick with my Small Clone for all of my chorus sounds.

Easy to get a good sound out of, just turn the knobs and let your ears guide you. There are only three knobs: rate, depth, and intensity. Getting a good sound is not the problem here. I purchased this pedal because I liked the tone, and because it could be powered by my SKB pedalboard. I dont like batteries, I like to put my effects on the board and leave them there. This pedal has a Boss style 9 volt AC adapter jack on it, so I figured it could be powered by my pedalboard. As it turns out, the little pin inside the AC adapter jack is larger than the same pin in a Boss/Ibanez/Digitech/MXR pedal. For those who like batteries, this is not a problem. For those who are looking to use AC power, this is a BIG problem. None of the AC adapters that I had would work - and the manual states "Use 9 volt AC adapter". I had a special cord that came with my pedalboard that connects to the battery leads on the pedal, so I was able to use that and get by, but if you have no such cord then batteries may be your only option. For some this may not matter, but I dont have time to keep changing dead batteries, so this was an issue for me. Rocktron needs to change their AC adapter jack so it is uniform with the other pedals. Dont advertise that it can be used with any Boss style 9 volt adapter if in fact it wont. I have had other Rocktron pedals in the past and have not had this problem. Because of this, I am giving the pedal a 6 in this area.

Now, on to the sound. I use Fender tube amps and Heritage H-150CM guitars. I have tried or owned most of the chorus pedals out there, both analog and digital. I liked the Rocktron Tsunami chorus pedals, but they are just a tad too big for the pedalboard. I saw this one, and its smaller than a Tsunami, so I decided to try it out. I A/B'd the pedal against a Guyatone Micro Chorus, which is a nice analog chorus pedal. The Deep Blue chorus had much more range, and many more sounds. You can get anything from a subtle chorus to all out leslie like warble. The chorus effect also sounded deeper, and more intense. On most settings I had to keep the intensity knob turned down or the chorus was too deep for my tastes. I was told by the store owner that the pedal is analog, not digital. I have not confirmed this, but when I compared the Deep Blue chorus to the Guyatone analog chorus, it sounded better. This pedal is VERY flexable, dont let the three knobs fool you, they give you A TON of sounds. To my ears, the sound is full and warm, and you can get a very nice "pulse" by turning the rate knob up. At very low rate and depth settings, the pedal can sound a little thin, but it quickly fattens up as you turn the knobs. This chorus also blends very well with my Visual Sound Ultimate Overdrive and my Boss Mega Distortion. Im very pleased with the tone, its much better than the Boss and Digitech pedals. I think this pedal is analog, but Im not sure. Im going to email Rocktron and see if I can find out. This pedal enhances my clean tone, and sounds great. Im giving it a 9 because nothings perfect in this world.

So far, so good. Aluminum chassis is rock solid, and the switch feels good. The knobs are a little flimsy, they feel like they could break off if you bumped them hard enough. This pedal was made in China, Rocktron pedals used to be made in the USA, then they moved production to Korea, and I guess now they are making them in China. Only time will tell if the Chinese can make a good stomp box. Be careful with those knobs!!

I use this pedal to enhance my clean tone. I play overdriven/distorted most of the time, but when Im in the mood I go clean, and thats when the Deep Blue chorus shines. Bottom line is that I like the tone, and it fits on my pedalboard. I dont like the AC adapter setup as mentioned earlier, but the sound of the pedal is great. I like the range of chorus sounds that I can get out of it, from subtle to over the top. I have been playing for 9 years and have owned LOTS of chorus pedals, both vintage and new. This one is a keeper.