Visual Sound H2O Liquid Chorus & Echo

I'm talking about all three (Original Script V logo, New V over circles logo, and the New V2), one at a time below.

Overall fairly easy to use, but no two versions are the same. One minor complaint: delay settings drift. Found that when I used the battery clip rather than the AC barrel jack that was taken care of in version 1 and in version 2. I can't figure out V2 (version 3). After playing for hours, the delay becomes like the original. Long is long; short is short but usable. At first, short sounds like bad digital reverb, and long sounds similar to the original short. Time shift is very strange, especially considering that these are digital delays designed to sound analog.

Script V logo - the original (1999 to 2002 or so)

Great sound. Warm analogue chorus...noisier (hissy), but as good as just about any analogue chorus on the market.

Delay also sounds really good. (Just use the battery clip to power it in your pedal board)

Block V logo - the second version (2002 to 2007 or so)

Chorus sounds like a high pass filter was inserted at about 200-240Hz. Engaging it means the body of your sound (where the fullness and--sometimes--boominess comes from is gone). Not bad if you're playing a solid body and you're in a band with a rhythm section, but if you've got a jazz box or an acoustic and you're using it without a drummer or bassist around, you'll really notice it and not like it one bit. On the other side, a vibrato setting (fast and not too deep---rate at 1-3 o'clock/depth at 10-12 o'clock) is really cool. Much better than the original. This isn't enough for me to keep it though.

Delay is the same...same glitch too. The only thing I notice, just a little, is that the volume of the dry signal seems cut when you crank the delay level.

V2 - The new guy (2008-Present)

Chorus is interesting. Same as Block V logo (everything below 240 Hz or so goes bye bye when you engage it), but it has that 80s lush switch, which is kinda cool. Although I never have the need to sound like Alex Lifeson circa Presto. So, I'm not a fan...Don't like the new foot switches either. I like to know it's engaged by feel. With the new one, I have to do a quick visual confirmation...no pun intended.

The new delay takes the glitch to a whole new level. Unusable short...unless you like really bad digital reverb. The long isn't bad, but it has a noticeable drop in volume.

Overall, the history is this. The original was warm, but a little hissy. I used it for more than 10 years...live only. The second version is alright, but I probably won't be keeping it around too long. And the third one didn't last a week...couldn't stand it. Personally, I think Visual Sound is starting to get in the habit of shooting themselves in the foot.

The original one just died after 10 years of heavy use, (live, on the road use). Not too shabby.

I don't think I'll find out with the two new ones...

Starts with an 8, moves to a 6 and ends with a 2. Not too good.

I've been playing for 20+ years, and I'm kinda ticked off a Visual Sound. I really liked the original pedal. But, que sera sera...

The manual is ok - the suggested presets will get you started. After that, it's just a matter of tweaking the knobs a bit to get the sound you're looking for!

This is by far the best sounding chorus pedal I've ever owned! The Echo effect is just a bonus, in my opinion! The combination of these two effects is great! I have used other chorus pedals in the past, but found that they boosted the treble and volume of my amp when I kicked them in, so I found that I had to adapt to playing with the chorus on all the time. This pedal doesn't do that! For that reason alone it was worth the price, but throw in the fact that this is the most lush sounding chorus effect I've ever heard and it's a real winner!

Not sure about this, but it's built like a tank! I'm hoping that it's as rugged as it feels!

No opinion here - haven't had to use them!

I would recommend this to anyone who needs a chorus pedal that can produce a variety of useful sounds! Throw in that echo effect and this is a combination that will turn heads! Well worth the money!

Although all of the controls are quite simple, I did have to work a bit to get the sounds I was looking for especially out of the chorus side of the H2O. This is probably more a result of me looking for a very particular sound rather than problem with the design of the pedal. I was also coming from the Electro-Harmonix Small Clone whose single knob and switch had probably spoiled me!

I use a 1998 Godin LGXT, a 1995 Godin LG (with a SD Phat Nack in the neck and SD P-Rail in the bridge), and a newer Gretsch Country Classic through either a 60 watt Music Man with 2 tens or Vox AC30.

The chorus side of the H2O is pleasantly subtle, and the tone of your ax is not at all buried. It is also capable of producing a wide range of sounds thanks in part to the inclusion of a "lush" switch. With the lush switch off, you have access to a range of tones that are more flat and flanger-like--though not as overbearing. The lush settings are just that, fuller, warmer, and more what I think of as chorus. The sound quality is really rather high and the unit itself is pretty quiet, however it may be just a tad less warm sounding than I personally like. That said, this is part of my touring rig.

The echo side is slightly less impressive. The short/long switch is great in that I have been able to find a balance setting for the overall pedal that allows me to choose between slap-back and spacy-echos with one flip. This is great for the application I am using for since I need to keep my pedal board small enough to fit in an overhead. While the sounds are very usable, they are not overly impressive. In short, it is 'good enough.' It is not harsh, cold, or sterile, but it could be warmer and more analogue sounding. Also, I would love it is VS added the trailing off feature that my old delay pedal had which meant that, after you turned the pedal off, the sound naturally faded away rather that suddenly disappearing.

In all, the pedal does everything I need it to do and sounds just a tad short of fantastic. It is its versatility that has earned a permanent spot on pedal board, but my I will be keeping my eyes out for other chorus and delay pedals that I can fall in love with for recording situations.

After a year of use, I did have to have VS replace my H2O. I lost all control of the speed setting intermitantly.

Great. The above mentioned problem was handled fast and no questions asked which made up for the unit's failure in my mind.

After using this pedal for well over a year, I can say that, for the price, this pedal is hard to beat. I sounds very good, has lots of options, and is not noisy. I am glad I purchased it.

I do have to say that having this pedal made in China does bother me, and I was unaware of this fact when I first bought it.

Dead Simple - no need for a manual. Even my mum could get a good sound out of this pedal!

Chorus a bit swishy on unsubtle settings, but I'm only using this live and it ain't an issue for me - it's quiet enough.

I like the chorus and the echo sounds a lot - very natural sounding to my ears

I've only recently bought this - the Mk One version, second hand. I've gigged it twice including last night and on the spur of the moment I used the chorus and echo with a Line 6 Distortion Modeler (the Chandler Tube Drive sound) and I swear it was the sound Alex Lifeson uses on Red Alert. Knocked out by it. Only used that particular sound on one song though.

My set up currently is a PRS Standard 24 Satin 20th Anniversary and a Clapton Signature Strat into:

Boss Tuner - Cry Baby Wah - Line 6 Distortion Modeler - Tube Screamer - Boss Graphic EQ (primarily to boost solos) - H20 - Boss DD3 Delay - Boss Pitch Shifter

All the effects are on a Pedal Pad (MKS) and go into a Cornford Roadhouse 30W head, with a Marshall 2 x 12 and a separate 1 x 12, running in mono (the second cab used just to provide more spread)

Very happy with it - the H20 had added a lot to my sound

no reason to question it's reliability. built like the proverbial brick **** house too.

no dealings heard good stuff about them though

I play 70's & 80's covers. I like this pedal coz it sounds a wee bit different with the chorus (it doesn't sound generic)and gives a pretty warm analog sounding echo too

Typical configuration for a chorus and delay pedal.

guitar: Charvel San Dimas Model 1-2H
amp: Mesa Boogie Express 5:25

Inserted in the effects loop of my amp - very quiet with a slight boost in volume. Full bodied tone, very lush - this one's a keeper.

As far as I can tell - should be fairly reliable.

Haven't used it - can't say...

I own chorus pedals made by Boss, Digitech, Guyatone and Rocktron - I now have a new favorite. I also own a Boss and Digitech delay. I've never been satisfied with their tone. The short delay setting on the H2O is very organic in tone compared to the others. The long delay setting is more digital in tone but still pretty good.

Its a no-brainer pedal (or really, two). The controls are obvious. I haven't read the manual, I rarely do unless it's some new digital thing. It's the latest model (purchased mid 08) I had an older version which I sold.

I have several strats, a tele, a Jazzmaster and a Gretsch Roundup. A Fender Twin amp, a Vibroverb (old black face with Altec 15" speaker) and a Blues Jr.

It's a quiet pedal, no noise to mention. I use a regulated AC adaptor with it, I don't trust batteries !!

The chorus is rich but not too thick. I like the addition of the normal/lush switch, the Lush setting allows the natural sound of the guitar to come thru, where the normal sounds alters it around the mid and low end. This was the reason I sold my old one and I'm glad they added this switch.

The echo/delay is the best I've heard of any pedal I owned before. It doesn't have buckets of effect volume when you crank it up all the way, but I've never had a need to go this crazy setting. why ??

Although it's not a full bypass, I haven't noticed any loss of signal like others have reported, maybe they're really picky. I think they've done a really good job of this.

This new model is a rock solid diecast box, the upper ridge offers some protection from stomping the knobs or even knocking them, where the previous model was made from sheet metal. Still good, this I feel is better. I would feel confident in not taking a backup with me. If it failed, I would just unplug it. My life don't depend on it.

nope, nope.

I've played on and off for around 40 odd years, play rock/covers, funk, jazz (old and new), bass (when I really have to). I like to be able to recreate the original sound and feel and I also like to improvise my solos ALWAYS !! I don't like to play the same thing twice. I don't go for effect pedals too much apart from distortion and overdrive, only use chorus and echo when really needed. My other pedals are MI Audio crunch box and Tube zone for distortion and a vox or dunlop (don't remember) wa pedal.

I have the original H20 not the V2. It take ssome tweaking but the manual provided give syou some good standard jumping off points. I bought it for the echo and to us ethe chorus as a backup to my analog.man. It blends well with my othe rpedals thus far.

What I like best is atmospehere I get from the echo/delay side. Next, the chours is decent. not fantastic, better than less expensive stuff for sure. It sounds so much better when I run it with the analog.man unit simultaeously. I put each on slightly different settings and WOW! It sounds like a wall of guitars.

The delay side really gives my solo playing serious beef and depth.

I havent noticed and problems with tone sucking so the buffer must be decent.

This thing is built like a tank. I have confidence in it.

No opinion, I bought it used. They seem liek a good company I just wish they would make these true bypass. I may have someone do it anyway if its possible. The buffer inst bad.

I think would replace it if broken accidentally or stolen. I have been playing for 30 years on and off. I have just really taken to it again in the last 2 years. Play it with my D'Agostino Benchmark two humbuckers with coil splitters and a Les Paul faded special with P-90's It sounds the best with the Dag but good woth teh P-90's too. I definitely ought it for the echo/delay but like the added chorus. I wish it was true bypass. Overall, it s great pedal worth the cash.

This is an update of my earlier review. I had a hard time getting settings I liked at first, but now that I've found them, I'm an enthusiastic user of this pedal.

The thing is thick and heavy, which all cuts back on ease of use to I'll give it a 5.

Love the delay on this pedal, now that I've figured out how to set it up. Really organic sounding, better than a Boss DD3 I used to own. Just perfect for me with all three knobs set at around 11 o'clock.

The chorus side works quite well too. It brightens the sound a bit, but I don't notice the volume increase others have mentioned. I use it with the sweep knob all the way down most of the time.

Seems reliable overall but the thing really eats batteries. Seems like most chorus and most delay pedals have the same problem. Before I would have to change batteries every two gigs or so, so sometimes I just didn't bother bringing it along, worried it would die mid-gig.

Since I started using PowerBug batteries I've been able to use it more.

I play indie rock, some classic rock as well. Works great for both, very happy with this pedal. Great buy for the money.

The new V2H2O is pretty easy to use--no manual necessary, although the manual does include some good sample settings, 4 per side. However, no specs are listed in the manual and they wasted 1/2 of it advertising their other products. Other than a new Normal/Lush switch for the chorus side, the knobs/switches are the same as the original H2O (Chorus: Speed, Width, Delay Time; Echo: Echo Time, Repeats, Effect Level, with a Short/Long switch). It also has a 2nd output jack for a dry signal.

This pedal is blowing me away so far. It doesn't color my tone when it is off. And both sides sound very analog--truly impressive.

The Chorus side really shines. I can get Boss CE-5 smooth and lush to a 70's type sound to a Leslie type tone--a truly amazing array of chorus sounds. The only catch with the chorus is that when the switch is on "Normal", highs are increased at the expense of some midrange. It doesn't sound bad at all, but it did surprise me. When the switch is on "Lush"--and it really is lusher--it doesn't change your tone, just add a very lush chorus to it.

The Echo side has a pretty good range of both echo and delay. When the Repeats knob is fully CCW, it provides exactly one repeat, which is great--others I have tried still do 2-3. However, when the Effect Level is all the way up, the echo isn't as loud as the original. It won't kick my Boss DD-20 off my board, but it sounds very good.

The only thing that would make this pedal True-Bypass is if the slick new stomp switches actually popped and/or snapped. The buffer is just incredible and has no color that I can hear. I thought I heard something at first, but after extensive testing with both my amp and GT8 using headphones, I think it was either all in my head, or, any change is just because I had to add another patch cable.

I would gig without a backup. The build quality is very solid. Nothing plastic other than the Normal/Lush and Short/Long switches. The bigger back seems there to protect the back of it as well.

I am not giving it a 10 because when I first plugged it in, it distorted some and behaved very oddly. I plugged it into #6 on my PedalPower2 (5-6 on the PedalPower2 can power the Boss twin pedals) and after a seconds the lights stabilized and the tone cleared right up. If Visual Sound were to publish the milliamps required for this pedal, I bet it would rival the Boss twin pedals. However, I have also heard that sometimes with fresh solder, it stabilizes during the first 1/2 hr of use, so maybe that is what happened. It only behaved oddly that first time I plugged it in.

Don't know yet, and considering the build quality of this thing, I doubt I will need it.

I play blues, rock, CCM, R&B, and some funk. I started almost 17 yrs ago on bass, and added guitar shortly thereafter (but I have played maybe 5 yrs total in all that time).

My setup is as follows:
Fender American Standard Hardtail-->Keeley BD-2 Phat Mod-->Fulltone Fulldrive 2 Mosfet (blue sparkle)-->V2H2O-->Boss DD-20-->'65 Twin Reverb Reissue. All cables in the chain are Evidence Audio Lyric HG.

If it were lost or stolen and I still felt a need for chorus/echo, I would definitely get this one again. I love the bypass, the wide variety of tones it makes, and how it looks. I am not so crazy about the lower echo volume or the tone shift in the chorus.

Easy to use, controls are very responsive. It has "two" independent sets of controls for each effect. Awesome!

I just bought the 5150 III head and was looking for an effect pedal that would "compliment" the already killer sound I'm getting from the amp. I have a 89 Les Paul Custom, Fender Strat, Tele, Wolfgang, and Rhoads Jackson. As you can tell by my selection of guitars my tastes in music are really broad. This pedal, for the money, is the best one out there. Slight delay you get the early Halen sound, definitely Rockabilly, Robin Trower, just about anyone you can think of. Engage the chorus with an acoustic or electric, Boston sound. I do notice a slight increase in volume when I engage the chorus, not too bad, just being nit picky.

The only thing I would have a backup of is batteries. This unit can be drop-kicked and nothing will happen to it. More sturdy than a stinkin' tank!

Never dealt with them

I play rock, metal, Christian you name it. This is the most versatile and great sounding pedal for the money. Again, two pedals in one and totally independent of each other. I looked at other products that cost 300-500 dollars for one of these effects let alone two this one does the trick. I would even go as far as saying this is probably better than most of the more expensive models. The construction reminds me of Fulltone products, complete quality. I'm going to start looking at other pedals this company makes and if they're anything like this one I'm definitely buying them.