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.

No manual necessary. three knobs per side. If you are familiar with delay and chorus pedals it is a no brainer. I like that it has two separate stomp pedals that can be hit individually or both at the same time. I was able to get decent sounds out of it within a couple of minutes. you will find that there is some tweaking to be done on the width and delay time on the chorus, and the effects level and repeats on the delay to help the effects cut through better.

I have had this pedal for a couple of years now. Overall, i am still very happy with it.

The chorus is pretty good. I use very subtle settings on chorus pedals. I keep the speed very low, around 7:00 or 8:00, the width around 11:00 and the delay time around 1:00 or 2:00. it does add nice warmth but i have two minor complaints. first there is a definite volume boost that i get with the chorus side and not with the delay side. not a big deal but kind of annoying because i can't bring the effects level down on my loop because then it will be too low for the delay. Second, the chorus causes and earlier break up, which can be unpleasant in the clean tone. sometimes it sounds nice for leads with delays.

I think that the delay is excellent. for the money i have not found a better delay. It is very warm and round sounding. i have compared it to boss delays and they sound brittle in comparison. I think that this pedal is technically a digital pedal but it definately sounds analog. I know of a lot other delay pedals out there, but i can't justify paying $300 or $400+ to get one of these. i use delay alot, so i had to go rack and went with a korg SDD-2000 which is very good.

no problems to speak of.

N/A

I know of a lot other delay pedals out there, but i can't justify paying $300 or $400+ to get one of these. i use delay alot, so i had to go rack and went with a korg SDD-2000, which is very good. i don't have time to bend over and change settings anymore and i cannot afford to have 10 delay pedals. I will however keep this pedal and use it when recording unless the korg can prove to be better.

Very straight forward to use. I never really use the second dry output because I dont have a second amp so I dont know the difference in the volume of the two outputs, and I know the delay time knob on the chorus does something but not exactly sure what. I can hear the sound change but its not as straight forward as the speed knob or the repeat knob on the echo.

I love the chorus and the echo. Its just great. BUT, I do know that the signal is altered just a tiny bit even when the pedal is off. Its either because of the extra cable or the fact that the pedal is not true bypass, I think its the pedal. Having said that its tho only pedal that isnt true bypass in my chain and one pedal is really not going to make a difference. The chorus is great, and real easy to get a great sound with. The only problem with the chorus is the volume jumps up when you turn it on. If you try it with a small practice amp you can really hear the increase in volume but when your playing loud its fine; I personally got used to it and either keep it on for an entire song or use it to emphasize. The echo is also good, but only if you keep it in the long mode. The short is really short, I mean really short and if you dont have the time knob set to past 3:00, its almost non existent, and besides thats almost exactly the same a 9:00 on the long mode. But its simple, no fussing with numbers like a delay pedal, its great to build an atmosphere. It can be used like a powerful reverb to double lead phrases. But the thing about the echo is, unlike the chorus, the volume drops when you turn it on. If you turn both the chorus and echo on at the same time the changes in volume almost cancel out but individually, its kind of annoying.

Very sturdy, but one thing, it eats batteries so use an adapter. The structure is heavy duty (and quite big!).

I bought this pedal on ebay for I believe it was something like $80 or $90, but it was broken. I had tried it at music shops and loved it but knew it was cheeper online, and Im all for used stuff but this experience has taught me to NOT buy pedals online. The seller was rude and not helpful at all and was actually kicked off ebay, so naturally I ended up with a pedal I had to get fixed. I realized the phone number for Visual Sound was on the back of the pedal so I called them up and they said they would fix it and upgrade it if I wanted for $30. I thought great!, shipped it off and within a week I got an email saying the pedal is fixed and upgraded, call this number during these times and you can pay over the phone and we will ship it back. Paid them $30 and got the pedal in great shape. Thanks a lot.

I love this pedal. Im sure there are some high end chorus pedals that have more control over the effect but I like a subtle chorus on most of the time so I just needed a little. I play Blues, Rock and a little Jazz. The chorus makes my clean sound full and warm. The echo is great to use as a reverb, but thats just how I use it. Its capable to be use in more extreme manners, if that makes any sense. If it were stolen I would look around but wouldnt be surprised if I arrived back to the H2O. Its just great for the price.

Easy to use, couple of knobs.

Chorus bugs me on this, don't like the sound. Delay is fantastic. It does cut your signal if you go into it first. I use with an Evans AH200 Hybrid amp.

Reliable and tough.

I play Jazz but wanted to get a nice tone with chorus and delay. This thing chows on batteries so get a wall wart. I mean chows! If you are going to get a pedal and you have to plug it in, why not get a multi-effects floor board? I wanted the ease of battery but I am spending all my money on batteries.

Basically: this is one of the easiest pedals on the market to use.

Having read some of the other reviews, there's two ways to use this thing. You will get more tone sucked out of your signal if you use it on the floor. But if you use it in your FX loop (especially if your loop is buffered with a tube like the Boogie stuff) you will hardly notice any drop. When I sent it back for the newer Panasonic bucket brigade upgrade, it started to make oscillating noise if the chorus was turned up too much. But for the money and the BASIC sound of this unit: it's a jobbers tool and good for most applications. Use good cords, experiment with batteries versus AC. Then make your decision.

Made well: used for 3 years before upgrade. No backup needed unless you use it as springboard or throw it at your keyboard player.

When shipped back to the manufacturer for the upgrade: it took one week! A rarity in the gear world. But when I wrote them about something, they did push their AC adapter.

With Johnny Hiland, Phil Keaggy and other top players using the line: there's reason to be impressed. Gear that affects your instrument's time or modulates it will always be your personal business. After playing over 30 years with mucho studio/live experience, this pedal is small yet rugged. It does eat batteries if you choose to go that route (about 12 hours if you yank the input cord). Great for jobbing, but maybe not quite a TC or Lexicon unit if you can tell the difference. I use DLS stuff for true bypass (Vintage Guitar had a great shotout this past year) and will get a Zoom G2 for small stuff.

Nothing to it.

Playing a LP Custom through either Fender Twin or straight through PA. Also direct to computer for recording. H2O has very, very sweet sound. Only two gripes: 1) A bit noisy when using the AC instead of battery. 2) "Short" echo is VERY short, almost non-existent. Long echo is fine.

No problems.

N/A

I'm sure there're better sounding pedals out there. But for a dual pedal at this cost, I highly recommend.

Not plug-and-play, but neither is it rocket science.

I play a semi-hollow guitar into a Fender amp.

I like that the echoes get murky with extended repeats, and that tweaking the delay control during repeats gives you a "pitch-shift" effect rather than the nasty "zipper" sound that you get from certain digital delays. Both the short and long delay modes have their charms, although the sounds I most often use are from the long mode. I tend to run the delay level quite low, as I like a subtle echo effect for most of my playing.

The chorus side has some good sounds. I've found that it's really important to adjust both the delay time and width controls to avoid the hoky `80s chorus sounds. The manual's "fast Leslie" setting is actually fairly convincing; it's certainly an OK Leslie substitute for live performance.

The buffer sounds really good to me. I think I can hear a small difference between the buffered signal compared to plugging my guitar straight into the amp, but it's subtle and not at all unpleasant. The complaint that I have about most buffered pedals -- that the high-end is veiled -- is definitely not present with Visual Sound's buffer.

The other nice thing about a good buffered pedal is that you get absolutely clean switching with none of the glitches or pops that seem to be unavoidable with true-bypass switching.

It's too early to tell how well this'll hold up with long-term use.

I had a question about the pedal and was very pleased with the rapid, courteous and thorough responses to my emails.

I play improvised fingerstyle guitar, drawing freely from old-school rock, folk, jazz and classical styles. I first picked up the guitar in the mid-`60s, and have been playing "seriously" for the past six years.

My main rig is a Koll Custom DL Thinline through a Fender Vibro-King. I have a small assortment of special-purpose pedals in addition to the recently-added Visual Sound Route 66 and H2O. If the Visual Sound pedals hold up under regular use, I may consider selling the rest of my pedals.

The most important things to me are that the pedal sounds good and is easy to adjust.

The real stroke of genius is packaging two related effects in a single pedal with the stomp switches close together. With one press you can turn either or both effects on or off or toggle between one effect and the other.

The "home plate" shape of the pedals may also be useful. I have both the Route 66 and the H2O and have experimented with placing them at 45 degrees to each other so all the stomp switches are in a cluster. I've been able to toggle useful combinations of three or four switches at once.

its a pain in the ass to get the chorus to stop sounding ridiculous, but it comes with a booklet that gives you the different types of ranges and settings, so that helps a lot.

i read on the visual sound website that "visual sound pedals do not use a true bypass, but something that may be better: pure bypass". this lasts longer than true bypass and is cheaper, part of the reason why you're getting two pretty high level effects for under $200. upon reading this, i set off to my amplifier and pedalboard to test their hypothesis. the pure bypass is a type of buffered bypass, meaning that your sound is passing through circuitry whether the effect is activated or not. i tested with several different cords and effects that had true bypasses and discovered that this pedal cuts a good amount of high end and brightness off of your tone even when its not activated. both of the effects themselves would be really quite good, but the pure bypass' cutting of brightness renders both of them useless. they also stated on the site that the pure bypass cleaned up the tone of a guitar that had been run through several pedals that cut brightness and whatnot. although this may be true, it is certainly not anywhere near a true bypass or "guitar to amp" as it claimed.

its never failed me, but the buffered "pure bypass" means that circuitry is liable to go bad faster than hardwired pedals. still, i'd trust it for a gig without a backup...if i chose to use it.

never dealt with them.

it is so close to being good. the effects are seriously great and well conceived, but that "pure bypass" and the brightness it takes away is just unforgivable. that being said, it is tremendously superior to the buffered bypasses that are featured in boss, danelectro and digitech pedals, but its still nothing near a true bypass. it is a good idea to have 1 buffered bypass in the chain so that your signal from the guitar is powering just a few feet of cable rather than all the way to the amp, and i'd probably choose this as that one over any other pedals.

Easy to get a good sound out of it? It is hard to get a BAD sound out of it. Very versitile and easy to tweak.

This thing sounds amazing, and I'm not really a huge fan of chorus effects. I needed an echo, and thought I'd give this a try and see if I can find a use for the chorus. Now I use a subtle chorus on a lot of the stuff i do...it sounds very organic and just fattens up your guitar, doesn't alter it in anyway. The echo is perfect for me, simple and warm, even though its digital.

Haven't had it long. but i bought it used and its still kickin

N/A

I play a lot of instrumental, dark yet mellow kind of rock and roll and this is working out wonderfully. The chorus sound great with other effects--ie overdrive and fuzz (it true!)--and the echo is just what i needed for a warm vintage vibe without the hassle and insane expense of tape echo.

Very easy to use, see all other descriptions. The only problem I encounter is the short long swith. First, changing from short to long yields a loud "sreege" sound (not very pleasent during a live gig), second, if you set up the pedal for short echo, changing to lon echo yields useless sounds. In other words, changing to long echo requires fiddling with the knobs. While this is not a bad case for at home/studio applications, it does not make the pedal a two in one pedal in live situations

And this is where I probably differ with the majority of the reviews here -I really don't think this is a good sounding pedal. Why? In any setting it drastically alters the tone of your guitar. It doesn't matter what set-up you use, what guitar you play, but once you turn on the pedal there's this metallic, bass-less mid-range-y tone. My basic rig consists of a Fargen Miniplex, a Boogie Mark II, a '59 Reissue Les Paul, a Custom Shop Mary Kaye Strat and a customised Japanes Custom Tele (great guitar by the way!). My pedals are all analogue: vintage Ibanez AD-9, Pearl AD-5, Fulltone Wah, MXR Script Phase 100.

The chorus is very hard to use. Aside from the metalic tone, on low speed settings there's a loud phasing to be heard, more like a phaser/flanger than a chorus. The chorus is harsh and not very musical. On higher speed settings the effect becomes a bit out-of tune -the delayed effect is out of tune with the original effect. This also takes away the dynamics of your playing. I only find the chorus mode usefull for extreme gadget effects: with the speed on ten you get this crazy Leslie-like effect. Compared to my Boss CE-2 (which is excellent sounding, but an one-trick pony), the effect just really isn't good.

The Echo effect is better, but I simply just don't like like digital echo. Do note: this is an echo effect, not a delay effect. All repeats are copies of the original. So, there's no way you will ever get a decent slap back delay like a tape delay or a good AD-9 unit. The echo must degenerate while repeating, and that's not the case. The pedal's main teritory is long echo's, so you can lay dreamy land scapes and layers. But again, I find the way the pedal alters your bsic tone into a metallic, screaching Tele-like style really terrible.

It's solidly made. The casing will last 20+ years, but the paint will be gone by then.

Never dealt with the company, but they seem to be quite active on the market.

I just really don't like this pedal. I don't mind digital per se (check out the new Boss RT-20!), but this pedal just really is harsh sounding, in a very un-musical way. Any pedal that takes away the warmth of a Les Paul is worthless (unless it is a Treble Booster or Big Muff of course). I sold this pedal, and I will never by it again.

Very easy to use. One page manual. Very lush and sweet chorus. Or mega swirly ala leslie-like if ya want it. Very 80's to me. Old school....Police or Gilmore all the way!! NICE!
The delay is simple and no-nonsence. C'mon do delays really need a hold mode?? Or a tap tempo?? Use your ears and buy a sharpie marker!! It is just an echo people. This one is a keeper. Great analog vibe. The second output can be easily modded from clean to effected for a second amp out! I use mine clean for an output to my tuner. I hear no signal loss when the second output is used. Not so with a volume pedal's tuner out...

The Pedal sounds great! Both effects...Not noisy AT ALL but it does have a slight volume boost when engaged. I find that an asset, not a negative. Not a tone sucker either! You will LOVE this pedal!! It has a permanent place on my board.

My Rig:
Guitars... Main->"Barnes Guitar Works"Custom (PAF style bridge,duel blade singles HSS)Swamp Ash body psudo-strat<>Area 51 Wah<><Keeley Modded Sparkle Drive<>Keeley Compressor(Keeley suggests placing it after the main OD)<> Monte Allums "H2O" modded Blues Driver(better than Keeley's IMHO)<>Keeley Ultra Mod Boss DS1<>Visual Sound H2O Chorus/Delay<>Keeley Modded Boss TR2 Tremolo<>Modded Boss DD3 Delay<>Marshall AVT 50 Stack or Behringer Vintager AC112 Combo... depending on the room or stage.

Honesty time here. This is the ONLY problem that I have had was the long/short switch. I have had mine for about 2 years. And used for countless hours. The long/short switch went bad a weeks months ago. One of my students also has the same problem. Hmmmm...they might need a different switch. Or maybe they already do, I have not seen this problem in other reviews. Hey! But have no fear!!!!!! Read Customer Support Section..... really.... read it!

Fastest Email Response EVER.... like 2 minutes per ! AND...mailed me the replacement switch for FREE!! Notice I said I had it for almost 2 years!!! Warranty was only ONE year!! I got the switch right away. The best in customer support!! THIS is what we pay for!

I play Christian Rock ( like Third Day, Audio Adrenaline, and David Crowder Band)...and some old school rock and roll stuff.

I have been playing for 32 years....as a Pro/Semi-Pro live and Session Player and instructor... and just for the fun of it ;-)
Chris Barnes www.productoffaith.net

This is a GREAT sounding pedal!!! And UNREAL support!!!.....Not too tough to repair(if needed) No board soldering needed. They might need a heavier switch.... But on the other hand... two years of being continuously stepped on can give almost any pedal a switch problem.... Hey just ask VooDoo Lab!! lol

If you cut to the chase & read the E-Z to read manual: great sounds out of the box. Superb for jobbers & players who want to :get it right & get it quick".

From PRS to Reynolds (using Bartolini PU's): superb. I use it with the various send-return loops in my amps & it's clean (Fuchs, Bogner, Star Gain Star * Boogie Lone Star Special). Better to use it with an adaptor: the batteries don't last long if you you keep the input cable plugged it all the time. Recently sent it to the company for an upgrade: back in one week!

Never had a problem. Just have an extra battery ready after about 9-12 hours of use.

The fastest return speed when I had it upgraded. No need to say more.

Quiet, compact, well-built. Usefull for any application from country slap to long delay, nifty chorus too. PedalGeek.com was great to deal with too.

This pedal is incredibly self explanatory. There are 2 buttons, one for chorus, and one for echo. Lots of options to choose from as far as eq's go and such. Definetly a user friendly pedal.

I play this pedal through a 100W Marshall JCM900 Half-stack, a 1970 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe (Original), and a dunlop cry baby wah pedal. It is definetly an organic chorus, because you hear fuzz a little bit, but overall the chorus and echo together are incredible. A side note, im a firm disbeliever in chorus pedals, they never sound good to me, but the chorus on this pedal is amazing even without the echo.

Never giged with it, although i plan to in the very near future.

Never Dealt with the company

My band plays all kinds of music, and this pedal goes great with alot of the songs. I've been playing guitar for 5 years and this is by far my favorite pedal i have ever, or ever plan to, buy. If my h2o were stolen, i would try my hardest to find another one, because i'm sure once i start writing with this pedal, nothing else will be the same.

Man, I love this effect. This is just what it says; a chorus and echo in one pedal which used together give your sound an 'underwater edge'. First one I bought was from the States, it gave up on me after a year or so, so I bought a new one in the Netherlands. And to be honest that one isn't quite as nice (Much more extreme) But still; love it and I have to be careful not to use it too much.
It's pretty easy to use, left side controls the chorus, right the echo. Knobs are self explanatory...

It fits nicely in my setup, I usually put it last in my effects loop. Playing over a Koch Powertone with either a Fender Telecaster Deluxe, Gibson SG or Les Paul... the effect sounds ok though the echo is a bit noisy. I use it with clean as well as distortion, here's a track I've used it on quite a bit; http://www.facetomorrow.net/download/Face_Tomorrow_-_My_World_Within.mp3 (My guitar is on the right, which starts with arpeggios and comes in at 0:35) I use it almost throughout the song on clean as well as on distortion

Well, I had one break down on me during a really important gig, so I'm not too sure about it anymore.

Overall, this is a great effect, if it'd break down again I'd definately get a new one. I have used it a lot and I am very sure this will stay in my setup for a very very long time..

It doesn't get any easier. It sounded great with all knobs at 12:00. Even so, it still comes with a cheat sheet for 4 classic sounds for both the echo and chorus.

I traded my Boss CE5. I think the Visual Sound pedal is vastly superior in sound, veratility, and ese of use. 9 because it is a more organic sounding chorus (code for a bit of hiss).

After reading some of these reviews you'd think you'd need 3. I bought it on recommendation from a friend is a pro. He says this pedal is "an integral part of his sound". Having said that he never gigs w/o a backup modeling amp.

Website is helpful and informative. My dealer, Mojo's Music www.mojosmusic.com, has had nothing but good experiences with the company. This is a great old-fashioned "Main Street" music store with personalized service, and I have no reason to doubt that any problems that may arise will be expedited with courtesy and professionalism.

I'm a Les Paul/Mesa convert to Tele/Rivera Pubster 45. I now mostly prefer clean Texas/Southern Blues/Single Coil simple tones. This pedal fits the bill for adding a nice Nashville slapback-Crazy Little Thing Called Love solo. In addition, the long delay switch can offer that Police-think Message in a Bottle.

The chorus is lush, liquidy, and refreshing. I like it enough that I will probably pick up the Route 66 to complete my Nashville sound.

Cost figures here, and it does seem expensive. Yet, it is 2 pedals in 1. So, I will give it a 9, great but not fanastic value.

Very ease to use, in fact this is one of the unit's best features. I like the way there are three well-marked, logically arranged knobs for each effect. I decided to give one of these a try after being frustrated with a Line 6 Echo Park, which had way to many choices for me. Plus the Echo Park had too many knobs with labels written in such small fonts that they were impossible to read on a darkened stage.

I bought my used off eBay, and it was a unit that was an original H2O that had been modded by Visual Sound to bring it up to par with the 2nd version (enhanced chorus).

It's difficult to get a bad sound on any of the settings. I like that when all the knobs are set at 12 o'clock you get a medium, usable sound for each effect (chorus and delay), and can work from there in either direction. Perfect.

It may have been easier for me to figure out - and this may be why I wanted to try one of these in the first place - because I've been using Visual Sound's Route tt (compressor/OD) pedal for years. The layout is similar, easy to pick up.

The unit is heavier and bulkier than I thought it would be. Maybe 2cm taller than the Route 66. Doesn't fit in my gig back pockets as readily as the Rte 66 and other effects, so I find myself having to carry it separately. Slight negative there, otherwise would get 10 points for 'ease of use' Mind you the extra mass is not large enough that it's not usable, for sure there are other pedals around that fall into that category.

I use Strats (set up with 10s) and Teles (11s) through a variety of amps (Blues Jr; Vibrolux Reverb: Siegmund Midnight Special; Sound City 50w with 2x12 cab). The only other effect consistently in the signal chain is a Route 66. I place the H2O at the end, as prescribed. For some gigs I may also use a RMC Picture Wah, which I run between the Rte 66 and H2O.

The sound quality is perfect for my uses. Starting with dealy, I just wanted two basic kinds: a slightly spacey one for David Gilmour-style solos or Hendrix's House Burning Down type sounds; and slapback/reverb. I found it really easy to set these two sounds on the delay side. I have one spot for all three knobs on that side, and then simply switch the rocker switch between long (spacey echo for certain solos) and short (slapback/reverb, used almost all the time except for the aforementioned solos) delay. I never have to move those knobs once they're set. I turn all the reverb off on my amps (I don't really like the reverb on any of my amps anyway, except for the Vibrolux; the H2O actually sounds much better, much cleaner).

Comparing to the Line 6 Echo Park (the only other delay pedal I've owned; I will probably eBay it now), the delay sounds on the H2O sound much more natural, with more 'body'. Even though the Echo Park had the option of choosing tape, analog or digital, none of the three sounded as good as the one-sound H2O delay, which I would describe as analog-sounding. All the other tricks the Echo Park through in just weren't needed by me. Some of the tricks that sounds really good in theory - like ducking (where the echo stops while you're playing notes, comes back in between note phrases) - just don't sound like good classic delay in actual practice. I thought ducking would be cool but then you don't get that nice 'blur' throughout (as in House Burning Down, again), which by the way can cover up a multitude of sins and make fast runs come off sounding just a bit better than they would sound without delay (as much as it pains me to admit that). Likewise 'trails' and a bunch of other options on the fancier delay pedals.

The chorus side similarly offers great, classic-sounding chorus in several layers of depth and speed, just perfect for old Police, U2, and so on. You can also get a good jazz chorus sound on that side, a la Pat Metheny, I was suprised to find last night at an after-hours jam last night where I fooled around with it.

I was half-way waiting to hear some tone-sucking when I first took it to a gig. For a few mintues after I first plugged it in I even though it was sucking my tone. So between songs I took it out of the chain and it made no difference whatsoever - in fact it was the room that was sucking my tone that night (really tough room with low ceilings and too many hard surfaces). Later at home I tried taking it in and out of the chain, and again could hear no difference. Really quiet pedal by the way - I get zero noise from it, and thankfully no loud clicks or pops when switching it on and off.

It seems pretty sturdy. I've been abusing a couple of Route 66s for the last six years or so and they've never complained, so I'm hoping this pedal will hold up just as well.

I've emailed Bob a few years back, when I needed a new Route 66 quickly, and he was quick to respond. Other than that, no idea, so will not score this category.

I'm really happy with both sides of this pedal. I was looking for good, basic sounds to dial in, was hoping the H2O would have it, and I feel I hit the jackpot on this one. I know I'll be using this pedal for years to come, much like I have the H2O. I was hoping the Line 6 was going to be it for me, but it wasn't - too fussy and too easy to get bad sounds out of it. For a player like me with relatively low demands - or perhaps I should say 'standard' or 'classic' demands, as I'm actually using it quite a lot, it's just I don't need more than two or three settings, nothing extreme for cutting edge - for echo and chorus, it's perfect.

I've had this 8 months, its on my main rig, used a few days a week. Very simple to use. Almost every setting is useful. The little suggestion sheet gets you started in the right place quickly.

I'm using this with my custom semi-hollow body electric made by Master Guitar (Luthier George Gorodnitzki). It has custom wound H-S-S pickups and a piezo bridge pickup. I play a wide variety of styles in a worship band. I run it into a SansAmp Tri-AC, and from there direct to the board. This pedal gets me exactly what I want in chorus and echo, and it is very easy to get my sound in a moment. Absolutely delicious.

I've had this for 8 months, and it has went bad twice. A chip went bad two weeks after I bought it, which wrecked the chorus section. The same thing happened this week, which is why I'm writing this review. YOU CAN'T DEPEND ON THIS PEDAL. The case is very solid, and I have it mounted to a pedal board, which is in a custom case. I treat my gear with lots of TLC. Visual Sound must have a bad source for its chips.

The company repaired the unit quickly the first time it broke. They answered emails quickly, and were friendly on the phone. However, it got lost in UPS for awhile, because they were careless about writing my address. Still waiting on the second repair. My question is, what happens when the unit breaks again in a few months, after the 1 year warranty is over? $165 is too much for a disposable pedal.

I love the sound, and the combo of analog chorus and echo is all I need for modulation effects. I'm afraid I'll have to switch, if Visual Sound can't make this work reliably.

This is a relatively easy pedal to get a good sound out of. I think it is less noisy with an actual battery, but my 3rd party wallwart ac/dc adaptor may have been a bit noisy. This is basically 2 pedals in one. It features a nice analog chorus sound with Speed, Width and delay time, and an analog-shaped echo with Echo time, Repeats and Effect level. There are no patches but it is easy to dial in. I bought it used but no manual. Not needed, though.

I use both a strat and an SG and I think it sounds equally great with either one, it seems to add some noise from my wallwart but again this could be a bad power supply, totally non-related to the pedal. I have a battery in it now and it sounds gorgeous. The chorus is silky and smooth, and it reminds me of a Roland Jazz Chorus sound. The echo has a wide range of speeds with the slow/fast switch. If you're foot-dextrious you CAN switch from fast to slow with the foot, but overall this isn't necessary. The pedal on the echo side also gives nice analog-type modulation effects. Probably the analog aspect of this delay is the decay part, the repeat and copy function is probably digital.

So these are strong effects, and I'm playing the guitars directly from the guitar to the H2O then into a 75 Ampeg V-4 halfstack with original tubes, a very warm-sounding setup with plenty of power when needed. Another nice sound is the chorus sped up gives a good leslie simulator. This pedal spurs creativity. The 2 outputs are not for stereo chorus, but one is a "bypass" or dry signal while the other is "wet" or with fx. I did get a sort-of EDGE from U2 sound with both chorus and echo on. I have an Ibanez UE-405 and this chorus in my mind is better sounding, and the echo sounds as good or better too, on the H2O, and, as I have no use for either the parmetric eq or the compressor on the ue405, it will be sold shortly.

Looks bullet-proof. It is probably very reliable. No need for a backup. I have seen these Visual sound cases bent before by a person stepping on the chord outside one of the jacks, meaning the metal case is slightly bendable, but this was a situation where the pedal was on the middle of a barroom floor and wasn't noticed. I still award it a 9 because the built quality is good.

Never dealt with them but may do so, because this pedal is the earlier version with blue markers on the knobs and there's an upgrade they provide for $30 including shipping, which I've heard improves the chorus sound--even though this chorus sounds great the way it is, I believe. I have heard they are excellent with their products.

I play my own jazzy version of alternative. I enjoy the effects in the creative process. I have been playing on and off for the past 20 years. I would buy another one if it was a good deal if I lost this one. I love the fact that it is more compact than a multieffects unit while still being basically 2 effects in one. Both are very useable effects. I have compared it to other products, have owned various analog echos/ad80, ue405, memory man, etc. The echo may not be as smooth as a memory man but it is definitely a good-sounding echo that would sound great live. The chorus is comparable to either a Jazz Chorus or an Ibanez chorus. I like CE-2 boss pedals too but this one is a bit more aggressive than that one, although it still is beautiful-sounding. As stated earlier it assists the creative process and doesn't get in the way. Well worth the dough.

The thing has a few knobs, a rocker switch, and two stomp buttons. Its easy as pie to use. Dialing a good sound is cake.

Setup: Gibson Les Paul Studio -> Boss GE-7 EQ -> Visual Sound Jeykle & Hyde -> Visual Sound H2O .

The box sounds fine does the job. I normally use a Vox TonLab and a 300 watt powered speaker but sometimes if I have to play where all I can access is a guitar amp, I bring this light-weight rig instead and I'm good to go. It takes me like 5 minutes to dial in the chain the way I like it.

I play Blues, Jazz, Rock, and some progressive forms I dunno what to call. I've been playing for 27 years. I own a bunch of Les Pauls, an AC30TB, and a load of other crap. If this box where lost or stolen I would replace it. My favorite feature is the short delay. I compared this to EH Small Clone, Boss, DigiTech, and a bunch of boutique pedals that were pure garbage. I chose the H2O because it was priced right, sounded good, and gave me two effects in a neat little box.

It's a pretty straightforward chorus/echo with speed, width and delay on the chorus side and time, repeats and effect level on the delay side. The manual is a single sheet of paper with some suggested settings, so not very useful, but almost anyone who knows something about guitar could figure it out.

Here's my setup: Rickenbacker Dakota 650D -> DynaComp -> Danelectro EQ -> Blues Driver (Indyguitarist mod) -> Big Muff (Russian) -> Boss DD-6 -> H2O Chorus/Echo -> BBE Sonic Stomp -> Vox AC30CC 2x12

This pedal is definitely quiet, but it sucks ridiculous amounts of tone on or off, in or out of the FX Loop. I've heard digital modeling crap that sounds better than the chorus. The echo was OK I guess, but it's not "analog voiced" as VS claims. When the pedal was turned off, it absolutely killed my tone. My amp usually sounds huge with deep warm bass and glowing mids and highs; with this pedal in my chain, my AC30 sounded like my old Vox Pathfinder 15R (not a bad amp really, but it can't compare to an AC30), that is to say, this pedal reversed everything my tubes did and made my amp sound like a cheap solid state.

Its really big too, and the whole pentagon shape just isn't doing it for me. It took up too much real estate on my already cramped pedal board.

I only had it for a few days and I never gigged with it so I won't comment. It looks very sturdy though, nice solid steel construction, well made pots with good rubber covers, metal jacks, decent switches etc.

Never dealt with 'em, but I've heard Bob, the owner, is a really nice guy.

I play mostly alternative rock, using a lot of delay and slide guitar (think U2 meets the Allman Bros., but with Radiohead-esque scales and bizzarre harmonies). I have been playing guitar for 3 1/2 years, but I played piano for 11 years before that, so I picked it up quickly and have been able to focus a lot time on achieving a sound of my own. I thought that this pedal might add some depth and character to my tone, but it just killed it. If it were ever stolen I'd feel sorry for the poor guy who ended up with it. The wet/dry outputs were a nice idea, I only wish this thing had something decent to output. I sent it back. I'm gonna spend a bit more money and get a deluxe memory man. I've played through a friend's and it sound great, plus, it's real analog delay rather than "analog voiced." Hope I could help someone out with this.

Easy pedal to use, straight forward controls.

The echo was good, it has a rocker switch to selct a "short" or "Long" delay. It would have been useful to have a stomp swith that selcted the long and short. The chorus part of the pedal was noisy.

Only had it for a month before returning it foe a refund, but it worked every time I used it.

This pedal was expensive.
I wasn't impressed with the enclosure, folded metal, no welds, and goofy styling.
The chorus was noisy and had background hiss with some swooshy sweeping noises, The delay part was great, I would have been happier to have just that alone, without the chorus. When I realized that this expensive pedal was made in China, it had to go back. Maybe I'm ignorant, but why does a folded metal box with surface mounted components and no moving parts, cost twice as much a a Sony DVD player that is made in the same country. I thought this was made in America when I bought it.

Fairly easy to use. The Echo side is a little tough to dial in. No real manual, just a sheet of paper with some settings. The Chorus is very easy to setup.

Well, it is a two-headed beast here. My primary amp for the last 8 years has been a Soldano HotRod 50+. I bought this as a cheaper replacement to my Yamaha Magicstomp that was destroyed. I was very disappointed when the pedal did not function properly in the FX loop of the Soldano. However in front of the amp (between the guitar and amp input) it worked perfectly fine. But, delay in front of an overdriven amp isn't exactly wonderful. I give it a 6 because of the FX loop issue. In front of the amp, I give it an 8.

Had it for one month. Just returned it last week. Worked perfectly in the physical sense, not musically though.

I went with the H2O because many years ago I had their J&H Ultimate Overdrive. During that time Visual Sound was a smaller company and it was easy to contact them. Now, I tried contacting them twice on the FX Loop issue. No dice. However, Soldano still picks up the phone.

If you are a clean player and are looking for more of a rotary-style chorus, this is it! Wonderful for that type of chorus. The Echo is nice for slap-back, rock-a-billy stuff. It diesn't play nice with the effects loops. It is very mechanically sound.

There are 3 knobs on each side twist'em till it sounds good, your drummer could do it, lol.

setup is; PRS CE into a Weeping demon wah to a Kustom '72 coupe, H20 and a Magicstomp on the loop. Both effects sound great, the chorus is just right, not overbearing and not so weak that you struggle with it. As someone previouly stated "very syrupy". The echo is fantastic on the short side, the long side gives you some pretty good delay. So far it works vey well with all the effects I've tried. Both effects add alot of flavor to my sound.

It's built very well. I don't forsee any problems.

I've had the H20 a couple of weeks now and wondered why the rocker switch for the short/long echos wasn't a button, so you could change on the fly. I e-mailed them thinking this has probably been asked a million times. A couple days later I get a response from Dave Mullins explaining why they use a rocker switch. I really appreciate a company that takes time to respond to the customer. I have no doubt that if I have an issue I will be taken care of. 10 for Dave.

Fantastic piece of gear, well built, I like the design, easy to operate, does what I need it to do very well. I think most people will be happy with it. I'm impressed that they took the time to answer a question that's probably been asked a million times. Sadly it's hard to find that nowadays. I know I sound a bit overzealous with my review, but I usually don't complain alot about bad products, However, when I find something I,m really happy with, I think it does more good to spread the word than to shout my complaints upon daef ears.
I will buy Visual Sound gear again. I would like to see a phaser/flanger, and a reveb/delay from them.

Easy enough. The sample settings for the Chorus are particularly useful to give you a starting point for finding specific sounds. I actually found the suggested Leslie setting to be pretty much as good as this pedal gets.

Effects chain: '62 Reissue Telecaster w/ Texas Specials (Single Coils) > Boss TU2 Tuner > Proco TurboRat > H20 > Vox AC30CC2. I also occaisionally run the H20 through the loop, but I can't tell much of a difference and I prefer to bypass the loop on the vox because the tone is just a little richer when the loop is bypassed.

I actually got this pedal as a gift. I had originally wanted a more dedicated delay pedal but decided to give this one a go since it fell into my lap and I did like the feel of the echo effect. As an echo pedal, it does its job very nicely. You can get great slapback effects, though that's not really my style. It works excellent to thicken up leads. It has enough echoes to use for simple ambient guitar lines as well. The echoes are really warm but it should be noted that this is not an analog delay. This side isn't amazingly versatile, but it works and it made me decide to keep the pedal. Oh, I'd also like to say that I like how you can twist the delay rate knob and have the pitch of the repeats bend like crazy just like old school analog delays.

The Chorus side is pretty nice, but I agree with some of the other reviews that say that it is not as good as some dedicated chorus pedals. The leslie sound is quite good, but it is difficult to get a subtle, shimmering chorus effect from the pedal. The Vox allows me to get a pretty bright sound, but when I kick in the chorus, even on low settings, the sound becomes dull. instead of complimenting the tone, it reprocesses it, which is fine for a Leslie sound, but not for subtle choruses. I also would like to note that, at least with my vox, there is very little difference in the two effects when they are placed in the loop or on the front end. The delay is capable of more echoes when placed on the front end, but that's all I've noticed.

I've had it for a year now and it has been extremely dependable. I use it and my other two pedals with a 1spot and I haven't had any problems. I have a friend who has had a Visual Sound Route 66 pedal for years. he has spilled everything you can imagine on it, dropped it, and kicked it around and it is still going strong. So if that is any indication, I shouldn't have anything to worry about in this category.

The guys at VS are easy to contact. I haven't needed to contact them, but my friend did one time and it was a painless process.

I play rock in many forms. As my equipment might suggest, I like to blend the old school and the new. I love the sound of responsive tube amps (which, if you get a solid version of the Vox AC30CC2, you get more amp than you could ever dream for a bargain compared to the "boutique" class A's that are out there). But I also love experimenting with sound effects and other weirdness. I don't have much money to buy tons of effects, but through creativity, it is possible to come up with some very interesting and usable sounds with the H20. however, my main problem with the H20 is that it does two effects pretty well but neither one is perfected. The Echo pedal cannot be used for sweeping delays or anything like that. The Chorus pedal is pretty good, but not as versatile as it could be. For 150 bucks, it'd be nice to have a sound I'm completely satisfied with. however, I find myself wanting to find a new delay pedal and perhaps even a new Chorus pedal eventually because, while this pedal is good, it's not great and still leaves something to be desired. Considering my limited funds, I think it works out well because I get two pedals in one, it takes up very little space, it is easy to operate and it is reliable. however, if it were stolen, I'd probably take the money and try to find a more dedicated delay pedal and a more dedicated chorus pedal. Don't get me wrong. This is a good pedal. But there are lots of good pedals out there but very few great ones. It's the great ones that I'm after now (that goes for my turbo rat, too).

This pedal is very simple to use. The knobs are self explainatory. I bought mine on EBAY from Visual Sound as a refurb/upgrade. They were fantstic to deal with.

I play in a cover/wedding band about 6 times a month (my full-time giggin' days are over). We have some 70's tunes that require that chorus effect, or fifties tunes where I use the delay as a slapback. It sounds amazing at both functions. Personally, I hate all chorus pedals. But the H2O has made me a believer in chorus that is functional and dare I say, beautiful.

I use a heavy-duty pedal board with a case so there is no problems. The pedal is constructed very well. I would not need a backup.

This is a great company to deal with. When I had some questions about the refurb, they answered through email promptly. They have a great website with various samples of their pedals in context (studio and live). This is a great company.

If this pedal was stolen, I would immediately buy another one. Again, I hate all chorus pedals, but this one is simply amazing.

Easy to control - self explanatory.

I use a Marshall DSL 2000. This thing MUST be looped. It sucks your tone if you run it in-line.

I've been gigging with it steadily for the past 6 months with no problems at all. (hope i didn't just jinx myself!)

I corresponded via email to one of the guys at Visual, Steve. He was very nice, very helpful.

I purchased a factory reconditioned model thru Visual's E-Bay store and paid a few extra bucks for the chorus mod. It was not worth it.

CHORUS: Everyone's tastes are different, but I do not understand the rave reviews about this chorus. And, it sounds nothing at all like the Police chorus (like a few of the people here said) It's not a tight, thick chorus. Yes you can make it sound like a leslie but I don't have too much use for that. It's more like a flanger - lots of sweeping swirl. I use it only occasionally.

ECHO: The echo is really really nice. Easy to control, and lots of variation, just like the good old analog delays.

OVERALL: It's a great peice of gear. Pro sound, and certainly roadworthy. My only complaint is the company boasts "true bypass" or I think they call it "virtual bypass" that's a lot of virtual crap. It robs your tone whether it's on or off and therefore MUST be run in the effects loop. And again, the chorus has it's moments but not exactly a shining example of what a true chorus should be. But, it IS a solid piece, awesome delay, works fine in the loop and takes up less space on your board than 2 seperate units would.

Easy, three dials per side, no troubles here,

I got this box two months ago, to replace my famed TC chorus, and my line 6 dl4. Both pedals sounded cold to me, and I needed something that took up less space. I've owned all the chorus boxes out there, save the analogman, and I can honestly say the h2o is my favorite. As my buddy put it, it's very syrupy. If you want the Eric Johnson subtle stereo chorus, this isn't for you, it's just a bit more dominant in your mix than the TC or fulltone. But, if you want a good police sound, or, my favorite, a leslie like sound, this is your box for sure. i just did a gig last night, where there were two guitarists on stage, and after the show, a well respected jazz sax player came up to me and said he thought there was either a rhodes or hammond on stage at times, he thought I had a leslie.
The delay side is also great, it sounds a lot like my old boss dd2, digital, but really warm, and not ear splitting like most new models. i would have liked a dampening dial, but that's just me being picky. It's not quite up to my memory man, but, what is, really? I'd give the chorus a 9.5 and the delay an 8.5

I've used it extensively, gigging at least three times a week, but I take good care of my gear, so I'm sure that helps.

I use two teles, one with humbuckers, and one with a b/bender, into vht valvulator, volume pedal, vox wah, true bypass mod, xotic RC booster, hermida zendrive, fulltone fulldrive, h2O, carr rambler amp. I am really into funk and R and B, and this pedal really fits that bill. I think I'll pick up another memory man, but aside from that, I love it and would highly reccomend.
Kurt

bought the H2O pedal in the afternoon, sounded great the same evening at the gig just going off the user guides presets. After further tweaking I'm finding some really useful sounds like the leslie stuff and rockabilly slap echo

Basically I play a Fat Strat through a Marshall TSL60 half-stack and I ran the pedal through the loop. Sounded great. I wasn't for sure how it would do in the loop but it did really good.I tried the pedal in the store and ran it direct and the only difference I noticed was that the delay had more repeats going straight into the amp. However if your interested I understand there's a moification you can do to the delay( not the chorus mods people are doing to the older versions) that actually really makes the delay louder with more repeats. But don't gt me wrong the, H20's delay is still very impressive, very warm with nice tailing-off repeats.
The chorus is worth the price of the pedal alone and I bought it for the delay. I've always thought my clean channel on my amp lacked something. I found it. The H2O pedal. It made my clean sound come to life. Through my loop it smoked my old Boss CE-2. One word(AWESOME)

The pedal looks like it's built like a tank.Switches are solid, great construction. Has worked great so far.

First of all, before I even bought this pedal I e-mailed the company with a couple of questions. I was curious if I could use the pedal in my effects loop. Bob Weil, company founder and owner e-mailed me after a few hours . I was blown away. With all the substandard products I've encountered and poor customer service I've dealt with, Visual Sound is something special.Bob answered all my questions and was pro all the way.

I've been playing guitar for about 25 years, Played in multiple gigging bands, owned a ton of recording equipment, and a lot of P.A. gear. For the most part I've been using rack mount effects through my loop, some pedals in the past, and never been happy with NONE of it,(you know the feeling I'm sure). For the price,it's almost like a boutique pedal that actually works.I'd replace it in a minute.Great Chorus and Delay that doesn't color your sound either.

It's not too hard to get a good sound out of the pedal. The chorus knob names are a little confusing. The delay isn't much past 180 in the short phase. I keep it in the long setting unless i want some slapback kind of echo.

I use this in an effect loop with delay, reverb, phaser, and volume. I use it on a tube and solid-state amp. The echo doesn't repeat enough for me. This is really is an echo not a delay. I ended up getting another delay pedal. I do use the echo on the H2O quite a bit, but not for big swishy delays. I use the chorus in two different settings. Leslie sound, and swirly weird stuff. I use it to get a Charlie Hunter rotary sound or a off kilter John Scofield sound. For the Leslie I crank the speed almost all the way,same for the width, the delay knob, (in the chorus), I set to 9'clock. For the weird swirl: the same on the width, back off to 1 or 2'clock on the speed, and up the delay to 10-11'clock. I gives a volume boost in the chorus effect.

I don't do batteries, I always use an adaptor or an effect board. This needs 300ma 9V. That's a little different..... Sometimes it needs to turned on, warmed up, then unpluged for the echo to behave as it should.
It's a big pedal and tall. It seems tough.

N/A

I play jazz, rock, funk, r&B, blues. I really enjoy it and it's a unique pedal, two in one. I've had it for 1/2 a year and I would probably replace it if I lost it. I like to use it for subtle echo and mainly the leslie kind of sound. Pretty cool pedal!

This pedal somehow is DEAD EASY to get a fantastic sound out of. I don't know if it is just me, that it is intuitive for me for some reason but it is MUCH easier to get what I want out of it than my Ibanez DE7 Delay/Echo unit...though that has a few more tricks, the sound is inferior to my style that the H2O.

I find the Echo really easy to work with, also the chorus is a piece of cake and every knob does what I expect it to, and keeps in a "reasonable" range. I bought this on a whim (this is the honeymoon phase, I will follow up in 6 months if I remember) after playing with it for an hour in the music store and now a few hours tonight.

The manual is really minimal...really only useful at all because they have some sample settings with styles named...extra points for mentioning it is only the INPUT that drains the battery (keeps the unit on) but doesn't apply to me, I use a power supply. Also good advice about how much current it draws (less than many delay units, but still relatively high...power supply recommended). All in all not bad...Their site has some more info.

Number one point...I don't know why so many of the reviews below talk about the "delay" unit...mine says "echo" and it sounds like an echo to me.

Anyway, I have gotten to be a hard grader, but I still have to give it a 9. This pedal is one of about three or four that I consider QUALITY in construction, but most of all sound quality. I can play with this thing all night. I can adjust it as subtle as I want, or make it pretty over-the-top. There is NO noise in mine, don't know what the other folks are experiencing but my amps, 3 different tube amps, are VERY susceptible to noise...the Boss GE-7 is unusable, and several other pedals at least on the lead channel. This thing is Beautifully quiet when on but not playing.

There are two outputs on this, one dry one affected, and because it is done correctly (buffering) I tried it out sending out to 2 different amps...WOW...this may have changed my whole setup. I am going to try it out at practice next rehearsal, but I LOVE the sound of this. I am currently using it in line with another "chorus" type effect, (one of the other quality pedals I am really pleased with) the Deja-mini-vibe. Though they are similar effects I can use any of them alone or even with each other. This pedals chorus does not (as far as I can tell) change the volume AT ALL...which is great, if I want a boost I use my volume pedal, or other pedals.

This pedal is really exceptional. Well worth the price. I used it just now Strat->Deja-mini-vibe->Crybaby wah->Ed-1 compressor->tubescreamer->volume pedal->Peavey Classic 30BT with the effects loop then -> H2O with one output to the effects return, the other output 2 into a Carvin Vintage 33.

I'm getting wonderful clean sounds, Hendrixy OD, or anything in between.

I can't judge that as I just bought it, but it seems sturdy as can be, the switched are rock solid and the layout is well thought out. I can't see a problem.

No opinion

I play Blues, Rock (Hendrix, SRV, older style blues, BB King style, hell...all the King styles..I try anyway)

Been playing for 30+ years, though when I was younger I couldn't afford pedals, not many anyway. Now I'm making up for it, in the last year have bought many and have gotten a lot of experience with pedals. I'm finding, with experience, that I would rather have fewer but the ones I have better...I am mostly done with Boss, thier pedals work but I keep feeling like dissapointed in them after a while...they degrade my sound (obviously not ALL, but many. I was glad though that they are out there, as they do whet your whistle for what kind of effect you really want to go for) and Ibanez. I like these kinds (like the H2O) pedals better. The only way I can describe it is, pedals like this one sound more REAL...sound more like an organic sound. I know they are using digital in the echo at least..or I read it here, but I A/B'ed it with my DE7 and it is a warmer, more natural sound in my opinion.

Right now, I WOULD buy this pedal if lost or stolen.

It helps me make music. Already. This pedal brings out more me, my style, my sound than most pedals I've owned. This is one I feel really good about.

Easy to use but it doesn't work very well.

The dealy side worked fine but the chorus didn't. Plugged into the front end of a THD Univalve it produced this god-awful tick or pulsing sound that varied as the speed control was changed. It didn't do the same thing into a RI Fender Twin but hey... It ought to work with everything. My age-old Boss chorus doesn;t do it.

No idea. Took it right back.

No idea

Since the chours didn't work the overall rating is about as low as it can get.

This is such a simple unit to use. Just 3 knobs (Speed, Width, and Delay) on the chorus side, and 3 knobs on the delay side (Echo, Repeats, Delay Time). There is also a short/long echo setting that is in a rocker switch. Just tweak and play! It really couldn't be any simpler. The manual has some suggested settings, and these seemed useful.

To try these out (I just got them), I just ran it into a Peavey Envoy amplifier. My guitar was a Parker Fly Deluxe. The unit is not noisy at all. This is an awesome chorus box, producing everything from subtle chorusing to warbly to Leslie-type spinning sounds. The echo side is great, too, offering up everything from rockabilly slap to Queen layering.

Built like a tank, and with a return rate of 1/2 of 1% (according to Bob Weil), I feel very confident using this pedal with no backup. The steel (yes, steel!) housing is very thick. Switches seem rock solid.

I emailed the company and received a reply in less than 24 hours. I then exchanged a few emails with Bob Weil, the owner. We then talked by phone. This is the best company I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with.

I do contemporary Christian music. I was introduced to these pedals by Phil Keaggy at a recording session. He sounded so great through them that I had to get some myself! I have been playing for 27 years. I am selling most of my other pedals, since Visual Sound has everything I need! I would replace it if lost or stolen. It is a great pedal (actually, it is two pedals in one, remember?!) and a great value by a great company. I highly recommend it to anyone.

Pretty easy to use. Using the basic settings in the manual, you can get it working pretty well.

I play this through a Zinky Superfly (all tube channel switching...too much to explain) in the effects loop.

Hmm. Where do I set this?

I want to place a usable review here, so I'll be honest. I have to review it on the basis of my effects loop (where it's supposed to go) and straight into the amp (suggested by cust support).

Looped delay:
The delay is very good. Nice delay that does not interfere with your sound. It sounds great here.
Looped Chorus:
I have not been able to get a good chorus sound out of this based on my effects loop. My sound goes from what I have dialed in, to muddy and unusable.

Unlooped Delay:
Somehow the tone of my amp is more brittle. The delay suddenly sounds more like a straight echo unit than a delay. Decay is more of a repeat than anything else...I couldn't dial it out. Much better in the effects loop.
Unlooped Chorus:
Finally I see that this works. Nice subtle harmonics, and great watery sounds. Very nice unit here.

I am reluctant, but I have to give it a 5, since either effect is worthless when I use the other to it's strenghs (i.e. delay in the loop, chorus in the front of the amp.)

Seems very sturdy and reliable. I am only a month in, but willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Very responsive. They really couldn't help me, but they did answer email very quickly.

The response to my questions were to place it in front of the amp, use an AC adapter (more wallwarts), and/or change the battery. None of which worked for my Zinky superfly.

They get good marks here.

The delay fit my style very well. Nice and subtle once I had it set up. The chorus did not do so well.

I would say that the problems I (and clearly many others on this board) have is based on the amp's effects loop. If it is designed for the particular level that your amp is well attuned to, then you are in good company, otherwise, take it back. This is not the unit's fault, but still, it's lack of flexibility makes me not appreciate it's use.

I, for one, will probably unload this thing on Ebay. I had hoped for a good combo unit to reduce the amount of warts in my rig, but did not find what I was looking for. Delay-great, chorus-iffy. Like I said, not the h2o's complete fault, but in the contest of amp vs. pedal, the pedal loses.

Considering that this pedal is really two pedals it is really very easy to use and to get good sounds out of it. The chorus side has three knobs; Speed, Width and Delay Time which gives you almost as much control over the effect as you need. I say almost because there should be an effect level adjustment but even without it this chorus effect is a solid sounding analaog chorus and might be worth the retail price all by itself to some. The echo side has 3 knobs as well; Echo Time, Repeats and Effect Level plus a rocker switch that selects the range of the other knobs between "short" and "long". Obviously this doesn't lend itself to exactitudes but the upside is that all the sounds this thing makes are musical and useable. It is easy enough to use, but could be easier by adding one more knob (choruse effect level) and marking the range values for the echo controls somehow.

The sound quality of this pedal is superb -- both sides. The chorus goes from barely there to underwater leslie and all points in between. It could use an effect level knob IMHO, but is just fine without it too. The echo side is a really good analog echo box which provides everything from gentle trail offs to rockabilly echo to convincing slapback echo and on into pretty good quality space echos. There is no other coloration of your guitar signal and it is a very quiet pedal to use. In a mix, this pedal sits very well I think, not being overbearing and yet maintaining the effect(s) at a level that is desirable and effective. Iuse my H2O with a pair of amps; 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue on the left and a cleaned up Blues Junior on the right. The H2O has two outputs, but is not a true stereo effect. What it does is output the effected signal through the left channel and the uneffected signal out the right. The result? A dramatically widened soundstage and a nice blend of you guitar's unprocessed signal with the processed tone. There are instructions included with the unit when purchased new that detail how to make the effected sound come out both output jacks if you wish to do that. I didn't and I wouldn't personally, but you can do it. I am giving the unit a composite score in sound quality of 9.5. 9 for the chorus and 10 for the echo effect. Oh, and you can and should play these effetcs together for something really special and easy to dial up on stage mid-son because the design is well thought out and allows for both effects to be switched simultaneously.

I have had mine for nearly three years without a hitch. Granted, I don't gig often with it but I use it nearly every day. This thing is built like a tank!

Bob Weil, the Visual sound founder and president is a really friendly and helpful guy. I talked to him at length about the pedal before I bought it and he did not mind answering my questions in the least and was very informative. I can't imagine that he would stiff anybody on customer support. Benefit of the doubt based on his stellar attitude.

What can I say -- I love this pedal. I am not really a chorus freak or anything but this chrous seems to me to sound more like they used to in the seventies when I first encountered. When I use it, it really adds something special to my sound and yeat is not overbearing. Don't get me wrong, it can be made to be overbearing if you want it too though. The echo side is everything from classic slapback through spacey repeats and has that groovy analog quality that many of us geezers really dig. I don't have anything against digital delays mind you, but this echo is very warm by comparison and will suit anyone searching for such thing. When both effects are engaged simulateously, this pedal can be something special indeed. Sure you can engage seprate chorus and delay stomps and achieve nearly the same thing, but I think this pedal is setup to push the echo into the chorus which is slightly different than many folks might set up separates on a pedalboard. As always, YMMV but my experiences with this pedal have been very favorable of the nearly three years I've had it and I consider it an indespensable piece of my tonal pallet.

3 knobs for chorus,3 knobs for delay,very easy to use

awsome sound,extremely quiet ,infact i dont even carry my pedal board much anymore,a little delay,a little chorus and some overdrive from my tube amp and i really dont need the other pedals that often, in fact i sold my dano chorus and dano echo,my DOD flanger and am going to ditch my Boss EQ because it is noisy...just leaves my a Dano overdrive,(when not using amp but DI),Boss compressor,Budda Wah and H2O

built like tank and no problems,not owned extensively

Bob W. is a great guy,i talked to him on phone extensively prior to purchase and was assured that i would like or he would make it right. We have a mutual friend and that person gave him a big thumbs up.

highly recommend,2great pedals in 1 small package. my son has been playing about 2.5 yrs church,local college jazz ensemble,garage band,i'm his "tech" ,financial purse, and chauffer.i'm a bass player. we own Carvin guitars and bass,Carvin tube amp,Carvin 600 watt bass amp,Kustom guitar amp,Washburn 7 string,Walden acoustic electric,Kay acoustic,Kingston short scale bass and the above mentioned effects.

Very easy to use and lots of different sound settings..

This thing is the absolute best chorus I've ever used and added to my arsenal of effects..The echo is an added bonus and has replaced both of my BOSS pedals that I've been using for quite awhile..It's very rich and full sounding and can be dialed in to suit just about everyone's taste..I'm using it right after the BOSS tuner and after my FULLTONE overdrive in the chain on my pedal board and then directly to my 71 Silverface Super Reverb and the sounds I get are just amazing..I use it in combination with my 3 classic Strats and Line 6 modeling guitar..It's perfect for me..

Built like a tank and in my opinion ,well made..A little on the large size,but hey,all good things don't always come in small packages

Had e-mail contact to make sure mine had the latest upgrade and Steve Mikesell was extremely helpfull and very courtious to me in a quick and timly manner with requards to my inquiry..

I've been at this thing for 40 years and play all types of music..At the present time ,I have a Classic Rock band that suits me to a "TEE"and this unit fills the bill for me and the group..Try one and I bet you'll be on the purchasing end also..

This pedal is very straightforward, and simple to use. Basically a single input with an effects out and another for an unaffected sound (which can be modified to another effects out). On the Echo side you have Echo Time, Repeats and Effect Level. The Chorus side offers Speed, Width and Delay Time. Each effect is footswitchable on the unit.

This is where it gets good, and I mean REALLY good! Visual Sound utilizes something called "Pure Bypass", and being that I use many true bypass pedals, I'm extremely impressed with the true tonality of this pedal. I spent quite a while doing some sound quality determination, and noticed nothing less than "true bypass quality" in using the H2O. I've been playing for 25 years and deal with Nic at Catalinbread and Brad at Tone Factor (both of which are at the top of the game in the effects pedals) and I also use George L cables to get the best signal possible.
Let's start with the Echo. I'm using this pedal on a Splawn Quick Rod 100 rig with a Splawn 4x12 cab. The Echo fills just the right frequencies to get the Ol' Van Halen sound. Other similar analog delays that I've used that would approach this sound would cost over $250.00, considering tone, and variability. (The H2O is not an analog delay BTW, it just has the same, if not better analog quality and sounds as good as many of the top ones out there.)
Onto the Chorus, again, sounding like a much more expensive analog chorus, with a wide range of uses. Everything from a nice thick chorus (which is what I primarily use it for) to sounds more toward a leslie or even a chorused phasing effect.
To have either one or the other in a single pedal at the price is an abolute steal, never mind both in one!

Being that I just received it a week ago, I can't make any ratings remarks here. Only that it seems very well constructed, and haven't had any "popping" issues that some of the old reviews of this pedal mentioned. The current version of the H2O has apparently been upgraded in many ways, and this might be part of that. (I see a "10" here in the future!)

I've had some conversations with Dave and Bob at Visual sounds about using the H2O in some different applications. They've both been great on the phone and via email, ready to help, and answer any questions.

Well, I have a hard time giving perfect ratings accross the board to manufacturer, I tend to be pretty (or maybe overly) critical toward most sometimes. But in this case, great ratings are warranted. Excellent product, great price, and awesome customer support. What else can you ask for?

This pedal is extremely easy to use. It really is two pedals in one, but just a few minutes spent fiddling with the knobs will allow you to hone in on some very usable sounds - both on the echo side and the chorus side. The capability of this pedal to create a Leslie-like sound is very cool and easy to achieve.

I'm using a Tele and a Strat into a Fender Blues Deluxe with this pedal and it's very nice. The chorus works well - all the way from a nice gentle shimmer, to to a nice Leslie-like sound, to a very wide and wacky sound (but it's still good). Don't know if I'll ever use it on the most extreme settings, but it's very cool nonetheless. The echo also works well - sounds great and it's very easy to dial up what you're looking for - although changing delay times during performance is a bit dicey. You've just got to memorize your settings. But hey, that's what you expect from this type of effect. I'm not noticing any added noise or tone-sucking.

Visual Sound seems to build very nice, reliable pedals - feels very solid. Not enough experience with the H2O to know for sure how durable it will be, but I've owned a Route 66 for a while now with no problems whatsoever.

Seem to be very committed to customer satisfaction - by providing a customer service number on the back of the pedal. Based on Visual Sound's reputation I have no worries in this area, although to be honest I have yet to deal with them directly myself

Play country, rock, and pop for 25 years. Gigging on electric about 8 or 10 nights a month and another 8 or 10 on acoustic as a solo. I'm taking the H2O to ALL my gigs. I may only use it a couple times a night, but that leslie effect is so cool I have to have it available. I dial up some gentler chorus sounds and use them a little more frequently througout the night. Sounds great on both electric and acoustic. Sure TC Electronic and Fulltone make some great chorus pedals, but for about half the price you're getting a pedal with very competitive chorus sounds AND an echo pedal. I'm happy with mine and would replace it with another if it was stolen, lost, or if a drunk person fell on it and crushed it during a show.

A pedal is a pedal. Nonetheless, I believe it lacks very critical "effect control" on the chorus channel. Before I bought the pedal off ebay w/o actually trying it (couldn't find one locally), I wondered how one could adjust the intensity of the chorus effect. Well.. you can't!...bummer...

Good:
1. Relatively cheap: you can get a used one off eBay around $120.
2. Has decent chorus and delay effects in one.
3. Looks cool (some may disagree).

Bad:
1. No effect level control: Without it, it's kind of hard to dial into the very sutble chorus effect w/o coloring the tone too much. Also, in my opinion, the chorus channel has too much of the flanging/phasing tone quality (shhhweeeeshhhhhhweeee). Again, this problem is amplified by the fact that it doesn't have the effect control.
2. No true bypass: I actually hear the difference in the tone. But this is nothing new and true for all other pedals w/o true bypass in the market.
3. Weird distortion (not confirmed with the manufacturer yet): The pedal that I got (it was said to be/looks new) distorts the tone noticeably when you really dig in and play hard clean rythms. This is very annoying and a big turn-off. None of the review below seemed to have that same problem. Either I'm not lucky with mine or they weren't paying attention. I'm yet to find out on this.

Just got it today. Not able to say.

Sent an email today regarding the distortion problem explained above. Will update shortly.

My rating is aside from the distortion problem discussed above. There are better chorus pedals in the market (by far, TC Electronics is the best in this format; I haven't tried Choralflange by Fulltone but read some good reviews on them). However, for the money (~ $120), it's a good value. Just make sure to check for the problem that I'm having before you buy one.

The manual offers some setting suggestions for both the chorus and the delay that are ideal for getting you started. With a slight tweak you are able to create your own unique sounds.

Incredible, amazing, sweet, fat, tonal quality.

I use an Ibanez guitar with Semour Duncan Pickups, a Fender Hotrod Deluxe amp, and a Hughes & Kettner Tube Factor. There are so many inmportant links in finding a quality sound and tone that you are happy with. My setup is ideal for my style (Rock / Alternative),

I was surprised to read reviews from people disappointed in the quality of the chorus...I'm not sure if they had it turned on when they played it because it is superb. Hey, each to their own...but if you play classical music then NO, this chorus probably won't appeal to you. I've read that 'The Edge' from U2 has one in his setup...are you telling me that he would settle for anything less than the best?? And this is coming from someone who isn't a big U2 fan!

Haven't had it long long enough

Never had to deal with them - but heard good things!

Don't wait - just go get one NOW!

Pretty easy to use. Three knobs for the chours, three knobs for the echo, a long / short rocker switch for the echo, and separate on/off buttons for the chorus or echo effect. Not rocket science. The manual has some good suggested starting settings, although you just fiddle with the three knobs if you want something else.

Overall, pretty good here too. I don't find the unit to add significant noise or color to my sound. I run a Wolfgang guitar into a 5150 head and cabinet and run the liquid chorus / echo in the effects loop. I use an attenuator to keep the volume at a reasonable level so I can heat up the power tubes a bit.

I don't really like the chorus. I prefer the chorus from my MXR chorus pedal. The settings just don't sound right to me, although this is a very personal, subjective deal. I think the manual gives some good suggested uses, and you can get a pretty heavy underwater leslie type sound. The chorus does not lack for strength of effect, but the actual chorus sounds it made were simply not to my taste. Your mileage may vary. I should also mention that I have not tried the chorus through any other amp or a clean channel setting. Who knows, it might sound great in those settings.

The echo, on the other hand, I find to be great with my fairly simple rig. I set the delay on long, and each of the knobs are set at about 10 o'clock. With this setup, I get VERY close to the sound from Van Halen's "Fair Warning" album. I do recommend this pedal for the echo if for no other reason.

The echo is digital, but voiced to sound analog. Certainly, it is a different sound than say, my Boss DD-3. The DD-3 is a bit more metallic or perhaps treble-y but more precise. I have a hard time telling that the echo on the Liquid chorus / echo is NOT analog.

For comparison, I have a Fulltone Tube Tape Echo. This is a sweet unit, but it is tape and has maintenance requirements. Also, I find it somewhat difficult to find just the right amount of echo. In short, it is very high end, but it is also a pain in the ass. This pedal doesn't suffer from any of those problems. In fact, I prefer using the Liquid Echo over the Fulltone for the sound! Again, a very subjective opinion here.

The echo on this thing is not as precise as say a digital echo. If you want pristine, sparkling delay, you need to go for something holding itself out as a digital delay. I don't think one is necessarily better than the other, it is just what type of sound you are looking for.

The best example I can give is that this pedal does a good job for me of doing the old Van Halen type echo whereas a Boss Digital Delay or rack mount digital delay would be better for the newer, more processed Van Halen sound.

Overall, I am pretty pleased with this echo. I don't have any plans to use anything else at this time. I think it is very versatile too and allows you to get a number of echos, slapback, longer and shorter delays. I could not, however, find a reverb like setting. That is a different pedal, obviously. I'll give her a 9, but deduct a point for lack of good sounding chorus, at least to my ears. I wonder if these effects on this pedal simply don't sound good together?

I don't think any of us have had this long long enough to really know -- I think it is a failry new product.

No clue.

Been playing since the 80s. My main style is Van Halen type tunes. If this pedal were stolen, I would replace it again. As stated earlier, I use this pedal only for the echo.

It is a bit pricey, but I think for a good echo, you are going to need to spend a little cash. There seems to be a real gap between the Boss and Digitech pedal type echo / delays on one extreme and on the other lies the rack units, the Fulltone and Hughes and Kettner products. Very little middle ground as far as I was concerned. It seemed I was either going to spend about $100 dollars or more like $500. I think the Liquid Echo is a nice compormise.

In the past, I had always been a reverb man. But reverb tends to place your sound in the distance, you loose that in your face type tone. I needed something to flesh out my distortion, give it some air. I have never been very happy with any echo or delay device I had purchased -- these were the Boss and Digitech products and the Fulltone Tape Echo.

The Liquid echo is a nice solution. It gives me a somewhat compressed, fairly precise echo. It is lo-fi or at least sounds lo-fi. But it took me a long time to realize that was actually the sound I wanted. It is a relatively inexpensive Echoplex type pedal. It does the lo-fi sound well without sounding like a cheap, crappy pedal. I think the echo is versatile enough on this echo to give you short slapback or really long delay times with the twist of a few knobs.

For my application, this pedal only does one thing: sits on top of my amp and give me reliable, fairly inexpensive, digital reproduction of an Echoplex type sound. This was enough for me. It did not degrade the sweet, sweet crunch coming out of my 5150. In fact, I think it enhanced the sound, compressed it a bit, and gave it some mono echo expansion. THis may or may not be your cup of tea. Again, although this pedal is digital, it does not sound digitial to my ears. Some people are looking for that sound, others aren't. In any event, I suggest you check this pedal out, it might be for you too.