Harley Benton Classic Chorus

This pedal does have a nice warm chorus effect and I wanted to like this pedal a lot but it had three issues: first, it lowers the signal between the guitar and amp a bit more than a single pedal should and rolls off the high end of the tone when in bypass; second, it adds a bit more white noise than I would expect - not just as a general hum as it is otherwise quiet - but to the background of the chorus effect. I didn't notice this at first as I originally set it up in my pedal board going through a loud and somewhat noisy tube amp. But it's quite present when isolated going through a clean channel on my solid state practice amp; third; it wasn't able to run at full power when using a battery (new 9V with full charge). The biggest issue for me though was the volume/tone when on bypass. Given the price though, its an alright pedal.

You just can't get a bad sound out of this pedal, truly the controls are set, I would say within the 'sweet' spot of a classic chorus. So even with the rate and width at full it's a usable effect. From light 'chorusing which just lets your chords 'sparkle' to heavy or maybe better described as 'light flanging' at the top end, but all usable. from Dave Gilmore to Neal Schon lead tones, just great stuff. Price just makes you smile all the more when you hear the sounds. Robust little case. wouldn't like to test the chicken head knobs for strength if they got knocked, but I try to keep my pedals on a board and cased anyway. And 'true' by pass, not just effect off. Great! Quick edit The above was with my (shall we say) ST style guitar, single coil PUP's, when I switched to humbuckers I felt that the sound was...... Not muted,I think dark is the word I'm looking for. I personally felt the classic chorus would benefit from a 'tone' control for HB PUP's for the best results. I kept wanting to turn the treble up. Could be just me.

Okay, I have some lovely old analog chorus pedals: Original Boss CE-2, Ross and Arion. All the right models. I did a massive compare and contrast with all these boxes. Now this little chap is obviously copy of the Boss CE-2. The pot values are very similar - although this actually can do some more extreme settings (the Boss is quite tame overall). Now maybe the Boss is a bit better.... but it's pretty minimal!! There really is very little in it. I personally prefer the pedals with more extreme settings (like the Arion) - as they do a good faux-Leslie sound. But if you want a classic, warm, analog chorus sound - this little blue box has it!!