When shopping for pedals, we are faced quite broadly with two types of unit – those that are practical and unspectacular (e.g. Compressors, D.I.s) and those that are awesome fun, way over the top and only useful in a small number of settings. (E.g. Bass Whammy, Lovetone Meatball)
Chorus pedals fall into the first category – they aren’t extremely fun or exciting, but used tastefully and sparingly, they can add an appealing colour to your sonic palette.
For those of you unfamiliar with the sound of a chorus pedal, check out Continuum from the Jaco Pastorius debut album or have a listen to Pino’s opening solo on Paul Young’s cover of ‘Wherever I lay my hat (that’s my home).’
The Carl Martin pedal is reasonably light, compact and comes with a power lead attached. This means it can’t be daisy-chained, which is a pain, but also that you’ll never forget the power supply. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is simply personal preference. The pedal feels very solid and I’m a big fan of a sturdy metal casing – if you miss your target on a dark stage and stomp on the pedal itself, you don’t have to worry about killing it.
The controls and layout are extremely simple and straightforward, with jack input and output sockets on the back. The four control knobs and two stomp switches are neatly spaced out on top.
The pedal is split into two channels, each with depth and speed knobs, allowing independent adjustments for either channel. The button on the left is a channel switcher and the one on the right is an effect on/off switch.
With these switches, you can set two different chorus sounds, option one on the left and option two on the right. Using the channel selector switch, you can move between the two chorus settings while playing, and whichever channel you are using when the effect is turned off will remain selected when you turn it back on.
A small blue LED flashes just below the depth and speed knobs to show which channel you have selected, and the speed of the flashing lets you see clearly (even on a darkened stage) the speed of your current chorus setting.
In use the Carl martin is extremely user friendly providing instantly pleasing sounds and idiot-proof tweakability. The controls range from a mild softening of your tone, right up to insane warbling that is more useful as a sound effect than for playing any real bass through. The chorus adds a pleasing and sonorous ring to harmonics and high register chords and works particularly well with a fretless. When the depth was set high enough, my bass even did a nice impression of a Hammond with a leslie speaker cabinet.
The only sound issue I have with this pedal (and it’s a small one) is that as you increase the depth of the chorus effect, the signal becomes a bit louder. It’s hardly the end of the world, but made the bass sound leap out onstage when I would rather it had remained subtle.
I must state that the Carl Martin is built to the highest possible standards and delivers beautiful sounds, but how many of us could justify spending £179 on a chorus pedal? I know I couldn’t. In the studio, most people add chorus via a software plug-in and although it can sound great in a live setting, it’s a lot of money to spend on just one pedal, when there are modellers and budget pedal boards out there that provide a whole bunch of great sounds for less. I fear the price tag may keep this pedal as strictly a purchase for big budget tone freaks.
Specs
Price: £179
Made in: Denmark
Controls: Depth, Speed, Channel switch
Power: 9V DC (lead attached)
Rating
Build Quality: 19
Sturdy, well laid out and feels like you could drive a tank over it without much risk.
Sound: 16
This pedal is a beautiful example of bass chorus – the sounds just can’t be faulted, although the depth/volume relationship is a little bit of a let down.
Features: 15
It’s helpful having two different chorus sounds to switch between, and the parameters are very easy to control, giving instant results. The flashing light showing channel selection and chorus speed is a nice extra.
Value: 8
Built to extremely high specifications, this is one of the richest, sweetest chorus sounds I’ve ever used, but it is still just a chorus pedal and with great cheap multi effects units available, that price tag makes it a touch extravagant.
Wow factor: 15
It’s a chorus pedal – chorus is a subtle effect and one that doesn’t really excite. Even so, it does make my bass sound beautiful – especially for chords and harmonics.
Total: 73 – A beautiful pedal, fabulous craftsmanship, but probably in a price range reserved for the effects connoisseur.
