The Twelve Days of Chorus - Part 2

 Admittedly this post isn't about a particular chorus unit, but to really hear a stereo effect, you need 2 sound sources, a left and a right signal. For guitar players that means two amps or an amp that has stereo capabilities. There are still some amps out there that have stereo options, usually a 2x10, or a 2x12. I've have some experiences with a few, and these still stick out in my mind, even years later.

The JC-120 is probably THE amp I have a love and hate relationship with. The cleans are beyond amazing, but the dirty channel is pretty weak for most applications. Joe Satriani used one with a Boss-DS1 for a few tracks on "surfing with the alien", so it's not a lost cause for dirty tones. The clean sound on Metallica's Enter Sandman is a JC-120, and that tone is instantly identifiable.

I had a friend that had a pair of them for awhile, and He let me try them out for a few rehearsals. Using a few various Distortion pedals, including my Mesa V-twin Pedal preamp.  I could get some nice tones out of them. I preferred the one that had the non metallic speaker cones. They seem to hold their value in the used market, so getting a good one at a cheap price is almost impossible. The price on new ones hasn't moved all that much either.

I did, however get a Fender Ultra Chorus (later called the Ultimate Chorus). It was kind of like a non tube Fender twin configuration. It was all solid state, with stereo Chorus (hence the name) and reverb, and 2 channels.

Honestly, the overdrive wasn't good, It was notchy, and blocky-ish. But the cleans could make a virgin look like a hollywood hooker. I ran a Boss DD3 delay in the effects loop, and a Mesa Boogie V-twin pedal in the front. It really was an amazing rig, with that warm tube tone from the Mesa Boogie, and those cleans with the chorus were spacious and rich. If you're going to get that true stereo effect, a chorus pedal into 2 sseparate amps is the way to go. But this configuration gave the same effect, in a smaller package. This lil rig did me well for a long time, and fit into the trunk of my 94 Ford Escort easily.