Ever since the effect’s inception in the mid-1970s, chorus has been a mainstay for guitar players of all genres. If you’re looking to introduce some texture to your tone, give a sense of movement, or thicken up your sound, then one of the best chorus pedals is a great way to do that.
A popular effect used by lthe ikes of The Police, Guns N’ Roses, Prince, Metallica, Joe Bonamassa, The Smiths, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and loads more, chorus pedals were massively prevalent in the ’80s, but they never really went away. Over the years I've tested a myriad of different chorus pedals, from vintage-inspired to those more modern ones that can get properly weird.
If you're looking for the best chorus pedal overall, I'd recommend you look at the Universal Audio UAFX Brigade. Easy to use yet with plenty of depth, it offers some of the best chorus tones I've heard. If you need something on a budget, then I'd recommend the TC Electronic Afterglow, which gives you genuine analog chorus sounds for well below the $50 mark.
If you're new to chorus pedals, then be sure to check out our FAQs section which answers loads of common questions. To see the best chorus pedals available right now, keep on scrolling.
My top picks
Packing rich chorus tones in a package that's easy to use on the face of it, but comes with some serious depth, the Universal Audio UAFX Brigade is my top choice for chorus tones.
If you want those classic chorus tones, then I can't think of a better option than the Boss CE-2W. It contains the classic CE-1 and CE-2 tones, making it the ultimate pedal for those who love vintage-sounding chorus tones.
If you're on a budget, you can still get classic analog chorus sounds for your 'board with the TC Electronic Afterglow. Priced below the $50 mark, it's insanely good value for money and sounds great.
Best overall
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The Universal Audio Brigade gets a lot right; features, build quality, price and, most importantly, sounds. They’re a company known for recreating the sounds of old pieces of legendary hardware very faithfully, and this is essentially their compact pedal version of the iconic Boss CE-1.
It’s a lovely sounding chorus pedal, with the option of switching over to vibrato. You’ve also got a dedicated control for the preamp volume, allowing for a boost in volume should you need it. If you want a more transparent tone, you can switch the preamp off altogether via a dedicated switch on the back of the pedal. There’s also a switch that lets you choose buffered or true bypass.
It’s a really cool take on the classic CE-1, with a few useful modern additions. Their gear is also made to a great standard, and for what it is, it comes in at a reasonable price too.
Best classic
This is Boss’s re-imagining of its first ever chorus units that hit the market in the ’70s. The effects giant has managed to roll the sounds associated with the legendary CE-1 and CE-2 into a compact and very easy to use format.
There are three modes: CE-1 chorus, CE-1 vibrato and CE-2 chorus. The latter sounds a bit more subtle and darker than the former, but if you’re looking for quality analog chorus sounds, then this pedal is perfect for you. You’ve then got the more dramatic vibrato setting if you need it.
What’s also nice is that the depth and rate knobs work for all three modes, and you’ve now got stereo output, which the CE-2 didn’t previously have. It’s very easy to dial in, but you’ve got a good range of sounds at your disposal, plus it’s built to Boss’s legendary standards.
Best budget
If you’re looking for the best chorus pedal on a budget, then the TC Electronic Afterglow is certainly one to consider. Unlike other budget pedals around this price point, the Afterglow is made using a metal chassis, not plastic, so it’s durable and roadworthy.
It’s a vintage-style chorus and uses BBD technology to create warm, analog chorus tones. The Rate and Depth allow you to shape what the effect sounds like and the Mix knob lets you dial in how much of the effect you hear mixed with your dry signal.
It’s very simple, and it does one thing well, which is probably all you can ask for at this price point.
Best analog
Warm Audio has been releasing some incredible replications of classic hardware units, including this chorus/vibrato pedal. It describes the WA-C1 as being a "faithful recreation of the most celebrated all-analog chorus effects pedal", i.e. the ’70s Boss CE-1. It’s a great pedal, though it’s not ideal for players who want compact effect solutions – it’s 6.5” wide.
The pedal serves up lush, warm, vintage chorus sounds alongside wobbly vibrato. It’s faithful to the original design, though there are a few modern updates. You’ve now got depth and rate controls for the chorus and vibrato; not just the latter. Additionally, there’s a selectable impedance that can add more clarity and top-end to passive instruments.
Again, like the original, you can use this as a really nice sounding preamp to add a gentle boost and natural compression to your signal. As well as the on/off footswitch, there’s a dedicated chorus/vibrato footswitch allowing you to change up your sounds without having to bend down and adjust anything.
Best compact
There’s quite a lot of variety in the sounds that you can get out of this tiny pedal. Everything from subtle warble to all-out modulated madness is possible, all via the three knobs. As a result of this, it might take a little while to find your perfect settings, but it will definitely work in some players’ favor.
It’s based on the classic Ibanez CS9 pedal, but it’s a lot more compact. In fact, it’s probably one of the smallest chorus pedals you can buy. Despite its size, it’s still really durable and it’s built well so you can trust it on the road or in costly studio sessions.
Best stereo
If you know you need as much control over your chorus as possible, then something like the Boss MD-500 might serve you well. Alongside other types of modulation – flanger, vibe, phaser, rotary and loads more – you’ve got four different types of chorus at your disposal, including versions of legendary analog units.
It’s a very powerful machine with high sample rates ensuring you get the best sound possible. You can even use two effects at once, plus you can really deep-dive into the menus to edit different parameters and get exactly the sound you’re looking for.
There are a bunch of presets already in the pedal, but you can of course save your favorite settings for quick and easy recall.
Also consider
How to choose
If you're unsure how to choose the best chorus pedal for your needs, it's probably best you learn a little more about them. In this section I'll layout the ins and outs of a chorus pedal, which should help you decide exactly what it is you want from a chorus pedal, and hopefully pick the right one for your needs.
BBD And LFOs
When looking at the best chorus pedals, you’ll come across the terms BBD and LFO. BBD stands for bucket brigade device – it’s a chip whereby audio passes from one tiny capacitor to another, many times. With chorus pedals, your signal is split – part of it passes through this chip which modulates the pitch of the frequency, and part of it doesn’t.
The part that doesn’t plays unaffected, as you’d expect, but the bit that passes through the BBD chip plays back slightly after. You can often control how much it’s delayed, and also the depth of the pitch modulation.
LFO stands for low frequency oscillator. In chorus pedals, it’s a circuit design whereby a frequency, usually under 20Hz is generated that then controls certain parameters like the delay time or pitch of your affected signal.
Chorus vs vibrato
Chorus and vibrato can sound very similar and you’ll find that some pedals have both options on there. As mentioned, chorus mixes your affected, now wobbly-sounding, signal in with your dry signal. Vibrato does away with the latter, so it’s just the new, affected signal creating a more dramatic and noticeable effect.
Digital or analog?
As with a lot of guitar-related gear, you’ve got the choice between analog and digital when it comes to the best chorus pedals.
Digital chorus pedals tend to offer a lot of flexibility. Because you’re dealing with numbers and algorithms, you can manipulate effect parameters more easily than you can with old fashioned chips and circuits. You might also see more preset capabilities on digital chorus pedals.
There are some players that claim digital chorus pedals sound more sterile or brittle, though let’s be honest – digital technology has come a long way in recent years. Analog chorus pedals have a lush warmth associated with them. The sound of chorus for many is thick and organic, maybe with a little natural breakup thrown in too – that’s what you get with analog.
FAQs
What is the point of a chorus pedal?
Chorus is a very common effect, and can sound completely different depending on how it’s dialed in. Chorus is a modulation effect that delays and alters the pitch of your guitar signal, and mixes it in with your dry, unaffected sound.
The result can be a wide, spacey kind of sound, with almost like a pulse to it. It’s great for adding texture to your sound, or for fattening up guitar parts – it can even sound a little like a 12-string. When set in a certain way, it can have a really dramatic effect on your tone.
What is the most popular chorus pedal?
There's no one most popular chorus pedal, but many modern pedals aim to replicate the sounds of a CE-1 chorus pedal. Largely considered the gold-standard of chorus pedals, it's become the blueprint for the vast majority of chorus pedals in the golden age, and features on some of the most popular sounds of all time.
What songs use a chorus pedal?
There are too many songs that use chorus to name in this guide, but if you're looking for some popular examples, you can start here:
Nirvana - Come As You Are
The La's - There She Goes
The Police - Walking On The Moon
U2 - I Will Follow
Rush - Spirit of Radio
Where is the best place to put a chorus pedal?
Generally speaking a chorus pedal should be placed later in your chain as it's a modulation. That said, there are plenty of players who get great results with them further up the signal path, so while we'd start putting it near your delay and reverb pedals, you should definitely experiment with the position.
How we test
When testing a chorus pedal, I'll take a very similar approach to any other guitar pedal. Our review template makes sure that I give each pedal equal chance, and it's the results of our reviews that define what makes it into our buyer's guides.
Before I get started I'll look at the features of the pedal to determine who it's intended for. This might mean making a note of the connectivity and controls, doing research on other variants of the pedal, as well as using previous experience to determine its place in the market.
Next up I'll look at the build quality of the pedal by examining it in detail. This allows me to determine how well it's put together, and if necessary I'll take it apart to see that everything is nice and neat inside.
For the next phase I'll use the pedal, starting without the manual to find out how easy it is to use. I'll always check the manual at some point, but it's good to get a read of how simple or complex the pedal can be.
With these checks done I'll finally move onto the sound testing portion of the review. Here I'll be judging the sound characteristics using years of experience playing guitar pedals, as well as creating sound demos so that readers can listen to the product in question.
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