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Download Example 1
Orianthi TonePrint. Level 2 o'clock, Speed 11 o'clock, Depth 2 o'clock, Tone 1 o'clock
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| Clips recorded with a Fender Telecaster and Vox Pathfinder
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Corona Chorus
The green Corona Chorus is a straightforward
and easy-to-use chorus pedal with
a fairly wide range of modulation from
very subtle to radical. The control set is a
conventional array of Level, Speed, Depth,
and Tone controls. But the pedal also has
an additional switch that enables on-the-fly
activation of a Tri-Chorus that you can use
in stereo mode for a rich chorus comprising
slightly offset depth and speed settings that
sounds super wide.
The Corona provided one of the more
interesting studies of the potential to transform
the pedal’s character via a TonePrint
download. In this case, I downloaded the
Orianthi chorus, which was a pleasant but
subtle chorus with all the controls set to
noon. Setting everything to just about 2
o’clock, however, gave the Chorus, with it’s
new Orianthi-informed identity, a sweet,
swelling Leslie quality that sounded quite
nice for
Abbey Road or
Dark Side of the
Moon rotary-speaker colors.
Switching back to standard Chorus
mode, however conjured a less smooth
and slightly digital-sounding chorus—
not unpleasant, but a distinctly more
undulating sound than the Orianthi chorus.
And having both on tap really was like having
two very different chorus pedals in front
of me—one more analog flavored, the other
a more radical and pulsing sound—but
both very useful for drastically changing the
mood of a single arpeggio to accentuate a
bridge section or chorus. Those very different
sounds had me wishing I could switch
between them with an additional footswitch
rather than having to use the pedal’s
onboard knob. Given the compact and
standard footprint of the TonePrint pedal,
that would require a tricky bit of engineering,
but it’s a touch that would make the
pedal a lot more useful onstage.
Rating...
Vortex Flanger
The Vortex Flanger—like any flanger—is
not an effect for everyone. Hendrix aficionados
looking to capture some of the
studio moods from
Electric Ladyland will
always find a place for flange stylings. But
in most cases, they aren’t for the faint-of-heart.
That’s no different for the Vortex, but
its price and the flexibility afforded by the
available TonePrints makes this unit a more
versatile and attractive flanger than most.
With controls for Speed, Feedback,
Depth, and Delay Time, the Vortex is easy
enough to navigate and use to dial up cool,
swirling textures. The pedal’s standard
modes can range from smooth to hyper
and burbling, depending on how aggressively
you toy with the Depth, Speed, and
Feedback knobs. But the addition of the
TonePrint option (which includes prints
from Orianthi and Bumblefoot) and
the Tape flange switch really expand the
Vortex’s range of voices. The Tape setting
sounds great at medium-to-strong intensity
for both psych-flavored arpeggios and fast,
funk-chord comping. It also works wonders
if you want to lend motion to a lingering,
fuzz-driven power chord.
The Petrucci TonePrint had a distinct
envelope filter-like “wow,” but also added
more clarity and definition to arpeggios
at higher Speed and Feedback settings.
According to the description for this particular
TonePrint, Petrucci designed the
print around a type of phase cancellation
that lends warmth. It’s a quality that was
easy to discern and also made the pedal
more useful and musical in more extreme
flange applications.
Rating...