Gilmourish.Com – guitars, effects and amps.

The chorus effect has been a crucial part of guitarists’ tone since the early 80s. Dismissed by some as cheesy, others can’t play without it. Italian CostaLab has received a lot of praise for their Cornish-inspired pedals and clones of old classics. Here’s my review of the ChorusLab.

I must admit – I’ve never been a chorus kind of guy. Still, I tend to use it quite a lot. It’s one of those effects that, to me at least, sounds better when someone else is using it but I also appreciate how it make a dull overdrive or distortion sound quite sweet. David Gilmour has been using chorus since 1980. Two Boss CE2 pedals were featured in his Wall stage rig assigned to each channel for a wide stereo spread. As most other guitarists in the 80s David featured the CE2 in all of his rigs, either for stereo spread or a single pedal depending on the purpose of the setup.

The CostaLab ChorusLab is housed in a TRex sized box with true bypass switching, a bright easy to see led and it runs on either 9V battery or Boss-style power supply. The pedal feature controls for depth, speed and mix.

It feels almost sacrilege to not dismiss every Boss CE2 clone but I’ve ways found analog chorus like the CE2, EHX Small Clone and similar to be just a little too dominating with too much mid range. The ChorusLab is quite the opposite. No doubt the pedal is based on the classic CE2 with the same analog flavour but the ChorusLab is much warmer and smoother and blends better with other pedals. A huge improvement in my opinion.

A welcomed bonus is the mix control allowing you to mix the effect signal from 0 to flat to near flanger-ish. This makes it easy to adjust the chorus effect to match the other pedals. Clean tones and mild overdrives could do with a fat chorusy tone, while distortions sounds better with a milder setting. You can also dial in a pretty convincing rotary tone that stays in pitch unlike most chorus pedals, which tend to get all wild and swirly when you increase the rate and depth.

Chorus pedals tend to be a bit noisy. Part because of age but also due to the boosted mid range. The ChorusLab is dead silent and the true bypass switching makes it easy to blend it demanding vintage pedals.

If you’re not really a chorus guy or simply think that other chorus pedals doesn’t sound warm or natural enough then the ChorusLab is highly recommended. Whether you’re seeking the magic ingredient for David’s PULSE tones or just something that will beef up your tones you’ll find that the ChorusLab nails pretty much everything. Check out the CostaLab website for more info and ordering.

The pickups in your guitar are as important as any stompbox and a good set of quality pickups can do wonders for your tone. California based Dave Allen pickups has gained a lot of praise lately for their hand wound custom pickups and I recently got a couple of sets that promised classic Gilmour tones. Here’s my review of the Tru Vintage 54 and 69 Voodoo’s.

Choosing the right pickups for your setup can be a challenge. You might realize that the pickups you finally decided on doesn’t sound anything near what you’d expected. All of my Strats has featured Fender CS69s at one point and all of them sounded different. The reason is that there’s no such thing as two identical guitars. Even though they have the same wood, contour, lacquer etc, there are all these little nuances that creates a unique tone. So what pickups should you choose? Well, that really needs to be your decision, based on the gear you have but one thing is for sure – hand wound quality pickups will always be a welcomed upgrade.

All Dave Allen single coils are made by hand, making each bobbin with laser cut fiber flatwork, hand beveled alnico magnets, scatter wind, wax pot, use USA cloth push back hookup wires, finish off with a fabric tape. The tone character is designed in close relationship with guitarists and by meticulously studying vintage models.

The Tru Vintage 54s (alnico 3) are based on the pickups featured in the very first line of Fender Stratocasters. These are known for their glassy transparent tone with a rounded lower end and a hint of mid range. This is instant surf and Shadows but also a perfect match for David’s legendary #0001 Stratocaster.

I’ve always been a fan of the 54s and in my opinion they’re ideal for big pedal boards when you want a transparent tone as possible. They can sound a bit thin and bright though. Especially if they’re combined with maple necks or if you’re used to hot overwound pickups or humbuckers. However, the Tru Vintage 54 has an incredibly smooth top that stays creamy even when you crank the amp really good. The fat lower end and slight mid range makes them very dynamic and versatile – almost to the point that you forget that these are indeed low output vintage style models. Highly recommended if you’re desperately seeking that Stratpack 2004 tone or simply a set that’ll cover most of David’s 70s tones.

The 69 Voodoo’s (alnico 5) are based on the late 60s Fender pickups employed by Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, SRV etc. Recognized by their transparent tone, thunderous lower end and crisp top, this is as close as you’ll get to Machine Gun and Echoes.

Over the years I’ve become more and more fan of the 69s. Although similar to the 54s, they respond even better to tube amps and high gain pedals and the boosted lower end makes them slightly warmer. Having used numerous different Fender 69 clones over the years I must admit that the Voodoo’s gave me a huge grin when I plugged in my trusted Strat. First of all these are so scooped (middle frequency rolled off) that they can easily be mistaken for John Mayer’s Big Dippers. A perfect match for the Ram’s Head Muff and Tube Driver!

A common complaint about the late 60s models is that the bridge pickup is just too spiky and thin. Dave Allen has solved this by offering a slightly overwound bridge – right in the middle of the CS69 and the much darker sounding Duncan SSL5. A great upgrade and perfect for that little extra when you stomp your distortions.

Compared to the TTS Crazy Diamond set that I reviewed a couple of months ago, the Voodoo’s sound a bit more open and they also seem to have a slightly more pronounced and crisp attack. However, the Crazy Diamond bridge is slightly hotter, which I think suits the set better. It’s apples and oranges really and more down to what you prefer and what fits the tonal character of your guitar.

I always try to stress the importance of a good sounding guitar and amp. This is a much better and longer lasting investment than any pedal. After all, playing an instrument is about inspiration and no pedal will sound inspiring without a good basis. This, however, doesn’t mean that you need to blow all your savings but a guitar that you’re comfortable with will sound even better with proper pickups. A good rule when you buy a new guitar is to focus on the comfort, playability and how it sound acoustically. If the pickups do sound good, then you got yourself a bonus. If they don’t then I strongly suggest a new set of good quality hand wounds. For me, good quality pickups can be measured by how well they respond to your picking technique and whether they maintain their character when you adjust the guitar volume. Dave Allen’s pickups passed the test and I warmly recommend them!

Check out the Dave Allen Pickups website for more details and ordering info.

I haven’t recorded any clips for this review. Soundclips will never do pickups justice because you can manipulate the sound with different recording techniques (choice of mic, mic placements, recording and mastering software etc). Check out these songs for a close reference:
TruVintage 54s: David Gilmour performing Marooned at the Stratpack show, Wembley Arena 2004. #0001 1954 Stratocaster with Demeter Compulator, Chandler Tube Driver and MXR digital delay into a Hiwatt+WEM setup.
69 Voodoo’s: David Gilmour performing Then I Close My Eyes at Royal Albert Hall, 2006. The Black Strat with Demeter Compulator, BK Butler Tube Driver and delay into a Hiwatt+WEM setup.

I’ve had a lot of requests for the Strymon Lex Rotary lately. This rotary speaker simulator seems to have caused a lot of stir and not least among Gilmour enthusiasts. I recently got my hands on one and here’s my review.

Rotating speaker cabs has been David’s secret weapon since 1971-72. His stage setup at this point featured the classic 3-head Hiwatt rack, WEM speaker cabs and a Leslie 147. The Leslie was swapped with two Yamaha RA200 cabinets in 1976-1983 and the jaw breaking 1994 stage setup featured custom designed Doppola rotating speakers. Read more about David’s rotary setups here.

While Clapton, Vaughan, Harrison etc used Leslies as a main effect, David would blend or mix the effect with the main amps. This subtle liquidy swirl is the essence of many of his classic tones throughout the years. The newly released recording of Dark Side of the Moon from Empire Pool, Wembley 1974 is a great example of how the Leslie 147 cabs adds a huge dimension to his tones. You could easily use a chorus or flanger to create something similar but it’ll never be quite the same.

The Lex Rotary was designed with a painstaking focus on details and the complexity of a rotary cab and look no further people – this is as close as you’ll get to fit a Leslie in a box!

The Lex is housed in a slightly bigger TRex sized sturdy box with easy to reach big knobs. There are four controls allowing you to adjust the fast rotor speed, mic distance at the horn, horn level and preamp drive (quite decent but I recommend a better sounding overdrive pedal). There are also two on/off stomp switches for slow/fast and bypass. The pedal runs on 9V Boss style adaptor and feature true bypass switching. This is only the beginning though. The Lex also has a number of “hidden” controls that’s engaged by stomping both foot switches simultaneously. The four controls then allows you to make additional settings like different mic placements, volume boost etc. There are so much technical specifications that I won’t even dare to begin describing them. Fear not though – the Lex is super easy to operate. Check out the Strymon site for more details and soundclips.

I’ve tested the Lex both in mono and stereo. You can place it among your pedals like any other chorus or flanger and get a very dynamic chorusy tone with that classic tremolo swirl. However, if you need to run the pedal in mono I strongly suggest that you split the signal and place the Lex on one line with a second amp. This way you get a setup similar to David’s and you can adjust the level on the assigned amp for the desired amount of Leslie effect. See this feature for more on replicating David’s rotary setup.

The Lex should be operated in stereo though. The tone can fool even the most devoted Leslie fans and I had a hard time telling it apart from a Leslie 760 that I compared it with. Standing in front of the stereo setup you can hear how incredibly dynamic and sophisticated the Lex is. A Leslie or rotating speaker isn’t just a static effect like your average distortion but there are all these nuances that makes up the tone. A pedal alone can’t replicate the acoustics and dynamics of your studio or a stage but the guys at Strymon seems to have cracked the code and delivered a pedal that’s almost as organic and alive as a real Leslie.

So how does it compare to other rotary sims? The Lex is very similar to the old Korg G4 and HK Rotosphere. The Lex however sounds more natural and organic and the ramp to slow/fast is much smoother. The Line 6 Rotary Machine does a nice job but sounds almost like a ring modulator at high speeds. The Lex stays focused and allows you to carefully place the mic just where you want it for the right swirl.

I use the Boss RT20 a lot but it doesn’t really sound anything other than a very sophisticated chorus and that’s pretty much why I like it. In my opinion you can’t really compare the two but the RT20 has one huge advantage, which is the mix effect control. This is a slight draw back on the Lex especially in terms of David’s tones. The reason is that you don’t really want a dominating rotary effect but rather a mild swirl. Not quite a chorus and certainly no flanger but just a hint of that certain something. The Lex works very well for cleans and mild overdrives but gets all too dominating and dark when you try to run a Big Muff through it. In this case you’re better off with a Boss RT20 or simply a chorus.

But, the Lex was never made with Gilmour in mind. Judging by the Strymon website they set out to create the most authentic sounding rotary simulator and in my humble opinion I think they’ve done it. Highly recommended!