Chorus

A modulated short-delay thickener that turns a mono source into a wide, shimmering stereo signal. Feed it a single voice and it comes back doubled, detuned, and spread across the stereo field — the classic effect for fattening synths, pads, and guitars.

How it works

Your input runs through a short delay line whose read position is swept by two sine LFOs a quarter-cycle apart. That constant motion bends the pitch slightly, producing the gentle detuned "doubling" that defines chorus. Because the left and right taps move out of phase with each other, each channel hears a different version of the signal — that decorrelation is what opens up the stereo image.

Controls

  • Rate — how fast the delay sweeps, from a slow 0.1 Hz drift to an 8 Hz shimmer. Low rates give lush, glacial movement; higher rates push toward vibrato and warble.
  • Depth — how far the sweep travels. More depth means stronger detuning and a thicker, more obvious effect; back it off for a subtle widening.
  • Mix — the wet/dry blend, from fully dry to fully processed. Around halfway gives the deepest doubling, where dry and wet beat against each other.
  • Delay — the center delay time the sweep moves around, from 3 ms up to 30 ms. Short settings wobble like a vibrato or flanger with audible comb coloration; the middle is the classic lush chorus; long settings drift toward slapback and ensemble doubling. It's the single knob that most changes the effect's character.
  • Width — how far apart the left and right taps move, spreading the wet signal across the stereo field. Turn it down and the channels collapse toward mono for a narrow, mix-safe sound; turn it up for the widest, most decorrelated stereo image.

Inputs & outputs

  • In L / In R — the signal to thicken; patch a synth voice, drum, or full mix. Patch In L alone and the module behaves exactly as it always has: one mono source spread into a stereo pair. Patch both and it processes a true stereo signal, each side running its own delay line — the same sweep, but the left and right sources stay separate instead of being merged.
  • Rate / Depth / Mix / Delay / Width CV — voltage control over each matching knob; patch an LFO or envelope to sweep the chorus's speed, detune, blend, delay, or stereo width hands-free.
  • L / R — the stereo wet/dry result. Patch both to your mixer to hear the full width.

Tips

  • Slow Rate with moderate Depth is the sweet spot for lush pads; fast Rate with high Depth drifts into seasick vibrato.
  • Take both L and R — using only one output collapses the stereo widening that makes the effect shine.