Best Bass Chorus Pedals Reviews

As a bass player, you’re looking to stand out from the crowd.  The best bass chorus pedals available today can help you create a unique sound that will distinguish you from other players.

Bass chorus pedals first gained in popularity in the 1970s when progressive rock and fusion groups started using them.  The chorused bass sound moved mainstream in the late 70s and early 80s when artists like Michael Jackson and Earth Wind and Fire featured chorused bass lines in their hit songs.

Back then, bassists had no choice but to use a guitar chorus pedal as those designed specifically for bass didn’t exist.

Today though, most modern bass chorus pedals are optimized to reduce or eliminate the chorus effect on the bass’s lower frequency range, making the sound clearer and less muddied. 

Also, bassists who use a guitar chorus pedal usually find they lose some low end.

While there aren’t tons of choices available, the best bass chorus pedals offer great tone and are affordable to just about every bass player.

Let’s check them out!

NOTE: If you’re new to chorus pedals, be sure to check out my short Bass Chorus Pedal Buyers Guide at the end of the reviews.

Boss CEB-3 Bass Chorus Pedal Review

Just about every bassist or guitarist has owned a Boss chorus pedal at one time or another.

The Boss CEB-3 is one of the most popular bass chorus pedals, and it draws its lineage from the famed Boss CE-1 and CE-2 vintage guitar chorus pedals.

The CEB-3 is a digital chorus and is known for its transparent, smooth sound.  You can create chorus effects from a subtle shimmer to a heavily modulated sound.  And you get a high-quality, heavy-duty pedal that Boss is known for.

The pedal has Level, Low Filter, Rate, and Depth controls that let you shape the sound precisely.  You can get a very light chorused sound up to a very heavy effected sound, and the Level control enables you to blend the wet/dry mix.

LED lights for each control show you how they are affecting the sound, very handy for onstage use in the dark.

The CEB-3 has a split frequency design that applies the chorus effect more to higher frequencies, with the Low Filter control determining the low cutoff frequency. This feature is great for soloing as higher bass notes receive more of the chorus effect, while low notes have less.

The result is a warmer, tighter, and more transparent overall sound.

See what you think with thise demo:

Boss CEB-3 Bass Chorus Demo

Another nice feature is that there are two outputs for stereo use.

The Boss CEB-3 uses one 9V battery (or optional B0ss PSA series AC adaptor) and comes with a 5-year warranty.  It’s a highly recommended bass chorus pedal.

Electro-Harmonix Bass Clone Chorus Pedal Review

The Electro-Harmonix Bass Clone Chorus Pedal is considered one of the best bass chorus pedals ever produced, and it quickly became a user favorite since its introduction in 2016.  It’s an analog pedal that provides killer tone with ultra-flexible controls to create the perfect chorus sound.

The Bass Clone’s circuitry is nearly identical to the Electro-Harmonix’s super popular Small Clone chorus for guitar.  That pedal was introduced in 1980 and became an industry-standard chorus pedal featured on many hit records.

The Bass Clone retains the same warm transparent sound as the Small Clone but optimizes the sound for bass.

Whereas the Small Clone only had two controls, the Bass Clone has four: Depth, Rate, Bass, and Treble.

The Treble, Bass, and Crossover all work together in an interesting way.

Switching the X-Over on removes the chorus effect from low frequencies.  The Treble control affects the bass’s wet+dry chorus mix, but the Bass control only affects the dry part of the signal.

The result is a tighter, less muddied low end but with some sweet chorus on the top.

Let’s check out how it sounds:

Electro-Harmonix Bass Clone Chorus Pedal

The Bass Clone is a true bypass pedal that will help reduce noise in a pedal board.  Its heavy-duty aluminum chassis can withstand many years of use.

The Bass Clone uses one 9V battery (included) or an optional 9.6V DC-200mA power supply.

MXR M83 Bass Chorus/Flanger Deluxe Pedal Review 

MXR has been a household name in effects pedals for guitar and bass for over 40 years.  I’ve owned many of them over the years.

More recently, Dunlop bought the MXR brand (plus the Cry Baby brand of wah pedals), so you’ll sometimes see the pedal also listed as the Dunlop M83.

The MXR M83 Bass Chorus Deluxe Pedal is a 100% analog chorus/flanger specifically designed for bass. It’s capable of creating everything from a warm liquid shimmer to highly modulated flanger-type effects.

Like other higher-end pedals, the M83 provides a crossover that rolls off the effect below 100Hz to create a clearer less muddled sound.

The M83 has Bass, Treble, Intensity, Rate, and Width controls for maximum flexibility in shaping your tone.

The pedal features a TRS stereo hardwire bypass mode that lets you send the effect signal to two amps, with the modulated signal moving from left to right.  It’s a very cool sound!

Check out the M83 in action:

MXR M83 Bass Chorus Deluxe Pedal Demo

Here’s a shootout of the Boss CEB-3 vs. the MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe:

Boss CEB-3 vs. MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe

The MXR M83 is a user favorite that should be at the top of your list for consideration.

Eden I90 World Tour Bass Chorus Pedal Review

Eden is best known for their premium-quality bass amps used by artists such as Good Charlotte, Stereophonics, Phish and Manhattan Transfer.  Not as well known is their high-quality I90 bass chorus pedal, but that is changing quickly.

The I90 is a very flexible analog chorus designed specifically for bass.  It’s a vintage-style bucket-brigade device using analog chips that recreate the highly sought-after sound of tape-based effects.   Many of the now-classic pedals like the Boss CE-1 and CE-2 chorus pedals were bucket-brigade designs.

So, if you’re looking for an analog chorus with that warm analog sound, but want modern controls, the I90 is for you.

The I90 is housed in an industrial black, white, and grey case that is very sturdy.  One nice feature is that the pedal’s on/off stomp button is set at an angle to prevent your foot from accidentally changing settings while hitting the button.

The I90 has controls for Speed, Depth, Low Cut, and Mix Level.

Similar to bass chorus pedals with a Crossover, the I90’s variable Low Cut control removes the chorus effect from the lower frequencies.  This makes the low notes sound clearer and less muddy.

Overall, the sound of the I90 is very warm and can create everything from a delicate chorus ambiance to a freaked out warble.

Eden I90 Bass Chorus Pedal Demo:

Soundcloud Demo:

One thing to note is that the Eden I90 does not run on batteries; it used an included 15V power supply.  If you plan to use the I90 in a pedal board, make sure your current power supply can output 15V, or you’ll have to power this pedal separately.

Aguilar Chorusaurus Bass Chorus Pedal Review

Aguilar is a boutique maker of bass amps, cabinets, pedals, pickups, and preamps.  They only make gear for bass players.

Their commitment to making the best products for bassists has led to many happy customers, including artists such as John Patitucci (Chick Corea), Adam Clayton (U2), Will Lee, Tony Grey (John McLaughlin) and many others.

The Aguilar Chorusaurus Bass Chorus Pedal is a bucket-brigade type analog pedal that delivers the warm tone that Aguilar products are known for.  Bucket-brigade technology is an old-school analog design that uses the best of analog circuitry to create incredible warm, smooth, and organic sounding effect pedals.

The Chorusaurus has four controls – Blend, Width, Rate, and Intensity – to shape your tone as you want.  With all the controls set low, it has a very warm sound, but crank them up and you can get some crazy sounds.

An additional Blend pot determines the dry and wet signal balance.

You can check out the pedal in this video featuring renowned bassist Felix Pastorius:

Aguilar Chorusaurus Pedal Demo with Felix Pastorius

The Chorusaurus also features a special “Gig Saver” bypass that pass the signal through the pedal even if the battery dies!

One final feature is that the output can be split using a Y cable to send a stereo signal.

The Chorusaurus isn’t cheap, but if you want a premium analog-style chorus, it’s definitely a pedal you should consider.

It uses a standard 9V battery or an optional AC power supply, and it comes with a 3-year warranty.

Mooer Audio Ensemble Queen Bass Chorus Pedal (MCH2-U) Review

The Mooer Audio Ensemble Queen Bass Chorus Pedal is an inexpensive bass chorus pedal with an excellent sound that compares nicely with higher-priced pedals.

It’s nano-size pedal so it’s perfect for small pedal boards.

The Queen Bass is laid out with one large Rate control in the middle, and smaller Level, Tone, and Depth controls at the top.  As you can hear in the demo below, it provides a smooth chorus sound across all frequencies.

Mooer Ensemble Queen Bass Chorus Demo

The Queen Bass does not have a crossover function to limit the chorus effect on lower frequencies, so it may get a little muddy on the low strings when adding lots of the effect.  However, increasing the Tone control can help with reducing any low-end mud.

A very nice pedal for the money!

Bass Chorus Pedal Buyers Guide

Bass chorus pedals are pretty simple to use.  There are no right or wrong settings; you just adjust the setting until you find a sound you like.  There are, however, a few key things to know about bass chorus pedals before you buy one.

Bass Chorus Pedal Controls

Most pedals will have some combination of the following controls:

Level

Level is the amount of chorus you want added to your sound.  Less level equals less chorus sound. 

Depth

Depth controls the depth of the circuit’s modulation waveform, or the intensity of the chorus effect.  Setting the Depth to about 50% will give you a classic chorus sound.

Rate

The Rate control adjusts the speed of the modulated chorus effect, from slow to fast.  Low settings create a slower subtle effect, while higher settings create a vibrato-type sound. A good example of this is Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun.  A 50% setting will create a nice ambient chorus effect that works well for most bass parts.

Tone 

Tone adjusts the treble and/or bass response. 

Digital Pedals vs. Analog Pedals: Which Is Better?

When it comes to audio quality, the digital vs. analog debate will probably never be resolved.

There really isn’t any one best type of chorus pedal – both analog and digital have their places.

In general, digital pedals usually provide more controls over the sound and create very clean tones.  Analog pedals usually have less controls but have a warmer sound.

Modern technology has blurred these lines quite a bit, so go by your ears more than whether the pedal is analog or digital.  In music, if it sounds good, it is good!

True Bypass

True bypass refers to a pedal that can bypass its circuitry when it’s off.   This is important to understand as effects pedal chained together can affect the quality of your sound.

The more pedals you have, the more circuitry your bass’s signal passes through.  This can lead to the possibility of a capacitance load building up, which can dull your overall tone. 

A pedal that has a true bypass mode bypasses its circuitry, thus avoiding capacitance issues.  With only one or two pedals, capacitance is not much of an issue, but with lots of pedals, it’s good to be aware that your sound may be affected. 

Effects Pedal Power Supplies

If you plan to use your pedals in a pedal board, then the issue of powering all your pedals becomes important.

Most pedal board users prefer to power all their pedals with one power supply.  It’s cleaner, neater, and avoids issues like when a battery decides to die in the middle of a key performance or recording session.

Most effects pedals use 9V batteries and all pedal power supplies will output 9V.

However, some pedals can require 12V, 15V, 18V, or 24V to work.

So, always check to see what voltage a pedal requires so you can make sure it works with your current power supply, or will work with a power supply you buy in the future.

There are lots of power supplies to choose from; check out my reviews of the best pedal power supplies here.