If you're wondering how to use a Chorus effect, this video will help you understand
any Chorus plugin thrown your way.
Even if you're just curious about what certain things mean and what they do, so stick around!
[How To Use A Chorus Effect (Sound Design Tutorial)]
Hey, everyone, Jake from Transverse Audio here.
We'll be going through the Chorus effect in a few different plugins so you can better
understand what certain things mean.
This will show you the similarities between different versions of this effect, as they
all generally follow the same principles.
A Chorus effect takes an individual sound and replicates it with very similar pitch and time.
This can make a single instrument sound like several, really thickening the sound
and even adding warmth.
In it's most basic form, a chorus effect is when multiple sounds that are practically the same
are played together to sound like one.
This is what a chorus can do to a sound.
[Detuning Multiple Voices example]
Now, even though I wasn't using the actual effect, the voices are replicated
and detuned in a very similar way.
Listen to this...
[Chorus Effect Example]
Okay, so, the first thing we're going to be talking about is the delay parameter.
This part of the effect makes the delay more or less noticeable but isn't quite as powerful
as an actual delay plugin.
It does this by controlling how much of the delayed copy of the input (or sound) is mixed
with the original input signal.
This is usually modulated by an LFO (or Low-Frequency Oscillator).
The value of this feature is in milliseconds and the more delay you use, the wider the sound will be.
I'll show you what I mean.
Down here it might sound a bit narrow...
And as we move up, you'll notice it getting wider and wider.
The next part is the depth.
This determines how deep (or far) the sweep of the delayed sound will be, essentially
setting limits on how far the modulation will reach.
[Depth example]
As you could hear, it gave the sound a phaser-like movement.
The rate is a pretty simple feature that may come with your chorus effect.
All this will do is set what frequency the modulation will be at.
Feedback changes, well, the amount of feedback.
Look, I didn't name these effects. This is how much of the affected signal is fed back
to the unaffected signal, making the tail of the sound longer or shorter.
Kind of like this.
It can be used to make flanging effects, depending on where the delay is set to.
[Flanging example]
If your Chorus effect has this option, using the dual mode will typically double the already
existing process your plugin uses to affect the sound.
When turned on, the chorus effect will make a richer and thicker sound.
Now, to be honest, I really don't know how this works in regards to an effect chain.
Does it split the signal, sending it to two of the same exact chorus effects (like this),
or does it send the signal through one chorus, then the processed signal from the first chorus
into a copy of it, then to the master?
If you know anything about this, let me know in the comments below.
This seriously blows my mind.
Controlling how the output signal will interact with a playback device
(like headphones or speakers) is done through the width parameter.
Setting it to 0 will put it in mono, which is the same signal sent to all speakers.
As you turn it up, the stereo width will increase, widening the sound.
The last part of the chorus effect is the dry and wet value.
As with pretty much all plugins in audio production, this determines how much of the original signal
will be mixed with the effected sound in regards to gain (or volume).
When referring to dry in audio this means a signal is unprocessed and in this case,
it's essentially bypassing the chorus.
The wetness of a signal determines how much of the effect is applied to the output.
When it's at 100% wet, the output of the signal will only be what is processed by the effect,
preventing a dry signal from continuing through.
Now, this does depend on whether or not your plugin has separate dry and wet controls.
If they are separate, they can both be at 100%.
If they're the same, you could picture it doing this.
[Dry / Wet Value Automation]
This is what it sounds like at 100% dry...
And at 100% wet...
[0 & 100 example]
That's the essentials of what a typical Chorus effect will include but not every one of them
has all of the effects listed.
You should now be able to open up any chorus effect and know how to use it,
even if you've never touched it before.
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