Thick '70s analog shimmer and deep, huge vibrato.

Revered for its warm, organic modulation and chewy pitch-shifting vibrato, the BOSS CE-1 Chorus Ensemble* was the first ever production stompbox chorus. Introduced in 1976, this heavy-duty pewter box quickly dazzled players and producers with its luxuriant, dreamy textures.

The Brigade Chorus Pedal plug-in for UAD Spark and UADx emulates every inch of this legendary pedal, expertly capturing its legendary bucket-brigade circuit to deliver captivating chorus shimmer and wobbly vibrato that works on nearly any source.

• Give parts and instruments 3-D movement with legendary bucket-brigade chorus
• Add thickness, width, and shimmer to guitars, vocals, drums, pianos, and more
• Create subtle detuned textures or all out warble with unmatched vibrato circuit
• Get legendary, milkshake-thick chorus on electric guitar and bass tracks

Bucket-Brigade Circuit

Key to the original hardware's magic is its bucket-brigade circuit; a series of capacitors that pass the effected analog signal along subsequent transistor stages — the "bucket brigade." As the signal moves down the line, the delayed signal degrades in a uniquely warm and musical fashion, gently caressing treble frequencies and introducing organic, wholly analog modulation. UA's team of DSP experts have captured this classic circuit in all its glory for the Brigade Chorus Pedal plug-in.

A Chorus for Any Source

Sporting simple, straightforward features, the Brigade Chorus Pedal plug-in can be used on a channel strip or an effects bus to subtly enhance or transform anything you run through it. Easily widen vocals or add haze and shimmer to drum overheads. On electric guitar and bass, the Brigade Chorus Pedal plug-in yields the fat, unmistakable guitar sound of late '70s Rush and the electric bass textures of the Cure and New Order. Or you can put the Brigade Chorus Pedal plug-in on a Fender Rhodes patch a'la Herbie Hancock.

Maximum Spread

When used with stereo tracks or buses, the Brigade Chorus Pedal plug-in can be used exactly as the original pedal — left side dry, right side effected. But with the "plug-in only" Dual Mode, the Brigade Chorus Pedal acts as if two pedals are patched in using their mono outputs — giving you maximum left/right spread. Whereas some chorus units sound unnatural and "tacked on," the Brigade Chorus Pedal plug-in gets inside your sources with high-caloric chorus thick enough to spoon out of your speakers.

Brigade Chorus Pedal interface

Brigade Chorus Pedal Controls

Normal/Effect

The footswitch at the lower left of the pedal is an effect bypass switch. Click the switch to enable/disable the chorus or vibrato effect. When Normal is active (when effect is bypassed), the Rate LED stays fully lit.

Note: The active effect is determined by the Vibrato/Chorus switch.

This is not a plug-in bypass switch. The original hardware colors the sound slightly even when the effect is bypassed via normal mode, and this sonic behavior is modeled in the plug-in. The Level knob controls the level even when the effect is turned off with the Normal/Effect switch.

Tip: To reduce processor usage, use the Power switch to turn the plug-in off.

Vibrato/Chorus

The footswitch at the lower right of the pedal determines the operating mode of the pedal. Click the switch to toggle between Chorus and Vibrato modes.

Note: The Brigade Chorus Pedal can operate in either chorus or vibrato mode. Both modes cannot be active at the same time.

Mode LEDs

The small LEDs at the top of the interface indicate the current operating mode. In addition to the footswitch, clicking these LEDs and/or text will also change the mode.

Tip: Click the Mode LED or mode text to change the operating mode.

Signal LED

The red Signal LED (located above the Normal/Effect switch) illuminates when signal peaks in the plug-in are detected.

Signal levels can be adjusted with the Level control. If the Signal LED glows solid red, the signal may distort. If distortion is not desired, lower the Level control to compensate.

Rate LED

When the effect is active, the red Rate LED (located above the Vibrato/Chorus switch) blinks according to the current low frequency oscillator (LFO) rate.

In Vibrato mode, the LFO rate is set with the Vibrato Rate knob. In Chorus mode, the rate is set with the Chorus Intensity knob.

TIp: When the effect is inactive (via the Normal/Effect footswitch), the Rate LED glows solid red.

Note: In Chorus mode, the fastest LFO rate is slower than the slowest LFO rate in Vibrato mode.

Stereo Mode

This switch determines the output mode when the plug-in is used in a mono-in/stereo-out or stereo-in/stereo-out configuration. The switch has no effect when the plug-in is used in a mono-in/mono-out configuration.

The original hardware has only a monophonic input. Its output can be mono (wet and dry signal mixed at one output jack) or stereo (dry signal in one output jack, wet signal in other output jack).

The plug-in model is adapted for true stereo input. The Stereo Mode switch changes the output as follows:

Dual

In Dual mode the pedal behaves as a dual-mono device, functioning as two independent pedals, each running in mono mode on one side of the stereo signal.

The left output contains a mix of the dry left input signal and the processed left channel signal, while the right output contains a mix of the dry right input signal and the processed right channel signal. Additionally, the LFOs of the dual pedal channels are 90° out of phase (quadrature) for maximum effect.

Classic

In Classic mode, the pedal behavior is similar to that of a mono-in/stereo-out configuration, as with the original hardware. The left and right channel inputs are mixed to mono, and only the dry signal (mixed left and right channels) appear at the left output, while only the wet effect signal appears at the right output.

Level

This knob determines the signal level in the pedal. If the signal distorts, this control can be lowered to compensate.

Tip: Levels are indicated by the Signal LED.

Note: The Level knob controls the level even when the effect is turned off with the Normal/Effect switch.

Chorus Intensity

When the pedal is in Chorus mode, the effect depth and rate are set with this knob.

Note: When the pedal is in Vibrato mode, Intensity has no effect.

Vibrato Controls

These two knobs are functional when the pedal is in Vibrato mode.

Note: In Chorus mode, the vibrato controls have no effect.

Depth

Controls the vibrato amount.

Rate

Controls the vibrato rate. The rate is indicated by the Rate LED.

Power

The is the plug-in's overall bypass control for comparing the processed and unprocessed signal. In the DOWN (white dot) position, signal processing is active. In the UP position, the unprocessed signal is heard.

Tip: Processor usage is reduced when the POWER is off.

*Note: The Brigade Chorus Pedal product is not affiliated with, sponsored, nor endorsed by Roland or BOSS. The Roland and BOSS names, as well as the CE-1 and Chorus Ensemble model names, are used solely to identify the classic effects emulated by Universal Audio's product.