9 of the Best Lo-fi Modulation Pedals

Champion Leccy is the very definition of 'boutique' with strange otherworldly graphics and very unique takes for its pedals. The Woozy has some odd labelling too - but is all kind of makes sense if you're prepared to engage with it properly. There are 7 knobs at your disposal here - Sway (Depth) | Tide (LFO Speed) | Love (Volume) | Waveform Selector x 8 | Hangover (Delay time) | Backwash (Repeats/Shimmer) | Cheer (Mix) and a Dregs (Lo Pass Filter) toggle-switch. You then have dual footswitches - ByPass (Left) and Tap-Tempo (Right) and away you go! Champion describe this as a primarily modulation pedal with built-in echo rather than the other way around - it's principal roll is always as a woozy/warbly modulation - just a really cool take on the genre as I've already said - I'm considering this for sure - but processed it 100& yet!

This is still just about my favourite every chorus - and it's been featured numerous times on this site - mostly in the MKII variety which I own. The HiFi is essentially a brighter take on the MKII - where that in turn was a brighter take on the MKI. The main thing about the HiFi is that the top central Volume knob has been replaced by a 'Lag' control - which is great for fine-tuning in those woozy textures, but breaks one of my cardinal rules for modulation which is 'Must Have Volume Control'. So for now I've chose to stick with the MKII for sake of the Volume Control instead of the Lag, and while I could probably do with a bit more brightness I'm very happy generally with the MKII WV. It has the usual standard Chase Bliss topology of 6 knobs, 4 toggle switches including 2 presets, dual footswitches including tap-tempo, and 16 dip-switches for controlling Ramping and Bounce on most of those parameters. Were I new to this category today - this is still the first one I would pick out - I've long said that Chase Bliss has long been at the forefront of innovation, format and hi-fidelity. It's somewhat ironic that we're discussing a Lo-fi genre and the principal option is 'HiFi' - but that refers solely to the added brightness the MKIII brings! Still my number on choice for Chorus!

This is a slightly different modulation - being more of a pitch-warping primary element with some degree of chorus as a secondary ingredient - which all swirls up and mixes together via 6 control knobs - Primary (Volume of Polyphonic Harmony) | Pitch (Frequency of Polyphonic Pitched Harmony) | Secondary (<12 Octave Down/=12 Chorus/>12 Chorus Up) | Magic (Regeneration/Aliasing/Feedback) | Tone (Treble roll-off) | Tracking (Lag time between Wet and Dry Signal). The pedal had dual footswitches - Activate and Magic - where the second footswitch sends the 'Magic'/Feedback parameter into overload - similar to how a Havoc switch typically works on a Caroline Guitar Co. pedal. This is a Fuzz Factory type pedal with 6 highly interactive dials which you tweak in concert for some truly weird and wonderful chorusey pitch-warping effects - this pedal is really one for properly experimental players and can be frustrating if you don't have the patience to dial it in properly - capable of some fantastic tones and textures though.

Shallow Water is Fairfield Circuitry's most celebrated pedal - described as "Based on a traditional analogue chorus/vibrato circuit, the Shallow Water varies the delay and filtration created in relation to the input signal, simultaneously giving an old-tape-like warmth and sporadic flutters of pitch and modulation." It has legions of fans who love its organic nature - where control is effects courtesy of 6 mostly self-explanatory knobs - Rate | LPG (Low Pass Gate / Envelope) | Damp (Random Step Lag) | Mix | Depth | Vol. The two elements that need explaining are the LPD Envelope Follower and Recovery Filter along with the Digital Pseudo Random Step Generation of the second delay line - and controlled by the Damp function - which sculpts the organically variable nature of the chorus. There's some very clever DSP going on here which is central to the appeal and effectiveness of this effect which can sound beautifully organic yet otherworldly at times too.

'Knobs' seems to have a liking for these slightly more oddball choruses - as here is the 3rd quirky video in a row. The Wardenclyffe is supposed to emulate the sound of early audio recording with all those analog and organic 'noise' artefacts. It does his via a combination of 8 most self-explanatory controls - Depth | Wet (Level) | Dry (Level) | LFO/Glitch Switch / mode | Filter (clean / filtered signal blend) | Speed (Rate) | HP/LP (Hi-Pass/Lo-Pass Filters) | Pad (Below-the-mix ambient reverb). So you start by setting either LFO or Glitch Mode - faithful Sine Wave vs Warbly Sine Wave and then adjust other parameters to taste to warp and woosy the output signal and add some really pleasant near infinite sustain Reverb via Pad switch!

I'm a big fan of Mexican Pedal Builder Paradox Effects - in particular there Terran Low-End Re-Voicing Overdrive and Futura Multiparametric Envelope Chorus as featured here - both of those have been on by wishlist for the longest time but they're nigh on impossible to get on this side of the pond - frequently out of stock or otherwise accompanied by very considerable shipping fees - so I've not yet got my hands on either - but I'll stalk Spain's Mutan Monkey and Denmark's Fuzz Monster until I manage to get one - it's not right at the top of my wishlist, it actually currently sits after the Boss DC-2w for rotation duties for the Chase Bliss Warped Vinyl. The Futura adds an Envelope filter into the mix and some clever options for controlling the application of Rate and Depth along with swell direction - but more of that later. There are 8 controls here - 5 easy-to-understand knobs - Blend | Sensitivity (Filter) | Level | Rate | Depth - and then 3 toggle switches R|R+D|D (Rate/Depth), R Up/Down and D Up/Down (Swell direction). There are two footswitches - where the second one activates/disables the Envelope. It's not a huge change to the standard chorus/vibrato but it has significant impact here. I really like this one and will most definitely be adding it to the collection - but probably after I get a Boss Dimension C.

The lowest cost and simplest option in this listing - as mentioned in the intro - you have just 4 controls at your disposal here : Depth | Speed | Mix knobs and a 2-way Shape Toggle (Sine/Square or Triangle/Square I assume). It is described as a Chorus/Vibrato/Tape Warble modulation - and that is precisely what it does - it obviously has none of the bells and whistles as such of these other ones here - but it sounds pretty great regardless. It's surprisingly versatile with those few controls and does a very good 'Come as You Are' per the above demo!

I keep forgetting that Chase Bliss Joel Korte worked at Zvex and that he was the author of the Instant Lo-Fi Junky - which is surely a precursor to his later Warped Vinyl pedal. This is obviously not quite so complex with 6 controls - Volume | Speed | Compression/Lo-fi | Tone | Depth - and 3-way shape toggle-switch Sinewave/Triangle/Square. The middle Comp/Lo-fi dial is the secret sauce here really which separates this one out - and it's another great sounding pedal of its kind. Considering what Chase Bliss, Paradox and Zvex are able to do with the compact format - I'm often at a loss why so many feel the need to go with the larger enclosure sizes. This one is not right up on the priority list - but as I mentioned, I really like all the Zvex vertical pedals and have made my mind up to pick those off one by one - so this will happen some day soon - but it will likely come behind the Warped Vinyl, Boss DC-2w, and Paradox Futura in the pecking order - still a fantastic pedal though.