PastFX's New Division massively expands on Peter Hook's favourite 3-knob EHX Clone Theory Stereo Chorus

The ’New Division’ moniker is obviously a confection of New Order and Joy Division - bassist Peter Hook’s two most celebrated bands. Where the EHX Clone Theory was as much a part of his sound as his signature Yamaha BB1200S Bass Guitar. Play the ’Love Will Tear us Apart’ bassline with this Chorus on - and you’re immediately transported to Peter’s signature tones.

While as always PastFX’s Verlie has thrown in some significant extra bells and whistles - of course with a more practical and pedalboard-friendly format!

Original Clone Theory Controls - Wet Mix (Chorus > Vibrato), Rate, Depth, Edge switch.

New Division Controls - Rate, Mode : Chorus | Vibrato / Flange, Depth, Level, Input Gain, Wet Mix (Chorus > Vibrato), Studio Switch (Cleaner), Edge Switch (Brighter).

Preferred Settings : Rate @ 2, Mode : Chorus, Depth @ 9 o’c, Level @ 2 o’c, Input Gain @ noon (unity), Chor/Vib @ 9 o’c, Studio On, Edge On.

Note that Peter had the Chorus set very subtle - so not too much on the depth dial at all - I really tried - but could not find any proper reference to Pete’s actual recommended settings - you can mostly just dial that in by ear really!

My own favourite settings are Rate @ 2, Mode : Chorus, Depth @ 9 o’c, Level @ 2 o’c, Input Gain @ noon (unity), Chor/Vib @ 9 o’c, Studio On, Edge On.. Probably make it just a touch more subtle to achieve the Peter Hook tone!

Generally I prefer to have Edge switch on pretty much all the time, and in fact even though the Studio switch does shave a smidge off the top in improving the noisefloor - I probably prefer to have that mostly always on too!

When Vib / Flange Mode is on the Chor/Vib parameter pot is bypassed, and inverted feedback is added. With my ideal settings - both Chorus and Flanging sound superb. Of course you can wind that dial around a little more for more of a Vibrato sound and have more intensity on the Depth.

Unique to the New Division is an internal 70’s/80’s slider switch. This allows the subtle tone filtering options of the two early MN3007 (80’s) / SAD1024 (70’s) version. The 70’s has slightly more mids and is a tad darker in its high frequencies. I generally like my Choruses to be fairly bright - so the core 80’s mode is preferable to me.

There’s obviously lots of options to get to grips with and also pseudo stereo out - where the lower output socket is a mix of Wet and Dry, while the upper output is Dry only.

This is the 3rd of my PastFX Choruses - and similar to the PX65 this one also has a flanger voicing. Both those choruses are really superb, as is the original PastFX Chorus Ensemble. My library of PastFX Modulations is just exceptional now with a hat trick / trifecta of brilliant Flangers and Choruses, and a brace of superior Multi-Stage Phasers - with the A/DA 80/A Flanger take still to come - and fairly imminently I believe!

You really can’t go wrong with any of PastFX’s Choruses - while I still probably have the biggest soft spot for the Chorus Ensemble. All sound magnificent - and put most of what else is out there to shame - in terms of pure verve and flavour.

The only thing PastFX’s Choruses don’t have versus say something like the Jackson Audio New Wave - is Presets and Smart Footswitch Control - tap tempo, ramping etc. If you want to deploy multiple Chorus tones then you probably need something with presets, while if you just want the best Chorus Tones that are out there - then the 3 Analog BBD PastFX Choruses definitely fit the bill - a somewhat embarrassment of riches!

Are you a Chorus Fan - and which is your favourite variety?

The PastFX New Division Stereo Chorus is available from the PastFX Reverb.com Store for a pretty decent $299 AUS / c. $211 USD and equivalent - plus shipping!