What songs gave the chorus effect a bad reputation?

[taco-man]

Many times I have read that there was a stereotypical 1980's "cheesy chorus effect."

What are examples of this? Geeky New Wave? Spandex Hair Metal? Please list song titles and artist names for me. (Videos not needed)

[sksmith66]

all of them. :)

[ttasselm]

all of them. :)

haha, have to agree with this...not a fan of the chorus at all. I've tried to like it but I just can't ever find a use for it.

[Shiny McShine]

^ yeah right. That Andy Summers guy couldn't find a single good tone with one...


But the worst guitarist was Scofield. When I see that thing, I'm going to have to beat it to death with a hammer. "Oh, uh, Mr. Scofield, I'm sorry about that. Something just came over me."

[taco-man]

But the worst guitarist was Scofield.So, the stuff he was doing back then with Miles Davis, or his own albums? There was an album he did with Bill Frisell and Marc Johnson from the mid 80's that was pretty good, I recall. Can't remember how chorus was used though.

[sksmith66]

^ yeah right. That Andy Summers guy couldn't find a single good tone with one...


But the worst guitarist was Scofield. When I see that thing, I'm going to have to beat it to death with a hammer. "Oh, uh, Mr. Scofield, I'm sorry about that. Something just came over me."
actually john scofield is my favorite guitarist. I am not a big fan of chorus... but his all knobs turned to 10 type chorus sound doesn't bother me too much for some reason. I can't explain it. However, I would prefer that he used it less often.

[taco-man]

There must be more accurate examples than John Scofield... :huh
He's pretty much a world-class jazz guitarist and doesn't seem particularly "80's-cheesy" to me.
http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRYKYaABjXf6Yu1fP4j33PsXsgDoUF4W qbylbvoPKkTZhki9gcZ
http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSqDP8yVkE4j___gocpBuKnogmD-A6AM_ccXTQwQS6vgYY9kkNCaA
http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/ss238/JhonConnor/keytar.jpg

[XISTH]

Gotta love the Sco'!

Here's a vid where he explains his fx. Purple Ibanez analog chorus comes around 6:30. Love that sound! Doesn't sound cheezy to me, although the Whammy does.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5RLisMAl2Q

[BryanMatthews]

any hair band from the 80s

[Mr. Limbic]

hah if you dont think sco can do cheesy 80's then search john scofield blue matter, you will see a vid that says that plus live 1987, watch that....sco is one of my favs and i really liked this period as well, i guess im a nerd, i love his subtle chorus use here, it seems to add some dimension to his broken up sound, after this period he ditched the roland chorus amps and went for the boogies and voxes, and ended up just using the chorus on 10 sound from then on, but this is cheesy and i freaking love it, and i also love the cranked chorus sound

[paulvcarter]

Anything by The Cure

[sutherland]

It's a shame there is a Chorus when you can have Flanger.

[spakuloid]

Whenever I think of Steve Lukather - I automatically think - bad 80's chorus and hear over-processed 80's lead session guy guitar in my head. Now I'm not saying' it's all bad - and he is by all means a motherfuuukker of a player who has an amazing list of credits - and people love him... I'm just sayin' that's what I automatically equate with bad chorus. I think he sort of set the mood because he was at the pinnacle in the 80's - and everyone followed his overly chorused and digital delayed Bradshaw system use it to the max leads ad nauseum. Like in those Richard Marx songs. Makes me want to puke it's so thick. I think Andy Summers is a guy who is the opposite of that. Used chorus tastefully - especially Message In A Bottle - where the chorused guitar just zaps your nervous system from the first note and never lets go. But that's me...

[Led Sabblin]

Many times I have read that there was a stereotypical 1980's "cheesy chorus effect."

What are examples of this? Geeky New Wave? Spandex Hair Metal? Please list song titles and artist names for me. (Videos not needed)

none, but chorus can get in the way of the pure guitar sound + can eat up tone

[Blanket Jackson]

Sco is AWESOME, but his tone is really not my favorite all because of the chorus.

[spakuloid]

Michael Sembello - Maniac
Any Richard Marx song
The entire Soundtracks to FLETCH and GOLDEN CHILD
Any Wang Chung song

[Random]

Pink Floyd '94 Tour.
CE-2 always on.
Good or bad according to the chorus haters?

[Unadan]

The Replacements - Tim. Great songs. Bad Production and Effects.

[sick1982]

James Bond

[Cado]

Josie's on a vacation far away........

[slopeshoulder]

80's pop.
Smooth jazz chords
the entire ouvre of mr. mike stern

sco is a god. let's move on.

[spakuloid]

5r0z9jYfnq0&feature=feedu

The epitome of 80's cheese chorus tone.

[AndrewC]

^ lol - I think that sounds fantastic. Great clean tones! :)

(I've never really liked chorus with distortion though)

[guitarslinger21]

FWIW, I love good chorus.

I HATE this chorus though. IMO, hard rock dirty metal rhythm gtr does NOT need chorus.

XWhInhE6emE

[BeauZooka]

The Replacements - Tim. Great songs. Bad Production and Effects.

Agreed! The production on Let it Be was so much better. Sound-wise Tim was such a step backwards. They probably spent 10 times as much cash recording it too!

[sick1982]

(I've never really liked chorus with distortion though)

you asked for it:

kqjBk34hWaQ

[bjjp2]

I like chorus.:dunno

[Kestrel]

I really like the chorus effect. The problem is that mainstream pop/rock acts from the 80's used it to the point of absurdity. If you use the effect in that setting then it just sounds cheesy and dated. Used the right way chorus effects sounds tasteful and beautiful. Just listen to bands from the period like The Chameleons, Cocteau Twins, For Against, The Ocean Blue, Lush, The Smiths, etc... These were some of the 80's indie bands that used chorus effects the right way.

[taco-man]

The problem is that mainstream pop/rock acts from the 80's used it to the point of absurdity. If you use the effect in that setting then it just sounds cheesy and dated.For example?

[FenderBigot]

any hair band from the 80s
Bubble gum metal from the 80s. If you ask me, Billy Idol's "Flesh for Fantasy" is a great example of how chorus can be used in R&R!

[Ocelot]

So many, so many songs. Too many to count. Andy Summers was the only guitarist who knew how to use chorus and when. Virtually everything else with chorus is dreck. imho, of course. ; )

[cruisemates]

Okay - this is kind of a cheap shot - but the chorus is really overdone -

OTHER THAN THAT - GREAT BAND - really!!!!

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=863217

[Blue Tile Fever]

A good portion of Def Leppard's Hysteria

[Glitch Magnet]

I'm going to agree with Kestrel. As a big fan of shoegaze and britpop of the 80's and 90's, I just can't imagine The Cure or Cocteau Twins or Smiths any other way. If you hated that music, or 80's music in general, then I suppose you hate the chorus. But it's all in the way bands used it. There's a reason Mister Mister and Icehouse are history while the Cure is timeless.

Blame the Roland JC120 then. That was the amp of the period. I had one and used it to nail all that stuff - Tears for Fears, Cure, Flock of Seagulls, Fixx, Inxs, Talk talk, Genesis, King Crimson, Rush...

Ah, there's one nobody's hit on. Alex Lifeson used that huge Dimension D sound all over the place! Mostly I loved it too.

Also gotta agree with FenderBigot. Billy Idol's guitars were attrocious in retrospect, but they seemed fresh at the time. Now I hear them and run for my ear plugs.

My Jazz Chorus is long gone and there's no chorus on my ample pedalboard. I'm all about dry tones now. Even the phaser and flanger get very little use.

[labjr]

Richard Marx - Endless Summer Nights makes me sick.

I thought some songs used a chorus effect tastefully like Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time, Lionel Ritchie - Deep River Women. Purple Rain

[Glitch Magnet]

Richard Marx - Endless Summer Nights makes me sick.

I thought some songs used a chorus effect tastefully like Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time, Lionel Ritchie - Deep River Women. Purple Rain

Agreed.

[GlobalCooling]

Nirvana...

[XS Chop]

Same songs that gave reverb a bad name. Just the 80's way of thinking, if an ounce sounds good, 10 tons must be a million times better! If that guy's got a 8" deep snare drum that sounds like it's at the bottom of a well I need a 10" snare that sounds like it's at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Over indulgance pretty much sums that decade up.

Except, as others have stated, for Andy Summers who was awsome.

[Pedro58]

80's Clapton

[Flyin' Brian]

I can deal with '80s chorus much better than the damned gated reverb on every snare drum.

[Once Far Off]

INXS - New Sensation

I can deal with '80s chorus much better than the damned gated reverb on every snare drum.

I concur!

[Pedal Dan]

Pink Floyd '94 Tour.
CE-2 always on.
Good or bad according to the chorus haters?

I never used chorus...then I got a CE-2. Just Heaven! And Dr. Bob recommends them,

[rbnum1fan]

Clapton's guitar on the album Behind the Sun had WAYYYYYY to much chorus

She's Waiting is a good example

av9JFpk_A3s

[DraggAmps]

I think it mostly just sonds cheesy when it's overdone and overused in really up-beat stuff. As a subtle effect in ambient and shoe gaze type stuff, I think it can sound alright.

[Ben C.]

I can deal with '80s chorus much better than the damned gated reverb on every snare drum.
Oh NO you DIDN'T...

http://images.starpulse.com/Photos/pv/Genesis-3.JPG

[cj_wattage]

^ lol - I think that sounds fantastic.
Me too.

I love chorus, but a little bit goes a loooooong way.

[CharAznable]

Chorus can be a force of good
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[amshively]

most of the 90's TGIF lineup intro tunes

[Shiny McShine]

0Nt8dJ6rMZI

A lot of Telecaster goodness in that song! One of my favorites.

Listen carefully and you can hear the piano following the bass under it all. It's part of why the low end is so huge. What an arrangement!

[ERGExplorer]

Having heard people who have managed to make all kinds of things sound bad (including just guitars), as well as those who have managed to make all kinds of things sound good (including just guitars), it seems to me that those who automatically go for the negative examples and therefore avoid certain effects (or even guitars) are missing something.

However, I'm sure that they're right, and that silly songs like "Black Hole Sun," as well as the entire Police and Pink Floyd catalogs, just suck, right? (How can success possibly measure up to the mighty opinions expressed on the internet? *laugh*)

[Davo17]

VdQY7BusJNU

[monty]

Chorus is a great effect with a clean tone IMO, dirty not so much.

[jerrycampbell]

Alex Lifeless hasn't produced a single tone I like, largely due to chorus.

[screamingduck]

I can deal with '80s chorus much better than the damned gated reverb on every snare drum.


+1000 ! That gated snare drum sound ruins so many otherwise great songs. It just cuts through in such an annoying way but was defnitely the "sound" of the 80's.

[ChorusCrackpot]

I really like the chorus effect (hence my username), and love how lots of New Wave bands from the late 1970s and early 1980s used chorusing effects (actually flangers!), particularly The Police, The Cure, The Pretenders etc. I also really liked how Mercyful Fate used chorus on their distorted guitars in the earlier days, although their tone can sound obnoxious to some.
I still find John Frusciante's chorus sound fascinating.

But I was originally inspired the chorus-like sounds produced by Tool in the mid-1990s, particularly the slow flanger "chorusey" effect on the bass guitar in the song Forty Six & 2.

EicJTFcy9gQ

[ChorusCrackpot]

+1000 ! That gated snare drum sound ruins so many otherwise great songs. It just cuts through in such an annoying way but was defnitely the "sound" of the 80's.


It definitely was! Make me shiver & cringe too.

I think there's a digital rack chorus used on the rhythm guitars here (distorted & clean, AND the keyboards!....AND Sam's voice during the...umm,,,choruses :huh), as well as that horrid gated snare drum with the powder and sweat bouncing off it. The epitome of rank 1986 cheese......

yYDa8_Bq1HQ

[ChorusCrackpot]

most of the 90's TGIF lineup intro tunes


A lot of those had big 1980s influences....I think it was the poppy hair glam bands trying to stay in the scene.

E.g.

8pQYtmb-f0w

[tone4days]

i think for a lot of guys, the thing they didnt like about chorus was the haircuts and costumes in the videos

[ChorusCrackpot]

Whenever I think of Steve Lukather - I automatically think - bad 80's chorus and hear over-processed 80's lead session guy guitar in my head. Now I'm not saying' it's all bad - and he is by all means a motherfuuukker of a player who has an amazing list of credits - and people love him... I'm just sayin' that's what I automatically equate with bad chorus. I think he sort of set the mood because he was at the pinnacle in the 80's - and everyone followed his overly chorused and digital delayed Bradshaw system use it to the max leads ad nauseum. Like in those Richard Marx songs. Makes me want to puke it's so thick. I think Andy Summers is a guy who is the opposite of that. Used chorus tastefully - especially Message In A Bottle - where the chorused guitar just zaps your nervous system from the first note and never lets go. But that's me...


Here is is- 1985 Encapsulated...

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Steve explains the setup too. He's got awesome gear and a fantastic musician, but even for me he's got way too much "grease" on his guitar signal...
He's also got some hard advice for TGP!.... :D :bonk


You will notice that he uses the Tri-Stereo Chorus in his rig- a unit often used during the 1980s. I have some threads that discuss it. In the discussion I learned that the reason that studio musicians like Steve Lukather etc. used heaps of chorus and other effects while recording for pop artists & soft ballady folks like Richard Marx, was so they could cut through the the slick-sounding mix of multi-layered synthesiser keyboards.


Here's an excerpt quote from Danocaster:
the TSC is pretty "full" sounding on it's own. Remember that at the time when the TSC was being used a LOT - the production were often VERY slick and keyboard oriented. If you've ever laid gtrs down on a dance record ( where you are the only LIVE player ) - you soon discover it's REALLY hard to get your guitars to "sit" in the track......

well, in the 80s, having all that "juice" on the gtrs really made them more "keyboard-esque" sounding and you could fit in the track MUCH easier. It was just a style thing - that eventually fell out of fashion and sounds of the time changed.



I guess the overuse of the chorus with those particular songs, led to a strong correlation between the two. So when someone (even me) thinks "yuck, that's such a cheesey 80s sound", the effect is reminiscent of those soppy dated-sounding songs.


For example.....(sorry Dan)....
I'm sure I can upload a track from the 80s I'd done - but it'll be a 22 yr old kid playing on a pretty dreadful tune ( most likely ) :D.....


.......OK... Be FORE-WARNED .. this is cheese-ball 80s POP :boxer

It would be MUCH easier to hear this chorus effect if the gtr was louder and there was no vocal but this was a transfer from a 20 yr old cassette :)

the verses are ONLY the Tri-Stereo - the solo is the TSC w/ the SPX

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=947534&songID=9603031




And another example, which already stated today even me thinks badly about chorus...(also from 1985)............:hide2

zHkZzi0UWiE

[Andy J.]

OK, so I'm in the minority here; I actually despise chorus more on clean sounds... Here's a couple of my prime examples of cheesy 80's chorus:

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aaZaTlcbYxw

...yeah, I saw "Pretty Woman" a couple of weeks ago, first time in years!

k2C5TjS2sh4

...sorry Mr. Gessle.

[macmax77]

i understand the andy summers/scofield remarks but i have one question:

Which one of u has the balls to say u can play better than them?

[Lolaviola]

pN60DR5GQpg
Synth-guitar-synth/guitar oh my!

[spakuloid]

Enough hating - Here are some great songs that use Chorus:
cqXRgAarMrQ&feature=related
WybSSagVvoU
oPaB7C0ySN8&feature=related
vCvhc2gRBM4&feature=related

And my personal fav:

mtTqR9oZX6Q

[ChorusCrackpot]

To me the sound of the chorus effects used in Whitesnake's song Here I go again (both the original and the 1987 version), are rather cheesey to me.


tmdoP8wHUJw

WyF8RHM1OCg

[GovernorSilver]

Enough hating - Here are some great songs that use Chorus:


Nice tune selection. Thanks!

I've always been partial to the "shoegaze" sound.

[100JH]

Walking on the Moon leveraged a studio ADR scamp rack with chorus, flanger, echo/double tracking module. You can't get that tone with just a chorus.

[stratmaniac]

Loving this thread.

[Led Sabblin]

Does anyone know what was used by Geordie from Killing Joke on the song "Eighties" pretty sure its a chorus but I've looked all over for info on his gear and came up with the Deluxe Memory Man. I'm pretty sure he used a chorus quite a bit anyone know which one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1U1Ue_5kq8&tracker=False

[Loose Seal]

It's a shame there is a Chorus when you can have Flanger.

:agree

[tjmicsak]

I don't think it is the chorus so much as the repeated use of the contrasting huge wall of marshall sounds for the dirty stuff and an out of phase chorused sound for the quiet parts. Even I was guilty of that. Pardon the quality this is an old one.

http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=10381995&q=hi&newref=1

[analogmike]

If chorus came out in 1967 everyone would love it, Jimi and everyone would have used it well. Unfortunately it got big at the worst time in rock history so it was used by people who we laugh at now.

Bad timing but a great effect when used by great players for great music.

[Heady Jam Fan]

I like it best when most people wouldn't notice it.

[deeohgee]

If chorus came out in 1967 everyone would love it, Jimi and everyone would have used it well. Unfortunately it got big at the worst time in rock history so it was used by people who we laugh at now.

Bad timing but a great effect when used by great players for great music.

This

[xdavidandrewx]

Me too.

I love chorus, but a little bit goes a loooooong way.

+1 I love subtle chorus especially with a delay and wah !!!!

[ChorusCrackpot]

I really like the chorus effect. The problem is that mainstream pop/rock acts from the 80's used it to the point of absurdity. If you use the effect in that setting then it just sounds cheesy and dated. Used the right way chorus effects sounds tasteful and beautiful. Just listen to bands from the period like The Chameleons, Cocteau Twins, For Against, The Ocean Blue, Lush, The Smiths, etc... These were some of the 80's indie bands that used chorus effects the right way.

Very good point.


And admitted by one of the 80s Session Gurus- Dann Huff (2:32-3:35)

QWzKpWtRofo

[ChorusCrackpot]

most of the 90's TGIF lineup intro tunes

Goodness me you're right!

Well, it was more of the 1980s-late-1980s-early 1990s "TGIF" lineup intro tunes. I think they really took it over the top.


e.g.

fcJI2fGRxIc

[ChorusCrackpot]

Whenever I think of Steve Lukather - I automatically think - bad 80's chorus and hear over-processed 80's lead session guy guitar in my head. Now I'm not saying' it's all bad - and he is by all means a motherfuuukker of a player who has an amazing list of credits - and people love him... I'm just sayin' that's what I automatically equate with bad chorus. I think he sort of set the mood because he was at the pinnacle in the 80's - and everyone followed his overly chorused and digital delayed Bradshaw system use it to the max leads ad nauseum. Like in those Richard Marx songs. Makes me want to puke it's so thick. I think Andy Summers is a guy who is the opposite of that. Used chorus tastefully - especially Message In A Bottle - where the chorused guitar just zaps your nervous system from the first note and never lets go. But that's me...

I agree. As soon as I hear Andy's sound I'm entranced...

And while I respect Steve's guitar playing I think his past over-processed sound, despite being really chorusy, is just too soupy-sounding.

But yeah it's probably more the context more than anything- that digital-delayed Bradshaw system with the over-processed chorusing was used on some rather soppy lovey-duvvy poppy Richard Marx late 1980s songs! Gives me the horrors!

[ChorusCrackpot]

It's a shame there is a Chorus when you can have Flanger.

Well they actually are similar effects, except Flanger has the addition of feedback/resonance, and shorter delay times.

Delay Time plays a big part in the timbre of a Chorus effect.

[Marrrty]

I'm going to go out on a limb here. But anything by Nirvana w/ chorus (come as you are etc etc) I have always preferred shoegaze to grunge so I guess I hate Nirvana a little bit for making grunge so popular, and I know they were such an important band as far as the time line for modern music goes... still cant get into them and i put it down to chorus. I am waiting for your verbal abuse..

[ChorusCrackpot]

(I've never really liked chorus with distortion though)


Why is it that chorus with distortion often sounds 'bad'?

Does the overdriven signal exaggerate the warbling pitch?

Does the overdriven signal accentuate particular frequencies that are already flitered and enhanced by the chorusing, creating an obnoxious sound?

What is it?

[dcmak5]

the cure is the only band that I'm really into that has been mentioned in this thread
and I've always wanted to like chorus… but I haven't found a way to not hear the cheese

[Purplexi]

80's guitarist/composer TREVOR RABIN seved it up by the shovel load. Hot and steamy Choral-Flange, mm-mmm! The Cure should get a pass though, they're still fashionably druggy.

[JimHalinda]

Re: Chorus with distortion, it doesn't have to sound bad. My favourite chorus sounds are those Alex Lifeson got on Hemispheres (CE-1 into Hiwatts), and I think it sounded great clean or dirty.

After listening and experimenting, I'm pretty sure Alex put his CE-1 before the distortion, i.e. in front of those Hiwatts (no FX loops on them). This, in my opinion, makes the chorus effect more subtle with distortion, and you don't get that typical '80s sound.

I've tried it myself, and prefer my chorus pre-distortion. Clean it's still fat and lush, but dirty it's more subtle.

Regards,

Jim

[Lolaviola]

Miami Vice? Anyone?

[kd2024]

[QUOTE=spakuloid;10213191]Enough hating - Here are some great songs that use Chorus:
oPaB7C0ySN8&feature=related
[QUOTE]

Mmmm.... Lush..... Miki Berenyi.... :drool

[emjee]

the cure is the only band that I'm really into that has been mentioned in this thread
and I've always wanted to like chorus… but I haven't found a way to not hear the cheese

80's guitarist/composer TREVOR RABIN seved it up by the shovel load. Hot and steamy Choral-Flange, mm-mmm! The Cure should get a pass though, they're still fashionably druggy.


Yeah, The Cure was really big back then. One band that was popular in my circle of friends was "The Hooters". Tunes like "All You Zombies" and
"And We Danced". Saw 'em open for Squeeze in '85.

[Class5]

Any recording I did in the 80's with my Roland Jazz Chorus. I shiver when I hear them now.

[ChorusCrackpot]

Re: Chorus with distortion, it doesn't have to sound bad. My favourite chorus sounds are those Alex Lifeson got on Hemispheres (CE-1 into Hiwatts), and I think it sounded great clean or dirty.

After listening and experimenting, I'm pretty sure Alex put his CE-1 before the distortion, i.e. in front of those Hiwatts (no FX loops on them). This, in my opinion, makes the chorus effect more subtle with distortion, and you don't get that typical '80s sound.

I've tried it myself, and prefer my chorus pre-distortion. Clean it's still fat and lush, but dirty it's more subtle.

Regards,

Jim

That's what I'm thinking too. Distorted chorus is good. Although the chorusing can muddy up the signal a bit which makes it tricky when using it with a distorted sound. That's when it's not good, and something I still struggle with getting right, hence my quest on the best Chorus.

Chorused distortion definitely does get that typical '80s sound, washed out and wide. Soooooooometimes I like it, but mostly it gets way too much for me. I think too that the chorusing tends to impart a "hokey" peaked tone on the distorted signal, which I think is what makes it sound so cheesey.


There must be something with the nature of how a Chorus Effect processes a signal, that affects the timbre. As I said, if you use a chorus PRE-distortion, it makes it a little muddy. If you use it POST-distortion, it makes it 'hokey'. I think I need some better tone range descriptors...

[ERGExplorer]

Am I correct in noticing that a lot of what is being mentioned made money?

I'm sure those who made that money are losing sleep at night about this debate on TGP, and the effect on their suffering reputations.

That's the power of the internet for ya!

[JRBain]

Count me in with the chorus haters. :D

It just sounds plain horrible to me. Inexorably artificial on lead tones, cheesy on cleans. If you run it through some form of stereo or W/D setup, it begins to sound permissible, but I'd still like the sound more without it.

If nothing else, just get a flanger - Like a chorus, but far more interesting sounding.

[chucke]

So many, so many songs. Too many to count. Andy Summers was the only guitarist who knew how to use chorus and when. Virtually everything else with chorus is dreck. imho, of course. ; )


What kind of chorus did Andy use?

[ChorusCrackpot]

What kind of chorus did Andy use?

He didn't.



He used an Electro Harmonix Electric Mistress flanger.


But it's a very chorusey-sounding flanger, very rich and swirly.


3IeeZZj_HNs

[ZosoRush]

So does that mean a Klon has a bad rep because everyone worships it?

[chucke]

To me the sound of the chorus effects used in Whitesnake's song Here I go again (both the original and the 1987 version), are rather cheesey to me.


tmdoP8wHUJw

WyF8RHM1OCg

I never heard of the original version.
Like a 'hobo' I was born to walk alone?? haha hah....:rotflmao

[ChorusCrackpot]

I never heard of the original version.
Like a 'hobo' I was born to walk alone?? haha hah....:rotflmao


I actually prefer the original version. It seems more heartfelt and solemn.

Also I prefer the tones of the original, even if the chorused clean tone sounds a little cheesey. It's the tonality of it, has that slight "hokey" peaked middy sound.
Laughable, but passable. At least the band members each have their own original look.


But the '87 version has a cheesier clean chorus sound, that clicky studio-processed rack chorus sound with too much compression. It's just MTV hair metal soppy rubbish, with the video just an excuse for the singer to show off his missus.

[Krayon]

I would have thought the first two Boston albums...

now that was some cheesy chorus. good thing Tom Shultz is a Keyboardist.
he can blame his love of that sound on all those years of listening to a leslie.

[Waxhead]

Many times I have read that there was a stereotypical 1980's "cheesy chorus effect."

What are examples of this? Geeky New Wave? Spandex Hair Metal? Please list song titles and artist names for me. (Videos not needed)

I got no examples because there aren't any.
hehehehe - how many times do you hear endless crap from loads of people.
The worlds full of it.
So some cheesy dorks think its fun to dump on Chorus or whatever else - who cares hehehehe

Make your own decisions - Ain't nothin wrong with Chorus used selectively and I don't give a rats what some wankers say hehehehehe

[ChorusCrackpot]

I would have thought the first two Boston albums...

now that was some cheesy chorus. good thing Tom Shultz is a Keyboardist.
he can blame his love of that sound on all those years of listening to a leslie.

The difference though is that Tom Scholz was way ahead of his time when he made his own 'doubler' chorus box and used it in his guitar rig. If anything a lot of the cheesey 1980s chorus sounds was just others taking what Scholz did in the 1970s and overdoing it through the roof.

That and using his Rockman headphone amp to the point where it became cliche! haha

[Lightningrt]

I remember talking to a fellow guitarist in the early '80's who said "Oh I leave my Chorus on all the time because it fattens the sound up. It's a great new effect that I wished I'd had years ago".

At the time I didn't like the idea at all of one piece of gear that would become a crutch - but I swear that his belief was echoed throughout the world. Funny thing is that I think it almost thins out the sound by giving an artificial texture. Add digital delay to really get that '80's vibe!

Not a fan.

[Fabiano 777]

Well, spandex hair metal for sure... and horrible rock fusion records too.
And for the flanger effect is the same: just think about all that horrid Van Halen stuff...

[FuzzGazer]

He didn't.



He used an Electro Harmonix Electric Mistress flanger.


I'm glad somebody mentioned this, I've been chuckling at all of the AS references in a chorus thread.

[Lonestar Boogie]

I might get flamed for this. I also haven't read the whole thread, so I don't know if someone else mentioned it yet, but here goes...

I think Eric Johnson's clean tone that he drenches in chorus and delay is just awful. And whenever I hear it, I automatically think 80's sound.

[Peeb]

As a guy who was coming of age in the 80's, I look back on those tones with a mixture of embarrassment and fond recollection.

It's cheese-filled, but I had some great times with those tunes in the background.

No regrets. It is what it is.

I don't see that sound making a come-back, but those songs in the 80s sold a lot of records (yes, we bought and played vinyl!).

[100JH]

He didn't.

He used an Electro Harmonix Electric Mistress flanger.

But it's a very chorusey-sounding flanger, very rich and swirly.



I have a modded CE-2 on the board but always use the DEM (w/ H. Davis mods) for the Andy Summers tones. He called it right out on that video...EHX EM, Echoplex and Compression (I use the Effectrode PC-2A instead of a DynaComp which Andy used) that is Andy Summers to a "T". Run it into a clean Super Reverb and bada bing. Actually it is a great simple tone to get and play around with, its one of my favorite rhythm tones.

[100JH]

just think about all that horrid Van Halen stuff... :spit

You MUST be speaking about with Hagar!!? Really, horrid?

So what, do you mean VH-I? VHII? WACF? Come on man!!! EVH completely killed from 1978 to 1984. You italians must have been going to see The Flock of Seagulls concerts or some shit like that in the 80's. During that time EVH played guitar like there was no tomorrow.

Jimi, SRV and EVH...don't see any Fabiano in there! :FM

[kevinhifi]

I think the effect is well suited for all of the studio examples that have been thrown out in this thread. It was the sound of an era, and it worked well with the cheesy keyboard sounds that also defined that same era. It all fits.

Where I think chorus is overused is on the live stage. I've seen a handful of shows where the chorus is always on, and it starts to take over the entire sound of the band in a bad way, especially when there's a lot of distortion involved. Two examples off the top of my head.

Dave Navarro - saw Jane's play Lollapalooza, and I really wanted his pedal board to go on the fritz after about 3 songs.

Steve Stevens - love the guys playing. The chorus is just not necessary IMO.

[5992]

As a guy who was coming of age in the 80's, I look back on those tones with a mixture of embarrassment and fond recollection.

It's cheese-filled, but I had some great times with those tunes in the background.

No regrets. It is what it is.

I don't see that sound making a come-back, but those songs in the 80s sold a lot of records (yes, we bought and played vinyl!).

:agree

Same experience here. Started HS in 1980. Graduated from college in 1989. Lots of cheese in that era, but it was my era. I look back on it with nostalgia and lots of fond memories. Cheesy chorus included.

I was a total metal head back then, but have come to appreciate some of the pop of that era, despite the cheesy chorus sounds.

[Tarmac]

:spit

You MUST be speaking about with Hagar!!? Really, horrid?

So what, do you mean VH-I? VHII? WACF? Come on man!!! EVH completely killed from 1978 to 1984. You italians must have been going to see The Flock of Seagulls concerts or some shit like that in the 80's. During that time EVH played guitar like there was no tomorrow.

Jimi, SRV and EVH...don't see any Fabiano in there! :FM

+ 1 perfect.

I completely agree! :bow

[tjmicsak]

The problem is not the effect.
Chorus is a great tone enhancer and if it weren't it would never have been used so much and so often to become a defining sound to an era.
The Wah saw a similar fate for a long time as did the Sitar.
Every now and then you hear them again with the result is they provide a very tastefull difference.

As far as chorus with overdrive, Alex Lifeson did a whole lot of that with great success when not using guitar synths.

Electric guitar has always had to come up with variety to continually compete with it's cousin the keyboard.

It also makes senes that in the 80s when guitarists were looking for better and heavier overdrive with cascading gain stages, the clean tones were also enhanced to give them more and more ultra cleans and sparkle with the chorus, pushing out the two extremes.
While everyone throws stones at the 80s sounds, just try to imagine what all that music that we all liked back then would have sounded like without the chorus, like the Def Lepard stuff or the Whitesnake stuff.

[EricPeterson]

He didn't.



He used an Electro Harmonix Electric Mistress flanger.


But it's a very chorusey-sounding flanger, very rich and swirly.


3IeeZZj_HNs

Cool vid! Thanks.

[Fabiano 777]

:spit

You MUST be speaking about with Hagar!!? Really, horrid?

So what, do you mean VH-I? VHII? WACF? Come on man!!! EVH completely killed from 1978 to 1984. You italians must have been going to see The Flock of Seagulls concerts or some shit like that in the 80's. During that time EVH played guitar like there was no tomorrow.

Jimi, SRV and EVH...don't see any Fabiano in there! :FM

Hey man, calm down...
Yeah, it's horrid. I think Van Halen -every incarnation of that band- is the quintessential cheesy sound of rock... horrid songs like "Jump" or "Panama" (1984, right?) with all those embarassing bad taste keyboards were worse than the Flock of Seagulls, to me.
Anyway, it's MY OPINION, and i have the right to spread it anywhere i want.
Jimi, SRV, EVH... as far as i know, i don't see your name there too!

PS-And, just to reply to your almost racist statement, do you know any italian band from the 80's? Do you know our musical culture?

[Lolaviola]

I'm glad somebody mentioned this, I've been chuckling at all of the AS references in a chorus thread.
Yeah, but Andy admits to using MXR Chorus, JC120's and Electric Mistress... You must admit it's a chorusy-setting on a flanger.

Hey man, calm down...
Yeah, it's horrid. I think Van Halen -every incarnation of that band- is the quintessential cheesy sound of rock... horrid songs like "Jump" or "Panama" (1984, right?) with all those embarassing bad taste keyboards were worse than the Flock of Seagulls, to me.
Anyway, it's MY OPINION, and i have the right to spread it anywhere i want.
Jimi, SRV, EVH... as far as i know, i don't see your name there too!

PS-And, just to reply to your almost racist statement, do you know any italian band from the 80's? Do you know our musical culture?
Yeah, I like VH, but they definately made some strange choices for sounds. There is nothing that says you MUST love the sounds, of early records, or the later ones, to be a guitar player.
Fabiano: what are some 80's Italian bands worth listening to? Pop or Metal.

[Polynitro]

o7sT5K4BHBs&feature=related

[BadMelonFarmer]

Hey man, calm down...
Yeah, it's horrid. I think Van Halen -every incarnation of that band- is the quintessential cheesy sound of rock... horrid songs like "Jump" or "Panama" (1984, right?) with all those embarassing bad taste keyboards were worse than the Flock of Seagulls, to me.
Anyway, it's MY OPINION, and i have the right to spread it anywhere i want.
Jimi, SRV, EVH... as far as i know, i don't see your name there too!

PS-And, just to reply to your almost racist statement, do you know any italian band from the 80's? Do you know our musical culture?

It has got to be said that Van Halen were much bigger in the US than in Europe... Rightly or Wrongly we just didn't get them as much as the folks in the US.

There are bands in Europe that are not as big in the US... Some things don't translate as well as others ... culturally.

Not a flame either way, just an observation on the fact that Van Halen is highly regarded in the US, but not so much in Europe.

Peace

[Cool Hand Luke]

Yeah, but Andy admits to using MXR Chorus, JC120's and Electric Mistress... You must admit it's a chorusy-setting on a flanger.


Yeah, I like VH, but they definately made some strange choices for sounds. There is nothing that says you MUST love the sounds, of early records, or the later ones, to be a guitar player.
Fabiano: what are some 80's Italian bands worth listening to? Pop or Metal.

He may have used a Roland JC120 once or twice but his sound is mostly Marshall halfstacks.

Gear:
http://web.tiscalinet.it/andatta/equipmentpage.htm

http://web.tiscalinet.it/andatta/effectspage.htm

[Fabiano 777]

It has got to be said that Van Halen were much bigger in the US than in Europe... Rightly or Wrongly we just didn't get them as much as the folks in the US.

There are bands in Europe that are not as big in the US... Some things don't translate as well as others ... culturally.

Not a flame either way, just an observation on the fact that Van Halen is highly regarded in the US, but not so much in Europe.

Peace

I'm into various musical styles, but i grew up as a heavy metal/hard rock guy, so i had friends who were deeply into VH and stuff like that.
There are legions of VH fans here in Europe too and he is higly considered here too...
As for me, i always found it poorly interesting and of very bad taste sound-wise, just as almost every "guitar hero" of the 80's (with a few exceptions, of course). I just never liked him.
Coming back to the issue of this topic, i think that these guitar heroes of the 80's (as well as fusion guitarists) just ruined the perception of effects as chorus and flanger, which are regarded as "cheesy" by many. On the other hand, there were bands from the late 70's and 80's who were doing incredibly cool things with the same effects.
Just think about Joy Division, Killing Joke, Wire, The Smiths, The Cult, and so on...

[BadMelonFarmer]

perhaps it is just the UK then, I know VH was MASSIVE in the US....but did not see anyway near the same level of comercial success in the UK. don't know why.

He is not my bag either, but is a very talented guitar player.

I grew up more in the Smiths, Joy Division... Indie camp.

[Fabiano 777]

Yeah, but Andy admits to using MXR Chorus, JC120's and Electric Mistress... You must admit it's a chorusy-setting on a flanger.


Yeah, I like VH, but they definately made some strange choices for sounds. There is nothing that says you MUST love the sounds, of early records, or the later ones, to be a guitar player.
Fabiano: what are some 80's Italian bands worth listening to? Pop or Metal.

There are many. I am very much into the so-called "post punk" or New Wave, so here a few examples of some late 70's early 80's italian bands which i like, both musically and lirically (mostly italian lyrics, sorry): DIAFRAMMA, LITFIBA, CCCP, NEON.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKEUnjgoGK0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5que5YhYs4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TO1_b1JA0M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyUKTxeIGLU&feature=related

[Dirge]

Continuing on the New Wave tip, I don't think anyone can top the Hook for chorus abuse.

hRqdOyMnnxM

[ERGExplorer]

I don't think anyone has yet talked about another song which ruined chorus in the opinion of this tiny pond, coming in 4th in the Guitar World readers' poll for best guitar solo of all time, Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd.

I'm mildly curious as to who the tastefully informed would put up as better examples of tasteful guitar than David Gilmour. I'm ready to be informed.

Again, it's amusing to see all the assertions of how everyone has bad taste but a chosen few here on TGP.

----

I also think of EVH as being more phaser-focused. It's interesting to read so many arguments against including Andy Summers among people like Gilmour who ruined chorus, but no one is moving EVH to a different category due to the metallic phaser which is all over the albums.....

[bigwebb83]

I thought come as you are sounded pretty good for what it was...

[Fabiano 777]

I don't think anyone has yet talked about another song which ruined chorus in the opinion of this tiny pond, coming in 4th in the Guitar World readers' poll for best guitar solo of all time, Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd.

I'm mildly curious as to who the tastefully informed would put up as better examples of tasteful guitar than David Gilmour. I'm ready to be informed.

Again, it's amusing to see all the assertions of how everyone has bad taste but a chosen few here on TGP.

----

I also think of EVH as being more phaser-focused. It's interesting to read so many arguments against including Andy Summers among people like Gilmour who ruined chorus, but no one is moving EVH to a different category due to the metallic phaser which is all over the albums.....

Well... this is a flanger to me ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYUUV5-J33c&feature=related
Never liked Gilmour too... to me, Pink Floyd were Syd Barrett's band...
Anyway... good taste, bad taste... it's all about PERSONAL TASTE.

[clothwiring]

Mike Stern? :)

[solitaire]

Over using the effect generally and using the effect in a less than tastefull approach, most likely. Hence I salute EJ for his moderate use of chorus.

[Brian Johnston]

I think that's the key... moderate use... using it enough to achieve that subtle thickness in a tone... although sometimes a nice lush chorus sounds good with chords... depending on the song.

I'm currently using a Boomerang Chorus*Delay. What's nice about this is that you obvious can tweak how much chorus, but how much of it goes into the delay mix! Very nice! Boomerang did a great job with this pedal, mixing the two concepts for nice harmony.

[RevZone]

What about Jamie West-Oram of The Fixx? Kind of dig his tone... I believe he uses a MXR Stereo Chorus

pIe-Cj071l0

[Lolaviola]

Wait...
Are we listing songs that ruined chorus, or songs we like because of the chorus effect, or songs we like despite the chorusing????
--Confused

[Road King]

Personally I think any effect can be overused. I still like chorus on SOME clean tones. The opinion that one is cheesy and another not, is faddish IMO. Like when guitar solos went out of style in the 90's right after the era of the guitar god. What's cheesy today will come back and opinions will sway the other way.
Having been through several decades of music now I can see that rock and roll in particular has a way of making 180 degree turns. Whatever is popular today you can look for the antithesis of that to be popular later. It's the rebellious nature of the music. And guitar tones follow right along.

That's the way I see it anyway.

[tonejunky]

I just got a chorus pedal in the mail. :o

[Loop-Master]

I never heard of chorus being a bad thing until reading about it on this board.

Guess what? I still like chorus. :D

[Cream]

I never heard of chorus being a bad thing until reading about it on this board.

Guess what? I still like chorus. :DAmen.

[Fabiano 777]

I never heard of chorus being a bad thing until reading about it on this board.

Guess what? I still like chorus. :D

Agreed
:drink

[Pietro]

I was playing in rehearsal with a band years ago and had my chorus on. My brother who sings backup and plays bass comes over and steps on it to turn it off and yells "I can't find my note with that stupid chorus on."

I have not used much chorus since.

[SunnyRollins]

-80's soft porn
-dream theater's clean tones

[Schafrocks]

I agree. As soon as I hear Andy's sound I'm entranced...


But yeah it's probably more the context more than anything- that digital-delayed Bradshaw system with the over-processed chorusing was used on some rather soppy lovey-duvvy poppy Richard Marx late 1980s songs! Gives me the horrors!

Landeau played on a lot of those first two albums. More than Lukather.

[Not Through Yet]

I hereby dispute the notion that chorus has a bad reputation.

It's like asking 'what gave Soldano amps a bad reputation' because after all they were prominently used on some epic cheesefests of the early 90s - short answer being that they don't really.

[ChorusCrackpot]

I hereby dispute the notion that chorus has a bad reputation.

It's like asking 'what gave Soldano amps a bad reputation' because after all they were prominently used on some epic cheesefests of the early 90s - short answer being that they don't really.

The early 90s was just as bad as the late 1980s, well actually the early 1990s was still pretty much stuck in the 1980s...hence the epic cheesefests. It always boggles me why they thought tight stonewash denim with thick belts & clown makeup was "fashionable".

[ChorusCrackpot]

Cool vid! Thanks.

cheers!

[ChorusCrackpot]

To me I think it's more of the heavily-processed digital rack units that were layered and layered, that created those dated 80s chorus sounds, but even more so it was the CONTEXT in what that processing was used- for cheesey soppy radio rock songs and pop ballads that make you cringe. I'm realising now that was more the producers' fault, not the guitarists that made those sounds.

It's like with phasers and whacka-whacka wah-wah often gets associated with corny 70s porno music- it was used so much in that context that it becomes cliched.

[SmokingHeart]

It has got to be said that Van Halen were much bigger in the US than in Europe... Rightly or Wrongly we just didn't get them as much as the folks in the US.

Yeah, you have to understand the concept of a Chevy Camaro or Trans-Am to get Van Halen.

1978-1984 Was the good VH.

[ChorusCrackpot]

Yeah, you have to understand the concept of a Chevy Camaro or Trans-Am to get Van Halen.

1978-1984 Was the good VH.

It could be the demographics as well. The whole "high-schooly thing" of people that are stuck in generational discourse- they tend to cling to the things that were around them when they were adolescents and think those things are the best in the world- it's more to do with how they were feeling at the time & being led into things, than the actual quality of the things around them.


That's not to say I disregard Van Halen as a whole or Eddie's playing & his influence on other musicians, not at all. I've always known about Eruption and Jump and Panama and liked those songs a lot, and respected his technicality & musicality, but otherwise didn't know much else about Van Halen, or even thought of them that much. I guess they just weren't as prominent around me. The 'Van Hagar' stuff was completely oblivious to me apart from when they wrote & performed Humans Being for the movie Twister.

[ERGExplorer]

It could be the demographics as well. The whole "high-schooly thing" of people that are stuck in generational discourse- they tend to cling to the things that were around them when they were adolescents and think those things are the best in the world- it's more to do with how they were feeling at the time & being led into things, than the actual quality of the things around them.

Hmm. Am I to understand that to mean that the reason VH kept making hit records was purely because people were in high school, as opposed to their making music which appealed and sold records? That doesn't quite make sense to me, as I can easily think of musicians whom I didn't listen to in high school and think they're great, just as I didn't like VH when I was an adolescent, even though they were everywhere.

I also don't get how so many votes still go to Eddie Van Halen in the various guitar magazine reader polls unless a lot of those guitarists voting were in high school when VH was popular.

It sounds like quite a reach, trying to impute his popularity to a particular demographic at a certain point in their lives, as opposed to it being decent music... but maybe that sounds convincing to others, and perhaps all those guitar magazines have a readership which graduated high school in those particular years. Interesting (if doubtful and unlikely) assertion....

[dangayle]

Only You and I Know by Phil Collins. Worst gated drums AND cheesy chorus effect

[ChorusCrackpot]

Hmm. Am I to understand that to mean that the reason VH kept making hit records was purely because people were in high school, as opposed to their making music which appealed and sold records? That doesn't quite make sense to me, as I can easily think of musicians whom I didn't listen to in high school and think they're great, just as I didn't like VH when I was an adolescent, even though they were everywhere.

I also don't get how so many votes still go to Eddie Van Halen in the various guitar magazine reader polls unless a lot of those guitarists voting were in high school when VH was popular.

It sounds like quite a reach, trying to impute his popularity to a particular demographic at a certain point in their lives, as opposed to it being decent music... but maybe that sounds convincing to others, and perhaps all those guitar magazines have a readership which graduated high school in those particular years. Interesting (if doubtful and unlikely) assertion....

I don't think it was a conscious effort on Van Halen's part or any bands part. They're just had talent, made music and enjoyed it, like most bands. They got popular because of the music- that's great. Sure enough managers will capitalise on popularity, anyone out to make money would. Just look at pop music.
The music reached out to people in various ways, one of them being Eddie's musicality & technical prowess. There were others that were more technically proficient but he was the most popular, and still is in a way.

I'm just making an observation of the frequency of people heavily basking in nostalgia of their adolescence, beyond just appreciating talent & good music, when they talk about guitarists like Eddie Van Halen and bands like Van Halen, or the time when chorus was over-done to the point of reeking like rotten Limberger (sp?)...they always refer to that time as "my era". You often see tales of "oh I remember the parties and palm trees and the beach and the women" etc. etc. etc. They like those bands and those effects etc. because they just so happened to be in that particular time period. It's like that matters heaps more than just the music & talent being really good.
That's the impression I get anyway.

And it is quite possible that the readership of those guitar magazines are in that particular demographic.

Or they just don't like the present and want to "re-capture their youth"- ala:
EwBnvLaqEZY


It doesn't just apply to so-called "80s kids" or "Generation X" (personally I hate the whole 'generation' stereotype psychology). There are people that were in high school in the year 2000, that think the bands of that time (e.g. Powderfinger...) are the greatest of all time, simply because those bands were popular during "their year".


Now- personally I don't follow that train of thought at all. I appreciate great music for what it is, not because of what time period it was from or if it happened to be popular when I was growing up. There are lots of bands that I love now, that I never listened to or even knew of when I was in high school.
And conversely, a lot of the music that was popular when I was in high school, never appealed to me at all during that time period, and still doesn't appeal to me now.

It is just an observation. It doesn't apply to everyone, definitely not to me and I can see it doesn't apply to you either.


So here I will take this back to the opening post- "What songs gave the chorus effect a bad reputation?"

I particularly like the chorus effect- there is just something about some forms of it that I find thrilling and exciting. But it's not because of having an affinity with a particular time period, not at all.

goodness me I am getting exhausted here.........

[ChorusCrackpot]

Only You and I Know by Phil Collins. Worst gated drums AND cheesy chorus effect

agreed!!!

[gmann]

Alot of that Clapton stuff, just got so tired of hearin' it. And let me say I'm a huge Clapton fan. I mean I like him alot not that I'm huge or anything.

[Jayman450]

Just posting to say I love chorus, love reverb, and love most of the songs you guys are bitching about! Also seeing Def Leppard this week! Hysteria is one of my favorite albums. I'm a sucker for 80's music, classic rock and hair metal etc.

Continue

[ChorusCrackpot]

I think this video gives some key points about this particular topic.

From 2:31 - 3:26.
QWzKpWtRofo

Here is a transcript of that part of the interview which I think reveals the key points.
"Maybe because I came from the 80s, that's when I did all my session playing. and I think I used up all the Chorus that was manufactured up 'til then. I like chorusing effects if it's really minimal. And that's why I am excited about this.
The ability to get involved in tweaking out those horrible, useless, frequencies.
Because that's the thing about Chorus, that was....During the 80s in the era of Keyboards, and the overuse of MIDI and uh layering, Chorus was the only way you could compete with that, and so consequently I used too much of it and now I'm sick of it. But I do love modulation."


What I would like to know are what those specific, horrible useless frequencies? And how can they be tweaked out?

[mcknigs]

I haven't read the whole thread. Apologies if this has been said. I think the problem of cheesy '80s chorus can't be traced to individual instances but, rather, is a function of general overuse of the sound by practically everyone for about ten years.

[ChorusCrackpot]

Just posting to say I love chorus, love reverb, and love most of the songs you guys are bitching about! Also seeing Def Leppard this week! Hysteria is one of my favorite albums. I'm a sucker for 80's music, classic rock and hair metal etc.

Continue

haha! no worries, if you enjoy it that's great. Enjoy at your will!

fcJI2fGRxIc

[ChorusCrackpot]

I haven't read the whole thread. Apologies if this has been said. I think the problem of cheesy '80s chorus can't be traced to individual instances but, rather, is a function of general overuse of the sound by practically everyone for about ten years.

I'd say that's about right :aok

[fr8_trane]

Same songs that gave reverb a bad name. Just the 80's way of thinking, if an ounce sounds good, 10 tons must be a million times better! If that guy's got a 8" deep snare drum that sounds like it's at the bottom of a well I need a 10" snare that sounds like it's at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Over indulgance pretty much sums that decade up.

And that was the problem...

In the 80's, REGARDLESS OF GENRE, chorus was used like louisiana hot sauce - they put that shit on everything! Consequently the good stuff got lumped with the bad. An entire generation of musicians and music lovers were turned off by the chorus/ larger than life reverb fest of the big hair decade.

[mcknigs]

And that was the problem...

In the 80's, REGARDLESS OF GENRE, chorus was used like louisiana hot sauce - they put that shit on everything!

A case in point. I love the band and the music but there was chorus on as lot of their recordings:

kpMn91-LPdc

-Scott

[sick1982]

It has got to be said that Van Halen were much bigger in the US than in Europe... Rightly or Wrongly we just didn't get them as much as the folks in the US.

It's because, we, guys in Europe, only care for something after it's (considered) dead :)
At least, that's the conclusion all history lessons ever thought me :D

[mcknigs]

A case in point. I love the band and the music but there was chorus on as lot of their recordings:

[Replacements Please To Meet Me]
-Scott

OTOH there's a lot of chorus on this Replacements track, and I love it.

3xk9XP9sIW8

[Chas]

Anything by The Cure


I spit my coffee out all over my computer when I saw this quote. I 100% disagree with you sir.:spit

[ChorusCrackpot]

I spit my coffee out all over my computer when I saw this quote. I 100% disagree with you sir.:spit

:agree



I love The Cure- they were one of the few bands that used chorusing as a chief part of their sound, in fact a signature of their sound- and yet they did it tastefully. It sounds great. They used chorus before and after distortion, to great effect. They used chorusing with flanging, phasing, in different musical contexts and playing styles, all sorts of stuff. I love it.




What I don't like is the super-duper heavy processing from the LA studios of the later 1980s, they really overdid it. Either the guitarists resorted to too much chorusing to help them cut through the mix of massive synthesisers, or the producers slathered it on in post-processing.


Here's a good (bad!) example of too much post-processing chorus done in the studio- to me it sounds really cheesey, stale dickcheesey in fact.... :puh

And it reinforces what I've said in the past why some effects like chorus sound cheesey- because they were too heavily used with an extremely cornyy context, such as some soppy big-hair 80s pop ballad...

GOJk0HW_hJw