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TM
TM
Nirvana - Chorus / Vibrato
The Nirvana Chorus was designed by Brian not to emulate the chorus sound
heard on a particularly famous grunge band, but rather to bring you tonal
nirvana.
It's built with exibility in mind, giving you a huge range of chorus and vibrato
sounds. There have been a great deal of high-quality chorus units over the years,
it's a classic eect in the guitarist repertoire without which no board is truly
complete.
However, all those classic chorus pedals and rack units have something in
common: one characteristic sound. You'll hear guitarists talk about how they love
how dark and "wet" a particular chorus sounds, or jazz guitarists might really dig
the dry, subtle chorus of a dierent unit.
They also have the unfortunate characteristic of often causing a volume drop or
volume boost when engaged. Brian approached designing the Nirvana Chorus as
a way to get the best sounds, capable of tons of tones, adjustable in all the
important ways, from shallow and light and fast and bright, to dark and murky,
slow, and deep as the ocean.
As a crowning element, it won't raise or lower your volume, because you can
adjust its level! It really is an ideal chorus, tunable for any use that you can think
of.
Oh, and it also does all that for Vibrato. Cool, huh? Dig in!
To get the most out of your new pedal, you'll want to become very familiar with the controls.
The Nirvana Chorus/Vibrato features a comprehensive control setup that will let you get whatever sounds you're after. There are
knobs for Depth ne tuning how extensive you want the eect to be, Tone to adjust darker or brighter, Level to adjust the volume
when you engage it (xing the long-standing problem many Chorus and Vibrato units have of altering your output volume), Rate
to control the speed of the Chorus/Vibrato, a three-position Depth Toggle which oers three very dierent amounts of depth
available on the Depth knob, and nally a Chorus/Vibrato switch to set the operating mode. As with all Wampler Pedals products,
the Nirvana Chorus/Vibrato includes a high-quality true-bypass switch which takes it completely out of the signal path when
bypassed. Experiment and enjoy!
Bypass Switch – A true-bypass footswitch ensures solid, mechanical removal of the circuit when it isn't wanted, meaning you
don't lose any tone when the pedal is o.
Volume – A solution to the classic problem of chorus and vibrato units from various makers either raising or lowering the volume
when engaged, this control lets you specically adjust whether the volume stays the same, is raised, or is lowered when you kick
it on. The main interaction with the Level control comes from the Tone knob. Depending on how the Tone knob is set, you might
need to raise or lower the Level to compensate for the slight volume dierence. Thanks to this control, you don't have to worry
about kicking in your chorus and dropping out of the mix!
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Tone – This control adjusts from a dark chorus or vibrato tone fully
counterclockwise to a bright and present character fully clockwise. You're
not limited to one frequency emphasis as with most units, you've got full
control. When you rst get the pedal, make sure to run it through its range
of adjustment so that you can get a good feel for how it responds with
dierent Tone settings and your gear.
Depth Knob – This control ne-tunes the depth setting that you selected
on the Depth Toggle. While there are three overall depth levels, each one
carries a full range of adjustment, and this is the knob which allows you to
access the range of each. Pay attention to the Rate control when adjusting
Depth, as the two strongly determine the action of the Nirvana's Chorus
or Vibrato functions.
Rate – This controls the speed at which the Nirvana's Chorus or Vibrato
functions occur. From a very gentle, slow sound to a warbly, sea-sick jostle,
you have full control over the speed of whichever eect you've chosen.
Try a low Rate and a high Depth in Chorus mode for a moody, atmospheric eect, or adjust the Rate to match the tempo of your song in
Vibrato mode to achieve a sound that is a staple classic in Indie rock.
Depth Intensity Toggle Switch – This three-position switch seriously
shifts the range of the Depth control, giving you a sound anywhere from
subtle to dramatic. The Middle position is the lowest Depth, the Bottom
position is added depth, and the Top position is maximum Depth. When
used with the Nirvana's Chorus mode, the highest Depth settings sound
nearly underwater, and can even have a somewhat metallic edge when
the Tone knob is set high enough. When used with the Nirvana's Vibrato
mode, the greater the depth, the greater the dierence in pitch (with the
speed still controlled by the Rate knob). You can simulate, to a degree, the
sound of one of the classic spinning speaker enclosures that used the
doppler eect to achieve slow or fast warbles with the medium or high
depth settings. It adds a great deal of versatility to an already very exible
pedal. At extremely intense settings, you may hear a "thumping" sound –
turn the Depth knob counterclockwise to avoid that and it will go away.
Soft Warble
Depth Intensity Toggle in MIDDLE, Chorus/Vibrato Switch set
to DOWN, Tone at 9 o'clock, Depth at 2 o'clock, Rate at 3
o'clock
Suggested Settings (volume to suit)
Slow Vibes
Depth Intensity Toggle in BOTTOM, Chorus/Vibrato Switch set
to UP, Tone at 11 o'clock, Depth at 1 o'clock, Rate at 10 o'clock
Chorus/Vibrato Switch – This switch changes between the Nirvana
Chorus/Vibrato's two modes. Toggle UP for Vibrato, toggle DOWN for
Chorus. At subtle settings on the other knobs, Chorus and Vibrato sound
somewhat similar, but start raising the settings at all and you'll quickly see
that they are two very distinct sounds!
Power Requirements
The pedal can be powered by a 9V battery. The battery terminal is located inside the pedal.
If using a power supply, power needed for the pedal is 9V DC, regulated, center pin
negative, as supplied by most standard Boss™/Ibanez™/Etc. supplies. The pedal can be
safely powered with a multi-supply, like the Visual Sound 1SPOT™. The pedal was designed
explicitly around the usage of a 9V DC power source, and is intended to sound its best at
9V. To avoid damage to the pedal, do not exceed 18V DC, do not use center pin positive
adapters, and do not use AC power. Using an incorrect power adapter can lead to damage
and will void the warranty on the pedal. This pedal draws 13mA.
Please note: If you are using a battery, it will drain when the input cord is plugged in.
Return and Warranty Policy
For direct sales, there is a 7-day “no questions asked” period where you may return the pedal for any reason, provided that it is in its original condition. Please retain
all packaging within this period in case you decide to return it! We only require that you pay shipping back. The 7 days start when you receive the pedal. This does
not apply to dealer or retailer sales – see their individual return policies for specic information.
Chorus Detune
Depth Intensity Toggle in TOP, Chorus/Vibrato Switch
set to DOWN, Tone at 1 o'clock, Depth at between 3
o'clock and fully clockwise, Rate at 9-10 o'clock
Clean Vibrato
Blend at 2 o'clock, Sustain at 1 o'clock, Attack at 1 o'clock,
Tone to taste
Any trademarks attributed that are not owned by Wampler Pedals, Inc. are for
demonstrative purposes only, and are property of their respective owners
All Wampler Pedals, Inc. pedals carry a 5-year, fully transferable warranty that covers defects due to parts and labor. The warranty begins at the point of purchase.
Please remember to register your pedal as soon as possible after purchase at the following web page to ensure quicker service if you should ever need to make a
warranty claim: www.wamplerpedals.com/warranty_registration
For warranty repairs or questions, please feel free to contact us at www.wamplerpedals.com/contact_us.html
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