2 chorus mod questions...

[Chris S]

Is there an easy way to convert any chorus to a tremelo (similar to what experimentalistsanonymous did with the small clone)?

Is there an easy way to make the wave on the wet signal less square sounding and more like a sine wave? (if you know what i mean)

Thanks!

[Mark Hammer]

1) Tremolo = volume variations, vibrato = pitch variations.  Yes, the easiest way is to identify the output mixer stage, and lift the resistor that feeds the dry signal to the mixer stage.  In some instances this mixer stage is active (i.e., uses an op-amp), making it easy to identify on a board, but in other instances (like the Zombie) it is passive mixing which makes it harder to spot.  Also note that the overwhelming majority of chorus pedals that use momentary switches and FETs for bypass purposes usually accomplish "bypass" by connecting/unconnecting the delay path to the mixer stage via a FET.  If you manually lift the dry connection to the mixer, when you hit the bypass switch you will be left with nothing.  Not a problem for noodling-around purposes, but obviously impractical for gigging unless bypass is accomplished some other way (e.g., loop select pedal).

2) The typical 2-opamp chorus LFO produces a square and triangle-wave output at different pins, with only the triangle typically being used.  The way these things and our ears work, we prefer less modulation the faster the LFO rate.  Although the modulation itself can seem a tad too extreme if not turned down, to the best of my knowledge it is rarely, if ever, a square wave.  (If it IS, you've got yourself one helluva rare chorus box there, buddy.)  Having said that, it is no guarantee that the form of the sweep suits your taste.  If you hunt arond, either the net or the archives here, you can find an LFO circuit that permits separate variation of the rise and fall components of the waveform to produce triangles, ascending anddescending ramps and trapezoidal waveforms.  Perhaps that might nail what it is you're after.