The Landau Chorus | ARION SCH-1 | Great or Garbage?

[@LeonTodd]

What chorus pedal should I try next?

[@george.kollaros]

MXR Micro Chorus, TC Electronic SCF

[@constantinosmavroyannis9409]

JAM Pedals WaterFall

[@peterjepps1229]

Red7 lil wave chorus

[@HominidInterneticus]

boss ce-300 (rack) roland sdx-330 (rack) boss md-500 (modern pedal with great features, great chorus and a programmable slicer to boot!) the vintage Yamaha CH pedal series are good too. It would be interesting to see how they differ in sound. there's about 4 or 5 pedals in the line

[@d-mack7053]

@LeonTodd I had had that exact pedal with the matching delay and flanger pedals when I was starting out ont guitar. GREAT MEMORIES!!!!!! Wish I still had them. "D"

[@BigHairyGuitars]

OOOOOO. I like it a lot! I've never heard one isolated before. Great vid!

[@LeonTodd]

It's got a pretty unique voice. Not a BOSS CE, not a syrupy EHX but it's own thing!

[@levik19]

This pedal is a treasure. true stereo chorus to my ears. I still use it in my board since the 90's.

[@LeonTodd]

Nice! How's the enclosure holding up?

[@BeanieBeanTX]

I think the 10:00/2:00 settings on the first two knobs is very nice sounding, as well as the max/min for the spatial expander sound. Thanks for bringing this one up for review. One can never have enough chorus pedals!

[@LeonTodd]

Totally agree!

[@johnschnee8076]

You have the most relaxed pick hand…my favorite gear channel hands down🤘

[@LeonTodd]

Wow, thanks! I just try to copy paul Gilbert when it comes to picking hand stuff.

[@rabbitholeguy]

This is my go to 80’s chorus sound! Rate 9 O'Clock Depth cranked Tone 2 O'clock = 80’s heaven!

[@irishplucker]

I have this pedal and love its sound....easy to get great full Leslie tones out of it. Great chorus with rate and depth at 10 o'clock...tone to suit......I treasure it!!

[@alessandroraho5584]

Peccato che il nostro dimostratore ha dimenticato proprio l'emulazione Leslie, a dispetto del titolo! 😡

[@BaconFire]

Owned this pedal when it first came out since I could not afford Boss - used it in my Goth days. It felt cheap and plastic-ish, but got the job done with no issues for live gigs. I'm a bit surpised that this pedal has made somewhat of a come back on other retro channel reviews. Thanks for sharing this.

[@EricGuitarPedals]

I am building clones of this pedal, with all the wright new old stock components and selling on Reverb, great pedal! True bypass, no ticking and lower noisefloor

[@CoffeeDrinker71]

What’s the name of your pedal?

[@fredyezl]

Interested can you provide a link or more info ?

[@MarkPilipczuk]

Second pedal I ever purchased in 1985 or 86, after my Rat. Still have both. To me, the Rat plus the Arion is the sound of rock. Still love how they sound in combination.

[@voltavoyager]

This is a great demo. That 'Stereo Enhancer' setting at 8:05 sounds killer and makes me think that if I didn't get chorus for a long time, it was my mistake. (On the other hand, modulations in stereo are deceiving, they tend to sound good most of the times)

[@onzkicg]

@4:46 Love that tone! A bit bright sounding in my headphones but i guess it’s ok.😊

[@Mold81]

Great and informative demo!!! I remember that ML talked that he used this as a faux leslie effect and his mode was Mono on the board in 90's. To me, Sch 1 and Sch z are slightly different but sch 1 is even musical in the overdrive sound.

[@JimsMusicJourney]

Wow memories. I had those Arion pedals in 80's as a teenager.

[@giorgioardizzola6104]

Have always had, and kept the Arion on my pedal boards. Great Lushness!

[@BecomingWolves]

Got one in 1985 and I still have it. Can be a bit noisy under gain though but the tones really nice.

[@BecomingWolves]

Also surprisingly durable consider I been using a plastic pedal 37 years.

[@ericolson326]

Good call on the No More Tears. I was thinking "something Reb Gilbert-y perhaps? 🤔" but that nailed it.

[@totallyunmemorable]

I used one of these on many a gig back in the day. I eventually sold it, but then got another which I still have. It doesn't really compare to my other choruses for general use, but it has its own thing at faster speeds that works well.

[@AllanGildea]

Lovely sounds, Leon!

[@BigMateo24]

I have one of these. I got it from a co-worker who knew I played guitar. One day out of the blue he came up to me and said "Hey you wanna buy a pedal?". I'm like sure, bring it in. The next day he came back with this Arion pedal, which was still basically brand spanking new. I was like, hell yeah I want that. He said he bought it back in the 80's, used it once and put it back in the box and stored it away for 30 years. I got it off him cheap, the best part is when I opened it up it still had the original credit card receipt from July 1985 in it.

[@LeonTodd]

😍

[@NotMarkKnopfler]

I bought mine in 1988 (grey case), for £29.99. still have the box with the price sticker on it. Works as good as new.

[@Gitfiddle]

I owned this as a kid in the early 90’s. No idea where it went to. I remember it being very bright and sparkly which I liked. Some players prefer the Boss version which is darker. I think they both sound good.

[@george.kollaros]

The "Stereo" setting sounds like it's Direct+Effect on one side and Direct-Effect (phase reversed) on the other. A Boss unit had this option, I think it was CE-3. Without this setting I think it sounds very subtle and uninspiring, not at all like a Boss chorus (any model) or an MXR Micro chorus that I have that make you smile and think: "Yes, that's the sound!".

[@LeonTodd]

I believe you're right! Listen in mono and there's phase cancellation!

[@LeonTodd]

@Rutger Ockhorst BOOM!

[@Telorchid]

@Rutger Ockhorst thanks for this info. I’m assuming the SCH-Z does the same thing as I hear modulated signal on both sides in stereo…

[@TheAlpineProject]

Noticed the cancelation in mono as well. Sounds great in stereo

[@BaconFire]

I had this pedal in y goth band back in the early 90s. I used it in my rather large pedal board. I dont recommend it for touring or playing live. I found it broke quite easy and much duct tape was needed. The plastic cover and the knobs were not hearty enough for daily use. But for home studio, it should suffice. Thanks for demoing this blast from the past.

[@wolfsdenmusic9404]

Sounds nice and lush. Definitely not garbage! Never had this pedal, but I had and Arion distortion pedal for a while, back when I first started playing. Was actually pretty decent sounding from what I remember. Got over a week's worth of videos to catch up on now. 🙂

[@Simeon_Harris]

i had this pedal and a bunch of other arion fx which i bought new back in the 80's. they were cheap. they sounded pretty decent. they were analogue. if landau hadn't used the chorus pedal, i'm sure they would have fallen into obscurity. nice demo bro.

[@LeonTodd]

Amazing what the passage of time and nostalgia does hey.

[@Simeon_Harris]

@@LeonTodd indeed, but it's still a great sounding pedal!

[@jasondorsey7110]

@@LeonTodd Look how people are buying up all the old usa-made peavey stuff these days, largely out of nostalgia...pretty soon the days of 50 dollar garage sale finds is gonna be a thing of the past

[@hoosierdaddy2308]

Very cool man. I remember those. I have never played one, but I was thinking they were pretty cheap later after the market had them used. It sounded killer to me.. ♥️🤘♥️ Great demo sir. I never get tired of hearing you play that strat, or the flamey LP you have as well as several others. ♥️🤘♥️ Be well and safe. Off to help my buddy at his diner. They are short of staff and I enjoy waiting tables and I can make some good coin in just a couple hours so I can afford more cool gear. 😂❤️

[@LeonTodd]

That's rad man! I bet you get some great stories out of that.

[@hoosierdaddy2308]

@@LeonTodd Yeah, I meet some great people from all over the US. ♥️🤘

[@dooniehead]

I’ll join in. Amazing little Japanese pedal. Super cheap feeling and halfway through its life, this switch starts getting glitchy. 89 the year SRV went on home. I had already been a big fan of his. And had me a TS-10 as he did. He simply got whatever two screamer was new that year. so for $99 I bought one. Still have it. Then somehow it came across a TS nine 1980s and this weird plastic pedal that didn’t have the cover for the battery on it. I knew it was cheap because I had never heard of the name ARION? I didn’t even know it was a chorus pedal. no indication. But I turned the rate up and it did and awesome pseudo Leslie sound. For $300 I had just bought a 1965 black face super Reverb. I read in the magazine that in the studio, he would sometimes run two tube screamers together. I guess one of the first people that popular stacking to overdrives. So I would run the TS9 as my break up rhythm. For lead stack it into the TS10. I had my obligatory Stratocaster:) Then one year ago, the “rig doctor” had the same looking pedal on his board. Except it had the battery cover. Alas’, I found out what it was. And 25 years later, it’s on my board again. Lol. I didn’t notice back then. But are you getting a significant volume increase when depressed? Not you🤣. The stereo chorus, lol. OK, that’s my five bits at least love your show always check out subscribed all that stuff take care, brother, Steve

[@fwlipem]

stereo sounds way more layered and "spreaded" than direct. direct sounds more flat and affects - as the name suggests - "more directly" the signal. both sounding amazing in the hands of who knows how to set it. nice one, man.

[@donsmith5385]

I always liked how this pedal sounded, not a ce-2 but still sounding great. I hope you try ab EHX poly-chorus

[@mesablue]

I had one in the 80's loved it! Was so good for the Randy Rhodes break down in the song I don't know. But like most Arion's it broke. We need a metal case reissue or clone.

[@GasStationSushiiii]

I want to try this with the boss harmonist de tune effect after it… and maybe a subtle vibrato even before the chorus

[@funkmachine6420]

Ohhh I like the sound of this

[@StratsRUs]

These were a second choice budget type pedal, a bit less subtle but had its place.

[@michaelgallegos8811]

Hey Leon that sounds cool u should hear this pedal i have here the DOD Digitech PDS1700 Digital stereo Chorus/Flanger i bought in 1987 if i remember correctly and it had 4hrs play time it sounds really good both modes are amazing i cant find out much about it ,read Steve Stevens used this pedal on some recordings with Billy Idel any way its kinda of a ghost its heavy too a tank anyway thought i would share this old pedal with u man hope u have a great weekend we are having monsoon rains now after almost evacuating 2 weeks ago this is relief ! Peace out man..

[@LeonTodd]

I'll look it up! Stay safe brother

[@marcofioravanti4176]

1.) DOD FX64 Ice Box. Sadly not mono-compatible, but great chorus sound! "Level" just mixes in the amount of chorus to the dry signal. "HL EQ" just filters the brightness of the chorus. 2.) Boss AD-3. Mono-compatible 2x2 stereo chorus! Even with reverb and EQ. I like to beef up my old "dry" Yamaha DX7 with it. So good! Oh - and you could even use it on your acoustic guitars... ;-)

[@LeonTodd]

I don't own anything DOD but really should. Never knew that about the AD3!

[@marcofioravanti4176]

@@LeonTodd Yeah, dear Todd, thanks! The AD-3 is really made for acoustic guitar. I just found out, that it´s useful for other instruments, too. It is also a bit bigger and heavier as your regular chorus pedal, but i keep it standing in my studio anyways.😀 That said: There´s more to it, I consider it a "secret weapon".. Ah, and you might as well look for the "AD-5". Same Chorus in a different package, that might be more convenient for you. I don't have it.

[@colelewis9940]

Leon did you just say CHORI? The CHORI tree of pedals. Haha

[@LeonTodd]

hahaha yep. Chorii needs to enter common usage!

[@VibhasPatil]

It's an amazing pedal. However, if you want to get super close to the Arion with a pedal that is built in a much better way and offers even more functionality, consider the Suhr Alexa. Unfortunately, it's not made any more but it's available online. I think Landau used to use one (Pretty sure John took into consider his feedback) and David Grissom still uses it.

[@coalfacechris1336]

Early noughties had both this and a vintage CE-2 at the same time, just didn't get the SCH1 hype. Know everyone loves the Landau connection, but for my ears the CE-2 was a much better pedal than the Arion in front of an amp/pitch detune behind. Think I sold it for $40 to a HRI Landau fanboy😎

[@ian1eh944]

CHRIS!!! LOL.....Hey Mate.... ;)

[@coalfacechris1336]

@@ian1eh944 Hey Imac, hope all's well.

[@robertkise]

I have one of these that quit working a few years ago. Can you repair it?

[@gregkoelling615]

I had one of those many years ago but became so burned out on chorus that I gave it away and still have no desire for one.

[@mentoneman]

the pedal i’ve kept the longest😁

[@RL10]

Ladies and gentlemen, Leon Landau everybody!!

[@timlaine6268]

At 5:50 killer crunch..

[@LeonTodd]

Y that Strat works so well for those sounds

[@Strat642001]

That Zack Wylde sound was killer.

[@escaldo74]

Any suggestion on sending one to get repaired?

[@pnwdrifter5680]

Never seen you so smiley

[@silverpairaducks]

I used to use one

[@klaasj.westra5257]

Do you have the chorus before or after the drive?

[@cliftonwright7081]

Hell yeah. I passed up on a bunch of them in Japan because PLASTIC, but I guess it wouldn’t have hurt to grab one.

[@LeonTodd]

The SPX90's make up for it :D

[@cliftonwright7081]

@@LeonTodd I have an entire rack full of SPXs. I don’t know what I’m going to do with them. They were so cheap in Japan, I couldn’t stop getting them. I even sold a ton of them and they came back like mold.

[@rtbmusic1135]

I dig the drive sound in this vid, what where you using? Dig the chorus too, very Leslie-like indeed.

[@LeonTodd]

A pair of the USA Lead models on the Axe-III. Real nice with the Strat

[@kennyh5083]

Great!

[@timothy5974]

Anyone know if there is a drastic difference between this and the SCH-Z ?

[@cmcguitarsandeffects2075]

If you didn’t know, this pedal is the basis for the JHS Emperor so if you like the core sounds but wanted an update version in a more sturdy case, that’s your answer.

[@LeonTodd]

Really? That's awesome

[@peterharvin2775]

Not my cup of tea until you cut the rate all the way and maxxed the depth. That really made me take notice. Certainly has "character".

[@vannakh473]

Imagine if Michael Landau played for Spandau Ballet, Landau Ballet.

[@LeonTodd]

HAHAHAHA Comment of the year right here

[@carlroberge7535]

It’s plastic and fantastic! 😂😂😂🤘🙌

[@keolacam]

Spaceman effects aurora

[@chadhudson2046]

Only decent review of this pedal on youtube.

[@patrickmckay6621]

why did i give mine away in 87 because i thought it was a piece of plastic crap?

[@stephenferguson5024]

jacques meistersinger

[@rudivall]

how dare you say garbage....