The VFE Choral Reef is an analog chorus pedal from VFE, built around the MN3008 bucket brigade chip. Its manual says the design "finds its roots in the EHX Small Clone™, but goes far beyond," and the six controls reach well past standard chorus territory into flanger, vibrato and short slapback delay sounds1. The pedal itself is discontinued: the manual describes the boards as belonging to "the recently discontinued line of VFE pedals," provided for DIY building only1, and Pedal of the Day's 2017 review confirms both pedals in the line "have both been discontinued"2.
Where it came from
VFE designer Peter chose the MN3008 over the MN3007 based on its available headroom; the manual notes it "does have a slightly better S/N ratio" than the alternative1. Pedal of the Day described the chip as "an expensive, out-of-production MN3008 bucket brigade chip"2. The circuit was also folded into one-off custom builds: the VFE Vader, a custom delay/chorus pedal reviewed in 2017, combined the discontinued Blueprint Delay circuit with the Choral Reef chorus side2.
The Choral Reef is no longer made as a finished pedal. VFE's product page now sells the design files under "The Motherload: All VFE Design Files," and the PCBs are offered through Madbean Pedals for DIY assembly13.
The controls
The Choral Reef carries six controls, which is what lets one chorus pedal cover so much ground2:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Mix | Blends the wet, modulated signal with the dry signal. Maxed with shorter delay times it gives vibrato; around 9:00 with longer, spacier settings it gives a dripping, watery chorus. |
| Depth | Sets the depth of the modulation. All the way down removes modulation entirely, for doubling or uber-short delay effects. |
| Speed | Sets the modulation speed, from rapid warble down to super-slow, sweeping pitch modulation. |
| Feed | At short delay times it adds resonance and/or brightness to the modulation; at longer delay times it increases the number of echo repeats. |
| Width | Sets the delay time of the modulated signal. Shorter times give flanger-esque tones, the longest times quick slapback echoes. Longer delay times mean more clock noise. |
| Range | Sets the range of the Width control: middle for the shortest range and flanger style tones, right for a medium range great for chorus, left for the longest delay times, pushing the MN3008 to its absolute limits. |
All control descriptions from the VFE manual1.
What it can do
The Range switch is the key to the pedal's spread of sounds. Because it re-scales Width across three delay-time bands, the same knob covers flanger territory, straight chorus and near-delay territory. The manual sums up the result: "All this adds up to a really unique and great sounding chorus with a ridiculous number of settings!"1
Pedal of the Day's reviewer, writing about the Vader custom that used the Choral Reef circuit, found that "a vast array of chorus tones are available, including flanger and vibrato," and that the pedal covers "a ton of sounds ranging from mild choral-flange to modulated slap back and more"2. The same review noted the design was built to satisfy VFE's high standards for noise, headroom, and versatility2.
Videos
Mike Hermans
JetCityMusic
Iga Massardi
Questions
Is the VFE Choral Reef analog or digital?
It is an analog chorus. VFE's own product page lists it as the Choral Reef analog chorus, and Pedal of the Day's 2017 review describes it as an analog chorus pedal built on an out-of-production MN3008 bucket brigade chip, the chip that handles the modulated delay line at the heart of the circuit.
Is the VFE Choral Reef still in production?
No. The Choral Reef was part of a recently discontinued line of VFE pedals. The PCBs used for those pedals were provided for DIY builders only, so the circuit lives on as a do-it-yourself project rather than as a pedal you can buy new from VFE.
Can the VFE Choral Reef make flanger sounds?
Yes. The manual says the choice of timing caps gives different clocking options for faux-flanger as well as chorus tones, and the Range control's shortest setting is described as being for flanger style tones. Pedal of the Day likewise found a vast array of chorus tones available, including flanger and vibrato.
What bucket brigade chip does the VFE Choral Reef use?
It uses the MN3008 bucket brigade chip instead of the more common MN3007. The manual notes Peter chose it based on the available headroom of the MN3008, which has a slightly better signal-to-noise ratio. Pedal of the Day calls the chip expensive and out of production.
What does the Range control do on the Choral Reef?
Range sets the span of the Width control, which sets the delay time of the modulated signal. The middle position gives the shortest range for flanger style tones, the right position a medium range suited to chorus, and the left position the longest delay times, pushing the MN3008 to its limits.
Sources (3)
- Microsoft Word, Madbean Pedals, 2019
- VFE Pedals Vader Delay Chorus, Pedal of the Day, 2017-03-20
- The Motherload, VFE Pedals
