Visual Sound H2O Liquid Chorus & Echo

The Visual Sound H2O Liquid Chorus & Echo is a dual-function pedal that combines a chorus and an echo in one housing: one part chorus, one part echo, each with its own footswitch so you can use them together or independently¹. MusicRadar has called the H2O a well-loved Visual Sound "twofer"². The chorus side is analog, built around classic bucket brigade chips, while the echo side is a digital delay offering up to 800ms¹.

The pedal is discontinued, but the design carried forward: the V2 Liquid Chorus was derived from the H2O, and the V3 Series H2O Liquid Chorus & Echo updated the two-in-one format in 2014³⁴⁵.

What it does: analog chorus and digital echo in one pedal

The H2O gives you two effects in a single enclosure, larger than most stomp boxes, built in an aluminum housing with heavy-duty metal footswitches¹. Each effect has its own independent On/Off button footswitch with individual status indicator LEDs, so the chorus and echo can be engaged separately¹.

The chorus section uses classic bucket brigade chips, the same kind of circuit that analog chorus pedals have been built on for decades. Visual Sound went a step further than most makers: rather than relying on New Old Stock parts, the company acquired manufacturing rights to some classic, discontinued Panasonic chips for use in its pedals¹. The echo section is digital, with up to 800ms of delay¹.

The two outputs are wired for one wet signal and one bypassed signal, which lets you route the bypassed output to an alternate amp or an effects bay. Using the single output in a traditional pedal setup, the signal is buffered¹.

The controls

Each section has three knobs, plus a range switch on the echo side¹.

The Echo section also has a switch for Short or Long Echo values¹. There is no Tap Tempo option for delay control, so echo time is set by ear with the knob and the range switch¹.

Power and connections

The battery compartment is easily accessible via a swivel battery door on the bottom of the unit, so changing a battery needs no screwdriver¹. When using the single output in a traditional setup, the signal is buffered, which helps preserve tone over long cable runs¹.

The later V3 Series version changed the connection layout, with front-mounted input, output and power jacks that take up less space on a pedalboard, and independent input and output jacks for each effect: the echo section has its own mono input and output, while the chorus section has a mono input and two outputs for mono or stereo signals⁵.

History and versions

The original H2O was reviewed by MusicPlayers.com in January 2007, when it listed at $219.95 and sold for approximately $170, which the review placed within the mid-range pricing of chorus pedals¹. JHS Pedals notes the pedal existed before it was discontinued³.

The line continued in updated forms:

• The V2 Liquid Chorus, a chorus-only pedal derived from the H2O⁴
• The V2 H2O, which Truetone, the company Visual Sound became, describes as fully analog chorus and echo⁶
• The V3 Series H2O Liquid Chorus & Echo, made by Visual Sound, whose Liquid Chorus section provides a wide variety of lush chorus and vibrato effects including classic analog and flanger-like chorus, Uni-Vibe-style chorus and vibrato, Leslie-esque rotating speaker simulations and seasick pitch-bending vibrato wobble⁵

What reviewers said

The MusicPlayers.com review, testing the pedal with a Gibson Les Paul and a Mesa/Boogie Lone Star amp, found the chorus effect sounded great and very liquid, providing a lush chorus effect. The reviewer also found the pedal very transparent in both front-of-amp and effects loop use, with no loss of sound quality in the Off position¹.

Guitar World's 2014 review of the V3 Series version found the Liquid Chorus section especially impressive, capable of a wide variety of lush chorus and vibrato effects including classic analog and flanger-like chorus, Uni-Vibe-style chorus and vibrato, Leslie-esque rotating speaker simulations and seasick pitch-bending vibrato wobble⁵.

Premier Guitar's review of the V2 Liquid Chorus found the sounds achievable ranged widely depending on settings: cranking the depth and width with a shorter delay time recalled the lush top-forty sound of two decades ago, while a longer delay time with reduced width conjured the EH Small Clone, and the Speed and other knobs created Leslie-type effects⁴.

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