Review: Neunaber Inspire Tri-Chorus

Started by Rhcole, April 09, 2018, 09:45:15 AM

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Rhcole

It was a little over a month ago that I created several Tri-Chorus patches for the SY-300 and referenced the new Inspire Tri-Chorus pedal as my inspiration. I also boasted that now I didn't need to buy the Inspire...  ::)

As it turned out, I realized how many resources it takes to make a good Tri-Chorus patch. In the SY-300, these patches were using half of the available FX resources just for the chorus effect, leaving little to use elsewhere. And I LIKE the Tri-Chorus sound, very much. I decided something had to give.

So here we go...

First of all, a Tri-Chorus uses three choruses blended to create the impression of no central chorus frequency. With a regular chorus, you can clearly hear the LFO as it rolls through its cycles. Not so with a Tri-Chorus. A Tri-Chorus sounds like a texture of chorus sounds. Tri-Choruses were used constantly in the 80's by almost everybody, but in particular bands such as Rush and the Police.

The Neunaber Inspire is ONLY a Tri-Chorus. You can't dial in a single chorus or reduce the number of voices. But, within the Tri-Chorus universe, it is a Master's toolbox for all things Tri-Chorusey. It has stereo I/O's and can thus substitute for a rack unit if so needed. It is also very quiet with noise levels at around -106db.

The heart of the pedal are the 6 different Tri-Chorus programs, from a standard Tri-Chorus to series and parallel TCs, TC with vibrato, detune, and more. These different programs show a great breadth of sounds, varying from classic choruses to vibratos, rotating speakers, Uni-Vibe type sounds, and other interesting effects. What I particularly appreciate is that the sounds may reference sounds you've heard before, such as a Uni-Vibe, without sounding exactly like them. These patches have a flavor and character unique to this pedal. You COULD copy many of these sounds with a capable programmable multi-effect box, but you would use up quite a few resources to do so, as I realized with the SY-300.

Now, there are a couple of quibbles I have with it. First, there is a very slight drop in gain when you kick the choruses in. The sound flattens out and is less dynamic. A variable gain or level adjustment would have been nice. Second, I wish it had an input for a modulation pedal. I like the rotary sound well enough that I would easily have used this pedal for Leslie type sounds, but it has no presets or means to make variable rates happen.

The sounds the pedal makes are wonderful. You can easily create very complex textural beds that can go from subtle to overpowering depending on your needs. And, because this is a specialized pedal, many of the sounds are not common or cliched fare.

I give it four stars.

chrish

#1
Thanks for another fine review

Rhcole

Ack! It's only a fine review when you get the product name right!
Changed from "Impress" to "Inspire".
I looked down at the pedal on the floor and went "What the hell..."

aliensporebomb

Tri-Chorus is an amazing effect - it's distinctly timbrally different than a single voice chorus.  I ended up doing one with the VG-99 and realized I could add even more voices if I needed to.  That's the next step for me.

If you want some great examples of Tri-Chorus on record, listen to guitarist Michael Landau's "Tales From The Bulge" which has quite a lot of it.  A great record in that it's one of those instrumental albums that people who aren't musicians can enjoy and has some humorous bits too.

Would be nice to hear some examples of the Neunaber in operation.

My music projects online at http://www.aliensporebomb.com/

GK Devices:  Roland VG-99, Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000.

Rhcole

ASB,

The Neunaber site has several video clips on the Inspire with plenty of examples.
Check 'em out.



Rhcole

Hey!

Looks like I will be writing a more thorough review of the Inspire for Sound-On-Sound magazine.
I wrote their review for the GP-10 a few years ago. Great publication, very well-informed content.