Chenille BBD Chorus Ensemble vs Reason Studios Polar

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sitejax
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Joined: 22 Apr 2019

22 May 2020

Can anyone who is using Chenille BBD Chorus Ensemble tell me if they like it or use it a lot?
It looks pretty good and better than RS Polar.

It's currently on May Madness sale
https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack ... -ensemble/

bieh
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22 May 2020

I have both, and get a lot more use out of Chenille than Polar. Polar's pitch-shifting element adds a dimension and helps with some more extreme effects, but I'm not a fan of using it as an approach to octave doubling, because of the delay that approach involves. I'd usually much rather use two instuments at different octaves. Chenille is great for finding just the right kind of character you want for stereo width, and comes with plenty of presets. I often experiment with it on vocals, guitars and keys.

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BananaSkins
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22 May 2020

For a hands on experience - Try before you buy...

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Reasonable man
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22 May 2020

sitejax wrote:
22 May 2020
Can anyone who is using Chenille BBD Chorus Ensemble tell me if they like it or use it a lot?
It looks pretty good and better than RS Polar.

It's currently on May Madness sale
https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack ... -ensemble/
Both Great but do different things. I would use em both in combination tbf. I only use chenille as a send effect and its great. Both have a mulititude of presets. Chenille is based on analogue gear like the dimension d (and two others.. i really should remember the names!) which gives a think warm sound ..great for pads...although guitar and vocals i guess would be it's main forte.
Polar for weirdness although you can use it for an eno reverb shimmer to if you wire it up properly.
I see them as a tag team , the ploar patch 'vocal widner' to me is a must on ..anything and on a sends bus put this patch after a chenille 'jupitar 2' chorus.
When i say vocals i mean you cant go wrong with them both. there is a fantantic ' backing vocal' preset that comes with chenille which has some nifty hass effect wiriing thrown in ..it just automatically sends and eq's your backing vocals to the back of the mix without having to do anything.
Cant go wrong with both ..get chenille if its on sale ..it might be the best chorus (certainly the most verstile) made in any format not just rack extension. then wait for a sale on polar and get that too :puf_smile:


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MrFigg
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22 May 2020

Polar I’ve had since release and must admit That it’s very seldom it gets any use.
Chenille is a really great chorus. You can do a lot with it. It’s very seldom I use that one either though hahaha. Strangely enough I more often than not reach for some of the free chorus VSTs that are out there. There’s some really good ones :).
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Benedict
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22 May 2020

Just to toss a rock in your Puddle, what about Quartet in R11?

Chenille is a good bit of kit but I must say I didn't get it. I got the little Titus single BBD Delay line instead, which I use a bit from time to time. I'm just a The Echo sorta guy but sometimes the hardwired stereo modulation is annoying. If I started again I would probably get Valhalla Delay as it seems stellar.

As for Polar, I too find I don't use it a lot but when I do, it does the trick. I used Polar subtly here for the vocals as Cameron wanted that 70s/80s style multiple vocal but only supplied two takes. Not enough for that sound so I Polarized it - with care or he started to sound more like Beyonce (or whoever uses electronic doubling to fix thin vox).

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Boombastix
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23 May 2020

Chenille is an emulation of the holy grail chorus, Roland Dimension D. It was built into MKS-20, the piano synthesis module that Elton John used and now is a staple with gospel musicians. It was also a standalone rack unit. A standard for widening vocals. It is not as in your face as a Juno Chorus, though it has that as preset too, but I find it closer to the more subtle Dim D, and the Bass Chorus Pedal preset is great too. So, Dim D was used to make everything sound great, but without knowing it was there, sort of.

Polar or more of a brutal FX unit IMO, very different.

I think they are as close as milk and vodka. You can "drink" both but the use is very different.
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MrFigg
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23 May 2020

Boombastix wrote:
23 May 2020
I think they are as close as milk and vodka. You can "drink" both but the use is very different.
Sometimes if the vodka is of particularly bad quality mixing it with milk helps you get it down. :)
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Boombastix
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23 May 2020

MrFigg wrote:
23 May 2020
Boombastix wrote:
23 May 2020
I think they are as close as milk and vodka. You can "drink" both but the use is very different.
Sometimes if the vodka is of particularly bad quality mixing it with milk helps you get it down. :)
The purpose of the Combinator :o
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MrFigg
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23 May 2020

Boombastix wrote:
23 May 2020
MrFigg wrote:
23 May 2020


Sometimes if the vodka is of particularly bad quality mixing it with milk helps you get it down. :)
The purpose of the Combinator :o
😂
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Yonatan
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23 May 2020

Benedict wrote:
22 May 2020
Just to toss a rock in your Puddle, what about Quartet in R11?

Chenille is a good bit of kit but I must say I didn't get it. I got the little Titus single BBD Delay line instead, which I use a bit from time to time. I'm just a The Echo sorta guy but sometimes the hardwired stereo modulation is annoying. If I started again I would probably get Valhalla Delay as it seems stellar.

As for Polar, I too find I don't use it a lot but when I do, it does the trick. I used Polar subtly here for the vocals as Cameron wanted that 70s/80s style multiple vocal but only supplied two takes. Not enough for that sound so I Polarized it - with care or he started to sound more like Beyonce (or whoever uses electronic doubling to fix thin vox).

Made in Reason?
Really nice track, good vocal and overall mix. Would be nice to see how you used the devices etc.

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guitfnky
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23 May 2020

I have both, and like others have said, rarely use either. Chenille is a fantastic chorus, if you love to get tweaky, or generally prefer using presets. I find the interface to be way too complicated and unintuitive for my liking, but it lets you do a LOT, so if that’s your thing, it could be a great option.

Polar can be pretty cool, and you can get some good sounds out of it, but it’s not very intuitive either, and often I’ll have an idea what I want to accomplish, and how to go about it in Polar, only to find myself fighting the thing to get what I want out of it. too often, it’s defeated me, and I delete it from the rack. for simple pitched doubling, I won’t even bother with Polar, unless I need it done in the box. I’d reach for my trust whammy pedal a thousand times over Polar.

ultimately, it depends on how you like to work, and what you’re looking to accomplish—there is some overlap between the two, but they really are very different beasts.
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MrFigg
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23 May 2020

guitfnky wrote:
23 May 2020
I have both, and like others have said, rarely use either. Chenille is a fantastic chorus, if you love to get tweaky, or generally prefer using presets. I find the interface to be way too complicated and unintuitive for my liking, but it lets you do a LOT, so if that’s your thing, it could be a great option.

Polar can be pretty cool, and you can get some good sounds out of it, but it’s not very intuitive either, and often I’ll have an idea what I want to accomplish, and how to go about it in Polar, only to find myself fighting the thing to get what I want out of it. too often, it’s defeated me, and I delete it from the rack. for simple pitched doubling, I won’t even bother with Polar, unless I need it done in the box. I’d reach for my trust whammy pedal a thousand times over Polar.

ultimately, it depends on how you like to work, and what you’re looking to accomplish—there is some overlap between the two, but they really are very different beasts.
What whammy pedal do you use? A real one or a VST? I love Whamdrive.
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guitfnky
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23 May 2020

MrFigg wrote:
23 May 2020
guitfnky wrote:
23 May 2020
I have both, and like others have said, rarely use either. Chenille is a fantastic chorus, if you love to get tweaky, or generally prefer using presets. I find the interface to be way too complicated and unintuitive for my liking, but it lets you do a LOT, so if that’s your thing, it could be a great option.

Polar can be pretty cool, and you can get some good sounds out of it, but it’s not very intuitive either, and often I’ll have an idea what I want to accomplish, and how to go about it in Polar, only to find myself fighting the thing to get what I want out of it. too often, it’s defeated me, and I delete it from the rack. for simple pitched doubling, I won’t even bother with Polar, unless I need it done in the box. I’d reach for my trust whammy pedal a thousand times over Polar.

ultimately, it depends on how you like to work, and what you’re looking to accomplish—there is some overlap between the two, but they really are very different beasts.
What whammy pedal do you use? A real one or a VST? I love Whamdrive.
real one. I f#%ing love that thing. put it an octave up alongside your favorite distortion (for me, a $30 Joyo Ultimate Drive), and some of the tones can get are just beastly.
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WongoTheSane
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23 May 2020

As choruses go, Chenille is my go-to (even with Quartet in the picture, it still is) and I have never found a use for Polar (but then I don't play guitar). YMMV, trial them. I do agree with Boombastix' milk and vodka image though, to me they're entirely different devices with only a very small overlap.

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MrFigg
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23 May 2020

WongoTheSane wrote:
23 May 2020
As choruses go, Chenille is my go-to (even with Quartet in the picture, it still is) and I have never found a use for Polar (but then I don't play guitar). YMMV, trial them. I do agree with Boombastix' milk and vodka image though, to me they're entirely different devices with only a very small overlap.
I do play guitar and that’s why I bought it and to be completely honest I think it’s total crap as a guitar effect. It’s good for mangling synths and stuff but that’s it.
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WongoTheSane
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23 May 2020

MrFigg wrote:
23 May 2020
WongoTheSane wrote:
23 May 2020
As choruses go, Chenille is my go-to (even with Quartet in the picture, it still is) and I have never found a use for Polar (but then I don't play guitar). YMMV, trial them. I do agree with Boombastix' milk and vodka image though, to me they're entirely different devices with only a very small overlap.
I do play guitar and that’s why I bought it and to be completely honest I think it’s total crap as a guitar effect. It’s good for mangling synths and stuff but that’s it.
Well that confirms my suspicions :D

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MrFigg
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23 May 2020

guitfnky wrote:
23 May 2020
MrFigg wrote:
23 May 2020


What whammy pedal do you use? A real one or a VST? I love Whamdrive.
real one. I f#%ing love that thing. put it an octave up alongside your favorite distortion (for me, a $30 Joyo Ultimate Drive), and some of the tones can get are just beastly.
Was it you who liked that Turn2on pitch thing?
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guitfnky
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23 May 2020

MrFigg wrote:
23 May 2020
guitfnky wrote:
23 May 2020

real one. I f#%ing love that thing. put it an octave up alongside your favorite distortion (for me, a $30 Joyo Ultimate Drive), and some of the tones can get are just beastly.
Was it you who liked that Turn2on pitch thing?
nope, you might be thinking of chimpspanner—I think I remember seeing he mentioned it in one of his posts.
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MrFigg
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23 May 2020

guitfnky wrote:
23 May 2020
MrFigg wrote:
23 May 2020


Was it you who liked that Turn2on pitch thing?
nope, you might be thinking of chimpspanner—I think I remember seeing he mentioned it in one of his posts.
Aaa. Yeah. You’re right. I tried it and didn’t buy it but wondered if I’d missed something. I don’t think I did.
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motuscott
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23 May 2020

Milk and vodka; White Russian much?
Old Mr. Boston's Bartender's Guide™ describes it as an excellent early morning eye opener.

I only own JP's Titus, guess I was feeling the pinch at the time.
Who’s using the royal plural now baby? 🧂

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Benedict
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23 May 2020

Yonatan wrote:
23 May 2020
Benedict wrote:
22 May 2020
I used Polar subtly here for the vocals as Cameron wanted that 70s/80s style multiple vocal but only supplied two takes. Not enough for that sound so I Polarized it - with care or he started to sound more like Beyonce (or whoever uses electronic doubling to fix thin vox).

Made in Reason?
Really nice track, good vocal and overall mix. Would be nice to see how you used the devices etc.
Thanks :-)

This one doesn't have a Mix Walkthrough. Open to using that method on another track if anyone wants to share...

:-)
Benedict Roff-Marsh
Completely burned and gone

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