What exactly is the Boss Dimension C (DC-2) doing?

[friendship]

I like this effect a lot, and I understand that it's a type of a chorus in the sense that it involves modulation of pitch to create a wide stereo image. I'm familiar with how chorus works, but this particular chorus is not your regular single-sine-wave-LFO-modulating-the-doubled-signal the way a generic chorus might. Has anyone anywhere figured out what specifically is being done to the signal?

I'm asking because I'd like to be able to replicate its stereo imaging effects using Reason (I've grown fairly competent with using Reason's LFOs to create something like this). If I knew how it was splitting the signal and what specific pitch modulations were being applied to it, I might be able to construct some similar processing, which would be fun to do.

I know it's kind of a long shot but you guys are smart and cool and cute and I want to pinch your cute butts.

[Chankgeez]

Read this (I thought it was interesting):

http://forum.fractalaudio.com/blogs/jav ... ion-c.html

[friendship]

of course i was only able to find this after posting, but a lot of information in this archived thread: http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/i ... 408.0;wap2

I get the impression--and anyone who actually knows something please chime in--that the signal is split in three. The original signal is dry,and the two others are split hard left and hard right. They're both being modulated by something like a square or triangle wave in opposite directions but in sync, so whenever the left channel signal is in positive polarity, the right one is in negative polarity, and they alternate in sequence with the rate of the LFO.

I'm going to keep researching to get the Real Shit though

[Chankgeez]

So, do you think it was an attempt by Boss to do tri-stereo chorus in pedal form?

[rbtr]

That sounds neat. I can't offer a lick of help. But when you sort it out in reason, you should share the rack, for this lazy ass.

[friendship]

So, do you think it was an attempt by Boss to do tri-stereo chorus in pedal form?

Not exactly. It was really their attempt to adapt their Roland SDD-320 rack unit in pedal form, and I think it's more accurately a bi-chorus since it's using two delay lines (modulated by a single LFO), according to Mark Hammer. Here are some quotes from that thread:

"The wobble comes from the pitch being either sharp or flat, relative to the clean signal. In the DC-2, the pitch is always both, since the two BBDs are trading off which one is lagging behind and which one is catching up. While there IS only one LFO, it drives the clocks in opposite directions to provide complementary actions. The fact that boith flat and sharp deviations are present at the same time eliminates the feeling of directionality in the pitch change."

So although it uses oscillated delay lines like a chorus, the goal is different. Taking a mono track and sending it through some kind of static, slight pitch change on another track was already a common mixing technique for giving a mono signal a stereo image at the time, and the SDD-320 was probably Roland's solution for providing that effect instantaneously. Just fly whatever mono source you have through it, route its stereo outputs to your recorder and and you have instant widening. The LFO switching the pitch back and forth creates a really awesome psychoacoustic effect of hearing movement but not really hearing movement.

I don't know how much they marketed the DC-2 to guitarists, but it seems kind of funny since the majority of guitarists have a mono rig, and the true benefit of using the DC-2 is by way of the stereo outputs (although you can get some dope weirdo mono chorus sounds, too). Maybe it was meant more for synth players.

[Chankgeez]

Either way, sounds like it'd be awesome (and I don't even like chorus).

[friendship]

Either way, sounds like it'd be awesome (and I don't even like chorus).

That sounds neat. I can't offer a lick of help. But when you sort it out in reason, you should share the rack, for this lazy ass.

Will do! I think it's totally feasible in Reason, so I'll try to make a Combinator patch tonight.

Man I fucking love sound.

[bigchiefbc]

Without a doubt, my favorite chorus sound of all time. The Behringer clone (CC-300) of it actually sounds great as well, I was able to A/B them before I sold off my DC-2 and they're damned close sound-wise. I use my Mobius for almost all of my modulation now, but I kept that Behringer around because the Mobius can't really nail the DC-2 sound.

But yeah, I've always felt that it sounded like a static chorus, without much movement at all. When you run it in stereo, it seriously makes it sound like your guitar is coming at you from all directions.

[friendship]

Without a doubt, my favorite chorus sound of all time. The Behringer clone (CC-300) of it actually sounds great as well, I was able to A/B them before I sold off my DC-2 and they're damned close sound-wise. I use my Mobius for almost all of my modulation now, but I kept that Behringer around because the Mobius can't really nail the DC-2 sound.

But yeah, I've always felt that it sounded like a static chorus, without much movement at all. When you run it in stereo, it seriously makes it sound like your guitar is coming at you from all directions.

Heck yes. I'm probably going to get the Behringer too, I just like figuring this stuff out. Do you encounter any clock noise/bad buffer issues with the Behringer?

[bigchiefbc]

Without a doubt, my favorite chorus sound of all time. The Behringer clone (CC-300) of it actually sounds great as well, I was able to A/B them before I sold off my DC-2 and they're damned close sound-wise. I use my Mobius for almost all of my modulation now, but I kept that Behringer around because the Mobius can't really nail the DC-2 sound.

But yeah, I've always felt that it sounded like a static chorus, without much movement at all. When you run it in stereo, it seriously makes it sound like your guitar is coming at you from all directions.

Heck yes. I'm probably going to get the Behringer too, I just like figuring this stuff out. Do you encounter any clock noise/bad buffer issues with the Behringer?

No noise at all. As for the buffer, it's about the same as the Boss from what I could hear. Like I said, I had a DC-2 and the CC-300 set up right next to each other and A/B'd them, and I really couldn't hear a difference.

[Ghost Hip]

Totally doing to get the behringer sometime, didn't really look into the DC2 much until this thread. Sounds perfect since I run a stereo rig.

sigh... that pink boss enclosure sure is sexy though...