Home › Forums › Review Your EHX Gear › Small Clone vs Clone Theory
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July 13, 2009 at 5:12 am #78582LouisMember
Trying to make up my mind which one I want. Any comparisons or comments?
July 13, 2009 at 7:24 am #99307electro-melxModeratorFor a start they sound very different.
If you want the best sounding simple lush chorus, I’d recommend the Small Clone every time. I couldn’t get on with the clone theory at all…. the noise, the vibrato-ish sound even in chorus mode, the way it colours the tone… It just didn’t work for me.
July 14, 2009 at 9:33 pm #99433BlueSteelParticipantyea, get the small clone, its really simple, easy to use, and it just sounds amazing.
July 14, 2009 at 11:21 pm #99441janusEffectModeratorThe Clone Theory is one of my favorite chorus pedals, but it is VERY different than anything else on the market. It will significantly color your tone. It’s deep, lush, bright, spacious, and can be used for some serious tone warping because of its heavy vibrato-like qualities at low rate settings. It nails the Peter Hook bass chorus sound (after all, he did use one of the original Clone Theory pedals
).
If you’re looking for something more “mundane” yet distinctly EHX, the Small Clone is a great choice.
July 15, 2009 at 6:15 am #99456John JMemberthe small clone is quieter and warmer but it lacks some of the tonal complexity present in the clone theory. it’s been mentioned above that the clone theory is brighter, and it also tends to flange more than the small clone so it’s very psychedelic and new-wavey. the rate knob on the theory is dialed in a little better and it has a much larger usable range; it seems to me that the only decent settings on the small clone fall between 9 o’clock and noon. despite this, the small clone can cover 95% of the ‘usable’ chorus sounds you hear on records.
the depth on the small clone is dialed in perfectly and you’ll likely find yourself looking for similar depth settings on every pedal you play; the depth and rate knobs on the theory are extremely interactive (the depth gets deeper as rate increases) so mode 1 at a slow rate actually covers the shallow iciness of the clone’s first setting, and the faster rates give you the wobbly goodness of the small clone’s ‘deep chorus’ setting. mode 2 gives you the option of a deeper chorus at a slower rate or a shallow chorus at a faster rate. vibrato can be difficult to dial in because it gets very very wobbly, but it sounds cool once you get it right. i find that the white noise on the clone theory is actually my favorite part of the chorusing for the depth it adds, but if you’re averged to hiss and moan then you will likely be better served by the small clone.
basically, i’m in the clone theory camp but the small clone is fantastic as well. as basically every other poster stated: if you’re looking for something simple, warm and clean, go with the small clone. if you’re after something a little more complex, both tonally and control-wise, the theory is likely your best bet.
August 12, 2009 at 5:17 pm #100533ChumleyParticipantIf there was a mix control on the Theory…
If only…
September 23, 2009 at 4:34 pm #101701TheCapitalJMembersmall clone any day.
March 11, 2010 at 8:44 pm #108400ChromeCloneParticipantI have the small clone and i love it.
The Clone Theory does have stereo outs tho.March 12, 2010 at 3:46 pm #108418Bad ChileParticipantTo all the posters above – thanks for the reviews.
I had a Boss CH-1 that I sold a few months ago because I couldn’t get on with it. After demo’ing a Small Clone and listening to a few Youtube reviews…I have one on the way. I don’t run a stereo rig, so no worries there.
Thanks for helping add to my EHX collection, and I’m very excited to get my hands on it.
March 12, 2010 at 7:06 pm #108421MugginsMemberoh gosh , small clone any time. as for the ch1 , trashing that pos is a step in the right direction.
March 18, 2010 at 1:03 am #108599Bad ChileParticipantFollow-up to my own post a couple above…
[warning: honeymoon post]
The Small Clone is everything I wanted in a chorus, and nothing more. Dead simple to use, sounds great, and has stood up to three hours of my terrible playing.
Yes, it is kinda noisy, but my setup tends to create noise (too big of amp in too small of apartment, so I have my compressor knocking the signal down so I can turn the amp up past 1). It doesn’t have a billion knobs (which I consider a plus). Bought a power supply with it so I don’t care about the non-standard plug…only downside I think is the no sticker in the box (got one with my memory boy). What I like about the Small Clone is the one knob, one switch. I don’t get distracted fiddling around with options, I just get good sound. Yeah, I might want something more programmable 1% of the time, but the other 99% of the time I spend playing instead of futzing.
I’ve wanted a Small Clone for a few years, I’m not sure why I ever got the CH-1, but I’m wicked happy with the Small Cone. I hate saying it, but besides my tuner, the three EHX pedals on my board are the only ones that I consider ‘home runs’ and not something I’ll someday kick off the board.
May 18, 2010 at 4:00 am #109320Blupup8ParticipantQuote:oh gosh , small clone any time. as for the ch1 , trashing that pos is a step in the right direction.:facepalm: I don’t know if you have ever actually owned a CH-1 but having owned both I’d take an analog CH-1 over a Small Clone. The Small Clone on shallow depth can only be used with the rate up to 12 o’clock at the most, and on the deep setting it’s really only useful up to about 9 o’clock. Basically what that is saying is that at best half the rate knobs range is unusable. Also the Small Clone is very echo-like and you really can’t dial that out of it. I really don’t like the Small Clone. The CH-1 enhances your tone rather than dominating the whole sound. That’s why I find it far more useful than a Small Clone. If I want my tone completely changed I’d use a Voodoo Lab Analog Chorus. I don’t know, I’ve owned about 30 different chorus pedals. They are all different and the Small Clone is a well loved pedal, but I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the CH-1 by calling it a “POS”. It’s about the most grown up chorus going and it’s very unique in the way it treats the top end. No other chorus is like it whereas there are innumerable copies of the Small Clone floating around.
EDIT: OF course the Clone Theory is equally unique in that there is nothing else like it. And the fact that the Small Clone has been cloned has to be a sign that people love it and of course it’s unique also. They are all special little circuits who give a lot of great sounds for different situations. I just don’t like the way it has a long fixed delay time because it’s like a doubling delay that is there all the time. I have built a Small Clone myself and adjusted that delay time down (like Analog.man does to) and it improved it to my ear but ultimately it’s just not my cup of tea.
June 18, 2010 at 12:04 am #109566efilhoMemberI had a Boss CE-3 for years. Got rid of it. Sold cheap!
I have a Small CLone now. Absolutely love it to bits. Exactly what I wanted a chorus to sound like.
The Boss CE-3 coloured too much my tone, didn’t have enough depth and I never used it stereo anyway.
Might work for some. I don’t know why I put up with it for so long.
Now I have a Chorus I can love! (Cheesy eh?)
September 19, 2010 at 7:45 pm #111517Muff138MemberSmall Clone all day, every day. Best chorus pedal available, in my opinion.
September 21, 2010 at 1:06 am #111550andvari7ParticipantOf the two, an unmodded Small Clone (don’t make the same mistake I did). However, my favorite chorus is still the built-in effect from my Roland Jazz Chorus 55 amp. It does the JC-120 thing, but you can control the rate and the depth, whereas the 120 only allowed for depth. It did allow rate on vibrato-only, which the 55 doesn’t do, but I’ll take the one effect that works best over two that don’t.
But, that’s a Roland product. And EHX isn’t Roland. It does things a little differently, which is why I say their best chorus is the Polychorus. Apart from simply sounding wonderful, it also allows for sounds that are not so much “chorus,” as they are “dissonant noises that make your teeth fall out.”
I have, however, owned a Clone Theory. I traded it for the Roland, if that’s a hint. About the only chorus worse than that (in the analog side, at least) that I’ve tried was the Nano Clone. Sorry for raggin’ on EHX, but that Nano Clone was awful. The Neo Clone, however; that looks like it may have some potential. Assuming, of course, I can FIND one in Madison.
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