Providence Anadime Chorus ADC-4
Price: $249 (list)
Contact: www.providence-ltd.com
The chorus pedal holds the distinction of once having been extremely popular, becoming dated and undesirable, then enjoying a resurgence of popularity. This classic stompbox chorus reached its peak in the mid ’80s, with bands like The Fixx and The Police before fizzling again by the ’90s.
The chorus has steadily crept back onto pedalboards, and with this rebirth have come fresh and useful ways to add fullness to a guitar rig without sounding passé. Providence Effects’ newest offering, the Anadime ADC-4, is an analog chorus with old-school warmth and new-school flexibility. Three knobs let the user control Depth, Mix, and Speed, while a single mini-toggle switch gives the option of three Deep settings. It’s a mono pedal that uses a bucket-brigade delay device and a multifunctional LED for visual battery-power monitoring and rate status.
The Anadime’s S.C.T circuit (single-contact true bypass) allows the signal to pass through one switch contact when bypassed to preserve signal quality, while the double contact grounding (DCG) circuit ensures that the sleeve of the plug inserted into the output jack is grounded at two contact points. This minimizes intermittent contact and preserves tonal integrity. The pedal is lightweight, uses a 9-volt battery or adapter, and takes up very little real estate on a pedalboard.
With the Deep mini-toggle set to the down position and control knobs set to 12 o’clock, dark, King’s-X-style shimmer can be heard with the help of a clean amp and a dirty bridge humbucker. The cool blue LED pulsates in time with the rate, and when the mini-toggle is set to the upper positions, the effect’s dimension, thickness, and speed increase exponentially. Sounds become more intense. Each mode of the mini-toggle is a different chorus unto itself; each click upward adds thicker waves of malleable speed, chime, and wetness.
Experimenting with single-coil pickups and cleaner amp settings offers a range of complex chorusing and flanging opportunities, but the ADC-4 lives on the dark side. It lacks brightness, but its darker personality accentuates its rich, full-bodied depth and warmth. It’s extremely flexible and adds thickness to dirty chord work and makes arpeggios cascade, yet delivers all the over-the-top rotary sounds anyone could want.
The Anadime ADC-4 inspires creativity and could surely prove useful to chorus-loving guitarists past and present.
This article originally appeared in VG March 2015 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
