Channel strip
Set up your channel strip
Install this recipe’s channel strip in Logic with Sous.
Processing strip
Inserts
Pre-chain: Load one role on rendered audio, or add its source instrument manually. · Set plugin controls, uncaptured inserts, S1–S5 sends, routing and automation from Download recipe. Captures provide starting presets. — not part of the strip file.
Sound Recipe - New Wave Clean Chorus Guitar
Target
Bright, jangly, chorus-drenched clean guitar — the Johnny Marr / early Cure / Magazine / Siouxsie-adjacent new-wave chime. Not a lead hook like Enjoy the Silence; this is rhythm and shimmer: arpeggiated or percussive chord fragments that fill space around synths and vocals without fighting them.
The sound should feel:
- Clean and chimey (no breakup)
- Wide and shimmery (chorus is the identity)
- Percussive and rhythmic (short notes, muted feel OK)
- Slightly compressed and even
- Supportive, not starring
Follows the house method: intention → source → preset/plugin start → routing → settings → automation → taste checks.
Useful References
- Johnny Marr (The Smiths) — clean arpeggiated rhythm as architecture
- The Cure — bright chorus rhythm guitar (not the wet lead recipe in Dream-Pop Post-Punk)
- Magazine / early post-punk new wave — chime + chorus width
- Adjacent: Enjoy the Silence (melodic lead), Dream-Pop Post-Punk (shimmer atmosphere)
Steal the jobs: rhythmic clean chime, chorus width, short percussive voicings — not a lead line.
Best For
New-wave rhythm guitar, jangly arpeggios under synth beds, Britpop-adjacent chime, filling midrange when synths own the low end and air.
Source + Tone Chain
| Stage | ⭐ | Start From | Going For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guitar | ⭐ | Gretsch 5120 (TV Classics), bridge or both pickups | Bright chime, short decay |
| Guitar alt | Gretsch Country Club | More body if 5120 is too thin | |
| Amp | ⭐ | UAD Dream '65 (in Paradise Guitar Studio), clean | Premium clean platform |
| Amp (fast) | Bogren DUET clean | Speed when writing | |
| Compression | ⭐ | UAD LA-2A / 1176 light | Even arpeggios, sustain without squash |
| EQ | FabFilter Pro-Q 4 | HPF ~100 Hz; tame 2–4 kHz pick if harsh; small 8–10 kHz air | |
| Chorus | ⭐ | UAD Studio D Chorus / Dimension D, or Roland JUNO-60 chorus as synth double | Lush new-wave width |
Optional synth double (when no guitar take): Roland JUNO-60 / JUNO-106 ⭐ or Arturia Memory V — short plucky arps with onboard chorus, same register as the guitar would occupy.
Chorus (signature)
| Setting | Start | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Studio D Chorus / Dimension D mode II–III | Rich analog chorus |
| Depth | Moderate | Felt, not seasick |
| Rate | Slow–moderate | Slow = shimmer; faster = 80s animation |
| Mix | ~40–55% | Keep dry attack for rhythmic clarity |
Space
| Send | Start | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Reverb | Short bright plate/room | Eventide SP2016 / Lexicon PCM; HPF return ~250 Hz |
| Delay | 1/8 dotted or 1/4, low mix | Optional — Cascadia / El Capistan for movement |
Less space than dream-pop atmosphere recipes — this part is midrange rhythm, not a wash.
Fast Path
- 5120 clean arpeggios → Dream '65 → LA-2A → Studio D Chorus
- Or JUNO-60 / Memory V pluck arp with chorus I/II instead of guitar
- Short plate send, low; keep dry rhythm forward
Adjustment Rules
| Problem | Try |
|---|---|
| Too thin | Country Club pickup; thicken with JUNO double an octave up, quiet |
| Muddy with synths | HPF guitar; simplify voicings; carve 300–500 Hz |
| Too pretty/dream-pop | Less reverb; drier chorus mix; more muted picking |
| Not wide enough | Dimension D; MicroPitch ±6 cents on a duplicate |
Common Mistakes
- Treating it as a lead (this is rhythm architecture)
- Same chain as Enjoy the Silence — that recipe is a singing hook; this is chime and pulse
- Drowning in reverb (kills the jangle)
- Competing with synth chorus beds in the same octave
Closest Tools I Own
Guitar: Gretsch 5120 / Country Club, UAD Dream '65 (Paradise), Bogren DUET, Vox AC15HW1X Synth double: Roland JUNO-60 / JUNO-106, Arturia Memory V, NI 80s New Wave (situational) Mod/space: UAD Studio D Chorus / Dimension D, Eventide MicroPitch, Eventide SP2016, Lexicon PCM, iZotope Cascadia Comp/EQ: UAD LA-2A / 1176, FabFilter Pro-Q 4
Related Pages
- 07 - Guitar
- Sound Recipe - Depeche Mode / "Enjoy the Silence" Clean Melodic Guitar
- Sound Recipe - Dream-Pop / Polished Post-Punk Guitar Atmosphere
Practical Summary
Play short, clean, chimey arpeggios or percussive chord fragments with heavy chorus and light compression. Keep space dry-ish and midrange-focused so synths and vocal stay king. If you don't have a guitar part ready, JUNO-60 or Memory V with chorus does the same job. The expensive feel is width + rhythmic clarity, not wet ambience.