Description
Boss CE-1 chorus pedal #13 in very good, vintage condition. Serial number 035275. This is a UK-market 220-Volt pedal for use in the UK & EU. Photos show a CE-1 sold previously
There are very few things in life that musicians, engineers and producers will agree on. But show them a Boss CE-1 Chorus and say “This is the best chorus pedal in the world!” and you’ll get no argument
The CE-1 was one of the first products from Boss, the effects pedal subsidiary of Roland in Japan. Launched in 1976, it’s an analogue device using the new “Bucket Brigade” chip technology to create the delay used for chorusing. The circuitry was taken from the Roland JC-120 guitar amplifier. Notable CE-1 fans include Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Tony Banks and Andy Summers
“The Holy Grail of all chorus pedals! Boss issued the CE-1 back in the late 70s and early 80s and nobody has come close to matching its captivating chorus sound since”
“In the beginning there was the CE-1, and God saw the CE-1 and said: Damn! This thing’s good!”
“Players don’t part with them easily. I intend to be buried with mine”
“The CE-1 is like melting butter on your source or maybe a nice gentle hug wrapping around it… it’s simply the best Chorus I have yet to hear”
“I laughed at its appearance, scoffed at its wall-wart, plugged it into my brown bandmaster and strummed a lazy G: socks were thoroughly knocked off… I was in an orgasmic stupor before i remembered it had a vibrato function too. Dear baby Zeus, the vibrato was almost better than the chorus”
“Both the chorus and vibrato effects on the Boss CE-1 are awesome sounding. They are both thick and rich in tone and both have a unique sound to them”
“As the first commercially available chorus in pedal form the CE-1 can in many ways be regarded as the ‘Mother of all Choruses'”
“The CE-1… a pedal with a mojo that is hard to equal”
“There are many chorus pedals on the market today, but the warmth of the CE-1 is hard to top”
“The Boss is known for its stereo features (mono in/mono or stereo out) and incredibly warm and rich tone. A sound can be given a gentle chorus or vibrato, or deeply affected extreme tones”
I’ve always been a fan of chorus pedals and find they work like a charm when mixing. Usually studio effects are quite subtle, and pedals much more raw, but the CE-1 is somewhat of an exception: it’s so warm and syrupy, and the effect so deep, that it could have been sold in a 19″ rack unit for studios
The CE-1 has two outputs for stereo. It’s standard chorus pedal “stereo” – one output is 100% effect and the other 100% dry signal. When using the mono output, the signal is a wet / dry mix. I normally use my CE-1 on an effects send and return it to the mix bus
The front panel has an input level control with a high / low level switch and a peak level LED. The peak indicator is well-judged for setting levels. If it’s blinking intermittently the signal will be undistorted and noise kept to a minimum. Chorus has an intensity control and Vibrato has depth & rate controls and there are footswitches for Normal / Effect and Vibrato / Chorus switching
Having owned a CE-1 for many years I can say that it’s a warmer and more compelling chorus than anything else I’ve found. It’s not the depth of the effect that makes it so effective, it’s the way it widens sounds and helps them sit in a track. I use it mainly on synth bass, keyboard pads & guitars though it works on almost anything with sustain. It’s possible to dial back the intensity of the effect to reduce detuning but the softening & widening effect is still present. It’s not a mad “effect” chorus by any means, it’s rather more subtle and special
The Boss Chorus sits at #1 in my All Time Top Five Chorus / Flanger / Phaser list:
- Boss Chorus CE-1
- Roland Dimension D
- Eventide Flanger
- AMS Flanger
- Yamaha SPX90 Symphonic
