Boss CE-2 Chorus

Well, if you can't figure this out you REALLY are a moron. 2 knobs for rate and depth. Bought it used so i have never seen the manual for it. Give it an 9 because there's so little tweakability.

My guitars are a '92 Gibson LP custom BB reissue and a Ibanez s 540 fm. My amps a Diezel VH-4/Mesa rectocab. and a DSL 100 halfstack. I absolutely LOVE this unit's sound. I had a CE-5 before this but when i got my CE-2 i compared them and banned the CE-5 from my pedalboard PERMANENTLY. It really blends in your sound and sounds so warm i almost burned my ears!!! Never heard a CE-1 but for me this is the best i had 'till now. There's a slight increase in volume when engaged but i don't mind. It does suck your tone a little when bypassed but i use a loooper for that.

It's a Boss, my grand-grand children will probably still use it....

Never tried.

Mine is the Taiwan version with a green label. I a/b'd it with a green label Jap and cannot really hear a difference. Not like a DS-1 Taiwan/Japan for instance. Been playing for 14 years now anything from pop/rock to metal. I'd definatly get another if it were stolen/lost, but i hope one day to find a CE-1 to compare.

THe CE-2 is a basic mono Chorus pedal that features RATE/DEPTH knobs. Not very complicated to use, just simply tweak to own desire. The only thing is unless you go the 12oclock/3o clock/9 o clock/full up route with these pedals you might have to make tick marks if you want something in between these settings cause the knobs are very sensitive and move easy if bumped.

Okay....over the years I've own many different "incarnations" of this pedal. for those who are familiar with this chorus, it has been reissued a few times until it was discontinued in the 90s for reasons I'll never know since it's probably the best sounding and most practical chorus unit out there. i've owned quite a few (4 to be exact including the one i'm currently reviewing) mainly because after i got rid of it i opted for other chorus units. However i came to the conclusion that this is the best one out there as it is prevalent with many guitarists, especially thru the 80s! Now I recently picked up an original CE-2 with a long dash and the silver screw! I found it for a fantastic price although it wasn't in mint condition. Anyway there are many rumors regarding the different tone ranges of these pedals, right? well after owning all 3 different Japanese models I can honestly say the differences aren't very extreme but to those who are after a certain tone they in fact are!

JAPAN GREEN LABEL: Nice chorus, but very thin sounding and the oscillations aren't quite as smooth as its predecessors
JAPAN BLACK LABEL/Plastic screw: Better sounding indeed, smooth oscillations. Very lush, however transparent still. Most prevalent on 80s guitar though.
JAPAN BLACK LABEL/long dash/silver screw: Hands down beats them all! Very lush, smooth oscillations, so thick it's almost flange like! Can pretty much rival the tones of the CE-1 chorus ensemble.

Now i know people mentined the internal trim pot. however I have fiddled around with mine on other models and didn't do much for the overall sound except increase or decrease the "dryness factor" like a mix knob to my ears.

I think the reason why the earliest model is the best sounding pedal is because this was when Roland started manufacturing BOSS effects (OD-1, CE-1 Chorus Ensemble Phase Five) Even the lettering is different than on later models (thin font like the Roland font coincidentially) It may sound pointless but the theory is that Roland as everyone knows produced some of the most lush and trippy chorus units (Dimension D, the rackmount unit and one of the first chorus available w/4 push buttons) The earliest CE-2s were produced in the late 70s before BOSS became a primary manufacturer of effect pedals as it is today. Those earliest CE-2s sound like a portable pedal version of the lushest chorus units offered by Roland, hence why they are so good and most saught after. I am very sensitive to tone and If I didn't think there was a difference in such versions I wouldn't even have wasted my time typing this. For those looking for a good chorus sound really any of these CE-2s will do. but iif you're after a certain tone, the earliest models are worth checking out. They're getting harder to find though and I was lucky to find one at a price that didn't break my wallet cause these mint can go for $250! $90 if you're lucky. Mine was put through its paces but really isn't that beat up and it sounds great and that's all that counts.

This pedal is older than I am and still sounds phenominal so I'm beside myself!

I play soulful blues/Rock. My setup as of now is a 1952 Telecaster repro into a Fender Blues Junior, and will grow on as i grow older, lol! As I said any of the CE-2s are great sounding Choruses that are very simplified and compact and have a nice baby blue color to boot! Compared to other units vintage and modern like Voodoo lab, EH, Visual sound, etc. This mono chorus is still reigning king to those concerned! However if you're lucky enough to find the earliest models and hopefully at a price in your budget then go for it! It you're a tone fanatic as i am, go for it! It's worth every penny. as I said on a previous review I have a Caesar Diaz (moment of silence) Texas Tremodillo that I run in front of this, and you'd be surprised at how this makes your guitar almost sound like you're playing through a slow moving Vibratone,(If you close your eyes and have a highly overactive imagination, hehe). For Psychedelic fun play around with the tremodillo or whatever trem unit you have and you'll be amazed at the trippy tones without having to drop a hit of owsley! If you're lucky enough to own a vibrato unit, you'll be gone man! I'm awaiting my Austone Vibro stomp and when i get it and demo it, I'll be posting on that as well, CHEERS!

My unit is the basic boss ce-2. I ove it. It is so simole that it's a godsend. I was sick of my ch-1 superchorus in the fact that i had four knobs and could never get exactly what i want. But thats different now.

My set up is as Follows:
'98 Epiphone Les Paul - '01 mxr 104+ - '80's boss ce-2 - '01 vox wah. I use a fender 25 watt but i headphone it (aprtment). I use a crate 212 at practice.

this thing is built like a god damn tank. i fell on it... twice

Get a CE-2 if your shopping for chorus. Small Clones sound like bumm compared to this thing

2 knobs how hard can it be?

I'm currently using A BC Rich warlock and Ibanez Joe Satriani (Upgraded with seymour duncan sh-4 & sh-2 pickups) Into Boss CE-2>Ibanez SM7>Ibanez DE7>Boss NS-2>Crybaby wah>Boss RGE-10>Ibanez Tone Blaster Head & Quad. Sounds very nice, you can get a nice warm chorus to a full out chorus sound(Like metallica use on sanitarium)

Would use it without a backup any day its a boss, built like a tank.

Haven't needed to use it.

I've been playing for about 2 years now and this is the first chorus i've owned and probably the only one I will own I love this pedal. I play mostly old school rock (G&R, Skid row, Def Leppard, Zep. etc.) and it fits in perfect.

2 knobs... no manual needed, you can find the perfect configuration for your sound in 30 seconds...

This pedal sounds great! Not noisy at all... When using it in clean mode, sounds like the Clapton/Eric Johnson "sofisticated" clean tone. Really beautiful! Using a Jackson guitar, when I change to drive, I get the Mercyful Fate sound from the early records, like "Dont Brake The Oath" (In fact, this suprised me!!!) Amazing! My setup is:

Jackson KV1/Fender YJM Signature Series>Samsom Wireless>Rocktron Banshee>Crybaby Wah>Boss CS3 Comp.>AMP (CE-2 in Amp loop)

ATTENTION!!!! I've read some reviews about the Taiwan/Japan question. My CE-2 is japanese. I don't know the tone of CE-2 from Taiwan, but I must share one experience I had: I bought the BF-2 Flanger made in Taiwan. Sounded a little "poor" for my expectatives, but ok. Later, I saw on a store the same pedal (BF-2), but a "vintage" japanese ones. When I tested.... WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!! NOT a small diference, but the japanese pedal was SEVERAL TIMES BETTER!! I can't say about CE-2, but about BF-2...

20 years and still working...

Never dealt with them

I play brazilian music/metal/hard/fusion/jazz and I use this pedal in all styles... If you want enhance your clean tones, this is A MUST to you... Useful to get heavy 80's distorted tones... Excelent sound and not noisy at all...

2 knobs - speed and depth. Even if you didn't know what a chorus did you would have a pretty good idea how to work this thing. Controls smoothly change the sounds exactly as you would expect.

Very little noise. It IS analog so there is a certain amount of noise associated with it by this virtue, but comparatively little. This is a 'warm' mellow chorus. It is not an extreme pedal and it is not a digital pedal. If you are after either of these things then this isn't for you.

I enjoy the sound very much - just to add something to a nice clean sound it is perfect. Don't get me wrong - the speed and depth available is quite adequate but not as much as some others.

I give it a 9 because it can get SLIGHTLY muddy and less effective with a humbucker's tone control too far down, though that's to really much of a problem.

This pedal is 20 years old. It still works.

N/A

In the end, this pedal does exactly what it sets out to do. I like my effects to be subtle and add a little something 'special' to my sound. I can see where a crystal-clear, sterile chorus could come in handy but that's almost a different effect.

The only thing I would like is for this to have stereo out, but it's not really a majoy concern for the moment.

The bottom line is that you can pick up one of these fabulous pedals secondhand for $100au. Now that is amazing value.

Two knobs; rate and depth.
Deadeasy to get good sounds out of it.
Even if this is your fist chorus ever, can't go wrong.

I got two of this miracleboxes; one made in Taiwan and one made in Japan. As some other users said before this unit can be tweaked with an internal trim pot (perfectly described in other reviews).
My both units both sound exactly the same, so I guess the reason why (so I read) some taiwan units are inferior to Japanese ones is indeed just a matter of inferior tweaking in the factory. Take some time and patience with the trimpot and use yer ears and you'll find your sweet spot.
Yes it adds noise, yes it is vintage, yes I can live with it.
I use this things with just about any guitar and effect-amp combination. Haven't come across a bad sounding combination yet.
It is a vintagechorus, but incredebly versitily with just two knobs. I own some chorus pedals ans digital gear and nothing beats these fellows when it comes to thick sweet utra smooth warm natural chorus. Still lookin for a CE-1, so I can't compare, but if Andy Summers used these things in his Police days, they can't be that bad.
I also read someone advising not to use them with distortion.
Personally I advise the opposite, using chorus on distorted sounds will always be a matter of personal preference, some can't stand it, some can't play without. Having experimented with a lot of chorus- distortion combinations I like the CE-2 a lot for this purpose. It perfectly blends with distortion in a very organic way. It becomes one new sound rather than one one top of the other.
I give it a nine but just because I read they won't accept halaluja revieuws, but this happens to be a halleluja machine. Ok; -1 for backgroundnoise since they insist.

I bougth a very old octaver last week, it was defect, the previous owner didn't seem to like the second octave and took a saw-job to it, sawed the trimpot off the unit!
A very original (and first to my knowledge)way of killing a boss unit. Own about 20 boss units, all second or thirth hand, all OK.

Actually, last week I mailed to Roland(Boss)-Benelux for the first time, about an se-50. At 23u in the eavening. To my suprise I had a reply 5 minutes later? I can only hope it is like that all over the world( just in case you ever need them).

I was very lucky to get hold of them real cheap, I've seen insain prices on e-bay. If you find one for a bargain, buy it anyway, regardless you'r style of music (you can always sell it for double-triple the price you payed).If you are really looking for the original analogue chorus sound, DON'T LOOK NO FURTHER (except maybe for the CE-1),THIS IS IT!!!
and worthy whatever the price.
If it were lost or stolen I woud pay whatever the price or do whatever it takes to get one

Very easy to use, but only if you have a power adapter.

Using this with MIJ Squiers and an Epi Les Paul through a Deluxe90 or a Blues Jr. I tried this with a weak battery and thought I hated it, so I put an adapter to it and it really sings. It's a very thick warm sound, and works pretty well with distortion. I nailed Scofield's "organ warble" sound and some Cyndi Lauper guitar tracks. It's really cool, but it's not a "flashy effect" effect, it's more of an ambient effect. I like it when used with delay afterwards so the rises and falls are echo'ed.
Overall, it's a nice old school chorus that isn't as offensive as many chorus pedals.

very dependable. I got a Japan model off eBay that didn't have the sticker on the back, so it shaved the price alot, I think. Still paid alot for it, but I don't regret it. it came with the box and manual and only had a few small scratches on it. I'd get another if it was stolen or lost.

love it. I really like chorus for alot of stuff I play. I like to listen to Rush, Cyndi Lauper, GBV, Pixies, Mike Stern, John Scofield, Phil Collins, Neil Young, Miles, Pantera, Robert Wyatt. I don't sound like any of them specifically. Depends what day it is.

Easy to get a good sound, but really likes clean!
Mine is the stock one from Japan.
Do not run with heavy distortion.......It doesn't like that!

Strats USA and Mexico to the Peavey Delta Blues with tons of stuff in between, mostly true-bypass pedals.
This is a quality product, nice shimmer......
I liked the Cool Cat Chorus as well on clean.

Boss tough......Just don't kick it around the house all day long!

Nope........Cost ineffective.......

My style is Power Blues and I use a variety of Flangers....Mistress, FL9 and a DOD FX747.......Chorus was my first pedal when starting up my GAS........
It's good and gets the job done...But no Stereo!
Too bad.........

2 knobs ... a dumb monkey could do it.

This effect is not noisy (maybe a little hum, but nothing serious. After all, it's analog). It sound just great. I only have this little box for a few hours now, but i really enjoy it a lot. It's my first chorus, but I remember playing with a guy who had a newer BOSS chorus, and it to come close to this CE-2 at all. The effect is very warm and subtle. It gave a nice flavor to your sound. If you are looking for a extreme chorus, look somewhere else, but if you are loking for a nice and warm chorus, that's the thing.
By the way, I don't know if it is really different, but mine is a Japanese with black label and metal screw.

Don't know yet, but I'm not afraid. It's BOSS

Don't know. Do BOSS really need customer support???

Can't get a better chorus for the price, period.