Boss CE-20 Chorus Ensemble

well, it is i fairly simple layout. standard chorus pedal knobs(rate, depth, etc.) also, has a new ambience knob and some other knob i can't remember the name of. i freaking returned this piece of crap within 2 days!

okay, i am really dissappointed in this peice of junk. bigtimes.
1) it has an excessive amount of hiss. and it gets worse when you turn up the depth or switch to the effects loop/direct setting(it has a guitar/bass setting, and then a setting that you can use it to go through an effects loop or go direct). the hiss is not acceptable at all.
2) when i plug it into my amp, the pedal sends a very loud signal. sounds like a freaking jedi swinging a lightsabre near your ears! RRRRR-RRRRR-RRRRR-RRRRR-RRRRR....something like that. it has to do with the rate. the faster you have the rate set, the faster the jedi swings the lightsabre. this is how bad it is. as loud as my guitar signal is out of the amp, that is how loud the "RRRR" sound is! that is just pathetic! and then to top it off, the sound isn't even that good! i paid about $170 dollars for a pretty looking peice of crap. totally unusable and my CE-5 sounds better than this.

yeah right...i can't even use this hunk of junk. what a dissapointment. boss has not been doing good. i used to rave about boss pedals...now i am not to sure. a few bad experiences to many. i think they are trying to keep up with the Joneses, so to speak. it is not working.

N/A....i want so bad to give them a 1 here just to be a jerk...but i didn't have to deal with them. freaking punks...

one good thing about this pedal is that if someone would have stolen it, i would've laughed my butt off. "HAHAHA! YOU RETARDS!! YOU GOT RIPPED OFF BY STEALING THIS FROM ME!!!" if you like hiss, this is a good hiss effect. it is also good if you want to imitate a swinging lightsabre from star wars. hey! that is exactly what my lil' bro needs. an amplified lightsabre sound so he can play with his friends. awwww...thats sweet.

Pretty easy to use over all, nothing to hard to understand. Editing a patch is simple, all you have to do is the the knobs where you like the sound and push a button, simple as that. The manual is ok, but I didnt look at it to much.

I dont think there is a chorus sound that you cant get out of the box. So many sounds at your fingertips, a total of five different chorus tones can be brought out with the tap of a foot. But it isnt perfect, with the setup that I use noise is a big issue. My amp is a Budda SD30, and my only overdrive box is a fulltone fulldrive 2. When the Fulldrive is on, you can hear the rate of the chorus even when the chorus effect is off. It got so bad the my soundman would laugh every time I plugged in, most of the time I'd get pissed and pull it out of my signal chain. So it is an amazing effect, but the niose with my rig is so bad that I have to CE-20 in the top on my closet and I only use it when I record.

Well, it never stopped working, but that noise never stopped. I have no problem gigging without a back up I gig sometimes three times a week and the only backups I take with me is a set of strings and maybe a spair cable, so maybe Im odd for not, but I have only used a back up once and that was a guitar.

All in all I woulnd't buy this box again for the simle fact that I cannot use it with my rig. If your looking for any chorus sound, I suggest you look into it, but play it though your amp and effects before you buy it if you can. I bought this pedal when I was going effect crazy, since then I have retired most of my effects and stripped down to just my Fulldrive 2, Black Cat OD-1 fuzz, and a Boss delay. So I guess in a way it did get in the way of my music, it sounded good, so I used it all the time! Which was cool, but to much of a good thing is still to much. I have not bought any other chorus pedals, I guess because I know that I can get any sound out of this one if I really need to have a chorus. Look into it, but watch anything (amps, guitar pickups, effects) that have alot of gain!

Very easy to use.

I have tried many different chorus pedals and this one is my favorite.

There are four types of choruses to choose from. There is also a setting for bass and one for acoustic guitar. It can go from transparent light chorusing to over the top deep swirling glistening chorus. It is so versatile. Suprisingly warm sounding for a digital product.

It is very sturdy

Never needed.

I play many styles of music like jazz,rock,metal,industrial,ambient,techno and such and this pedal is great for any of those types of music and more.

My only complaint is they should of had more than four memory slots. Well, nothing is perfect.

This is my initial impression of the unit. I will follow up with a more detailed review after I've had time to play with it some more.
Seems very easy to use, although you will want to consult the manual. The manual is easy enough to read, and offers the usual slew of suggested settings. Not as intuitive as one of their classic two or three knob single stomp boxes, but easy enough to figure out. There is one potential point of confusion, in that the rate knob performs different functions for different chorus sounds (in some cases).

I tried this unit out in the store with a Peavey Classic 50 & an Eric Clapton Strat (similar setup to what I have at home). I haven't purchased it yet, but am going to pick it up this week. It has six main chorus sounds, most of which seem usable (I'm not a bass player, so I don't really have any use for that setting). Very easy to get a good sound out of it. Not having a vintage CE-1 to compare it to, I can only speculate on the authenticity of the CE-20's interpretation of it, but I suspect it's pretty close. The Dimensional D setting is great--at one point I have owned both a DC-2 and DC-3 pedal, and this setting nails the sound of those pedals. A wide array of chorus sounds are available, from the warm lush CE series to the bright warble of the more modern units. As is typical, the factory presets (4) are so-so, but they are easily tweaked or replaced. I'm giving this a 10 since Boss has always been my favorite chorus pedal, and the CE-20 gives you a bunch of classic Boss chorus sounds.

Typical built-like-a-tank Boss construction. I've never carried a backup for a Boss pedal, and I've never needed to. Seems like the Boss twin pedal series are as sturdy & durable as the single pedals.
However, since I haven't actually purchased this unit (yet) or used it on a gig I'll withhold rating in this category for now.

Never had to call them, except for literature.

I play classic rock & blues, and currently play in a cover band which does 60s-90s rock. The CE-20 definitely has a place in my arsenal. In fact, I bought a CE-5 new for $85 but decided to exchange it for the CE-20. Sure, the CE-20 is almost twice the price (shop around, I found the best price at music123.com) but gives you alot more bang for the buck. The four memory presets plus a manual setting give you five completely different chorus settings at your immediate disposal, plus it offers stereo inputs AND outputs & even has a headphone jack.

I've been playing for 23 years and am a confessed gear hound. But once I find something that works for me, usually I stick with it (or come back to it). I've always liked & trusted Boss products, and the CE-20 is no exception. As I said, I compared it to a CE-5. Previously, my favorite Boss chorus was the CE-2. The CE-20 does a very good job emulating the CE series. Didn't compare it to any other brands because I'm pretty much sold on Boss. I think it would be cool if they offered COSM modeling of other manufacturers' chorus pedals, like they do with the OD-20 drive zone (which I also own). The OD-20 was my first Boss twin pedal, and I really like the design, construction & versatility that it offers. In fact, I bought the OD-20 over a BD-2 Blues Driver (which it models) and that was what got me thinking about the CE-20.

Would I buy it again? Who knows--I'm always evaluating new gear, and it's hard to say what choices I would make next month let alone five years down the road. But I think the CE-20 will keep me happy for a long time, and for me, this would probably be my first choice in a chorus pedal based on what's available today.