FX Doctor Boss CE-5 Vibrato Mod

This (modified) pedal is really very easy to tweak. You can have the Chorus/Vibrato toggle modification for $45 (US$), which, as the description implies, uses a toggle switch to go back and forth between the stock CE-5 chorus sounds and the vibrato sounds; or, you can have Josh's $30 simple conversion of the CE-5 to a straight vibrato pedal with no chorus function. (I chose the $30 conversion due to the fact that I don't particularly care for the CE-5 as a chorus--I already have the BOSS CE-3, which is the best chorus ever made, in my opinion.)

There are for controls (well, five, actually): EFFECT LEVEL, RATE, DEPTH, and a concentric, HIGH EQ and LOW EQ knob. Pretty easy and straightforward.

I go from a Strat or Tele through a rather large pedalboard (which includes the CE-5 Vibrato modified pedal) stereoed into two silverface, master volume Twin Reverbs.

Josh's CE-5 modification certainly does not make for a noisy pedal; in fact, the pedal already has an EFFECT LEVEL knob, so you can vary the overall volume of the pedal. But, even with the volume up full, the signal-to-noise ratio is disparate--lots of signal with little, if any, noise.

The actual tone of the Doctor's modified CE-5 is the same as that of BOSS' legendary CE-1 Chorus Ensemble. The notes clearly bend in pitch, with very slight metallic/chorusing overtones. (The actual BOSS VB-2 Vibrato pedal has straight pitch bending with no semblance of chorus-like overtones.) Doctor Josh's modified CE-5 is probably the closet thing to a Leslie as you'll find in a compact pedal. With the rate set at 10 o'clock and the depth set at 2 o'clock, the pedal produces a moody, rolling sound--very nice. Set the rate at about 3 o'clock or more, and you've got instant "Cold Shot" a la SRV. The sounds are incredible, to say the least. You won't get this magnificent sound (true pitch-bending electronic vibrato) unless you have a Magnatone 200 Series amplifier from the late-1950's or the BOSS CE-1 or VB-2 pedals from the late-'70s/early-'80s...all of which command premium prices on eBay.

Well, to begin with, it's a BOSS pedal, and that speaks volumes for great dependability And Josh's mods are top-notch, high-quality work. I would definitely use on a gig without a backup.

Doctor Josh is the best. A true customer-service oriented kinda guy.

Overall, FX Doctor's CE-5 Vibrato mod is well worth the price of admission, if only due to the fact that dedicated vibrato pedals are not widely manufactured by anyone as of this post. It's a very inspiring, musical effect.

Extremely easy, depth, rate, volume, and tone controls. I found keeping the depth knob down gives it a more natural wiggle and the cranked knob gives a more wacked out tone.

I use it with my Kramer into assorted amps (H&K and a crate blue voodoo). Really fits my style and gets those lush old vintage tones.

Offers a great warranty so if anything goes wrong I think it shouldn't be a problem.

Like I said above, great warranty and friendly/speedy service.

I stopped by the workshop to test a few pedals since he's in the area. Alot of neat ideas, this is one of my favorites. I definately think it's a great option instead of putting out alot more dough on the few other vibratos on the market.

There are four controls on the CE-5: Effect level (volume), rate, depth, and a concentric tone control (for both treble and bass). All of these are straightforward enough. The only real trick is that the depth is somewhat increased when the speed is increased.

I jumped at getting a CE-5 to send away for the vibrato mod as soon as I heard about it. I used to use a Boss VB-2 Vibrato, sold it before it became a collector's item, and refused to pay $250+ for another one. But I love pitch vibrato, and missed this effect.

This is not rotating-speaker "vibrato" in the Leslie or Univibe sense, or tremolo in the Fender amp sense; it's true pitch vibrato in the Magnatone Amp/electric organ sense. To get this effect in a guitar pedal, you don't have many options: the Electro-Harmonix Clone Theory, the VB-2 if you can find one, the equally hard-to-find Boss CE-1. All of the above cost an arm and a leg.

The CE-5 mod, for only $30 ($45 if you want it switchable between vibrato and chorus, which I don't, as I hate most chorus effects) plus the cost of the pedal, brings the pitch vibrato effect back into the reach of non-collectors like myself. And it sounds great! With the slowest setting, you can conjure up creepy warped-record sounds; on a faster setting, you can do the Bo Diddley thing or the 60's organ-type effect. The tone and volume knobs, which are not found on the VB-2 or Clone Theory pedals I've used before, help keep the effect from overly coloring your tone or cutting/boosting volume.

Oh, and I'm using this mostly with Gretsch solidbodies and a Jazzmaster, through either a Traynor YRM-1 tube head or a Peavey Delta Blues. I also use it both clean and with distortion/fuzz effects, and I'm pleased with it in each of these situations.

I've never broken a Boss.

The FX Doctor/Nirvana's Silence is great to deal with. I always get quick e-mail responses, and have dealt with him twice (for this mod, and a distortion pedal he built from scratch).

I play several types of music, both loud and quiet, and this effect is useful in most of them. I would definitely get another if the cat ate this one.

The vibrato-modded CE-5 has replaced the Clone Theory in my setup. I was thrilled to find a replacement at long last for my VB-2, and especially for so little cash. I couldn't be more pleased with this pedal. Pitch vibrato isn't an effect that absolutely everyone will need, but if you do like that sound, this is by far your most reasonable option in many ways.