Ibanez CS-9

two knobs. cant get much easier then that. i find it actually hard to get this thing to sound bad.

this thing sounds great. like i said above, its hard to get a bad sound out of it. it sounds good with all the effects i use. my setup goes guitar->crybaby->boss ds-1->cs-9->boss bf-3->amp. as far as ive noticed, this thing doesnt suck any of my tone.

when i first got it, it would make weird noises whenever i stepped on it. i bought it used though. even so, i was kinda disapppointed. i unscrewed the back to see if anything was wrong, and didnt notice anything, but when i screwed it back on it didnt do it anymore and hasnt happened since. other then that, i havent had any problems.

I listen to a lot of metal(pantera, cryptopsy, slayer etc) but i also listen to a lot of other stuff like the mars volta, red hot chili peppers, led zep, rush and others. i really like how this thing sounds. the sounds really help get those great chorus sounds. if it were lost or stolen i would definitley try and get another one. if not, i would prolly just get a newer boss pedal. a lot of the time i forget this thing is on, and when i turn it off, there just seems to be something missing from my sound. ive been playing for about 4 years, and this is one of the best choruses ive heard, especially for the price.

It pretty much sets itself. No sound on the unit is 'bad'. Some settings might be too extreme for some, but they still don't sound bad.

TOTALLY AMAZING! The best chorus I've ever heard. Sounds like my favorite artists (Fripp, Belew, Summers). Doesn't sound "lame" like most choruses do. Doesn't suck tone. It's not noisy at all. I've tried a couple Boss choruses, and I was also using the "detune" function on the Boss PS-5 for a chorus sound. This is better than all of those. My ONLY gripe is that I wish there were a volume control, just to compensate for any volume loss that might occur by being moved around in the pedal chain. But overall, still the best chorus I've ever heard.

I've never ran it in stereo. I imagine that tone mixed with reverb and delay would be the shoegaziest soundscape ever produced by a guitar.

I've only had it for a day. I played with it for about 5 minutes. The switch bothers me a bit. I tend to like a "click" when I turn things on and off. But, I've heard good things about Ibanez pedals, so I'm not too worried.

No idea.

Amazing chorus pedal! I've been playing 12 years and this is the best. If this was stolen, I'd buy another in a hearbeat! I wish it had a volume knob as well, but it doesn't really need it. I chose this because I got a good deal on eBay, and it's analog and I love analog tone. It definitely is going to help me create more soundscapes with my band. Within 5 minutes, I had written a riff just using this pedal, a riff which sounded dull and lifeless without the effect. Overall, pretty amazing chorus pedal!

Just two knobs: choose speed and width of your effect and you're ready to go. Cakewalk.

Current setup:
Fender Stratocaster (Mexican) > Crybaby > TS9 > Fulltone DP-1 > CS9 > DE7 > Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Amp.

The sound quality is exellent. You can get a really effective 80's chorus tone (a-la Police or italian Vasco Rossi early songs) and the pedal does not affect your overall tone. It appears to me that the CS9, when activated, does boost your clean volume a little bit, but that's good in any case.
Another interesting sound solution is pulling the speed knob fully anti-clockwise and the width knob fully clockwise... you'll get an hypnotich flangering chorus effect (you may want to try it combining an overdrive also).

Seems very tough and well-made.

Never had any need.

I play with a Pop / Rock band and this pedal is very important in my setup. I can get tones from Police to John Scofield with ease.
Overall, this is a recommendable effect and it is very versatile: it's adapt for almost every need.

easy. I found this used ( not a re-issue ) in really good shape
( even the switch is nice ) for $60 in 2003.

strat >>> compressor >> sparkle drive >>>> chorus >>> tweed bassman re-issue. Not noisy - I hear no effect on tone when not engaged
( although I guess it is not true bypass - whatever that means ). After a few weeks messing with it I found one good setting speed at 2:00 and depth at 10:00 and it's been on my board ever since - same settings. slight volume increase when engaged - also slight treble boost - I like this volume increase ( it's subtle unlike the voodoo chorus which blows your brains out of your nose when you turn it on ) This pedal gives THE CHORUS SOUND - AS IN 1980's. I use it on maybe 5 songs in my cover band ( more than 5 and they stop dancing and start puking ) -No other chorus pedal ( or even amps with chorus ) give me this sound.

3 yrs heavy use.

pop - R+ B - rock , rockabilly - played a long time - like I said - this is a real chorus sound ( it has the shimmer ) - other boxes don't have the shimmer. If you want something other than chorus go get a voodoo chorus, fulltone, TC electronics, Boss, etc...I would try to find another one if I needed to.

After Seven Years of Scrolling through the Multi-Effects Menu mayhem, this is a sweet relief!!! Two knobs and a Footswitch - Dosen't get any more simple.

American Strat & Tele w\ Noiseless PU's > Maxon CP 101 Comp > MXR 10 Band EQ > Radial Tonebone Trimode > IBANEZ CS9 > Ibanez AD 9 > Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue.

Sound is totally subjective and I know what sounds good to me. I just ditched a Boss CH 1 at the Local Music Go Round for this pedal. I haven't tried many other Chorus pedals and now I don't feel the need to. This pedal is sweet from a mild Chorus to extreme; it's all there. Compared to the Boss: Ibanez sounds thick not thin. It's like the difference between Skim Milk and Pure Heavy Cream! *But you can dial in a light Chorus effect also. Great Stuff Ibanez!!!

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Play at Church \ Play 60's & 70's Stuff \ Mostly I'm a Juke Box Hero type player sitting in my Living Room

Very, very simple with just two knobs but the controls do have a very good range.

JJ guitar to effects to ampeg valve amp. The CS9 does the sound of Ali Farka Toure playing through his Roland Jazz Chorus amp. This pedal will give you everything from warm and rich to eighties kitsch to John Scofield and more. Mine is an original black label. I've noticed a little static hiss everytime the effect is played - put this down to the age of the pedal. It is not noticeable at gig volumes. I understand that the second output "INV" is an inverted signal out and you can hook up the pedal straight to another amp. The sound is always warm and highly musical even at its most modest application. Adds a lovely space to chords at its lower settings.

The guts of this pedal are in a very robust casing - much heavier than boss. The pedal has been gigged heavily and has withstood the ravages of time and stomping feet. The led is nice and bright. I would gig this without back-up.

Never dealt with Ibanez. I wonder if they would be happy to support a twent-five-odd year old pedal now that they've had the good sense to reissue it? For that alone, I'll give this section an eight for bringing the CS9 back. I consider this customer support of a kind.

One of the best chorus pedals out there for the money. Still cheaper than buying the reissue. Warm, rich and musical sounds only from this little fella. Even at the extreme and silly end of its range the sounds have a twangy and flutey rather than too metallic a quality to them. Unbeatable sounds and value from a stereo chorus.

Two knobs, speed and depth - and that's it! There's a little pamphlet in the box with instructions in multiple languages, but I just glanced at it.

I have all types of amps, but I'm basically using it to cover gigs where I'm playing in the studio or small rooms, so I'll probably be using it with a small Fender amp for the most part. It sounds fine though just about everything.

There's a pretty low noise floor for a stomp box, so that's good. The chorus effect isn't
over the top - the depth setting is subtle, so you can't make it warble uncontrollably. It's very musical. It's definitely got the Andy Summers/Police thing going on.

Just got it, so it's too early to tell, but if it's like my old TS-9 tube screamer, then it'll be around for decades...

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I do a lot of recording, and occasionally gig out. Lots of gear options here. The CS-9 sounds so 80's - can you say "skinny ties?" - and that's what I was looking for. It's not the most radical sounding chorus, but I have other stuff to get wacky warbling and flanging effects, if needed.

I have to say that the CS-9 sounds pleasing - it's not fatiguing to listen to, even after using it for an extended period. There are other modulation pedals and rack effects that are more versatile and tweakable, but the CS-9 is nice and small, and I can toss it in a gig bag and go. Between a good overdrive and an analog or digital delay, the CS-9 fills the modulation slot nicely.

If there's any drawback to it, I'd say that it could use a greater range for the depth knob. But that's really a minor quibble...

I've seen it priced at $120, which seems a little high. Fortunately, I caught this one on clearance, brand new at $75 bucks, which is about right.

easy

I have owned mine about 30 years. What's strange is that after reading all the reviews NOBODY mentions making use of the 2nd output ( labeled "inv out") !! I had tried different ways to get a 2 amp set up for gigs - Have tried the delay box thing where one amp gets only the dry and the other the wet+dry - also tried a simple Morely ABY and run 2 amps. Neither of these sounded right. A few years ago I tried this with the CS9 - It's now the last box in my pedal board chain - I send it to 2 small class A amps ( Gibson GA15R and a Badcat cub) (you don't need big amps for this deal) It gives me a wonderful large sound-stage effect - fills up a room and also great outdoors. It's sort of a stereo "emulation" I guess. I'm spoiled and would not be happy to return to the one amp sound. It works when the CS9 is switched on OR off. I actually only use the chorus effect in 3-4 songs but I have the pseudo-stereo thing all the time -

Like I said - 30 years.

don't know

have played 40 years - now in a poprock/R+B cover band - parties - dancing - I would need to replace this if it went bad - I suppose the reissues would be ok.

2 Knobs...speed and depth. It can't get much easier than that.

I should note that this review is for the CS-9 reissue. I bought this pedal along with a Voodoo Lab Analog Chorus and a Boss CE-2 and am writing this review because the Ibanez is the pedal I chose to keep. I a/b'd all of the pedals live with my band for real working conditions.

First off, the Voodoo Lab pedal was highly dissapointing. The chorusing is nice but not as nice as the Ibanez or Boss. But what was most frustrating about the Voodoo Lab pedal was the strange volume/treble boost the pedal gives when engaged. It was not as big of concern if I was playing straight out clean but with any OD it started to get annoying. Also, the Voodoo Lab pedal is probably the weakest quality construction of the bunch.

The Boss CE-2 is an excellent pedal. The chorusing is very warm and lush and there is no volume boost at all when engaged. I only decided not to keep the Boss because I liked the shimmer of the Ibanez better, others may like the vintage quality of the Boss over the Ibanez. Actually, if I could have my way I would use the Ibanez for all clean tones and the Boss for OD tones.

As for the CS-9...like I stated, it has a very nice shimmer to it for clean chording. No volume boost but there is a slight treble boost which actually enhances the tone IMO. Arpeggios sounded the best to me through this pedal as oppossed to the others. Not as much vintage quality as the Boss which some may like others not.

Seems well built!

I give this pedal a 9 because a 10 would be the best of the best and I am sure there are probably other high end chorus pedals out there that provide as good if not better chorusing. For the money this pedal is excellent and provides lush shimmery analog chorusing. It is a little more modern sounding than some of the other analog pedals but that was what i was looking for in the end.

Hmmm...... two knobs, one pedal. Go figure.

Sounds great. I'm always a big fan of suttle, yet resonant chorus. Something that is barely there, but makes a huge change in the feel. This does that to a tee. Does not interfere with your sound at all. This is a really great pedal. You can get that really warbly sound, but don't expect it to jump in volume or anything. Leaves your tone, but just layers it. I don't think this thing can get a super uber worldly sound, but that's not why you buy a vintage pedal or a reissue of a vintage pedal. I don't know if it is true bypass, but it sounds close. I use to have a small clone analog chorus pedal by Electro-Harmonix. That thing kind of colored your tone, and kind of did things with the volume. It sounded good, though, but it also only had a very limited range of chorus that I could tolerate. It went from too little chorus to too much chorus. This is a great pedal. You can really nail that classic 80's chorus. Think along the lines of The Police. I don't know exactly what a Leslie speaker is, or what it's supposed to be like, so I don't know if that's what people are looking for.

Had it for about 4 hours, played for 4 mins.

Read above.

This is a great chorus pedal. Don't think I'd buy another except for some $300+ vintage, fulltone, or lovetone pedal.