Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble
The CE-5 Chorus Ensemble, which covers a wide frequency range and has high- and low-cut filters, is BOSS’ ultimate compact chorus pedal. From a modest, natural chorus to the distinct and penetrating stereo chorus effect popular in modern music, this allows users to produce any variety of chorus effect.
Features Boss CE-5
- For guitarists and keyboardists, this ultra-high quality compact chorus pedal is a must-have.
- For the chorus’ tonality, high- and low-cut filters are used.
- For complete control, there are knobs for Offer Effect Level, Rate, Depth, and Filter.
- For connection to dual amps or studio use, there’s a mono input and a stereo output.
- From subtle to extreme chorusing effects, this effect offers a wide range.
This pedal has an amazing hidden feature. It’s not true stereo, the A signal is all the chorused tone and B is the clean tone. They are combined when using just A. If you dead-end the B (plug in a cord to no where, or 1.4″ adapter piece), then A is just the delayed chorus effect with no clean mixed in. It’s super warbly, vibrato tone. AWESOME HACK. Check youtube for an example.
This is a different chorus from most I’ve tried. It is subtle, but a little tricky to find the sweet spot. The filter is the key as it seems to dial in the frequencies that best respond to your instrument and bring out the depth/intensity of the effect. If these are set wrong, you may be disappointed so be sure and work with them and find the sound you’re looking for. They are NOT simply tone controls.
Pros CE-5 Chorus
- No ticking, no durability issues (the thing’s metal-cased), and no excessive tricks or knobs.
- It is surprisingly transparent.
- The CE-5 does all the classic CE2 tones.
- It can add a lot of depth to nearly everything and is overall a wonderful chorus.
- Compared to the CH-1, I didn’t experience a volume dip when activating, so that was sick.
- It has the ability to adjust the level of the effect as well as slight EQ adjustment as Chorus can be a bit harsh at time
- It sounds wide and lush with all the adjustability I will ever need.
- Sounds great with my other boxes.
- The controls, including concentric high and low band tone, make it way more adaptable to input from any guitar.
- Sounds great with other pedals and doesn’t cut out all the lows.
- It blends well into whatever tone you are creating, instead of simply overriding it.
- It’s easy to use and build to last.
- The filter knobs let you dial in which frequency ranges are affected by the chorus.
- Doesn’t change your guitar’s EQ.
- You can set the effect so subtle that you can barely detect it, or so wet that it’s nothing but lush swirls.
- And of course Boss pedals are built like a tank, well wired and just makes the whole board look more legit.
Cons Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble
- The concentric knob for the low/high cut is fiddly and sticks to each other.
- The rate is capped pretty conservatively, so if you want a wild rapid rate, that’s not going to happen.
Conclusion
Are you looking for a chorus pedal that features: a small but not “too-small-to-miss” size, the indestructible construction of a tank and knobs that prove the range of astonishing sounds – no matter how they are set? If the answer is yes, I’m afraid you need a BOSS pedal. There are quite a few to choose from. And all of them are buffered, so if you pledge allegiance to true-bypass, I’m sorry for guiding you the wrong way. Skipping the DC- series and early CE-models – due to their lack of useful sounds (in my opinion as a rock-guy) – it comes down to a duel between the superior: The CE-5 and the CH-1. To be honest, they sound pretty similar. Nevertheless, they can be hated or loved when it comes to drive. The CH-1 sounds gorgeous when used in a clean signal chain, for instance, if you want to juice up “Stairway To Heaven”. But when your amp or your drive pedals beg for being cranked, the CE-5 can handle a lot more gain than the CH-1. Pros and cons of the two are really equal until you consider how much gain you prefer (and perhaps if you favor the versatility of concentric tone controls like I do) so it’s a matter of personal preference. I’m very glad with my CE-5. My favorite settings have the E.LEVEL and DEPTH at maximum, FILTER suiting the amount of gain and RATE depending on the complexity of the melodies I play. One thing left to mention is that two versions of the CE-5 exist! The older analog version (blue and pink labels) sounds a little warmer, whereas the digital version (black label) sounds a little brighter… But after a tiny tweak on the FILTER knobs you won’t be able to tell a difference. I hope my experience helped you to make your decision. Best of luck!
