Boss CE-1

The Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, released in 1976, was Boss's debut effects pedal and the world's first-ever chorus pedal¹². It took the chorus circuit of the Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus amplifier and put it in a floor unit, a move Premier Guitar describes as the JC-120's chorus circuit giving birth to the company's first Boss pedal³. ToneHOME calls it the first officially sold Roland pedal under the Boss brand name, and the start of the long Boss pedal line⁴.

The CE-1 is a mains-powered unit with both chorus and vibrato modes⁴. PastFx, whose pedals recreate the circuit, says it became famous for "lush Chorus and Leslie effect Vibrato"⁵. Performer Mag describes its tone as incredibly warm and rich, and its warmth as hard to top among chorus pedals on the market². It was discontinued in the mid-eighties⁴.

What it does: lush chorus and pitch-shifting vibrato

The CE-1 offers two effects: chorus, and what Performer Mag calls "true pitch shifting vibrato"². A second footswitch toggles between the two modes, which gearnews.com's modulation guide notes let players switch "from chorus to vibrato with a touch of the foot"⁹. JHS Pedals' history of legendary chorus pedals singles out the vibrato: "It has an amazing vibrato setting."¹⁰

Controls are split by mode. The chorus side has a single Intensity control⁸, while the vibrato has dials for Depth and Rate¹¹⁶.

GuitarPCB's technical analysis calls the CE-1, taken from the JC-120 circuit, "renowned as the Mother of Chorus, being the standard for the modern chorus sound"¹². On That Pedal Show, Dan used the CE-1 as his example of a wet/dry chorus when breaking down the sound for electric guitar¹⁴.

The CE-1 predates the familiar Boss compact "brick" shape. MusicPlayers.com describes it as "a Pod-sized device with multiple footswitches and controls"¹⁵. Its stereo outputs were a feature not common in effects pedals at the time⁴.

Power and connections: hard-wired 120V mains

The CE-1 is a mains-powered unit⁴. Guitar World notes the original's 120V mains power supply⁶, and its hardwired AC lead⁷, so there is no battery option and no DC input for a modern pedalboard power supply. Guitar.com's review of a modern recreation points to "the undeniably impractical large footprint and hard-wired mains power of the OG unit" as part of why players look to alternatives⁸.

Connections are mono input, with mono or stereo output². The mains lead and large chassis make it a different proposition from the compact pedals that followed.

The first chorus pedal

Multiple sources agree on the CE-1's place in history. Boss's own history article calls it "BOSS's debut effects pedal and the world's first-ever chorus pedal"¹. MusicRadar calls it "the first ever Boss pedal, and indeed the first ever chorus pedal made for mass production"¹¹. Performer Mag: "Not only was the CE-1 the first Boss fx pedal, it was also the first commercial chorus pedal built."²

The circuit came from the Roland Jazz Chorus amplifier²¹². Gearnews reports that Boss released the CE-1 as a reaction to the many fans of their two Jazz Chorus amps, the JC-60 and the JC-120¹⁶. GuitarPCB's analysis adds that the CE-1 "was designed more to be a multi-instrument effect, with a 50K low input impedance suitable for keyboards"¹², a design choice that still affects how the pedal behaves with guitars today.

Why guitarists change the level pot

Because the CE-1 was designed with keyboards in mind, its standard 50K ohm Level Control pot is, as Boss's history article puts it, "generally better suited to hotter, low-impedance signals"¹. PastFx notes that many guitarists who owned original CE-1 pedals would replace that 50K pot with a higher value¹⁷. Delicious Audio's review makes the same point from the playing side: "it is not really designed to be used with guitar level signals, the CE-1 works a lot better at line level (keyboards)"¹⁸.

Servicing, noise and the used market

PastFx's manual warns that at 40 years of age, original units "can develop reliability issues and require capacitor replacement and extensive servicing," and that unmodified working originals are becoming harder to find and are expensive⁵. MusicPlayers.com's review of a CE-1-style pedal pitched it as "delivering CE-1 tone without the noise commonly heard in a vintage pedal"¹⁵.

On price, Guitar World reported in September 2024 that CE-1 prices on Reverb ranged from $500 to $1,500⁶. In 2022, MusicRadar noted one listed on Reverb at an asking price of $1 million¹¹. Guitar.com's reviewer observed that the prices of vintage CE-1s, combined with the large footprint and hardwired mains power, have fed a thriving market for recreations⁸.

The CE-1's legacy in modern gear

The CE-1's circuit and controls live on in several current products. The Boss MD-500 Modulation includes CE-1 Chorus Ensemble recreations among its algorithms¹⁹²⁰, and its chorus mode offers a CE-1 Chorus type and a CE-1 Vibrato type alongside a Tri-Chorus mode and a brand-new chorus algorithm²¹. Guitar Pedal X lists the chorus mode types as Prime, CE-1 Chorus, CE-1 Vibrato and Tri-Chorus²¹, and Bass Musician Magazine confirms you can change the chorus type to CE-1 Chorus, CE-1 Vibrato or TRI-CHO²².

Players curious about the effect type itself can start with the chorus pedals overview.

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