Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble

The Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, released in 1976, was the world's first chorus pedal and the very first pedal Boss ever sold¹². It was also the first effect pedal to use a BBD (Bucket Brigade Device) chip, an IC originally designed by Philips and licensed to Matsushita, which gave it its all-new analog chorus circuitry²³. Made in Japan, it came in a much larger and heavier enclosure than most pedals today, with stereo outputs at a time when few effects pedals had them²⁴.

Beyond the effect itself, the CE-1 is prized for its variable analog preamp. Boss says the CE-1, along with the RE-201 Space Echo, remains widely used by many players for its characterful preamp more than 30 years after it was discontinued⁵. Reviewers describe that preamp as a "secret weapon" that makes the sound richer, fuller and more satisfying to play, even when the effect processing is bypassed⁶.

The first chorus pedal and its preamp

The CE-1 was not only the world's first chorus effect pedal but also the very first Boss pedal, and the first chorus pedal made for mass production²⁴. Boss describes it as the start of the long Boss pedal line: the first officially sold Roland pedal under the Boss brand name became a huge success².

The unit carries two effects, chorus and vibrato, selected with a footswitch. The chorus side has a single Intensity dial, while the vibrato side has dials for Depth and Rate⁴. The chorus/intensity control balances the wet and dry signals⁹. Both modes run on the same BBD circuit, so a player has to choose one or the other, never both at once².

The preamp is the other half of the story. Boss's own history of the CE-1 and RE-201 preamps notes that the two vintage units are legendary for their inspiring and influential effect sounds and for variable analog preamp circuitry that infuses guitar tone with character, body and richness⁶. Delicious Audio describes the CE-1's preamp sound as bright and bell-like with a tight low-end response¹⁰.

JHS Pedals' history of legendary chorus pedals reports that the CE-1 is built to last, and that Brit of Spoon uses one heavily on his pedalboard⁷.

Power and connections

The CE-1 is a mains-powered unit, not a battery pedal: it connects to the wall with an attached power cable²⁷. JHS Pedals calls that a worthwhile tradeoff, writing that "it's worth every bit of the effort and trouble"⁷.

On the connection side, the CE-1 offers stereo outputs, which TONEHOME notes were not common in effects pedals at the time. Performer Mag describes its routing as mono in, with mono or stereo out²⁸. The front panel includes a High/Low input sensitivity switch and a Level control knob, which is what lets the unit work with various sound sources beyond guitar³.

History: from the Roland JC-120 amp to a floor unit

The CE-1's circuit came straight out of Roland's amplifier line. It is based on the circuit Roland used in their JC-120 Jazz Chorus amplifiers, first released in 1975². Guitar World's modulation history explains that Boss began offering the chorus in stompbox form when the onboard chorus effect in the Roland JC-120 amplifier became so popular¹². Gearnews adds that the 1976 release was a reaction to the many fans of Boss's two Jazz Chorus amps, the JC-60 and the JC-120¹³. As JHS Pedals puts it, if you have owned a Roland Jazz Chorus amp, the CE-1 is the same exact circuit⁷.

GuitarPCB's technical analysis calls the CE-1, taken from the JC-120 amp circuit, the "Mother of Chorus," the standard for the modern chorus sound¹⁴. The CE-1 was designed more as a multi-instrument effect than a guitar-only box, with a 50K low input impedance suitable for keyboards¹⁴.

The CE-1 remained available until 1984, when Boss ended production³. Its compact-sized successor, the CE-2 Chorus, carried the chorus sound into the familiar Boss compact format¹⁵. Boss says the CE-1 remains widely used by many players for its characterful preamp even though it was discontinued over 30 years ago⁵, and MusicRadar reports that a battered example on the secondhand market can fetch as much as four figures¹¹.

The serial number S000001 listing

In September 2022, a CE-1 bearing the serial number S000001, indicating it is the very first one made, was listed on Reverb at an asking price of $1 million⁴. The lister, Pedal Palace, wrote of the unit:

The seller suggested a member of the Beatles, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk or a John Mayer after one too many drinks as likely buyers, said times were tight and medical tragedies had afflicted the seller's family, and offered to deliver it personally to somewhere cool such as Australia or Tokyo⁴. Guitar World noted that Reverb predicted the pedal would sell soon, with four people having it in their carts, and compared the price to the second Klon Centaur, which sold for $500,000¹⁶.

Clones and descendants

The CE-1's circuit has lived on in several forms. Boss's own MD-200 includes a CE-1 Chorus mode, an authentic recreation of the CE-1 Chorus Ensemble that includes the chorus and vibrato modes from the original pedal¹⁷. Universal Audio's Brigade chorus/vibrato pedal is built as a complete emulation of the original analog bucket-brigade design¹⁸.

For players exploring the chorus family today, the CE-1 sits at the head of a long Boss line that includes the CE-2, the CE-2W Waza Craft Chorus and the CE-5 Stereo Chorus Ensemble, all covered elsewhere on the site in the chorus pedals section.

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