The Ibanez SoundTank CS-5 Chorus is an analog chorus pedal: a compact stompbox that adds a doubled, detuned layer to your signal for width and movement. RockBoard's PedalPedia describes it as providing "very clean chorusing with a very rich, bottom frequency," meaning the low end holds up while the effect is on, something not every chorus manages1.
What it does
As a chorus, the CS-5 takes your guitar signal and blends in a copy of it that is slightly delayed and modulated, producing the shimmering, widened sound heard on countless records. Ibanez's own description emphasizes two things: the chorusing stays clean, and the low frequencies stay rich rather than thinning out1.
The pedal also covers a second effect. Turning the speed knob all the way up provides what RockBoard's PedalPedia calls "a nice vibrato effect," where the pitch wobbles on its own instead of a doubled voice being added1. That gives a player two modulation options from one box: chorus for width, vibrato for pitch movement. If you want to hear how that compares across Ibanez's chorus range, the Chorus Pedals type page lays out the wider field, and later Ibanez designs such as the Ibanez CS9 Stereo Chorus and the compact Ibanez CSMINI carry the company's chorus line forward.
Videos
Davide Gironi
Tony Mullins
jack's workshop
Questions
Is the Ibanez CS-5 analog or digital?
The CS-5 is an analog chorus pedal. Ibanez lists its circuit type as analog, which places it in the company's long line of analog chorus designs alongside pedals like the CS-505 and the later CS9 Stereo Chorus. Analog choruses of this kind use bucket-brigade delay chips to create the doubled, detuned voice, and the CS-5 follows that approach rather than digital modulation.
Can the CS-5 do vibrato?
Yes. Ibanez notes that turning the speed knob all the way up provides a vibrato effect, where the pitch itself wobbles rather than a doubled chorus voice being added. That makes the pedal a two-in-one modulation box: back the speed off for standard chorusing, and push it to the top for vibrato.
How is the CS-5 powered?
The CS-5 runs on 9V DC, center negative, and draws 21mA of current. That is a modest draw by modern standards, so a standard pedalboard power supply output or a daisy chain shared with other low-draw pedals can handle it. As with most compact pedals of this type, it is a center-negative supply, the common standard for guitar pedals.
Sources (1)
- SoundTank CS-5 Chorus by Ibanez, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
