The Mr. Black Vintage Ensemble is a compact chorus pedal that recreates the sound of the original 1976 "Chorus Ensemble," the Roland unit widely known as the CE-1. Mr. Black describes it as "specially designed to replicate that original 1976 'Chorus Ensemble' sound," with modern updates over the rack-sized original: pedalboard-friendly 9VDC power, true bypass, a full wet/dry mix control, and expanded speed and rate limits1.
It is a Jack Deville original design, built in the U.S.A., released in 2015 and still listed by Mr. Black at a regular price of $219.95, with a sale price of $199.95 shown on the maker's page12.
A chorus ensemble built on the 1976 original
The pedal takes its cue from the Roland CE-1 Chorus Ensemble of 1976, the unit that put lush, dimensional chorus on countless records. Mr. Black says the 2015 Vintage Ensemble "captured the lush, dimensional chorus heard on countless records"21, and Delicious Audio calls the pedal "a recreation of the legendary Roland Unit from the '70s"3.
What makes it a recreation rather than a generic chorus is the tuning of the delay times. Chorus works by delaying the signal slightly and modulating that delay; the character of a given chorus circuit comes largely from the delay times it uses. Delicious Audio notes that the Vintage Ensemble's "carefully tuned delay times match those of the OG chorus circuit"3. In other words, the pedal aims to reproduce the specific motion and thickness of the 1976 unit, not just chorus in general.
The original CE-1 was a mains-powered rack-style box with a footswitch for chorus and vibrato. The Vintage Ensemble shrinks that sound into a pedalboard format with three practical changes Mr. Black lists2:
- 9VDC power instead of mains power
- True bypass instead of the original's switching
- A full wet/dry mix control, plus expanded speed and rate limits
The wet/dry mix control matters for players chasing the CE-1 character. On the original unit, chorus and vibrato were fixed blends selected by footswitch. A continuous mix knob lets you dial in anything from a subtle thickening to a full wet ensemble wash, and it can also get you into vibrato territory by cutting the dry signal. Mr. Black lists the mix control as one of the pedal's core features1.
From the Vintage Ensemble to the Stereo Professional
The Vintage Ensemble became a series. Premier Guitar describes the Stereo Professional as "the third evolution in a series that began with the very simple, 3-knob Vintage Ensemble"4. The line runs:
- Vintage Ensemble (2015): the original three-knob, true-bypass mono pedal24
- Stereo Vintage Ensemble (2018): expanded the sound into true stereo, which Mr. Black says "opened an entirely new spatial dimension"2
- Vintage Ensemble Stereo Professional: the current digital flagship4
The Stereo Professional is a different animal from the compact original. Guitar Pedal X describes it as "a Dual Digital Delay Line recreation of the Boss CE-1 Chorus, set out of phase for glorious stereo output," a twin digital delay line modulator that recreates and doubles the CE-1's chorus and vibrato5. Premier Guitar confirms it is a digital pedal4.
Where the original Vintage Ensemble is a simple three-knob box, the Stereo Professional adds connections and modes the original never had25:
- Stereo and mono inputs, plus mono and stereo outputs
- A TAP/EXP port for tap tempo or an expression pedal
- TRS mini MIDI input
- Normal and Stereo modes for classic or dimensional chorus
- Buffered bypass rather than the original's true bypass
- An extremely wide LFO speed range
The stereo operation is the headline. Premier Guitar's reviewer described "the enveloping sensation of wide, deep modulations moving across an even wider physical field, and in twin waveforms that modulate in opposite directions" across two amps4. The earlier Stereo Chorus/Vibrato version of 2018 already had a true-stereo audio path with standard and spatial-expansion modes, with chorus output on both left and right outputs3.
The controls carry over in spirit. Guitar Pedal X notes the Stereo Professional keeps "the core 3 controls up top: Wet/Dry Mix, Depth, and Rate"5. On the mix control, Premier Guitar's reviewer found that "the continuous wet/dry blend (which in some ways replaces the chorus/vibrato footswitch on a CE-1) requires a little get-to-know-you time" before it feels intuitive4.
"The continuous wet/dry blend (which in some ways replaces the chorus/vibrato footswitch on a CE-1) requires a little get-to-know-you time."
Mr. Black has also taken the vintage chorus idea in other directions: the limited-run Black LTD. Vintage Chorus of 48 pieces sold out in November 2016, the Mini Vintage Chorus arrived in 2019 as a $99.95 compact take on the same CE-1 model, and the analog Chorus/Vibrato Deluxe followed in 2020 with tap tempo and four waveforms.
Videos
JayLeonardJ
collector//emitter
Jack Deville
Questions
Is the Mr. Black Vintage Ensemble true bypass?
Yes. Mr. Black lists the original Vintage Ensemble as true-bypass, alongside its pedalboard-friendly 9VDC power and full wet/dry mix control. The later Stereo Vintage Ensemble Professional differs here: that pedal uses buffered bypass instead of true bypass.
What power supply does the Mr. Black Vintage Ensemble use?
The Vintage Ensemble runs on standard 9VDC pedal power, which Mr. Black describes as pedalboard friendly. The Stereo Vintage Ensemble Professional takes 9VDC negative-center power through a 2.1mm jack and draws 100mA, so a dedicated spot on a 9V supply is the way to power it.
Who designed the Mr. Black Vintage Ensemble?
The Vintage Ensemble is a Jack Deville original design, as stated on Mr. Black's product page. Deville is the designer behind the pedal, which Mr. Black builds in the U.S.A.
Is there a stereo version of the Mr. Black Vintage Ensemble?
Yes. The line grew from the 2015 Vintage Ensemble to the 2018 Stereo Vintage Ensemble, and then to the Vintage Ensemble Stereo Professional, a digital twin delay line pedal with stereo inputs and outputs, Normal and Stereo modes, and MIDI.
Where is the Mr. Black Vintage Ensemble made?
Mr. Black states the Vintage Ensemble is proudly made in the U.S.A. Premier Guitar's reviewer also noted the sturdy U.S. build of the later Stereo Professional model.
Does the Mr. Black Vintage Ensemble have a wet/dry mix control?
Yes. A full wet/dry mix control is one of the modern updates Mr. Black built into the Vintage Ensemble. On the Stereo Professional, Premier Guitar's reviewer found the continuous wet/dry blend takes a little get-to-know-you time but replaces the chorus/vibrato footswitch of a CE-1.
Sources (5)
- Vintage Ensemble, Mr. Black
- Stereo Vintage Ensemble Professional, Mr. Black
- Mr. Black Vintage Ensemble Stereo Chorus/Vibrato, Delicious Audio, 2019-08-21
- Mr. Black Vintage Ensemble Stereo Professional Review, Premier Guitar, 2026-06-30
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2026-07-02
