Launched in 1976, the CE-1 Chorus Ensemble was not only the world’s first chorus effect pedal, but also the very first BOSS pedal. Three years later, this inventive new sound was squeezed into the blue CE-2 Chorus, and chorus pedals have remained in the compact line-up ever since. Four decades on, the spacious modulated tone of the signature BOSS effect is still loved by musicians everywhere. In 2016, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of BOSS innovation, the original analog chorus sounds are now reborn with the Waza Craft CE-2W. The CE-2W’s Standard mode faithfully recreates the classic CE-2 chorus sound and adds an expansive new sound field with stereo output, which was unavailable in the mono CE-2. CE-1 mode fully reproduces the stereo chorus and vibrato sounds of the legendary CE-1, with the addition of variable chorus depth not available in the original pedal. To commemorate the birth of BOSS effects, the CE-2W is made exclusively in Japan, just as the original CE-1 and CE-2 were.
“This BOSS Waza Craft Chorus Pedal is new to my pedal board and is strictly there to utilise at dates where I don’t take my Roland JC120.
Quite often these days, to make things easier, I fly to one off shows (especially guest ones like Kings of Chaos) so don’t take the JC120. That simplifies my rig to the Friedman/Marshall/Orange 100Watt head through two 4/12 cabinets and the Vox AC30.
As well as making the backline more straight forward it’s much easier to balance two amps than three making me and my guitar tech much happier.
To be honest though, it’s been impossible to replicate the sound of the JC120 in a pedal even though Roland and BOSS have tried over the years. It’s down to how the sound comes out of the combos speaker cabinet making a unique effect that’s yet to be recreated any other way. I actually use this pedal for my own onstage tone and then let the sound mixer out front use more sophisticated rack effects to get me the JC120 chorus sound.”
Billy Duffy – May 2018