Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble

Released June 1976, the CE-1 was the first in what has proven to be a very successful line of Chorus pedals from Boss. The circuit had already been used in the now legendary Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus amplifier. Boss decided that it would be a great idea to take the chorus circuit out of the JC-120 and sell it as a separate unit. The result became the CE-1 Chorus Ensemble.

The CE-1 is based around the Matsushita BBD MN3002. This circuit is originally developed by Philips but Matsushita was given a licence to make it from the mid 70s. Roland/Boss was their first customer and they soon found many applications for it in a wide range of products.

The CE-1 is an AC powered stereo chorus with a built in vibrato function. Just as on the JC-120 you can choose whether to use the CE-1 in chorus or vibrato mode. They both use the same BBD circuit so it is impossible to use both at the same time. The chorus and vibrato has separate controls. This differs from the JC-120 where the same controls are used for both effects.