Difference between Boss CE-5 and CH-1
- Thread starter lppier
- Start date
stillwater
New member
think ce5 is more ex
Ripper
New member
from harmony central:
The controls are pretty self-explanatory, but you need to spend some time fine-tuning to get that perfect sound.
Sound Quality: 8
I play a Strat and a Tele with Seymour Duncan pickups, with and without overdrive, into Fender tube amps. Pretty basic. I often use a Boss RV-5 at the end of the chain set for just a slight amount of reverb, which works well with the CE-5 Chorus.
There has been alot of discussion on this forum about the similarities/differences between the Boss CE-5 and the Boss CH-1. I didn't know which to buy, so I bought both used and did my own "shootout" for a couple of days. Here is what I found:
NOISE: Both pedals are as quiet as church mice.
RATE: At the minimum settting, both pedals have indiscernably slow rates. At max, however, the CH-1 runs at about 4 cycles per second, while the CE-5 runs at about 8 cycles per second. This higher rate is actually useful with the depth turned down low.
TONE CONTROL: The CH-1 has a single "EQ" knob which has a very subtle effect. The CE-5 has a dual pot "Filter" control for bass and treble, and has a much greater and more useful effect on the tone. Note that the CE-5 controls are tone "cut" controls, so "normal" is full CW (not mid-range).
DEPTH: With the Depth control full CW, CH-1 has a deeper and richer sound than the CE-5.
GENERAL SOUND QUALITY: The CH-1 has a slightly colder, more "modern" sound than the CE-5 which is a bit warmer and more organic. This difference is subtle, and may simply be differences in EQ.
OVERALL RATING: The CE-5 has more range in its "Filter" (EQ) and Rate controls, making it somewhat more versatile than the CH-1. The CE-5 also has a slightly "warmer" sound. However, the CH-1 chorus efffect itself is deeper than the CH-1. So it was a toss-up until...
MODS: I immediately found a schematic for the CE-5 to try to figure out how to improve the depth of the effect. After several hours of fiddling I found the magic bullet: Change C22 from 5pF to 22pF (or just solder a 22 pF across C22 on the back of the board). Increasing C22 increases the amount of delay through the bucket-brigade IC (analog delay). Increasing C22 to 22pF has a dramatic and wonderful effect on the depth of the chorus effect.
If you fell inspired, try 22pF or other values until you get the sound you want. Radio Shack sells a nice assortment of ceramic capacitors that includes useful values for this mod. (RS part number 272-809). Email me if you have questions.
END RESULT: With this C22 mod, I LOVE the CE-5! It has the great range and versatility in the tone and rate controls plus a great depth in the chorus effect. I am keeping the CE-5 and selling the CH-1.
RATING: Without mod: 8 With mod: 10
I believe CH-1 is cheaper than CE-5, as quoted by SweeLee recently. so i went ebay to bid. guess how much i pay for my CE-5? $59SGD incl shipping. 8/10condition. real steal, cos many US ebayers refuse to ship here.
The controls are pretty self-explanatory, but you need to spend some time fine-tuning to get that perfect sound.
Sound Quality: 8
I play a Strat and a Tele with Seymour Duncan pickups, with and without overdrive, into Fender tube amps. Pretty basic. I often use a Boss RV-5 at the end of the chain set for just a slight amount of reverb, which works well with the CE-5 Chorus.
There has been alot of discussion on this forum about the similarities/differences between the Boss CE-5 and the Boss CH-1. I didn't know which to buy, so I bought both used and did my own "shootout" for a couple of days. Here is what I found:
NOISE: Both pedals are as quiet as church mice.
RATE: At the minimum settting, both pedals have indiscernably slow rates. At max, however, the CH-1 runs at about 4 cycles per second, while the CE-5 runs at about 8 cycles per second. This higher rate is actually useful with the depth turned down low.
TONE CONTROL: The CH-1 has a single "EQ" knob which has a very subtle effect. The CE-5 has a dual pot "Filter" control for bass and treble, and has a much greater and more useful effect on the tone. Note that the CE-5 controls are tone "cut" controls, so "normal" is full CW (not mid-range).
DEPTH: With the Depth control full CW, CH-1 has a deeper and richer sound than the CE-5.
GENERAL SOUND QUALITY: The CH-1 has a slightly colder, more "modern" sound than the CE-5 which is a bit warmer and more organic. This difference is subtle, and may simply be differences in EQ.
OVERALL RATING: The CE-5 has more range in its "Filter" (EQ) and Rate controls, making it somewhat more versatile than the CH-1. The CE-5 also has a slightly "warmer" sound. However, the CH-1 chorus efffect itself is deeper than the CH-1. So it was a toss-up until...
MODS: I immediately found a schematic for the CE-5 to try to figure out how to improve the depth of the effect. After several hours of fiddling I found the magic bullet: Change C22 from 5pF to 22pF (or just solder a 22 pF across C22 on the back of the board). Increasing C22 increases the amount of delay through the bucket-brigade IC (analog delay). Increasing C22 to 22pF has a dramatic and wonderful effect on the depth of the chorus effect.
If you fell inspired, try 22pF or other values until you get the sound you want. Radio Shack sells a nice assortment of ceramic capacitors that includes useful values for this mod. (RS part number 272-809). Email me if you have questions.
END RESULT: With this C22 mod, I LOVE the CE-5! It has the great range and versatility in the tone and rate controls plus a great depth in the chorus effect. I am keeping the CE-5 and selling the CH-1.
RATING: Without mod: 8 With mod: 10
I believe CH-1 is cheaper than CE-5, as quoted by SweeLee recently. so i went ebay to bid. guess how much i pay for my CE-5? $59SGD incl shipping. 8/10condition. real steal, cos many US ebayers refuse to ship here.
thor666
New member
that's the other pedal i tried, my friend had it (sold for multieffects now). more "analog" than CH1?
i like CH1 much better, despite that most people feel it's too digital. The CH1 has more shimmer imo.
The supervibe doesn't have that kinda watery digital sound and sounds too mild for my preference. Not close to the sound of a Jazz Chorus' Chorus function either.
i like CH1 much better, despite that most people feel it's too digital. The CH1 has more shimmer imo.
The supervibe doesn't have that kinda watery digital sound and sounds too mild for my preference. Not close to the sound of a Jazz Chorus' Chorus function either.
echoist
New member
thor666 said:
i 2nd thor on that. the CH1 is more transparent and cleaner. its really good if u uses it to make ur plucked clean notes have more dimension. i only find it having just a tone control a bit limiting for those who wants warmer or fatter sound.
i've used the CE5, and it have high and low filter control which helps a bit more with tone shaping. i personally prefer the CE5 because of this function. i usually try to get a warm 'watery-gurgly' sound like John Scofield's.
another good chorus i've laid my hands on is the Voodoo Labs Analog Chorus. its the one pedal IMO that gets just the right chorus tone/sound even tho its got minimal controls. its pricey tho.
embryo
New member
lppier said:
Actually both the CH1 and CE5 can get the Roland JC120 chorus sound but you will need 2 amps to recreate that subtle beautiful stereo pulsing effect.
Other recommendations for chorus pedals for me include the Digitech Multichorus which has very rich and deep sounding settings if you want it. Also try the EH Small Stone for that classic Nirvana "Come As you Are" vibe if that's what you like.
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