The BOSS re-visiting continues. My first chorus pedal was the BOSS Chorus Ensemble (CE-5). I bought it in the mid-90s thinking it would be a formidable combo once I paired it up with my MT-2 but it proved futile. It diluted the hard distortion signal making it sound like there's a proto-tremolo going on in the background. It was awesome for cleans but back then, I don't really dwell in the clean zone (I still don't). It got sold off. Down the road, I bought the Beta Aivin chorus which was basically a BOSS wanna be but that got cleared out as well. There was an Ibanez CS9 along the way which just didn't click with my applications. Just last year, I re-invested in the CE-5 & again, it was ditched. I simply don't have any use for a chorus unit until recently.
That's when I paid tribute to the single coil pickups for what they are good for- cleans. That's right, I'm OK with single coil cleans but the clean tone is something that I don't play much. However, on days when I'm stuck in a rut, some cleans would bail me out & that's when I decided to invest in a chorus pedal that would be a keeper. The CH-1 was an easy choice, more importantly, it has the features I need: 1) An overall output control because on some days I don't need as much chorus & this keeps me in check 2) Rate/ Depth which are essential 3) EQ which is much overlooked by many players. Be mindful that EQ in this part of your signal chain helps beef things up/ cut through the shimmer. There we go, a simple need met by a reliable, tried & trusted brand name.
