Product Review: Boss CE-2 vs. Arion SCH-1

Welcome to this 1980s Chorus Pedal Smack Down. In the red corner we have the undisputed king of chorus, the heavyweight champion, Boss CE-2. And in the blue corner we have the challenger, the plastic prince, the Arion SCH-1. Let the battle begin.

The Boss CE-2 needs no introduction. This little sky blue box quickly became the go to chorus in the ‘80s and was used by David Gilmour, Andy Summers and literally thousands of others. Dig out any ‘80s album and that heavily chorused guitar is most likely running through a CE-2. The Arion SCH-1 on the other hand was certainly not as popular when it was launched, but over the years it has built up a good reputation and devoted following, especially for its ability to fake a rotating Leslie speaker. This unit is used by some of today’s leading players like Michael Landau and Scott Henderson.

I was looking for a classic ‘80s chorus stompbox to add to my board and after a lot of research I narrowed it down to these two units. I couldn’t decide which one to buy so I picked up one of each on eBay: a 1980 CE-2 made in Japan, black label, silver screw version and a black made in Japan SCH-1 (not the later gray version or the newer SCH-Z). Here are my impressions:

• Boss CE-2 – It’s immediately obvious why this unit is so popular even today. It delivers a wonderfully rich and smooth sound – almost like there is a compressor buried in the circuit somewhere. It does give your tone a slight volume boost when engaged and is not completely transparent – it does affect your tone, but the result is still very impressive. It always sounds very lush, warm and full, never metallic, making it very easy to dial in usable tones. And with the Rate control cranked it can get into slow Leslie-land. As you would expect from Boss, it is housed in a virtually indestructible metal casing and even after 30 years the on/off control is a thing of beauty and still functions perfectly. It has Rate and Depth controls only. It would be nice if Boss had included a volume control and my only other gripe is I wish the Rate control had more range for faster speeds.

• Arion SCH-1 – Manufactured by Prince Tsushinkogyo Limited, this unit does not have the build quality of the Boss CE-2. It has a plastic case, fragile plastic knobs that are prone of falling off and a battery compartment cover that is also liable to go missing. Despite the construction issues, the actual chorus circuit is very nice indeed, which is why you sometimes see these units rehoused and upgraded with new pots and even a true bypass switch. In addition to Rate and Depth controls, the SCH-1 includes a Tone control which is useful. However, this chorus pedal sounds much colder and more sterile than the CE-2 and perhaps sounds “more ‘80s” than the Boss unit – you can get some very obvious ‘80s chorus tones (good if you are playing in a cover band) whereas the CE-2 is much more subtle. Where the SCH-1 really excels is the rotating Leslie simulation, in part because the Rate (speed) control can be set much faster than the CE-2.

To my ears, the Boss CE-2 is clearly the better unit and is more polished and professional. It just sounds much more natural and warm. It’s so good that you almost want to have it running all the time. The Arion is a decent unit, especially for Leslie simulation, but it just doesn’t sound as rich on the other settings and it is harder to dial in respectable tones as it can get metallic quite easily. If you can pick up a Japanese CE-2 for under $150 it is money well spent considering the tone quality per dollar.