Product Review – Analog.Man Chorus

I’ve had a Boss CE-2 on my main board for a while now. I picked up a used made in Japan 1980 model a couple of years ago with the black label, silver screw and long dash. Supposedly these are the best sounding of the many versions available.

I liked this chorus pedal a lot. Its sound was thick and rich and not surprisingly, it excels at the ‘80s chorus tones. But over time, one thing really started to bug me: the rate control. This control dictates the speed of the chorus “sweep” and pedals like the CE-2 are often used to replicate a rotating Leslie speaker. The problem is the rate/speed never went high enough for my liking. Just as you were starting to get into Leslie territory the control maxed out, which was frustrating and sent me searching for another unit (although Robert Keeley does have a mod to fix this issue).

After trying a few different options at different price points, I chose the Analogman Chorus. If the Boss CE-2 was the go to chorus of the ‘80s, Analog Man could claim to be the same for the current decade. It’s on the boards of many quality players including Guthrie Govan and Kenny Wayne Sheppard. I picked up a used 2006 version for $150, which is expensive, but you get what you pay for.

Build quality is exceptional and the work under the hood is very clean. Like the CE-2 it has depth and speed controls, but unlike the CE-2 it is true bypass. According to the Analogman web site, the pedal uses “the highest quality USA made circuit boards, double-sided to isolate the signal from any noise, and professionally soldered for perfect, reliable circuitry. These also have more shielding, less jumpers, and no volume drop when the pedal is switched ON.”

All of these technicalities translate into superb chorus tones. This is a rich, transparent chorus with many more sounds available than the CE-2 due to the wider ranges of the speed and depth controls. You can easily find many sweet spots and it does the rotating Leslie simulation very well. As my unit was built in 2006, it does not have the “deep switch” option, but I like a subtle chorus so this is not something that’s critical for me.

So after a long run on my board I’ve decided to let the CE-2 go. I also have the DOD FX65 Stereo Chorus and this is a very, very close imitation of the Boss unit so I am going to keep that for my bargain basement board while the Analogman is the king of chorus on my main board.

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.