# CE-2W



## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

You asked for it, here's the Boss CE-2W Waza Craft!

Summer NAMM 2016: Boss reissues classic CE-2 Chorus as Waza Craft CE-2W


----------



## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

Oh boy. Oh no. If this sounds anything like a CE-1 . . .


----------



## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

Real stereo of just wet/dry?


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Most likely wet/dry. "True" stereo chorus is often problematic. It uses dry+wet for one output and dry-minus-wet for the other. each one sounds different from the other, but they tend to cancel out "in air" when they come from two amplifiers at the same time. Separate dry and wet outputs does not have that problem. What made the JC-series amps sound so lush was that one power amp and speaker carried the dry, and the other carried the wet.

The distinctive aspect of the CE-1 was that it not only provided chorus and vibrato, but used a different LFO waveform for each effect. Chorus is fine with a triangle LFO, while vibrato sounds nicer with something more like a sine wave.

The question mark for me is whether Roland/Boss has somehow resurrected the MN3007 chip or not. Panasonic stopped making them over 20 years ago, and NOS supplies are rapidly dwindling. Coolaudio and Beiling are producing clones of the MN3207....which Panasonic also stopped making over 20 years ago. However, Roland has the purchasing power to get chips custom made for them. The BA6110, used in their CS-2 compressor and many of their synthesizers, is made exclusively for them, as is the IR3109 chip used in some of their phase-shifters and many of their analog synths. So, if anyone could buy the dies and have MN3007 clones made expressly for them, it would be Roland.


----------



## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

Looking forward to hearing more and trying one out. I too wondered about the chips, but as long as it sounds good/"right" I don't care if there is a choir of monkeys inside. I just hope it isn't driven by a marketing ploy that sounds nothing like an original CE-1.


----------



## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

Certainly interesting re the BBD chips - the DIY pedal forums must be on fire (I'll check later). I built myself a CE-2 copy with some mods (more like a CE-2B which is the same but extra knobs; can't remember what chip I used) and I love the damn thing; just sopping wet. Had a stereo chorus pedal before that but didn't do the stereo 2 amp thing more than once (it was cool; I just can't be bothered to take 2 amps everywhere) and I assume most people won't most of the time.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I've got chorus and flanger pedals coming out my ears. I've made a few CE-2 clones, as well as Small Clone clones. They sounded nice once I modded the dickens out of them. For my part, re-issuing even a dead-on copy of a CE-1 does nothing for me. I find the two best features a chorus could have are a mix control and a bass-cut control/switch for the wet signal. Taking the bass out of the wet, or simply dialing back the wet level, makes the pitch wobble much less obvious and annoying. These days, I like my Behringer clone of the DC-2, which is arguably one of the best guitar chorus pedals ever made. By using two counterswept delay chips (one delay gets shorter as the other gets longer) nothing is ever identifiably sharp or flat. Real DC-2s are hard to come by, but the Behringer ones are cheap and available. I got mine when a local place had them on for $19.99.


----------



## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

Aion is gonna be releaseing a DC-2 PCB soon - I've used their boards before - top quality and the project documentation is second to none. Bit confused though because the DC-2 has no level or bass rolloff controls at all, just the 4 mode switches.


----------



## mister.zed (Jun 8, 2011)

mhammer said:


> Separate dry and wet outputs does not have that problem.


This is how my Danelectro Cool Cat Chorus does it and it sounds _great_. And I'm not a chorus guy. To my ear it doesn't sound like an effected signal in one ear and a dry signal in the other.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Granny Gremlin said:


> Aion is gonna be releaseing a DC-2 PCB soon - I've used their boards before - top quality and the project documentation is second to none. Bit confused though because the DC-2 has no level or bass rolloff controls at all, just the 4 mode switches.


Trust me, buy a Behringer. The DC-2 is a VERY dense circuit. Lotta parts. Lotta troubleshooting ahead. Do yourself a favour and avoid it.


----------



## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

That's what I am hearing. I was tempted on the Aion board, but I don't think I am going to push the button (pun intended); I have a chorus I really like as well as a stupid backlog of pedal projects.


----------



## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)




----------



## amagras (Apr 22, 2015)

Not meaning to sound snob but the original ce2 can be found for that price or less. Mine was 40 dollars and it's a green label.


----------



## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

I had a CE-3 until it just stopped working. I've had enough problems with used and vintage aged effects that I will no longer buy them. I do have a Danelectro Cool Cat chorus like mister.zed above. Works quite well, even if the dials are in an awkward position to use on a pedal board.


----------



## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

I'd like to see them do a big box CE-1, and a Bee Baa.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Black Cat already does a Bee-Baa, so the, um, cat is out of the bag.
I suspect that Retrosonic pretty much used up the supply of existing MN3002 chips so an authentic replica of the CE-1 is unlikely. Others may disagree, but I'll repeat my assertion that what was "special" about the CE-1 was really just the difference between the LFO waveform used for chorus and vibrato; plus, I suppose, the fact that it actually had vibrato. Most Boss, or indeed any, chorus pedals can be converted to vibrato, although it usually involves either the existence of true bypass, or some FET switching voodoo. It can sound nice. The other thing that requires modding is the rate/speed control. Slow chorus sounds nice. Slow vibrato is largely inaudible, so the range of speed settings has to be chopped down such that the entire rotation of the speed pot yields something of use.


----------



## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

Here's a little demo of the 3 modes:


----------



## JC103 (Oct 6, 2007)

Does anyone know if the stereo portion of this new CE-2W is true stereo like mode 1 on the CE-3, or is it just dry and wet? I'm leaning towards just using a madbean pork barrel with a MN3007 (so I can run it at 12volts), then stick it inline on my second amp like Gilmour, and be further ahead. Looks like I would save almost $100CAD.


----------

