a CE-2 by any other name would warble so sweet

Pros

1) MN3007 bucket bridgade chip like the CE-2 with an EXTREMELY similar circuit, pretty much a dead copy of thevenerable blue Boss of the 80s. Sounds great right down to the slight presence boost in the mids. Not the Sparkliest chorus, but like the CE-2 it has a thick, warm sound that I prefer to some later analog chorus pedals I have owned that were more tweakable but chillier (though sparklier).

2) No Delay Time control. For years I thought I preferred 3 knob+ chorus pedals until borrowing a vintage small clone for awhile and realizing one knob and switch was plenty for my purposes. If you are going to have a D-Time control you may as well have a BBD analog flanger like the Ibanez FL9 for full versatility from heavy chorus to medium flange. But its hard to set the 3 relevant knobs up to sound JUST like a small clone, CE1 or 2.... from now on its simple chorus and flange if I need more (writing this review is making me regret selling my original FL9 earlier this year when I needed some extra pocket money for luxury items for me and the little boy).

3) made in USA, virtually indestructible apart from DOD's sketch 80s/90s switch... mine is an early one and has really nice pots and jacks to boot!

4) really good signal-to-noise for an analog device of this type

5) cheap on the used market, way cheaper than a CE-2

cons:

1) weird power jack, but you can get an adapter or mod it if you have a good drill press (the case is heavy as heck, don't use a hand drill)

2) shitty tac switch.... its not so much that the tac switch itself is worse than Ibanez's, its not. Its that DOD's actual plastic pedal assembly isn't mounted as well as the 9 series. There's foam onder it responsible tor the action of the epdal against the tip of the tac switch that wears out. While the guts and housings of old DOD pedals were built to last a lifetime, the foot switcha ssembly was only made to last 5 to 10 years. What was DOD thinking?

3) awful plastic battery door that falls off and gets lost, but this is true of the Ibanez 9 series too and people keep buying those! Who the heck battery powers anything but fuzz these days anyway?

4) stereo implementation is not as developed as the CE-3 (just dry/effect) and it utilizes a TRS jack that requires and insert cable TRS to dual TS to bi-amp. I have those but mine are short for studio use. BOO... then again even Keeley does stereo this way.... its just boss who had the decency to give you individual jacks. Well, not true, the 3 nob FX65 (I think) by DOD was the same stereo chorus more or less with 2 dedicated stereo outs and a delay time control, but I wanted a straight CE-2 knockoff, so there. The CE-2 isn't stereo at all anyway.

4) not true bypass! I am not sure if the bypass mode is buffered, but either way its a tone suck. Really eats some treble and dynamics. I think the input has a low impedance for guitar like the CE-2 and that's a drag on your treble and dynamics. Solution? MIDI controlled true bypass looper. I needed a small bypass looper anyway for a fuzz and this guy can be in the other loop of the dual looping gadget I bought.

Worth the 50 to 100 bucks it runs on Ebay if you want simplicity and CE-2 warmth and presence versus an open-sparkling sound or more versatility like MXR's current production blue analog chorus.

Recommended for people with a MIDI based setup with some true bypass looping capability who want one of the 2 definitive chorus sounds (small clone and CE-2) but don't want to spend a lot. When engafged this pedal sounds REALLY good and it cuts the mix better than some more open analog chorus pedals. Expect to pay about $50. I prefer the earlier version, left and center in the pic I uploaded, the build quality is a smidge better.

First issue is possibly the best chorus ever made

I'll start by saying that I own the first issue of this pedal (first in the line of 3 shown as examples) and I'll second by saying you need one. If you keep it clean, as to keep the switch from failing, and don't try to powerbomb it through your pedal board it'll last a lifetime. The chorus here is very rich at low speed and mid depth settings and at 3/4 rate and full on depth you get some very cool Leslie style effects going! Stereo output requires the use of a stereo male 1/4 cable to either two mono 1/4 male ends or another stereo male 1/4 depending on application