Anybody taken Boss CE-2W plunge yet? UPDATE: arrived
Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2016 4:20 am
Anybody else, that is?
Mine is supposed to be here this weekend, will report when it's in hand.
I have a vintage Jazz Chorus to compare the CE-1 modes to as well, which is my prime reason for grabbing one - if it can do them even 98%...I'll be happy.
UPDATE: Showed up earlier today. After a bit of noodling, the moment of truth came over the course of an hour dialing in my usual Jazz Chorus and JC vibrato setting.
Short of the JC being a hair noisier (parts drift after 30-some years will do that, I suppose) and being at a different point in the signal chain (after the amp's pre-amp in the built-in versus the slam the front of the pedal), no discernable difference. If anything, I may like the pedal a hair better due to adjustment options.
I only bought it hoping for that one thing, and it delivered. Past that, the CE-2 sounds like I remember the standalones sounding (and it does that "you notice it when it's off" versus extreme effect thing well).
Big additional thing for me was when I put it in line with the Space Echo (both the real one and my RE-20) it transported me straight to RE-301 land on CE-1 mode set to relatively subtle. This is a huge thing, as I've been chasing that sound since having to sell my 301 in '98. I have decent in my Quadraverb+ (the reason I kept it around) but this has the interplay and the subtle cork-sniffer stuff that I remember well from doing maintenance and dialing my old one in every so often as it drifted out.
Another thing, not sound-related, but general quality related, is that Roland didn't cheap out on anything apparent - the pedal/battery door is heavy steel, not the light case or plastic of some of the newer pedals. It's a heavy little monster compared to modern era Boss stuff.
Is it worth $200? Objectively, if I wasn't chasing *that* sound, no...but when it captures my beloved ancient Jazz Chorus in a happy little box on CE-1 and most importantly, the JC vibe setting...was worth that to me.
Obligatory boring Boss pedal photo:
Mine is supposed to be here this weekend, will report when it's in hand.
I have a vintage Jazz Chorus to compare the CE-1 modes to as well, which is my prime reason for grabbing one - if it can do them even 98%...I'll be happy.
UPDATE: Showed up earlier today. After a bit of noodling, the moment of truth came over the course of an hour dialing in my usual Jazz Chorus and JC vibrato setting.
Short of the JC being a hair noisier (parts drift after 30-some years will do that, I suppose) and being at a different point in the signal chain (after the amp's pre-amp in the built-in versus the slam the front of the pedal), no discernable difference. If anything, I may like the pedal a hair better due to adjustment options.
I only bought it hoping for that one thing, and it delivered. Past that, the CE-2 sounds like I remember the standalones sounding (and it does that "you notice it when it's off" versus extreme effect thing well).
Big additional thing for me was when I put it in line with the Space Echo (both the real one and my RE-20) it transported me straight to RE-301 land on CE-1 mode set to relatively subtle. This is a huge thing, as I've been chasing that sound since having to sell my 301 in '98. I have decent in my Quadraverb+ (the reason I kept it around) but this has the interplay and the subtle cork-sniffer stuff that I remember well from doing maintenance and dialing my old one in every so often as it drifted out.
Another thing, not sound-related, but general quality related, is that Roland didn't cheap out on anything apparent - the pedal/battery door is heavy steel, not the light case or plastic of some of the newer pedals. It's a heavy little monster compared to modern era Boss stuff.
Is it worth $200? Objectively, if I wasn't chasing *that* sound, no...but when it captures my beloved ancient Jazz Chorus in a happy little box on CE-1 and most importantly, the JC vibe setting...was worth that to me.
Obligatory boring Boss pedal photo:
