Boss Ce-3 sounds a little out of tune

Jagtornado · Post by **Jagtornado** » Wed Jul 11, 2018 11:21 am

Hi guys,

I have a second hand Boss CE-3 chorus pedal for a while now. When it comes to sound, I like it a lot, when the pedal is on it sounds so spacy that you really do not need to have reverb or delay in addition.
However, with the depth knob past eleven it sounds a bit to much out of tune. Is that normal or could it be that the electronics have been degenerated through the years? I mean it is an old pedal from the eighties.

Freddy V-C · Post by **Freddy V-C** » Wed Jul 11, 2018 11:36 am

I mean, chorusing as an effect pretty much does just detune your signal. Usually it's subtle enough that it doesn't sound "out of tune" as such, but it makes sense that if you keep increasing the depth, eventually it's gonna start to sound unpleasant.

I haven't used a CE-3 specifically so maybe someone else could shed more light. Could you post an audio clip to demonstrate? If it sounds super fucked up then yeah I guess something might be broken, but it seems unlikely.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Wed Jul 11, 2018 3:27 pm

The CE-3 has two modes, stereo and mono. If it's set on stereo mode without actually using two amps it sounds awful. Almost like a detune effect you get on Boss Pitch Shifter pedals.

Does it still do it in mono mode?

Fakir Mustache · Post by **Fakir Mustache** » Wed Jul 11, 2018 5:35 pm

I haven't used mine a while, but besides the modes and which output you use, I think there are also some trim pots inside.

jcyphe · Post by **jcyphe** » Wed Jul 11, 2018 5:35 pm

Does the CE-3 have a trim pot?

If it does you might be able to tweak it and get closer to what you want.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Wed Jul 11, 2018 5:45 pm

Fakir Mustache wrote:I haven't used mine a while, but besides the modes and which output you use, I think there are also some trim pots inside.

I forgot to add about the output. If I remember right, in stereo mode output B works okay but output A sounds like shite.

It's about the right blend with chorus, I had an old Carlsbro echo unit that also had chorus on it, could not get a decent sound from it at all. We're as its difficult to get a bad sound from something like a Boss CE-2.

Noirie. · Post by **Noirie.** » Wed Jul 11, 2018 7:01 pm

I had one and it was great in Stereo mode without two amps. Sounded like Kevin Shields.

Shit Chorus pedal anyway. Looks cool though.

Sell it and buy a Mooer Chorus.

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Wed Jul 11, 2018 7:36 pm

I used to own one (it was the first pedal I ever bought), but sold it quite a while ago. From what I remember:

In one of the modes the dry and effected signal are split between the two outputs. I *think* "A" is the effected one, but I can't be sure. In the other mode both outputs are a mix of effected and direct, but again I can't recall whether both signals were identical or not. I vaguely remember the effect being 50% out of phase (i.e. the chorusing effect was at the bottom of its "dive" on one output and the top of the other).

All I know is, it's a fairly subtle effect in terms of how much range the controls have...the rate certainly can't go as fast as an EHX Small Clone can for instance. Depending on the mode, it can operate as a primitive vibrato when the wet and dry signals are split between the outputs, so perhaps that's why it sounds "out of tune"?

Jagtornado · Post by **Jagtornado** » Thu Jul 12, 2018 1:22 pm

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies. I have tested it in all modes and with alle the outputs. I have recorded a soundsample in the mono mode with output A. The first part is with the depthknob on 9 o'ÃƒÂ§lock, the second part is with the depth knob on 12 o"clock and the the third part is with the depth knob on 3 o"ÃƒÂ§lock. The rate knob is at 12 all the time.

Especially when notes ring out it sounds a bit too much out of tune to me. What do you think?

http://soundcloud.com/brad-524926423/c ... of-tunewav

jcyphe · Post by **jcyphe** » Thu Jul 12, 2018 1:32 pm

It sounds like a Boss CE-3 chorus.

Freddy V-C · Post by **Freddy V-C** » Thu Jul 12, 2018 1:32 pm

Sounds like a guitar with chorus on it to me dude.

gusman2x · Post by **gusman2x** » Thu Jul 12, 2018 1:35 pm

Yeah sounds fine. Just dial the depth back to a level that doesn't make you feel seasick.

Jagtornado · Post by **Jagtornado** » Thu Jul 12, 2018 1:43 pm

Ok so this is how it is. Well I must say that the analog chorus in my old ME-5 multi fx also sounds like this but only with a pretty extreme setting. The digital chorus in the Roland GP-8 I had in the past was different. You could set the depth and effect level to the max and the sound was still very usefull.

I guess I will use the CE-3 with the depth at 8 I guess. You still get a pretty deep chorus effect and the sound is more to my taste.

Cheers.

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Thu Jul 12, 2018 1:52 pm

Maybe it's your ears that are out of tune. I'd recommend talking to a doctor or maybe seeing an aural specialist before assuming a Boss pedal is broken.

dezb1 · Post by **dezb1** » Thu Jul 12, 2018 3:12 pm

Sounds like this:

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Thu Jul 12, 2018 3:50 pm

Sounds normal to me as well.

If you want something more mellow I think there are clones of the Boss Digital Dimension which was more like a studio chorus that added colour and made the signal sound big.
Very little rate at all.

BearBoy · Post by **BearBoy** » Thu Jul 12, 2018 4:09 pm

Behringer made a clone of the Boss DC-3 Digital Dimension (was also know as the Digital Space D in Japan at one point) called the CD400 Chorus Space D.

I've got a DC-3 and it is more subtle than some of the other Boss chorus pedals I've tried. Proper lovely in stereo though.

Behringer also made a clone of the Boss DC-2 Dimension C called the CC300 Chorus Space C. There's also a TC Electronic clone of this (3rd Dimension Chorus), quite probably based on the Behringer since they're part of the same company these days, but it only has a mono output.

luciguci · Post by **luciguci** » Thu Jul 12, 2018 6:26 pm

haha dude that just sounds like a chorus pedal, try turning the rate down on higher depth settings it should sound dope as hell. i almost suggested you should get a detuner like the digitech luxe or something so there was no movement but then it would sound out of tune so nevermind

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Thu Jul 12, 2018 7:58 pm

Aye, that clip sounds like the CE-3 sound that I remember too. If you want a subtle sound where it doesn't sound like a pedal at all, you don't need to crank the depth knob too high.

The "rise and fall" of the modulation never struck me as being very smooth on that particular chorus...I'd be interested to see the pitch changes measured on an oscilloscope or something, because I don't think the "bending" of the signal's pitch follows a smooth sine wave. Maybe that's why it doesn't give a natural-sounding effect? It's a chorus pedal that sound like a chorus pedal, if that makes sense, as opposed to a simulated 12-string or double-tracked sound.

I guess the CE-3 is a prime example of why the analogue/digital debate is over-simplifying things: it's an analogue effect, but some people dislike the sounds it makes while others really dig it. It has a "metallic" and "foggy" sort of sound to it to my ears, and the reason why I kept it for so long was literally because I'd never tried another effects pedal before.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Thu Jul 12, 2018 8:46 pm

Favourite chorus moments...

[youtube][/youtube]