Boss Waza Craft CE-2W Chorus

116
GUITARIST APRIL 2017
BRAND NAME OR ROUNDUP TYPE
I
t’s just over 40 years since Boss brought out the very
first chorus pedal and undoubtedly got something
very right, because although the company has
had various chorus pedals in its range ever since, it’s
still that long-discontinued large mains-powered
CE-1 Chorus Ensemble and 1979’s tweaked-for-guitar
compact-sized CE-2 that get talked about in hushed
tones by pedal aficionados. Okay, they were pioneering,
but were the sounds that those pedals delivered really
that good? Well, Boss seems to think so as it’s designed
its latest compact chorus pedal, the Waza Craft CE-2W,
to recreate both CE-1 and CE-2 sounds “with complete
sonic accuracy”. Armed with a pair of a vintage CE-1
and CE-2 choruses, let’s see if Boss has achieved its aim.
Possibly an unfortunate name for Brits in conjuring
up an image of something warm and wet or Manchester
United’s all-time leading goal scorer, Waza translates
loosely from Japanese as “art and technique”,
symbolising a level of excellence in Japan that is only
achieved through years of dedication and commitment
to one’s craft. Boss therefore chose the Waza Craft
label for a select range of pedals to express the
enthusiastic spirit of dedication that has gone into their
development. There have so far, from 2014 onwards,
been Waza Craft versions of the BD-2 Blues Driver,
SD-1 Super Overdrive and DM-2 Delay, and now this
chorus pedal which uses analogue circuitry, including
bucket brigade devices.
Finished in the same pale blue as the original CE-2,
the CE-2W can be used in mono, but adds a second
output for optional mono input/stereo output use,
something that the original CE-1 had but the CE-2
didn’t. Rate and Depth knobs come as standard, with
a new three-way toggle switch that provides access
ABOVE Boss designed
the CE-2W to recreate
the iconic CE-1 and CE-2
sounds “with complete
sonic accuracy”
RIGHT Use the slider to
switch between smooth
CE-2 sounds and the
fuller chorus and vibrato
sounds of the CE-1
BOSS WAZA CRAFT
CE-2W CHORUS
£189
Celebrating 40 years of chorus pedals, Boss’s latest recreates the sounds of
the company’s very fi rst two, the CE-1 and CE-2. Let’s go back to the future
Words Trevor Curwen Photography Neil Godwin
GIT418.peds_boss.indd 116 22/02/2017 12:22