Sometimes you get lucky! Sometimes I get a pedal lot and see what is added more to the lot. On two of those lots I got a Boss CE-2 pedal. One with a green label and one with a black label. Do they differ? I read a lot on the internet on both pedals but no real info is shared. Lets dive deep into this question.
The Boss CE-2 was released in 1979 by replacing the rather bulky looking Boss CE-1 pedal. It was build until 1991. From 1982 the Boss CE-3 was also available on the market using a similar design but with stereo options. The CE-3 run until 1992. In 1987 the Boss CE-2B was also released for bass players. These models only differed very little to the CE-2 (single cap in the delay section) and featured an added 'Effects Level' knob that the CE-2 lacked.
In this article I'll limit myself to two CE-2's: a Made in Japan black label and a Made in Japan green label.
For documentation, here is the schematic:
- The schematic calls for a MN3007 BBD (delay) IC giving this pedal 1024 stages of delay
- The trimpot on the schematic (VR3) determines the BIAS of the BDD IC but also of the rest of the circuit.
- The in and output gain stages are build upon a RC4558 IC; the LFO is made with a TL022 IC. This latter IC is more noisy (and cheaper) but as no audio passes this IC, it can safely be used in this position.
- The pedal needs to be fed with an ACA power adapter (12V); later Boss would venture to the PSA adapter (9V).
Mod: ACA to PSA. To use these pedals with a common 9V adapter you need to mod the pedal. This mod is done by bridging point 3 and point 4 on the print with each other (thus bypassing R53 and D5).
Boss CE-2 'Made in Japan' Black label SN 336900 (Aug 1983)
Boss CE-2 'Made in Japan' Green label SN 467000 (Sept 1984)
As you can spot both pedals look similar. They have the same parts in value (I checked both units to the schematic), sort of material the parts are made from and the sort and brands of the IC's.One thing differed though: the transistors have the same transistor code but differ from each other in colour. Possibly this was a different brand.
Soundwise they don't differ. I tried both pedals next to each other in my own setup to see if I could spot a difference. Both were powered by the same power supply and I could easily swap the pedals. Both pedals were changed to PSA specs as mentioned above.
Clean the difference was pretty small but when some overdrive was added after the chorus effect they started to drift. The 'Green label' version sounded much better then the 'Black label' on most settings. I tried various settings to see if it was the variability of the potmeter but the depth and overall sound was just different. The 'Green label' just had some more depth to the sound, more sweetness, more lush chorus.
Then I checked the trimpot; by adjusting the internal trimpot (VR-3) I could add that extra amount of lushness, sweetness and just good sound to the 'Black label' with ease. After the trimpot change, both units sounded identical
(so always check if the BIAS with the trimpot; it can make a good sounding unit sound even better!!)
To me these two units don't differ. Both sound, look and feel identical; one just has a different colored label on the back compared to the other. The CE-2 is a very good sounding chorus pedal that does a chorus thing really well! If you can get one, snag it!
PM: as I don't need to CE-2's, one will leave my house soon! Keep an eye on my Reverb account for this!
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