Boss CH-1 Super Chorus Pedal Review - Good Guitar Equipment

I have been playing BOSS pedals for years now.  They are very reliable, well-built, and perform pretty much up to their stated specifications.  Like others have said before me, they are built like a tank and withstand extreme abuse, stage use, etc.  In my life, I've never had an issue with a Boss pedal breaking down, shutting off, or deteriorating in quality.

Furthermore, while no pedal is cheap, they tend to be a great value at the price point.  Pretty much all their newer stuff is digital (some older stuff is analog, though... and if you're into that, you can get the old versions on eBay).

The only problem is that a lot of their pedals simply lack the warmth, character, and tonality of more refined (and less commercial) boutique pedals.  Maybe it's because Boss pedals are mostly digital, and buffered (not true bypass), or perhaps it's simply because of the quality of the parts used in production.  Then again, perhaps it's the engineering and design -- I don't know.  Either way, I can't knock them too much, because I still have quite a few Boss pedals on my own pedal board!

Plus, there are pedals like the BOSS CH-1 Super Chorus that really seem to shine despite the things that are supposed to set them back "on paper".  Sure, this pedal has some over-the-top 80's sounds packed into it that you'll never touch, but when used intelligently, the CH-1 has the ability to integrate a professional chorus sound into any genre of music.  Take a listen in the following video to hear for yourself.

What you will notice is that it is a really versatile tool.  You can go from very saturated, fast rate chorus all the way to an extremely subtle, lower rate chorus that just lightly enhances your sound.  Considering how cheap these things are, and how reliable they are, they are really a great buy.  Plus, for hard rock (which is what I typically play), the CH-1 has always been my preference over its brother, the CE-5 Chorus Ensemble.