Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble Settings Guide
The current production chorus standard. Low-pass and high-pass filter controls make the CE-5 significantly more versatile than its predecessor. The chorus of Kurt Cobain's Come As You Are, David Gilmour's cleaner textures, and countless clean-tone recordings.
Used by: Andy Summers, John Frusciante, David Gilmour
The best Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble settings start with: Rate at 3/10, Depth at 4/10, Level at 5/10, Hi-Cut at 1/10, Lo-Cut at 1/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For Clean / Indie: Rate 3/10, Depth 4/10, Level 5/10, Hi-Cut 2/10, Lo-Cut 2/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Rate | 3/10 | Slow → Fast |
| Depth | 4/10 | Thin → Lush |
| Level | 5/10 | Low → High |
| Hi-Cut | 1/10 | Open → Filtered |
| Lo-Cut | 1/10 | Full → Filtered |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
Slow Rate, moderate Depth — the CE-5's musical chorus character without the obvious detuning of high Depth settings. Hi-Cut and Lo-Cut at 2 add subtle warmth. This is the most universally applicable setting across clean single-coil and humbucker playing.
Moderate Rate, higher Depth for the Nirvana Come As You Are character. The CE-5 is a more versatile version of the Small Clone Cobain used — similar depth character available with the added EQ filter controls. Lo-Cut and Hi-Cut at minimum for maximum lush chorus.
Faster Rate, high Depth for the obvious, lush chorus of 1980s production. Lo-Cut at 2 removes bass muddiness from heavy chorus; Hi-Cut minimal to keep the bright shimmer the era required.
Very slow Rate, low Depth, warmer Hi-Cut — the chorus as a subtle warmth and width enhancer for jazz chord playing. The Hi-Cut filter here gives the illusion of analog BBD warmth.
Artist Settings
Documented settings used by professional guitarists on this unit.
Summers is most associated with the Roland Jazz Chorus amp's built-in chorus (not a pedal), but the CE-5 reproduces the basic character. The Police sound uses chorus as a constant texture — not a switched effect but an ambient presence that defines the guitar's tone character throughout. Moderate Rate and Depth.
Frusciante uses chorus subtly on RHCP clean sections — the CE-5 at moderate settings adds width to his Stratocaster clean tone without the obviously chorus-heavy character of 80s production. Under the Bridge uses subtle chorus as part of the clean intro texture.
Gilmour uses chorus very subtly on some clean and lightly driven tones — not a defining part of his sound but used for width on certain passages. Very slow Rate, low Depth, Hi-Cut filtered for warmth. The CE-5 at these settings adds the gentle shimmer he uses rather than obvious chorus character.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- The Hi-Cut and Lo-Cut filters are the CE-5's differentiating feature — use them to tailor the chorus to your amp and pickup combination.
- Chorus before overdrive creates a more blended, subtler character — the OD processing the modulated signal merges them. Chorus after OD is more obvious and sits on top of the distortion.
- Keep Lo-Cut above 9 o'clock to prevent bass muddiness when Depth is high — heavy chorus without the Lo-Cut filter can make low-string notes sound woolly.
- The CE-5 sounds most natural at Rate 2–4 and Depth 3–5 — the extremes of both controls produce less musical results for most applications.
- Running in stereo (using the CE-5's two outputs) creates a widened stereo image — the chorus splits the detuned wet signal across left and right, which is effective for recording but less useful in a mono live rig.
FAQ
Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble — Common Questions
Best starting settings for Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble: Rate at 3/10, Depth at 4/10, Level at 5/10, Hi-Cut at 1/10, Lo-Cut at 1/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For Clean / Indie: Rate 3/10, Depth 4/10, Level 5/10, Hi-Cut 2/10, Lo-Cut 2/10. Slow Rate, moderate Depth — the CE-5's musical chorus character without the obvious detuning of high Depth settings. Hi-Cut and Lo-Cut at 2 add subtle warmth. This is the most universally applicable setting across clean single-coil and humbucker playing.
For Grunge: Rate 4/10, Depth 6/10, Level 5/10, Hi-Cut 1/10, Lo-Cut 1/10. Moderate Rate, higher Depth for the Nirvana Come As You Are character. The CE-5 is a more versatile version of the Small Clone Cobain used — similar depth character available with the added EQ filter controls. Lo-Cut and Hi-Cut at minimum for maximum lush chorus.
Rate: Speed of the chorus modulation cycle. Slow = subtle movement; fast = vibrato territory. (Slow to Fast). Depth: Amount of pitch modulation in the wet signal. High Depth = wide, obvious detuning; low Depth = subtle width. (Thin to Lush). Level: Mix between dry and wet signals. Below 12 o'clock for subtle; above for pronounced chorus. (Low to High). Hi-Cut: Low-pass filter on the wet signal — cutting highs from the chorus gives a warmer, vintage BBD-like character. (Open to Filtered). Lo-Cut: High-pass filter on the wet signal — removes bass from chorus to prevent low-end muddiness. (Full to Filtered)
The Hi-Cut and Lo-Cut filters are the CE-5's differentiating feature — use them to tailor the chorus to your amp and pickup combination. Chorus before overdrive creates a more blended, subtler character — the OD processing the modulated signal merges them. Chorus after OD is more obvious and sits on top of the distortion. Keep Lo-Cut above 9 o'clock to prevent bass muddiness when Depth is high — heavy chorus without the Lo-Cut filter can make low-string notes sound woolly. The CE-5 sounds most natural at Rate 2–4 and Depth 3–5 — the extremes of both controls produce less musical results for most applications. Running in stereo (using the CE-5's two outputs) creates a widened stereo image — the chorus splits the detuned wet signal across left and right, which is effective for recording but less useful in a mono live rig.
Andy Summers settings: Rate 4/10, Depth 5/10, Level 5/10, Hi-Cut 2/10, Lo-Cut 2/10. Summers is most associated with the Roland Jazz Chorus amp's built-in chorus (not a pedal), but the CE-5 reproduces the basic character. The Police sound uses chorus as a constant texture — not a switched effect but an ambient presence that defines the guitar's tone character throughout. Moderate Rate and Depth.
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