#fx90

Although Boss's CE-1 and CE-2 are people's gold standards for chorus, they (and the CE-2 Waza reissue) are expensive. The FX65, however, is a sleeper hit. It gained some notoriety due to John Frusciante using one," and I suspect Josh Scott's video, where he said it was his "favorite chorus pedal in the entire room," helped as well. I'd been searching for one for a while, and finally snagged a unit for the darn good price of $50. It even has the battery cover, which most people lose!

There's no denying it's a good sounding pedal. The delay time knob, which most standard chorus pedals don't have, allows for some extra versatility. With it I can get some mild flange effects. Since I can also get chorus sounds out of their flanger, it indicates the two pedals likely share specifications. The speed knob has a good range, allowing one to push toward a Leslie speaker type sound.

I haven't directly A/B compared them, but the DOD seems to be a little darker and have more "character" than my Boss CE-5. The latter, much like my Boss PS-2 Pitch Shifter/Delay (vs. my DOD FX90 Delay), feels cleaner, brighter, and more "perfect" in its tone. I've noticed the FX65 and 90 tend to inject a tiny bit of breakup through my amp if I play a hard, loud chord. The CE-5 also has more options. You can apply the chorus sound to only certain frequencies, for example, so experimentation and patience will pay huge dividends.

Neither the FX65 nor the CE-5 are as "deep" sounding as some others, so if you're looking to exactly replicate Zakk Wylde's tone on Ozzy's "Road to Nowhere," you'll have to look to a Boss CE-1 or clone unit. But to approximate it? The FX65 is a great option!

So if you want a great sounding chorus, for a decent price, and are the type that gets inspired by using an actual classic effect, the FX65 is a good choice. For something new that has more features, the Boss CE-5 is perfect. The chorus modeling in my THR5 is also solid, and while more limited in options, it easily allows me to record that effect in stereo!