Boss CE-2 Chorus vs MXR WA38
The Boss CE-2 Chorus and the MXR WA38 are both pedals sharing modulated, shimmer, transparent. The MXR WA38 leans high gain and analog warmth. Current prices: $165 vs $130.02.
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Blended from circuit-archetype lineage, dynamic feel, tone-signal overlap and tone-vector distance — the tone vector itself is derived from editorial description text, not a measured acoustic signal, so this reflects how similarly the catalog copy describes the two, not a lab measurement. Shown only within a gear class, and only where there's enough evidence to be meaningful.50% — somewhat different
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Genres both listings are associated with.- Rock
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Derived from overlapping tonal signals across both listings.- modulated
- shimmer
- transparent
- lush
- smooth
Boss CE-2 Chorus
Boss · pedal
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Citation/mention fame — how often this gear is cited across artist rigs and gear discussion.$165via Reverb
$130.02via Reverb
The Boss CE-2 Chorus Ensemble was the industry first compact chorus pedal, an all-analog BBD design known for a warm, lush, three-dimensional shimmer. It thickens the guitar with liquid, watery modulation that rounds out the tone rather than drastically altering it, with rate and depth controls spanning subtle movement to expansive, sparkly textures. The CE-2 shaped countless 1980s rock, new wave, and post-punk records and is associated with The Police, The Cure, the Pretenders, Rush, and clean Metallica tones. It sits well on clean and lightly driven sounds, adding depth and width while staying musical, and it remains a benchmark vintage chorus that modern reissues like the CE-2W emulate.
The MXR WA38 Wylde Audio Chorus is Zakk Wylde's signature chorus, released to mark twenty years of his collaboration with Dunlop, built on rich analog bucket-brigade circuitry. It is voiced to thicken walls of distortion and add liquid dimension and texture to clean passages, with Level, Rate, and Depth controls plus High and Low cut filters for shaping the modulation. Dual outputs allow a wide, sweeping stereo spread across two amps for maximum spatial chorusing. It ranges from subtle background shimmer to prominent, wave-like modulation, making it useful for both heavy rock rhythm work under high gain and lush clean arpeggios. The warm, vintage-style analog tone suits players who want characterful chorus that holds up with distortion.
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Genres this gear is documented as being used in.- New Wave
- Post-Punk
- Metal
- high gain
- analog warmth