Ibanez CS9 Stereo Chorus

This is the purple early 80s 2-knob Ibanez Stereo Chorus CS-9 from the popular and collectible 9 series from Ibanez.

The knobs are simple, you have speed and width.

Same deal, I was out on the hunt for cool gear and saw Guitar Center just brought it in on trade. It was $50. I bought it because it was a very subtle chorus compared to the newer more high tech ones out on the market today.

Simple to use and a very strong casing. The pedal more or less warmed up my clean tone instead of giving it an actual chorus.

The effect is subtle. If you are looking for a strong chorus effect, look elsewhere. I have the width and depth knobs cranked and there was not much of a strong effect going.

Bullet proof. Metal box, metal jacks, strong knobs. This unit is nearing 30 years old and still works as good as the day it was born.

If you want a subtle vintage chorus this may work for you, if you want a really fat fast moving chorus, this is NOT your pedal. The value of these pedals are going up and well worth hanging onto.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I was looking for a good, classic chorus for my guitar rig. I was in a pawnshop and saw the Ibanez CS9 in the case. I remembered seeing the same REISSUE pedal in Music***'s Fri**d for $119.00! I looked over the pedal and waited a few days. I went back and asked what he would take for the pedal...$30.00. I was unable to test the pedal before I left the store, but was give a receipt and a seven-day return. I got the pedal home, the LED lit up, but there was no Chorus Effect.
Here is the information I really want to pass on -- If you can solder, you can fix the pedal. My pedal's breadboard was broken were the ground screw attaches to the medal case. 1) Remove the ground screw. 2) Scrap enough of the breadboard to see copper on both sides of the break. 3) Using a piece of wire, form a jumper from one side of the break to the other. 4) Solder in the wire jumper 5) make a loop of wire that will fit under the screw and have a 1 cm piece extending toward your last solder spot (hint -- there is a capacitor where the break most likely occurred -- it is on the ground side -- attach this to ground with a small amount of solder) 6) attach the ground wire from the screw to the ground side of the capacitor. (Hint #2 -- you can use enough wire on the screw to solder to the ground side of the capacitor and extend to the case screw -- you cannot over ground) 7) using your thumb and forefinger only, tighten down the screw (Unless you are gorilla, you shouldn't generate more that 18 inch-pounds of torque replacing the screw -- you shouldn't cause any more cracks with this method) 8) check your soldering in this manner -- check that the ground is present on the screw to the body to both sides of the break in the breadboard &&& that there is resistance (high) between the two sides of the capacitor just below the screw. (Don't be sloppy with solder -- it just conducts what you bond together) USE A BATTERY AND CHECK THE UNIT WITH YOUR GUITAR AND AMP. Should work.


Cheap price compared to other "name brand" chorus effects -- ease of repair -- more actual "feel" & "tone" than the digital and multi-effect units I have tried. Classic Design -- Unless you what to build one yourself, you probably can't get close to the analog design with any other design (gets harder everyday to find Bucket Brigade Delay chips -- I looked for three months to find em')

color of pedal -- my 4 year old daughter now wants fingernail polish in that color -- who knew!

Metal case, two knobs for controls, one input, two outputs for mono and stereo operation, will operate on 9 volt battery OR ac/dc adapter

I would recommend the pedal -- great sound and value for the one I purchased.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I was looking for a good, classic chorus for my guitar rig. I was in a pawn shop and saw the Ibanez CS9 in the case. I remembered seeing the same REISSUE pedal in Music***'s Fri**d for $119.00! I looked over the pedal and waited a few days. I went back and asked what he would take for the pedal...$30.00. I was unable to test the pedal before I left the store, but was give a reciept and a seven day return. I got the pedal home, the LED lit up, but theere was no Chorus Effect.
Here is the information I really want to pass on -- If you can solder, you can fix the pedal. My pedal's breadboard was broken were the ground screw attaches to the medal case. 1) Remove the ground screw. 2) Scrap enough of the breadboard to see copper on both sides of the break. 3)using a piece of wire, form a jumper from one side of the break to the other. 4) solder in the wire jumper 5) make a loop of wire that will fit under the screw and have a 1 cm piece extending toward your last solder spot (hint -- there is a capacitor where the break most likely occured -- it is on the ground side -- attach this to ground with a small amount of solder) 6) attach the gound wire from the screw to the gound side of the capacitor. (Hint #2 -- you can use enough wire on the screw to solder to the ground side of the capacitor and extend to the case screw -- you cannot over ground) 7) using your thumb and forefinger only, tighen down the screw (Unless you are gozilla, you shouldn't generate more that 18 inch-pounds of torque replacing the screw -- you shouldn't cause any more cracks with this method) 8) check your soldering in this manner -- check that the ground is present on the screw to the body to both sides of the break in the breadboard &&& that there is resitance (high) between the two sides of the capacitor just below the screw. (Don't be sloppy with solder -- it just conducts what you bond together) USE A BATTERY AND CHECK THE UNIT WITH YOUR GUITAR AND AMP. Should work.

cheap price compared to other "name brand" chorus effects -- ease of repair -- more actual "feel" & "tone" than the digital and multi-effect units I have tried. Classic Design -- Unless you what to build one yourself, you probably can't get close to the analog design with any other design (gets harder everyday to find Bucket Brigade Delay chips -- I looked for three months to find em')

color of pedal -- my 4 year old daughter now wants fingernail polish in that color -- who knew!

Metal case, two knobs for controls, one input, two outputs for mono and stereo operation, will operate on 9 volt battery OR ac/dc adapter

I would recommend the pedal -- great sound and value for the one I purchased.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought from a pawn shop in college for about 25$...a real steal. I used it playing in a band for a year, or so - then it died (remember: always use the approved Boss AC/DC adapter!). So, I cried until I heard of this cool thing called EBay(?) :0


And I got me one...and another just for keeps.




impressive for an old pedal!!! The chorus sound is unbeatable - captures the best sounds of early chorus (e.g. simple compression to add "Sparkle") to a deep wavy chorus - almost a vibrato/tremolo.


I love the sound clean - very smooth and always adds richness without messing up clarity of your playing. When playing distorted (I use FUZZ FACE, and TS-808b from Analog Mike) this is not the pedal for chorus, and I just don't like the heavy chorus with distortion.




switch can be flaky - but call Analog Mike to have the switch repaired, then life is good. It's a mechanical problem, not a "voltage" or "power" problem.



solid metal.


2 knobs.


1 switch.


1 analog input


2 outputs (L(mono) and R stereo)




This is a great pedal - I own 2 of 'em, just in case one dies. I truly believe these pedals are going to become collectors items.



This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com