John Frusciante’s Ibanez CS5 Super Chorus
John was seen using this pedal in a photo taken on January 26, 1990, in Kawasaki, Japan. While some sources suggest it might be a CS5 Chorus, it’s impossible to confirm the exact model based on the photo alone.
The label on the pedal does appear purple in the photo, but the entire stage is bathed in similar lighting, likely due to the stage lights. While it’s possible the pedal is a CS5 Chorus (purple label), it could just as easily be an Ibanez Powerlead (pinkish label) or one of the blue-label pedals, like a flanger or phaser. These pedals all have a similar design, making it impossible to identify the exact model with certainty.
Given that the photo was taken in Japan and Ibanez is a Japanese company, it’s plausible that John picked up the pedal while there. However, it was not seen in use on any other occasion.
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It’s very strange about that pedal because I practically can’t make sense of what is there, more than anything because for that show John used very few effects, a distortion, a chorus for some songs, of course the wah and some reverb or delay. just for the solo part. So it would make little sense for it to be a flager or phaser because those effects are not perceived in that show, nor do I think it is the PowerLead because, why are you going to use another distortion if you already have the Boss DS-2, and I think that of the Chorus It is the most logical because even though he already had the CE-1 chorus, John used it more than anything to split his signal to stereo, so perhaps to have a purer chorus he used the ibanez cs5
Although thinking that I use a delay effect in the solos and it is not known where the delay pedal is, perhaps it is also the Soundtank Digital Delay (which has a blue label) and that for the chorus if I have used the CE1, but I’m sure which is between those two. Either the Soundtank Super Chorus or the Soundtank Digital Delay