Yep, it is the CE-1 circuit, which surprises me. They nailed the chorus and swung and missed on the distortion. They could have put the DS1 or Super Overdrive in the amp, but went with a strange distortion circuit. By design, the amp has no warmth; the "distortion" is to bring the warmth back in, not to be a traditional distortion. It is usable with certain styles of music, like classic rock. The great thing is the JC 120 is a fantastic pedal platform; every dirt stomp I have used with it performs well.