Boss CS-3 Compressor Sustainer

You'll need to spend some time twisting knobs, and your ears will tell you what sounds good and what doesn't. The manual gives you a few different settings as starting points, but it really comes down to hands-on usage. After all the hype for the Keeley compressor, I'd sure like to get my hands on one, but I don't forsee spending the cash ($200+) any time soon for a compressor. Instead, I found a nice mod for the CS-3 by T-Von on eBay that seems to have warmed up the pedal and made it more transparent.

After years of front end use through various tube amps, I found that I prefer the sound of this pedal when used in the FX loop of my Peavey JSX or Marshall JCM 900 amps. Fortunately, there are send and return pots on both amps, and I don't really need to crank the pedal that much, as either amp has nice tube compression. I did find that it added some depth to my tone, and a bit more after I did the modification. It's also easier to get that country twang with this pedal, but be careful not to crank the attack and sustain knobs too much, because then you will get that "gluck" sound everyone speaks of. I don't really use many other FX in conjunction with the CS-3, and at the moment the only other pedal is a Guyatone MD-3, although I would like to find a nice reverb pedal for the JSX. Anyway, I've been pretty satified with my CS-3, even if it's not an LA-2A, or some boutique pedal.

I took it on the road several times, and played many a weekend gig without it breaking down on my, and without a backup. Actually, this is my second CS-3, because when I was in Germany many years ago, a bass player friend of mine "borrowed" it. He really liked it too, and I gave up trying to get it back from him after I rotated out of the military and back to the U.S. If it broke on me, I'd probably get another one, and modify it like the one I'm using now.

Luckily, I've never had to deal with customer service. Hopefully, I'll never have to find out if they're good or bad.

I play all types of music, same as most of the other folks writing reviews here. I use an American Standard Strat with Texas Specials that I swapped in shortly after I got it; a Les Paul Standard; a Mexican made Nashville Tele with the piezos. All have a different sound in conjunction with the CS-3 pedal, however, any pedal tweaking is usually minimal while I'll usually just go for the EQ knobs on the amp instead. I really like that it's built to last. I'd get another one if it was stolen or lost. I wish it had one of those pretty blue jewel lights on it! Just kidding, I'd get one of those other boutique pedals, but then I'd probably just get buyer's remorse. All in all, I liked what the CS-3 pedal could do before I modded it, and I like it even more now. If you have one, you might want to check out T-Von's website (www.monteallums.com) and look up the mod. It's not very hard to do yourself, provided you can do a little soldering. I think if you can make your own guitar cables you ought to be able to perform the modification. But it's a pretty good pedal to start with.

Can be difficult to get a good sound out of the unit. However, with working at it for a half hour, you'll get the sound you want if you wanted this sound in the first place. Compressors aren't easy to get a desired sound which is why I sold mine in order to get a unit that could easily attain what I wanted, which was a volume boost for leads.

Epiphone Les Paul Standard - Vox V848 - Pro Co Rat II - Ibanez TS9 - Boss BD2 - Boss DD5 - MXR Micro Amp - Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (1x12 tube).

This pedal can get very noisy if sustain is put past half way up. This pedal can sound weak and great. I like to try to minimize the gluck sound and use this pedal for leads. While playing a lead most of the time, you want all notes to be the same volume, which this pedal will do. You shouldn't need this pedal on all the time if you have a good tube amp and the settings correct on the amp.

I wish the level was more responsive on this pedal, I constantly found that max level was not enough volume for a lead boost. The tone on this is great, it can give you back the highs or lows the compressor has taken from you. The attack is very useful but hard to find what you want. This sound can become very clicky if you use the attack wrong. I'd recommend keeping the attack low. I wouldn't put the sustain past 12 o clock unless you want noise and feedback when not playing.

Very reliable. 5 year warranty. Boss is the most reliable effects pedal company by far.

I like to play rock. This is only reason I wasn't a huge fan of this pedal. If often made my sound very clicky which I disliked. I wanted just a simple volume boost for leads which is why I switched to the MXR Micro Amp. I'm not saying that this pedal is bad, it just didn't suit my taste. I love how it evens out your notes when soloing. I disliked the gluck noise that sometimes occured. My favorite feature is the tone knob. Compared with MXR Micro Amp, MXR Super Comp, Boss SD-1 Overdrive, and this unit lost. My order from best to worst was MXR Micro Amp, MXR Super Comp, Boss CS3, Boss SD1. It's not that the other pedals sounded bad, it's just that the Micro Amp perfectly suited my need.

OK, if you talk about a compressor which is easy to use... there is no. as you can see in the reviews, the opinions diverge. it is my first compressor and i checked the mxr too and in my eyes the boss wins. yes, the mxr is easier to use, but only because it has two knobs. it is very easy with the boss to push your sound a little bit or to give him a fine color. with a good pair of ears and half an hour you get great results.

the sound of the cs-3 is very versatile. the varieties of the attack and the tone knob are fascinating. there is only one minus: the sustain. the only thing it produces is noise and a real bad attack. it sounds like playing your guitar with a stone. but if you don't turn it over 11 o-clock, it pushes the sound and gives a fine warmth. attack is not easy to use, but gives great results, as well as tone. i use it with a fender hot rod and some other effects, and i turned on almost for every song with different setups. one fine setup for me is: tone on 2 o'clock, attack on 9 o'clock, sustain on 10/11 o'clock and then adjust the level-knob between 11 and 1 o'clock. it doesn't destroy the amp-sound it only pushes things forward.

after a short period of studying this effect i can definitely depend on it, no matter if i play live or do some recordings. the typical boss-design makes it hard to destroy. there is no other compressor you can get for 75 euros which you can relie on like on the cs-3.

i play a modern mixture of rock, electronic and jazzy stuff and i depend on a clear, warm and soft sound. i rarely use distortion. i only use the effect to push my clean sound. i play the guitar for 17 years now, and i don't have the money to buy compressors which costs more than 100 euros. so this is a fin solution for me. if i would lose it, i definitely buy it again! i love the attack knob,... it makes such a fine difference in your play. turn it down for clean solis and up for softer sounds (for example if you use a acoustic simulator). great effects!! the same for the tone-button. i almost never touch the level-knob since i found "my position". as i said i compared it with 2 compressors of mxr and in my eyes they don't have this fine tuning. you have the same noise-problem with the sustain for example but no other possibilities to get some character out of it.

It's really hard to get a good sound out of it. I played around with it for almost 2 full days and still didn't get the tone i wanted. I returned it and bought a MXR Dynacomp. That one rules.

I use single coil guitars. I tried with telecaster and stratocaster (both Fender) and i just didn't get a good sound out of it. Also, this thing isn't true bypass. It has all kinds of weird boosters and stuff to get the sound trough. This does give you a higher output, which is good if you have a long FX chain. BUT it does suck your tone, very noticable. It really thins out your sound when it's off. When it's on it sounds a bit fuller, but it colors your sound really bad. It compresses the sound, but it also colors it.

I give it a 5, because it's not the worst, but by far not the best either.

It's Boss, built like a brick. The knobs feel a little cheap though. Still, i think this thing will live longer than you and me when treated right.

Giving it a 9 because of the knobs.

Haven't dealt with them.

My advice: Spend a little more to buy the MXR Dynacomp, or spend a whole lot more to get the Keeley compressor (it's the best by far, the holy grail, but you have to sell your house if you want one).

This compressor compresses your sound, but it gives a nasty color to your tone. The "sound" from your guitar is lost when played trough this pedal. Plus, it's a bitch to use and it also sucks your tone when switched off.

I just got the MXR Dynacomp, which is a couple of bucks more, but you won't hear a change in your sounds' character. It compresses your sound, and that's all it does. Plus that one IS a true bypass.


But enough of that, my final verdict: a 5

Very easy to misuse.. tempting to crank the knobs full, but this isn't going to work for most people. Its not that difficult to use, but if you don't experiment with the knobs, it will probably not sound like what you want.

I have a great custom tube amp that I am very happy with. The CS3 is transparent enough my amp's sound keeps its character. I'm using the pedal as a solo boost pedal. It is noisy when the sustain is turned up, and you are not playing.. but that's just like good tube amps and single coil pickups..

The pedal is the 1st thing in my signal chain after the guitar and before my overdrive pedal. This pedal makes it sound like the preamp tubes are really being pushed, great booster pedal. Haven't had time to find a useful job for it playing rhythm yet.

It is reliable.

?

I'm using the pedal as a solo boost pedal in an indie guitar pop band. It really helps the solos to stand out. The sustain at around 12 o'clock and level up as needed gives solos an extra drive. Really its adding sustain, but as a result, all the extra harmonics make the overdrive sound fuller and more on the edge.

That said, it is easy to get this pedal to sound like crap. It does exactly what you tell it to.. the sustain all the way up and attack all the way down will probably sound bad to most people.

It's interesting how debated this thing is. When I first got mine (maybe 10 yrs ago?) I have to admit I initially wasn't too impressed. I had then and still use now mostly rack compression, and at first thought this Boss Compressor was just way too over-the-top. But after really exploring it's capabilities I love what it does.

I agree with a lot of the opinions here that emphasize that compression is NOT meant to be used for effect-like sounds but instead as a subtle treatment for audio management. I agree that's mostly the case, BUT think in the case of this Boss CS-3 compressor that's not exactly true.

It IS a potent effect. I think that's why so many people have trouble with finding how to use it. It can be used for a subtle twist on your signal, but these lovely "sweet spots" don't exactly leap out at you. ONCE you get to know it though it's capable of multiple sounds and easy to use.

I didn't get a manual because I got mine used. No, it's not easy to use right away. But if you hang in there you'll be fan.

" * What setup (i.e. what guitars and amps) are you using this with? * Is it noisy? On what settings? * Are the effects weak or do they always sound great? "

well EVERY effect is is vunerable to mis-use, but a CS-3 actually works well in TONS of situations. Even though it's not as set-and-play easy as other pedals might be, it's a versatile studio tool that goes a lot further than your average "effect." I'll let you find your own magic, but it can cover straight-up signal boosts, basic EQ, fat compression, and beyond...

well "Beyond" is a little hard to explain, but one of the things I like about this pedal IS the EFFECT potential of it. Having a "tone" knob really opens up the pallette, and the "sustain" knob is wild. Works great as a fast-set EQ as long as your not needing drastic surgery. Not great for rhythm playing, but I'm a die hard rack compression user at this point, so it might work well and I just haven't explored it enough. It can also be set to "Lo-Fi" your signal like a compressed radio-like playback or an old-fashioned field recording effect. This is more MIS-using it I guess, but can do some weird things, like even volume swelling. Really heats up a passive bass signal, maybe not to everyone's taste, but it's definitely rock and roll!

The BEST though is, in my opinion, the how it can do this really smooth C&W guitar leads, adding just a bit of warm squishy sparkle and things seem a bit clearer and shiney in a way.

George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" is what the sound of this pedal reminds me of. I think you might know what I mean.

You'll have to find the settings that work for you, and switching guitars can mean switching settings, but I haven't taken it out of my chain in the decade I've had it.

No doubt in my mind. 10 years I think I've had it and saw a lot of abuse before that (got it from a friend, so I know). Might need to clean it from time to time, but it's rock solid.

Their products are durable enough that I haven't yet needed to contact them, good for them. I dont know how "increbibly kind" they are but I can comfortably give them a 9 rating.

A very useful tool, even for mending studio problems on the fly, like basic EQ and signal boosting and a good overall compression. It's NOT the easiest thing to zero in on perfection right out of the box, it's just a little heavy-handed, but a little experimenting combined with my gear has made it a real asset. In fact the friend I got it from seemed to miss it right away, but hey it's my toy now. I would replace it with the exact item if something happened to it. I have tried a lot of gear and own other compressors, but this is a unique effect, even amongst over compression pedals.

The bottom line is:
rack compression for transparent operation,
and CS-3 for buttering your buns to taste :)

Everyone who had tried this pedal would hav fussed a lot (like me) when adjusting the Attack knob. The others r ok, but the Attack knob is not as user-friendly & needs some understanding to what it does....& that's adjusting when u want the comp to start in ur signal.

Many ppl who reviewed bout the bad Sustain is quite correct....in fact, I would say that is doesn't really sustain a note (like a feedbacker), but it actually compresses that note/chord (or whateva u're playin'). Too high a level will definitely mush up the whole signal, unless it was already, before the comp, overly bright. BTW I use this pedal for a tint of natural compression when playing especially chords. If u put a chorus after this, it would sound lush & close to Roger McQuinn's 12-string Rickenback (oh yeah, he uses comperssion....I think 3 tube-comps). If u want it for distortion or overdrive sounds, put it BEFORE the OD/DS, or it'll just end up compressing ur possible noise & AMPLIFY it (& maybe this where some of the negative reviews originated). That's why I never had problems w/ it (maybe except for the Attack knob earlier on), cos I use it before my distortion & only set it for playing chords & clean stuffs; my setup also works for lead boosts (u may hav to crank the level for this). Anyways, alone, this is a wonderful box, quiet too....& if u hav problems with it, it's whether u misunderstood it in the 1st place, or if u still can't comply or just won't cooperate w/ its true ability....U SUCK.

Definitely dependable, it sits @ the front of my pedal board, just after the wah & before the MT-2 distortion. Thank god the wah is quite & so, no noise issue. Also very giggable & can w/stand regular stomping....though I'm quite delicate in doing this.

I never wanted to call that number or use that E-mail....call me paranoid, but I guess I just don't need it.

I guess it's just like most of the BOSS boxes....many ppl just don't understand them & if they do, this will show why it's a top winner for creating ur own signature sound, granted if u don't hav those insanely pricy tube-cored equipments.

UPDATE on an earlier review.
This pedal works good for clean tones, w/a little bit of gain only.
I used this pedal for a couple months in my other band more UFO, Deep Purple type rock (you get the picture). This pedal doesn't work well with gain at all unless you back of the attack. If the attack is set too high it clips your signal. It's still a good pedal just not nearly as good as a MXR Super Comp for Hard Rock.

The pedal loses it's transparent tone when used in a distorted/gain setting. Still a nice pedal, just not what I thought it was.

OK, by reading all the reviews on this box, you'll notice that there is some argument over how to use a compressor. If you don't know what you're doing, you can easily get your guitar sounding like crap in no time. I'm no expert, and I'm not here to say who's wrong, but I do know a little about the "science of sound," so I hope this helps folks get the most out of this effect.

OK, here's my philosophy of tone: I take a nice guitar into a nice tube amp, and use effects very SUBTLY. Currently I'm playing a Fender Nashville Tele into a Fender Hot Rod Deville (4x10). My pedal board goes Boss TU-2 tuner, Boss CS-3, Bixonic Expandora (reissue), Boss GE-7 EQ, and Boss CE-5 Chorus. I play country, blues, and rock.

When I bought it, I didn't really know what a compressor did. I was expecting smooth, endless sustain. Needless to say, I thought it was a piece of junk and I hated that "gluck" sound.

Anyway, if you're thinking of buying your first compressor, or can't get a decent sound out of the one you've got - take a minute and read the article on this site under "Effects Explained." I found it very helpful, and here's a sample:

"One popular use of compression is to increase an instrument's sustain. This is technically incorrect since a compressor doesn't change an instruments behavior, and it only operates on an audio signal. The compressor will try to maintain a constant level of output by amplifying the incoming signal to maintain that constant level. For example, after a string on a guitar is plucked, the voltage produced by the pickups gradually dies away. A little compression will keep the instrument's level from changing radically after it's plucked, which is perceived as increased sustain or a 'smoothing' of instrument. A release time longer than the instruments decay will preserve the instrument's sound."

Another thing the article talks about is "attack time," or the amount of time it takes for the compressor to start compressing a new signal. I believe this is what the "attack" knob on the unit controls, and not the sound of your guitar's attack.

OK, with that being said, here's the way I set my CS-3. I set the Attack at 3 o'clock, Sustain at 10 o'clock, and Level and Tone to match the dry signal from my guitar (in my case, Level 2:00 and Tone 1:00) This gives me a subtle smoothness with no "gluck" or squashed sounds, and does increase the sustain a little bit (but not much). I find this pretty usable for most anything I play.

Boss hasn't let me down yet.

Anyway, hope this helps, or at least keeps someone from pitching a perfectly good pedal. Just don't expect it to change your actual tone ... it's really only meant to affect the volume of your signal, and keep wild dynamics under control. A little bit of extra sustain is just a bonus :)

Happy strummin' everyone!

This pedal can be tricky if you dont know what your doing or what you want to acheive.

Too many people dont know how too use it properly.

boss!

Your pedal order should be Wah, cs 3, dist ,eq, trem or chorus eg , delay , reverb. this set up is basic and can be change to suit your needs. Anyone who say s this is a shit pedal doesnt know how and why you use this pedal. It does nt change your sound it shapes it, making your guitar sound smooth and even and clearer. if not set up right it will sound shit ! If you dont have any other pedals i wouldn t get this first. get something cheap like zoom 505 you ll have heaps of fun.