Boss CS-3 Compressor Sustainer

4 knobs. 1 Level aka Volume. 2 Tone. So you are really concentrating on the attack and sustain. Couldn't ask something to be easier to use.

ATTENTION!!!
I am a rock player, who just wanted my notes to last for an infinity. I use a Ibanez Jem through a Boss DS-1, and I have a Crate GT-200. I have been on a quest to get those long, vibrato notes that I love at any time I desire. First I had a Marshall MG100FX, and the notes went no where, lasted no time [clean or distorted]. So, I got the Crate, which is stronger and has tube. The solid state is WAY longer than the Marshall, and the tube adds just a little bit more. My DS-1 is hanging out there a very long time and I am very pleased. Lately, I have been having trouble getting over my band during the solo's, so I decided that since the Boss CS-3 Compressor has a "Level" control, I can use it for a boost, turn the Sustain ALL the way up, so my notes could go for an infinity, and I wouldn't care about any "buzz" noise, since I would be using it for distorted solo's only.

I am greatly disappointed. GREATLY!

My notes last longer with it off. All it does is get loud, then shuts off. I tried it every which way I could, with attack, w/o, Tone up/down, etc. It was not enhancing my sustain, it was killing it. I am shocked. I have a Johnson J-Station, and the compressor on there makes notes go on and on and on. I would use the J-Station, but there is no bypass.

You can say I was using it for the wrong reason, but the pedal says "Sustainer", the knob says "Sustain". It does neither. I even saw a video of a guy strumming all the strings on Expert Village on You Tube, and saying it stays longer. Maybe hitting open strings, but hitting one string does not work as long.

AND, you got the buzz. To me, it almost sounds like there is some sort of distortion going on, but very weak.

Like I said, I was really looking forward to this pedal, I actually drove for 3 hours [1 1/2 there and 1 1/2 back] to get the pedal, and it is quite disappointing.

And for just clean "sound", a lot of hiss.

I will be cutting my losses and taking this to the pawn shop tomorrow.

Boss strength. All Boss pedals are made for abuse.

Never spoke.

If you are buying this pedal for the same reason I did, and that is to sustain out the notes longer with and without distortion, do NOT buy this pedal. Do not do it.

It's pretty easy to use to be honest, I don't really use it as a sustainer though, I us it more of a clean boost, just to get the tubes biting, plus get a bit more volume.

There is nothing wrong with the sound, not too noisy, no pops when you stomp on it, I used it as a sustian pedal at first but as said above it works as a really good clean boost, and that's what I use it for mainly. When used as a sustainer you can quite happilly go doing legato really easily, all day long, even string skipping legato, on a clean sound as though you have loads of gain without having loads of gain. I use it through a Bugera 6260 half stack, which is BTW, a very good amp if you get a good un, despite the low price.

It can make a Strat sound like a Lucille, a Les Paul, Buddy Guy (with the tone turned all the way up), or even just a more levelled out Strat.

When used as a clean boost, it still levels all the sound out, and gives compression of course, and in this application gives a very bluesy sound.

It is definitely dependable, certainly strong as an ox.

Not delt with them

Fantaastic, I went with this over a Marshall ED-1 because the guy at the shop said the Marshall would more than likely break as soon as the warranty ran out, which is probably true. I cannot fault the pedal in the application that I use it.

Typical Boss pedal. Four knobs and each one does something distinct. Manual isn't anything special, but Boss manuals usually aren't. If you know what you're doing, you can probably get it do whatever you'd like it to after fifteen minutes of tinkering.

Here's where things get interesting...

First things first, I love Boss pedals. Let me say that again: I love Boss pedals. Everything in my effects chain (with the exception of my EBow, which isn't a pedal) is Boss.

I bought this pedal a few years ago, thinking that I could get some really cool sounds out of it. I played with it a few times and I could never get anything good. I ended up trading it a few days ago because I was tired of having it collect dust on my pedalboard.

Everyone else seems to be giving it good reviews, so I probably didn't know how to use the darn thing, or expected it to do something it wasn't designed for. That being said, if you're expecting an obvious effect, the CS-3 won't do it. Very subtle and while I'm sure it's useful for something, I didn't like it and I never used it.

Can't fault Boss here. Tough stuff, no doubt about that. Never had a Boss pedal fail, and I don't think I ever will.

Boss' Website is pretty good, and I think they upgraded the whole thing a few months ago too. Other than that, I've never had to deal with their customer support. Rumor has it that it isn't very good, but that's just hearsay.

OK...so maybe I didn't know how to use it properly. Maybe I had the wrong idea of what this pedal did. Maybe mine was a lemon. In any case, for me, this was a worthless effect. Never did anything to my sound to convince me it was worth keeping. If you know what you're doing, then maybe this is a great pedal. Just be warned...

Straight forward layout, easy to use, as usual with Boss.

Well it does what a compressor should do, nothing more nothing less.
It is not slow and boingy as the older compressors out there(that too has its charms and usage) but this is a modern fast working unit, I like that it be pretty "invisible" until you turn it off, can be set to more extreme settings if you like.
Suits my needs quite well, keeps my guitar sound even and fattens up my drives as well.
Very silent in normal settings, gets the usual pops and the noisefloor raises when set to extremes, but that is what they do those things, so that is ok as well.
Use it on all the time.

It is a Boss.....

Dunno....but their site is informative.

Have a bunch of different compressor/limiters....this one will not leave my home, as it works as it should, and keeps working as well, does not make any funny decaying noises or anything, some might find it too clean and discrete, I like that in some comps, I have others that colours the sound alot more, but those are only used at occasions where certain sounds are required.
Topnotch compressor, that does what it is supposed to do, keeping your levels even without distracting you.

Level, Tone, Attack and Sustain. Adequate for a stompbox compressor. If you need more control you should probably go with a rack unit. Attack control is very subtle, not much range or audible difference from 0-10. Other controls should seldom stray beyond 12 o'clock.

This pedal is best for clean rhythm playing at moderate settings using a tube amp. Recording direct, more exteme settings might be useful. It will make noise when used along with a distortion or overdrive stompbox, but as a rule can be controlled with a noise reduction unit, e.g. Boss NS-2. To my ears this is a very musical pedal when playing clean or even slightly overdriven, especially with the natural overdrive of a tube amp, but begins to suck tone when distortion is increased. Can be used as a clean boost with decent results in most situations. In my experience, in a live rig this pedal is on about 40% to 50% of the time, and in recording applications it often is left on even longer. I would call it extremely useful on those terms. I've owned it nearly 10 years. During that time I have owned/used VS Route 66, dbx 266 rack unit and various modeling units with compression effects: Digitech, Line6, etc. Sound-wise I keep returning to the CS-3.

Countless Boss pedals have come and gone, none have ever failed.

Have never needed it.

Used properly and judiciously, a very good-sounding, time-tested compressor. A safe choice.

The first thing I would have to say is LEARN TO KNOW WHAT COMPRESSION IS before using compression, if you don`t know what "attack" is or "sustain", inform yourself and then you will have a better understanding of what it can do.
Also compression is not made to be used at all times, work much better with clean/overdrive , don`t use it if you play with lots of distortion, the distortion sounds good when playing solos though, not chords.

I`m using a HB-35 Washburn, a Marshall 250X

The pedal can create noise if the sustain is past 1:00, but this is what a compressor doesn, might want to try it with a Noise reduction pedal, but I suggest that people don`t go over 1:00, doesn`t make it sound better, though there is much more sustain, with a slight bit of overdrive that sustain can be longer.

It obviously doesn`t always sound good, you have to be the judge, know when you need it on and when you don`t, if you do take off the effect and then put it back on, make sure your level on your pedal is leveled with the level of your guitar when the pedal is not on.

Warm chorus and overdrive sounds good with this pedal, not distortion, distortion will sound good is you`re playing solos, but not chords.

Does the work when I need it to do the work.

Never had to get customer support, Boss pedals are made to last

Overall this pedal is very good, I think I will still go ahead and try different compression pedals, see what the difference is.

I wish it had presets for people who don`t know how to use it

I do hate the fact that it makes noise, but again.. you can`t avoid it, especially if you have lots of pedals plugged into the chain, get rid of the ones you don`t use, or use a A-B pedal and have two rigs.

Before we get started I'll note that I don't have this unit anymore and I was new to stomp boxes when I owned the unit. That being said...

4 knobs and a bypass switch. Level, tone, attack, sustain.

This is a little confusing because I'm not sure which of these is supposed to control, well, -compression-. Attack I guess? If I still had the unit maybe I would be able to tell now...

Signal chain was thus:

Epiphone Sheraton II >> Boss CS-3 Compressor >> Vox 847A Wah >> Boss OD-3 Dist/Overdrive >> Boss DS-1 Distortion >> EH Big Muff Pi (Russian) >> Boss TR-2 >> MXR Phase 90 >> MXR Carbon Copy Delay >> Fender Princeton Chorus Amp

At gig volume level, the compressor was noticeably hum-y when clean and went to hiss, crackle, pop, etc. etc. with any sort of gain box turned on.

Admittedly, you can probably blame at least a little of this on the length of my signal chain and lack of noise gate. But unuseable is unuseable.

The CS-3 is digital sounds like it. It produces a pretty noticeable (well, to guitar players anyway) digital sheen that coats the rest of your sound. So much for that new tube amp.

I'm giving a bonus point here because I do like the Sustain function; it couldn't quite sustain a clean sound well enough to do the intro to "With or Without You"... but close! With a little gain it would sustain 10-15 seconds.

Despite my otherwise low opinion of the pedal, I've gotta give Boss props; although the knobs are probably slightly more vulnerable to breaking off than some other Boss pedals, the case would probably protect the internal electronics from an indirect nuclear strike and could be used for hand-to-hand combat in a pinch.

Didn't deal with them.

Maybe this pedal just had more features than I needed. I had it on my board for a few practices and a gig before I noticed I wasn't using it very much, and was spending most of the time that I was using it wishing I had never bought it.

Again, a few bonus points for the Sustain function. Unfortunately it, like every other knob on the unit, ups your volume very noticeable. It's possible that with a good noise gate you could set the Level down low, the other controls dead center, and then use the CS-3 as a second compressor just for the sustain function, but I didn't bother with it.

I bought an MXR DynaComp with the trade in money.

Pretty simple to use, like all pedals. Once you get to "know" it, it's easy to get the compression you require. Standard Boss manual.

Pretty transparent and very subtle. Don't know why some of the other review say it changes their tone by that much, but I didn't notice it myself. With "sustain" at maximum I got noise, but that's expected (it's a compressor - it's its job). IMHO, the tone control low pass filter cuts of too many highs when below 11 o'clock.

Yeah, very reliable. Metal casing. It will probably outlast me, he-he.

I've been playing for 7-8 years and was reluctant to get a compressor because I thought it would "squish" my dynamics. It does no such thing at my settings, as I've said it's very subtle. I plug my guitar straight into it and then on to other pedals and it's perfect for correcting the "little mistakes" I make. Good value for the money.

It's easy to use, the manual is sensible, easy to read and understand.

I bought this based on the reliability and reputation of Boss effects, primarily to use in conjunction with my Rickenbacker 12-string. I'm a big fan of The Beatles and the Byrds, and that jangly electric 12-string sound of the 60's. After I got it, I realized the sound was wrong for my purposes. I wanted a Janglebox, but the Boss was cheaper. I got what I paid for, I'm afraid. The CS-3 pinches and contricts your tone terribly. It was totally wrong for the sound I wanted. I generally don't use compression on my 6-string guitars, only the 12-string. The CS-3 was totally inappropriate for my needs.

I'm sure it's reliable. Boss effects are known for reliability.

I have nothing but good things to say about Boss's CS. I have a Boss trem pedal that I like just fine, but the first two of them went bad on me (one didn't work right out of the box). Boss replaced the second one without argument. Nice people and very easy to work with.

After using the CS-3 for about three months, I bought a Janglebox, which is what I wanted in the first place, and sold the CS-3 on Ebay. Needless to say, I'd never buy another one. The Janglebox is perfect for my needs. The best compressor available.

Four standard knobs, not really too difficult to deal with. The level, tone and sustain parameters are fairly self-explanatory. The "attack" knob, however, doesn't really do what it's supposed to!

This is a noisy pedal. There's a loud, annoying hiss, especially when played through humbuckers. When the "attack" setting is positioned anywhere past 0%, it only gets worse. Even gently tapping a muted string with your pick produces a dull, nasty thud when the attack knob is anywhere past 6'o'clock. If you want some nice subtle compression whilst perserving your natural guitar tone, I suggest a Barber Tone press. Or get your pedal modified by Humphrey Audio for a great, versatile compression sound.

It's built Ford tuff. Just kidding, its actually very sturdy.

n/a

If you are just starting to play guitar (and you are in that cheap axe + little solid-state practice amp phase), then this could be a fun pedal. For people with high quality gear, this stompbox is not for you. After all, what's the point of playing your $2000+ PRS through a CS-3 if it'll make it sound like crap? For pedal novices, this little guy could be a lot of fun. You experienced jerks should know better. Send yours to Humphrey Audio to get a mod (or buy one new from his eBay store). **I am no way endorsed or related in any way to Mark Humphrey or his company**

Pretty self explanatory. LEVEL: Effect Volume TONE: Lower to cut highs ATTACK: Audibility of pick attack SUSTAIN: Lower to act as a limiter, crank to add sustain.

The reason I only give this a 6 is because as self explanatory as the knobs are, dialing in a good sound is quite difficult. It's all dependent on what amp/guitar/other effects you are using.

Fender Strat w/ Seymour Duncan Hot Rail in bridge, stock single coil in the middle, and a SD Lil '59 in the neck.

MARSHALL DSL50.
Distorted channel: Let me start off with saying NOISY NOISY NOISY!! This pedal sounds disgusting through anything with a decent amount of gain. Also, if you don't have a good, clean signal path it adds even more noise to the mix. Make sure your other effects are properly powered, because electrical interference is amplified big time.

Clean Channel: It does it's job fairly well on cleans. With a decent amount of time spent critiquing your sound you will find a fair middle ground on here. Fairly smooth sustain, and compresses with a crisp, natural sound. You'll have to find that 'sweet spot' on the ATTACK knob to hit a fair middle-ground. However, in the long run, this pedal still isn't worth the price.

FENDER HOT ROD DELUXE
Distorted: See above. Same nasty, overbearing hiss. It's quite unavoidable on any dirty channel.

Clean: Almost exactly as said above, but I felt it really brought out that 'Fender Chime', especially with the single coil pup selected. But, yet again, any noise in the chain is amplified, and the hum coming from my single coil gets just that. On the neck pup (humbucking) I received a warm, jazzy tone as long as the sustain was up a bit more than usual. This was the best setting I found for the pedal.

Overall, in terms of sound quality, my Monte Allums modded tubescreamer(808) is infinitely better for sustain, clean or otherwise. It makes a wonderful clean boost, and sounds just as clean off as on. I will be doing the Monte Allums mod for this pedal as well, and will be posting a review of it when ready.

It's a Boss, it's not dying out anytime soon. But the fact is, for the aggressive styles that I play, this thing is almost worthless. I don't believe that qualifies for being very reliable. I definitely wouldn't say I 'depend' on it at all. I won't give it a chance to be part of my live setup, yet. But yes, I would use it (as with any BOSS stompbox) without backup.

Never needed them. Not in almost ten years of using their products.

I play a wide range of styles, but mainly a high gain funk/groove band takes precedence over anything else. I use a lot of bass in my rig. I use a Boss OC-3 octave pedal and a 7-band bass eq with way too much bass pumping through my amp, with a few other effects to allow my guitar's natural sounds and harmonic range to ring out over the bass. I've been playing about 10 years now, and if it were lost or stolen as is, I'd just let it go. It's not worth the trouble to try getting a good sound out of it with my rig. As stated before, I will be doing the Monte Allums mod soon, and posting a review of that. Until then, my Monte Allums tubescreamer offers equal(if not more) sustain, stays quiet clean or dirty, and tightens my overall sound up the way I thought this compressor would.

Overall, I say it's not worth it unless you'll be using it sparingly on your cleans and nothing more. Look for my review of the aforementioned mod shortly.

This review is for the stock CS-3. I'm considering doing the DIY Opto mod, but it's not neccessary at the moment... perhaps when i have the time i will do it.

Some reviews say that this unit is noisy, and needs to be modded. When running from battery power there is just a tiny touch of noise... and thats only when u have max sustain and a fair bit of vol. When using the power adapter, tho... oh boy.. there's ALOT of noise. unbareable.

I use the power adapter on my FZ-3, and there's just a slight hint of noise... (i guess the mod fixes power adapter noise issues?)

4 controls.. easy to use. I find that each control has alot of range and u can get a nice array of tones.

Volume - increases/decreases the output
Tone - low/high frequency colouring
Attack - increase pick attack.. somewhat hard to maintain when on full... but adds huge amounts of depth when soloing.
Sustain - sustains the note/chord.. LOVE IT! if sustain is turned to 0, the unit can be used as a limiter.

Like i said, alot of combinations and alot of tonal variety... the underlying tone of the guitar is not affected, but enhanced. sounds GREAT.. can't wait to see what the mod will do!!!

manual can be found on the bossus website.. but really.. not neccessary.

I love compression and sustain. I play thru an Epiphone Broadway, full bodied, jazz BEAST. The tone of my guitar is not affected.

My standard settings are:
Volume - 1 o'clock
Tone - 1 - 2 o'clock
Attack - Rhthym: 9 o'clock - lead 12 to full
Sustain - Rhthym 10 o'clock or so (obviously depending on the song). When playing lead 3 o'clock to full.

I play thru a traynor YCV50 Blue. I use the amps overdrive, or play thru a Boss FZ-3 fuzz pedal... or sometimes both together (get a deep growly dist.. gotta turn the fuzz down tho.)

The CS-3 does exactly what i expected. Compression/Attack/Tone/Sustain without compromising the tone of my guitar.

i'll give it a 9.. only cos i figure, once modded it should be more vivid and robust. But don't get me wrong.. it sounds great as it is. The controls are dynamic and u can get alot of sounds going from 0 to full on each... Using a power adapter tho, without noise.. is a BIG benefit.

solid as a rock

n/a

i'm working on my own style and sound. I'd have to say it's like a white stripes, simplistic, rhthym/lead hybrid, radiohead, sometimes jazzy... alot of sustained notes, alot of quick pick attack and mute... kinda stuff.

I love sustain, feedback, overdrive, and fuzz. I've been playing for about 4 years.. jam 1-2 times a week, for the last year and a half.. play covers and originals.

been thru a fair amount of equipment.. had an Epi SG, Squire Strat, Squire Tele (Jonny Greenwood Mods), fender hotrod deluxe, princeton chorus, GNX4, RP80.

Now i've found my feet.. i've created a very nice sound with my current setup: Epi Broadway > CS-3 > FZ-3 > Traynor [supplementary overdrive/boost]

sometimes i wish i had the hotrod back, i sold it to a friend of mine, so i still get to use it on the odd occasion. But at the end of the day the traynor is way more versatile.

There's no comparison to the quality of the CS-3 compression to the GNX4 or RP80 digital versions... it's like chalk and cheese.

If lost/stolen i'd definitely buy it again.. whether or not i'd buy the more expensive pre-modded version.. i can't say.. once i perform the Opto mod, i'll add onto this review.

But final words on this: It's a must have! Go and buy one NOW!

The knobs are easy to use and it does a good job of compression for 89 bucks. I am using it for both my old Rickenbacker 481 (needs it bad) and for dj use. Its a bit Radio Compressed sounding for dj'ing but what the hell, I dont wanna blow out my speakers or amp.

It sounds a bit too much compressed sounding but beats the price of buying a dbx 166 just for compressing purposes. I am using it with a Peavey CS800S power amp at 4 ohms. My practice little amp/speaker is a Fostex and when I play my Ric on it it sounds pretty good. I like the sustain.

I've bought Boss products before and they are built well. I've dropped a $400 Boss SP202 sampler many times and it still worked without fail.

what I like about this compressor is that its rather inexpensive, reliable and does the trick. those who thumbs down the CS3 well thats your problem, go get something more expensive for your silly low paying bar gig.

It isn't clear what the dials do. Furthermore, you can change the dials as much as you want, the pedal will always sound the same.
Boo unnecessary stuff.

I play a Baker Guitar into a Reverend Kingsnake.
My pedal setup is: Maxon OD-9 > Ernie Ball Volume Pedal > Budda Wah > Pigtronix EP-1 > Pigtronix Echolution

I had this pedal ages ago. It sounded quite metallic.
Got the job done, however I'd prefer a pedal with true bypass.

Whatever. Sold it before anything happened. I don't consider BOSS to be the pinnacle of build quality. There are much better pedals out there.

...

I play jazz, blues, classic rock, and funk. I have played guitar for 11 years.

I've read beaming reviews of other 'organic' sounding compression pedals, check those out instead. I wasn't impressed and sold mine off pretty quick.

Ive owned it for about a month and I've noticed you really have to tweak it for a while to get a satisfying sound.

It sounds great through my solid state crate 15w, but through my all-tube Fender Blues Jr. it completely ruins my tone, on pretty much any setting. I think the problem is that my tube amp is super touch sensitive, and so it hits the top threshold of the compressor really easily and not only kills the attack but takes a while for it to rise back up. Overall, it really helps a cheap solid state amp sound fuller and richer, but dont use this with a good quality tube amp that sounds nice already, it'll just make things worse.

Very sturdy, no problems w/electronics

N/A

Ive had mixed results with this pedal based on the amp, so I think if your thinking of getting it, you should test it out on your amp before and make sure it doesnt anything funky.

Mine is a HUMPHREY AUDIO MODS refurb.
DEAD EZ to get great tone from, especially with Humphrey's recommended settings.

I'm getting a GREAT Knopfler tone from my Suhr classics and my amps.
It's the compression I've ALWAYS wanted and spent WAY too much money trying to find. The hiss is gone, attack is PERFECT!
Jim Messina (loggins and Messina, Buffalo Springfield, Poco,..) turned me onto Humphrey Audio effects.

I have no worries, however I do tour with a backup.

The company is VERY helpful. Mark Humphrey answers all questions and gives support after the sale.
VERY tone savvy individual.
The comapany has a great reputation among professional players, and I'm seeing more and more Humphrey Audio gear out there.

I'm a spport player behind a popular female artists, and I also do studio work often as well as xcall gigs around the LA area.
I've been a pro player for 18 years, and have quite an array of electric guitars and amps, all of which sound greatwith the Humphrey Audio effects I use. I've send them some of my olod favorites to mod, and those pedals are nothing short of AMAZING!!
They have a website at http://humphrey.4.googlepages.com/humphreyaudiopedalmods

I bought this for bass guitar from Humphrey Audio Mods.
It is FAR better for bass than the regular compressor.

GREAT BIG compressed low end!!!
Humphrey Audio Builds all kinds of Bass Specific pedals, and I have two others besides this one.
Pedals for guitar simply do NOT work for Bass guitar.

I play Pedula basses thropugh Ampeg amps with three pedals.Bass chorus, BASS Monkey drive, and this compressor all from Humphrey Audio.

no issues with these, and i don't anticipate any.

Mark will spend thetime answering questions and setting you up with the right stuff, and the prices are insanely low!!!

I play funk and fusion styles.
Been playing for 30 years.
I would not be without this pedal. purchasing gear from Humphrey is the best money i've ever spent.

Been finding it hard to find setting diagrams on the net,even from Boss. But play with it long enough and it all comes to you.

I use an Epiphone SG through a Peavey Bandit amp. I bought this pedal to boost the sustain, which it did, the gain, which it did, and the tone, which it did. But the big letdown that almost made me take it back to the shop was the noise. As soon as you palm mute the guitar, or even turn the guitars volume right down you get the most awful interference. It really is terrible and if you were playing live the audience would laugh at you.

It's a Boss. Enough said.

The website wasn't all that informative.

I have a video of me playing guitar (using this pedal) on YouTube, and I've been asked if I'm using a Marshall because it really does give that huge sound. If your quick enough with your feet to turn the pedal off as soon as your finished playing a piece, then you might get away with the noise. I'd like to try one with a noise reduction pedal before I decide never to use it again. Try it out thoroughly before you buy it.

I could not find a nice tone/sound while using this product.

I cannot believe that many people actually like this pedal. If you are looking for a loud humming and thin sound, I would recommend this pedal for you!

It sounds absolutely terrible. The unit is loud and hums while on. The tone is not transparent at all. I tried this on my Fender Twin Reverb and all of my guitars (Gibson Les Paul Standard & SG, PRS Custom 22 & 24, and Fender Eric Johnson Stratocaster) and it ruined the tone and sound on all settings. I had this pedal for years and I got the same bad results on crappy equipment, too (Peavey amp (puke!) and Jackson & Ibanez guitars). If you have a good tube amp and guitar(s), there is no need for this pedal.

If there is one thing going for this pedal is that Boss is very good on the construction of their pedals. Mechanically, I had no problems with this pedal. However, tone was a HUGE problem!

Never had to deal with Boss/Roland.

I tend to think of myself as an eclectic guitar player, in terms in of styles. I really like anything but country and Nu-metal. I have been playing for the past 14 years and have owned and played many guitars and effects. However, I did not find great tone and a use for the Boss CS-3.

Verdict -

Complete waste of money. I sold this P.O.S. and I would never buy a Boss Compressor ever again. Loud noise and humming and a thin crappy sound ??? there is nothing to like about this pedal? Thank goodness for eBay because it was easy to unload it at a decent price.

If you are looking for a compressor look elsewhere. If money is tight try a MXR Dyna-comp. If money and waiting for an effect are not problems for you, look into the Analog Man CompROSSor.

This review is about IndyGuitarist CS-3 Mod.
I bought a unmoded used pedal with the intention to mod it since I hate the stock ones.
The stock pedal destroy your sound and playing at almost any settings.
There are bad and not so bad settings but it is always .....bizzare. Rate 3
After the IndyGuitarist CS-3 Mod, the controls become very responsive and they DO exactly what they should do, so it becomes easy to get the sound and dynamic response that you want. Rate 10

After the mod, the controls become alive and working all the way from 0 to 10, very responsive. The splat thing is over and it doesn??t has that limiter feel stealing your playing and tone. The sound is big, open, fat and very responsive to your playing at almost any setting.
I tried this pedal and keeley compressor and the sound/playing on the modded cs3 was more natural (for me and for the owner of the keeley). Setting that i??m using:
volume 1 o??clock
tone 1 or 2 o??clock
attack 1 o??clock
compr 11 o??clock
As a bonus it can be a very, very nice clean booster at some settings.

I did the mod myself so if it stops, it should be my fault.

Brian always answered the e-mails. Always very helpfull.

Playing professional for more than 20 years, this is the first compressor that I bought. After trying some new ones (keeley, Demeter)I became interested since they are better now. I was going to buy a barber tone press but I bought an used boss to mod since it is easy and cheap to find here.
If you don??t like compressors or want something different from traditional ones try the Indiguitarist cs-3, you may be surprised.

Easy to use. Turn the knobs, listen, done.

Sounds great, all of the wankers on this site who dont know how to use compression properly, will say it sux. It is very important that compression always goes first in your chain. Not last. Where you place the pedal has a huge impact on the sound. You want to feed a nice, clean compressed signal to the rest of your setup, not the other way round. I see this mistake all the time.

Boss. Tough, they dont break.

Never had to use it

Pop/Rock, studio work. Playing for 20 years.

Boss CS3 is easy to use. LEVEL increases the level, TONE enhances Bass or Low freq.. and Attack / Sustain.. everyone of us know what is Attack and Sustain in a compressor.

It sounds Bad. bad simply because u lose YOUR sound, sound of your instrument. the best way to play with CS 3 and your sound is the baypass mode! the sustain control makes noise if you pump it up above half position.

As all BOSS stomps

I play Bass guitar, my opinion is about bass. i play electro - pop music and I do love fat full bass, but MY fat full bass, not a fat full BOSS Bass!!

This review is for the Humphrey Audio Modified Version

When I first got the stock CS-3, I plugged it in and like a lot of you really didn???t hear a difference even after I played around with the controls for a while. The attack was annoying. As I turned it up, the effect seemed like it stepped up and it was very noticeable. I was ready to return it to the store where I bought it until I decided to send it to Humphrey Audio for the modification and I???m glad I did because when I got it back the controls actually worked.

After the modification it was unbelievable. The sound quality reminds me of the difference between a bad, noisy recording and a professional one, clear and crisp. I did notice a little noise but I know it???s from one of my other pedals, which I???ll probably send to Humphrey Audio for mods at some point.

I have other Boss pedals, which I???ve had for many, many years and never a problem.

I've never needed any customer support from Boss. My experience with Humphrey Audio has been great!

The stock CS-3 was not worth the money. At $90 I would expect an effect pedal to be able to make a major change in the sound and the stock version didn???t do that. I would suggest if you want a compressor/sustainer pedal buy one from Humphrey Audio. You really can???t believe the difference until you hear it. The modification was $50 and well worth it!

I understand what the controls do but can't seem to find any worthwhile settings.

What a poor pedal, especially for being one of Boss' higher priced single-effect pedals, which are usually good. I couldn't find a good setting that didn't kill my setup's tone or ruin the dynamics of what was being played. The only settings that don't do that are subtle enough to be worthless in the scheme of things (for rock anyway, maybe country players would benefit more from this pedal.)

On top of that, this pedal is NOISY. If you don't have a noise gate, buy one. If you already have one, turn it up.

This pedal is a paperweight. I'm selling it to buy something more useful.

It's Boss so you know it will last but do you really want this thing around?

Never dealt with them.

It's either too subtle or too overwhelming with very little middle ground. Your average rock player might benefit more from buying a different type of pedal altogether - overdrive, distortion, flanger, maybe a nice wah, whatever.

On top of general complaints about the effect itself, the thing is noisy! Unbelievably so. I haven't heard such a noisy pedal in years, if ever.

If you feel that you need a compressor, I recommend buying something else. I hear MXR DynaComp compressors are good. Personally, I prefer the basic compressor in my cheap DOD multi-effects board from about 8 years ago. That's how bad this Boss pedal is.

It's not terribly hard to get a good sound out of this, but to really dial it in it takes work

Compression is a MUST if you are doing any kind of delay work first of all and secondly if you are playing through a very "open" sounding tube amp like a Vox AC30 or a Fender Hot Rod series [I play through both], I like to run this pedal at all times.

All of my Boss pedals have been fantastic as far as reliablility goes.