Hi,
I've been checking out a few of the Boss CS-3 mods that are floating around the internet, one of the more popular ones, the Monte mod, says to change D1 from a 1N4004 to a 1N34A germanium, but from what I can see this diode can have no effect on the sound processing aspect of the circuit at its conencted to the power 'in' and is probably there to protect the circuit from a reverse polarity connection? Or am I totally wrong?!
ANy help or info greatly appreciated,
Thanks,
Chris
Try replace D6 with Ge diode 1N60, 1N34 etc.
Nice job, Chris - another lesson in the hype of bogus pedal 'mods'.
Forum member wampcat (or wampcat1 or something, hell I don't rem) has some actually usable modifications for this circuit - others may as well, but I haven't seen those.
Contact him for more info.
Hi,
What does Monte "claim" replacing D1 with a Germ will do? You could always replace it and see if you hear the difference. It doesn't seem like it would make any difference to me either.
Dave
Hi all,
Boss CS-3 my modes:
Sava Mod ONE
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Location Stock val Sava mod Type
C2 0.022 0.047 Metal film PE
C15 0.047 0.047 Metal film PE
C13 0.047 0.047 Metal film PE
C4 1 microF 1 microF Tantal
C14 1 microF 1 microF Tantal
C18 1 microF 1 microF Tantal
C6 1 microF 1 microF Tantal
C5 560 pF 560 pF Silver Mica
C7 0.01 0.01 Metal film PE
C8 0.01 0.01 Metal film PE
D6 Si uni 1N60,1N34... Germanium
C1 (under pot) 0.027 0.027 Metal film PE
Option 1:
LED red blue 3 mm
R33 3k3 2k2 Metal film
Option 2:
C7 0.01 0.047 Metal film PE
C8 0.01 0.047 Metal film PE
I prefer mode with 0.01 microfarad C7, C8. Clear and transparent mode.
Capacitors must be high-quality.
Sava Mod TWO
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Location Stock value Sava mod Type
C2 0.022 0.1 Metal film PE
C15 0.047 0.1 Metal film PE
C13 0.047 0.1 Metal film PE
C4 1 microF 1 microF Tantal
C14 1 microF 1 microF Tantal
C18 1 microF 1 microF Tantal
C6 1 microF 1 microF Tantal
C5 560 pF 560 pF Silver Mica
C7 0.01 0.01 Metal film PE
C8 0.01 0.01 Metal film PE
D6 Si uni 1N60,1N34... Germanium
D2 Si uni 1N60,1N34... Germanium
D3 Si uni 1N60,1N34... Germanium
C1 (under pot) 0.027 0.027 Metal film PE
R36 10 Kohma 4,7 Kohma Metal film
Option 1:
LED red blue 3 mm
R33 3k3 2k2 Metal film
Option 2:
C7 0.01 0.047 Metal film PE
C8 0.01 0.047 Metal film PE
More bass mode.
To All CS-3 Users,
I bought one used and I noticed there is some background noises and it seems to go up when the sustain knob is turned up, is this normal? I would expect it to be totally quiet. Also, at first the light would shine 1/2 as bright when plugged to a power plug, but with a battery it shines fully bright, any suggestions.
Mike
Quote from: SilverSurfer on November 15, 2007, 12:08:32 PM
To All CS-3 Users,
I bought one used and I noticed there is some background noises and it seems to go up when the sustain knob is turned up, is this normal? I would expect it to be totally quiet. Also, at first the light would shine 1/2 as bright when plugged to a power plug, but with a battery it shines fully bright, any suggestions.
Mike
1.the sustain also increase gain so i think it is normal.
2.check the label beside the dc jack. if it requires an ASA adapter, there is some rectifier devices(one diode and one resistor iirc) u need to short out to get the same voltage to the circuit as the battery powers.
thanks
Has anyone tried converting the dip 8 to a 8-pin opamp? I saw a conversion board on monte allums website. I want to try this out on my ds-1 and cs-3. I hope to eliminate the sustain hiss on the cs-3. The ds-1 kit from his website sounds great. I like the led mod in the distortion circuit. Nice big fat sound.
Mike
The board from Monte Allums looks to be a bit more elegant than the method I resorted to recently... :icon_eek:
(http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee80/PerroGrande64/Boss%20CS-3/CS-3Op-AmpCloseup.png)
To explain...
This is only a temporary condition for this CS-3. A friend's pedal died recently and made it to my bench for repairs. The CS-3 uses 1/2 of one of the 4558's to produce the 4.5v Vref for the rest of the pedal, and that is the half that died. I was out of the SIP version of the op-amp, but wanted to test to see if any other part of the pedal needed work (and a part I was also out of...) So I straightened 4 of the 8 leads on this unfortunate op-amp (an HA-17358) and wire-wrapped the others for testing. Fortunately, the op-amp was the only thing fried... While this technique worked for testing, I wouldn't advise it when you're actually trying to *improve* the sound of the pedal! ;D
What in heaven's name is up with those three caps? They look like pustules or something. Is that goop on top, or goop leaking out?
Mine has it too, something like hot glue (what is its name in english?) connecting the three caps together; in the picture the caps are divided.
Marcello
(BTW, I was just looking around in the web searching for CS-3 mods...)
To Perro Grande
Is IC1 the chip you replace in order to get rid of the noise? I notice there are a few on the CS-3 board.
thanks
Mike
I just recently finished the Monte Allums Opto Plus mod myself. I ran into the same problem with the LED being really dim. If you do have the older ACA version you simply need to remove Resistor 32 and Diode 10 and put jumpers in their place.
All and all I was happy with the mod, although there is still a lot of noise with the tone and sustain knobs maxed.
schematic:
http://www.indyguitarist.com/schematics/boss/cs3-compressor.gif
Add a cap in parallel with c4. try 100pf -500pf for noise. Do the same for the resistor across pins 2 and 3 on IC4A (R16 maybe?)
bw
To Brian,
Thanks for the suggestions. I actually have a couple of your books and pulled out the CS-3 mods. I'm going to try a few.
To Ianmgull, What IC chip did you relace in the opto mod plus. I have the instructions for the opto mod, but not the one with the swap of the dip8 chip.
Thanks
Mike
Hi Mike,
The chip I installed was temporary, and was only done to validate that the pedal worked otherwise. The original fault caused the 4.5v VRef to not be present. If anything, the temporary chip I put in was worse in terms of most specs than the original.
The "cap goop" is glue. Why they felt the need to glue those caps together is somewhat of a mystery to me. I removed some of it so I could move them a bit to create more work room around the chip.
Quote from: SilverSurfer on November 26, 2007, 09:14:24 PM
To Brian,
Thanks for the suggestions. I actually have a couple of your books and pulled out the CS-3 mods. I'm going to try a few.
To Ianmgull, What IC chip did you relace in the opto mod plus. I have the instructions for the opto mod, but not the one with the swap of the dip8 chip.
Thanks
Mike
The mod kit came with a OPA2134PA chip. I'm not going to knock the mod kit. It definitely helped a lot, but there is still more noise than I would have liked.
Wampcat1:
I'm interested in the mods you suggested, but I'm a serious noob so I'm curious...Have you tried either of these?
Quote from: ianmgull on November 26, 2007, 09:59:07 PM
Quote from: SilverSurfer on November 26, 2007, 09:14:24 PM
To Brian,
Thanks for the suggestions. I actually have a couple of your books and pulled out the CS-3 mods. I'm going to try a few.
To Ianmgull, What IC chip did you relace in the opto mod plus. I have the instructions for the opto mod, but not the one with the swap of the dip8 chip.
Thanks
Mike
The mod kit came with a OPA2134PA chip. I'm not going to knock the mod kit. It definitely helped a lot, but there is still more noise than I would have liked.
Wampcat1:
I'm interested in the mods you suggested, but I'm a serious noob so I'm curious...Have you tried either of these?
Adding the caps as I posted above? No, as I don't run my compression high enough to warrant worrying about. However, there are only so many ways to skin a cat. That's one of them. :D
bw
(somewhat OT)
Have you seen the 'inline > DIP' chip adapter on Allums' site? Maybe marketing/hype crazy/overkill, but unique (or, maybe not unique - but I hadn't seen one prior to this).
http://www.monteallums.com/pedal_mods.html Scroll down a bit to see one here.
Thanks, I'll try adding those caps. I had an other question however. I run this pedal directly after the preamp (series fx loop) to try and tame the dynamics a bit. Even at the lowest compression setting it still slams down on it pretty hard. Does anybody know of any mod that will make this thing compress less??
Thanks,
ian
Quote from: ianmgull on November 27, 2007, 10:05:35 PM
I had an other question however. I run this pedal directly after the preamp (series fx loop) to try and tame the dynamics a bit. Even at the lowest compression setting it still slams down on it pretty hard. Does anybody know of any mod that will make this thing compress less??
First mod I'd suggest is putting the pedal right after the guitar, not in the fx loop. The compressor tend to dime down signal with amplitude wider than a particular threshold, in the FX loop I guess we have something similar to a line level, so the compressor could be activated too soon.
The boss one, intended for guitar use, works better with guitar type level that I suppose way lower.
ciao
Marcello
Quote from: chris1001 on June 13, 2007, 06:38:20 AM
Hi,
I've been checking out a few of the Boss CS-3 mods that are floating around the internet, one of the more popular ones, the Monte mod, says to change D1 from a 1N4004 to a 1N34A germanium, but from what I can see this diode can have no effect on the sound processing aspect of the circuit at its conencted to the power 'in' and is probably there to protect the circuit from a reverse polarity connection? Or am I totally wrong?!
ANy help or info greatly appreciated,
Thanks,
Chris
Hi Chris, that's not a mod that I use any more. When I started creating mods almost 3 years ago I really didn't have a lot of modding experience. I was sort of a loose canon back then. I've since learned how to read schematics (thanx in large part to Brian and his great articles and books).
Not being exactly electronically literate in the beginning was a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that it helped me not to have any preconceived notions about the circuit and a curse in trusting my ears too much. I have become a real student of audio circuits and although I have learned a lot I still feel I have much more to learn.
I am a guitarist first and a pedal hacker second. I have been fortunate enough that others have liked the mods I have created.
Monte Allums
Quote from: ianmgull on November 26, 2007, 07:45:15 PM
I just recently finished the Monte Allums Opto Plus mod myself. I ran into the same problem with the LED being really dim. If you do have the older ACA version you simply need to remove Resistor 32 and Diode 10 and put jumpers in their place.
All and all I was happy with the mod, although there is still a lot of noise with the tone and sustain knobs maxed.
Hi ianmgull, one thing to consider about compressors is that as you compress the signal you also decrease the dynamic and at the same time raise the noise floor of the pedal. On my Opto Modded CS3 I usually run all 4 knobs at 12 O'clock, straight up. At this setting you get a fattening effect and almost unity gain. At this setting the pedal has almost no added noise when compared to the original signal. Even the very expensive compressors you'll find in top studios add a certain amount of noise when pushed. It's just the nature of the beast. While the CS3 will never out perform say an Empirical Labs EL8X Distressor, we can mod it to sound much better than it does stock. I've even used my modded CS3 to record vocals. David Prater www.praterproductions.com shot me an e-mail after coming across my site. David has worked with some great artists and uses a stock CS3 an an effect on vocals for some productions. Here's a direct quote from David. "Monte...as God as my witness...it sounded like a really noisy UREI LA-3A. Like singing into a sheet of soft rubber. But, again, it was seriously noisy. In the track, however....it ROCKED!!!"
I think as artists we sometimes lose focus. We concentrate on the wrong things. The performance is always more important than the tools we use to obtain it. It's the talent and not the tools that make a great track. But good tools are icing on the cake. So by modding we seek to obtain perfection. That perfect tone. For me modding has brought me closer to the tone I have always heard in my head. But it's the quest for BETTER tone that keeps me doing what I do.
Monte Allums
Thanks for the info. Did you make many changes to the CS-3 mod, just wondering if its worth my while buying another CS3 mod kit from you, or I could try the mod posted above. I do like the CS-3 mod, but if its only a couple of components that are different then I dont know if I can justify the spend.
I recently used one of monte's mod kits on my CS-3 and have been very happy with the results. Much better range of usable sounds now.
Quote from: chris1001 on January 15, 2008, 06:32:12 PM
Thanks for the info. Did you make many changes to the CS-3 mod, just wondering if its worth my while buying another CS3 mod kit from you, or I could try the mod posted above. I do like the CS-3 mod, but if its only a couple of components that are different then I dont know if I can justify the spend.
Hi, yes, I have a new Opto Plus mod that incorporates a Burr Brown chip. It uses an adapter that will adapt a dual opamp to replace one of the inline opamps. The affect is even less noise and a more transparent and focused tone.
Hi,
Yeah I tried the Burr Brown mod a while ago, it didnt make the kind of improvement I was banking on, never mind though, I might try changing D6 to a germanium as advised by another poster, cant do any harm, although its not as clear as to exactly why the change will have any effect, unlike D2 and D3 which control the opamp gain. I put D1 back to the original 1N4001.
Sound sample of my moded CS-3:
http://www.box.net/shared/38ekjmsqow
http://www.box.net/shared/gxd8qrm8s8
http://www.box.net/shared/cyy3w20w0c
http://www.mediafire.com/?ay2zygtinwm
Coupling capacitors are original electrolytic capacitors 1uF (less distortion than tantalium), filter capacitor C1 is tantalium 47 uF/25V, C3 tantalium 47 uF/16V, all resistors are metal film, diode D2, D3 and D6 are original Si (less distortion).
Quote from: Sava on February 06, 2008, 05:43:03 AM
Sound sample of my moded CS-3:
http://www.box.net/shared/38ekjmsqow
http://www.box.net/shared/gxd8qrm8s8
http://www.box.net/shared/cyy3w20w0c
http://www.mediafire.com/?ay2zygtinwm
Coupling capacitors are original electrolytic capacitors 1uF (less distortion than tantalium), filter capacitor C1 is tantalium 47 uF/25V, C3 tantalium 47 uF/16V, all resistors are metal film, diode D2, D3 and D6 are original Si (less distortion).
you changed all the resistors to metal film?
Quote from: wampcat1 on February 06, 2008, 02:08:17 PM
Quote from: Sava on February 06, 2008, 05:43:03 AM
Sound sample of my moded CS-3:
http://www.box.net/shared/38ekjmsqow
http://www.box.net/shared/gxd8qrm8s8
http://www.box.net/shared/cyy3w20w0c
http://www.mediafire.com/?ay2zygtinwm
Coupling capacitors are original electrolytic capacitors 1uF (less distortion than tantalium), filter capacitor C1 is tantalium 47 uF/25V, C3 tantalium 47 uF/16V, all resistors are metal film, diode D2, D3 and D6 are original Si (less distortion).
you changed all the resistors to metal film?
Yes, unless resistors near flip-flop (Q2, Q3).
Sorry for bringing up an old thread but came across this when comparing CS-3 mods on the Internet.
Siva did you mean C17 instead of C18 in your mod? C18 is a 0.01uF cap to ground. C17 is the 1uF electrolytic.
I wanted to share with you some mods I've done to my CS3
Resistors
R5 470ohm
R6 12k
R9 12k
R32 Jumper
R36 100ohm
Caps
C1 pots-pcb 330nF
C1 330uF
C2 100nF
C4 1uF NP
C5 5.6nF
C6 1uF NP
C7 27nF
C9 27nF
C10 100nF
C13 1uF NP
C14 1uF NP
C15 120nF
C16 100nF
C17 1uF NP
Diodes
D2 Ge
D3 Ge
D6 Ge
D10 Jumper
And also new:
R2 pots-pcb 68k ("less attack range" for a more smooth response)
R4 pots-pcb 5.6k (reduce a bit the avaiable sustain, which is already a lot, and by doing so you reduce a bit also the "maximum noise")
After the mods you have a really great compressor! Still love/like better my trusty Tc Electronics Sustainer & Parametric EQ, but I like it a bit better than my Compulator clone.
btw here you'll find a pdf with a list of known mods and the schem/layout of the pedal:
http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/Gila_Crisis/boss_cs3_mods_factory_schem.pdf.html
My CS-3 is equipped with the THAT2181 as IC3, and two NJM4558LD for IC1 and IC2. I changed IC2 and IC1 for two NE5532 and added a 100n capacitor in parallel with C2. Now it is usable.
(http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/8972/dscf3226medium.jpg)
(http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/8861/dscf3237medium.jpg)
(http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/2199/dscf3238medium.jpg)
Anyone tried LEDs at D2-D6?!
Quote from: Renegadrian on October 02, 2014, 09:03:54 AM
Anyone tried LEDs at D2-D6?!
Not personally. But looking at the circuit, since D2 and D3 are input over voltage protection diodes, they probably won't change anything sonically. Germaniums there however could allow input signal to leak around the input buffer op-amp, so I don't think that's a good idea either (in fact, LEDs might be a better choice than Silicons).
D4-D6 do affect the nature of the compression (especially D6). From what I've gathered, the lower Vf of germaniums here make the compression kick in quicker. If that is so, LEDs would slow down compression onset, and possibly prevent it altogether if the signal doesn't reach Vf. I'm not completely sure about that though - my understanding of this circuit is limited.