CS-3 advice

Jed121 · #1 11-17-2012, 10:25 AM

Hey I've played bass for a while now but never really bothered too much over gear. I recently bought an overdrive pedal for my bass and have been reading up on compression and eq pedals.

A guy I know is selling a CS-3 for a very reasonable price would you recommend the pedal? I've read some people dislike it but could it be a good intro pedal before I venture away from the boss pedals haha they always seem to show up at prices I can't refuse..

kreider204 · #2 11-17-2012, 10:33 AM

I used it on bass for a while. With mild settings, it worked nicely with picking and slapping. I set the Attack at 3 oclock, the Sustain at 9 oclock, the treble at 1 oclock, and then the level to normalize.

Bassmike62 · #3 11-17-2012, 10:50 AM

I owned a CS-3 twice over the last 4 years and both times ended up selling it because it was too noisy at the settings I wanted to use. I loved the sustain, but hated the hiss it came with (with my set-up at those times). There are mentions on TB that indicates it colors the tone as well, although that was not a beef I had with the pedal. It can be modded to be more bass-friendly, but I've never owned a modded CS-3, so I can't pass judgment on its performance. I went through a few comps afterwards and finally settled on the meh-looking Boss LMB-3 (using a personalized slap setting), but I am satisfied with it and see no reason to change. And it can be bought cheaper than a CS-3, either new or used.

Jed121 · #4 11-17-2012, 11:16 AM

Thanks for those settings man if I buy it I'll give em a go. I only play slap at home but I'm sure I can have have some fun with that and I very rarely use a pick. Only for the few songs I feel the need to and if I've screwed my fingers from too much playing haha.

Modding's always an option especially for the price the guys selling the pedal for and I'll check out the LMB-3 cheers. I was hoping to get a more even volume from my EB-3 which is much lower in volume when I play the E and first 3 frets. The flatwounds I have on it won't be helping that haha but hopefully I won't have to ditch them with help of the pedal so long as it's not noisy.

Bassmike62 · #5 11-17-2012, 11:20 AM

Almost forgot... if you ever get the LMB-3, keep the enhance knob below 9 am, if you need to use it at all. Too much of that knob and you're into hissing-la-la-land again.

Jed121 · #6 11-17-2012, 02:33 PM

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Boss-CS-3-...item27b0e5bf44 Would you reccommend this mod?

kreider204 · #7 11-17-2012, 09:51 PM

Try the pedal before even thinking about mods. Modding pedals is mainly just "the cool thing to do," especially with Boss pedals ...

Jed121 · #8 11-18-2012, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kreider204

Try the pedal before even thinking about mods. Modding pedals is mainly just "the cool thing to do," especially with Boss pedals ...

Haha I'm much to lazy to mod a pedal because it's cool. Normally I'd just buy the pedal that has the sound I need. I'm making an exception here because I can get it for the price of a behringer plastic one and I'm not used to them.

**HeavyDuty** · #9 11-19-2012, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jed121

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Boss-CS-3-...item27b0e5bf44 Would you reccommend this mod?

I've been considering optimizing my CS3 for bass. What is the preferred mod nowadays? Does anyone have experience with this one?

I tried searching here for "Burrow" but didn't get any hits.

warwick.hoy · #10 11-19-2012, 07:41 AM

Can't say that I know about the "Burrows" mod.

Here is bongomania's suggested CS3 mod.

http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/cs3modding.shtml

That said I don't see anything to suggest that the "Burrows" mod isn't properly engineered. Nor do I see anything to suggest that it is. 20 bucks (plus shipping) for about $5 worth of parts you could order from Mouser or Digikey (maybe a little more through Mammoth) does seem a little suspect.

I had a CS-3 briefly. I didn't even care for it on guitar. Way too noisy.

**HeavyDuty** · #11 11-19-2012, 07:46 AM

I don't mind paying a few bucks extra for the convenience of getting a mod in a baggie, though...

rtslinger · #12 11-19-2012, 08:18 AM

I use the cs-3 in combo with a BDDI direct to the PA works great as for noise it hums or hisses as most have mentioned but it is controlled with the right set up. Mine is stock it gives me just enough compression to smooth out my sound. settings that work for me
level 12:00, tone all the way down to the left (more bass) attack to at 3:00 sustain is at 11:00 RTS

metaball · #13 11-19-2012, 10:26 AM

i went with the Monte Allums CS-3 Opto Plus Mod on the CS-3 i had. no more hiss, no more hum, much more tone. significant improvement. i've since come to the conclusion that i'm not a compressor guy. but the mod makes a world of difference in this pedal.
http://www.monteallums.com/pedal_mods.html