Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer Pedal  

first of all SEXY, just kidding. no really.

this was my first boss pedal and i was thinking the worst, but i was totally wrong. when i first plugged it in and dialed it in just right, couldnt be more happy. i grew up with like no money ever, my first effect was a fender starcaster flanger when i was 14, im 21 now and its still in my rig and still going strong. im thinking this compressor will last the rest of my life if i take care of it. (matter of fact its my favorite pedal on my board)

depends on what your looking for really. i use it for just about everything cause its got a great sonic feel and tone to it that you cant beat. i havent tried keeley, wampler, dyna comp or whatever but im in love with the CS3.

kinda sucks when you crank the sustain and it starts hissing, but i really dont mind cause i dont have it up that much anyway. one oclock is plenty haha. but overall, ill have this thing till the day im too old to pick the thing up. and one more thing people... clean your jacks at least once every one or two weeks so youll get a stronger signal and the pedal will last you longer.

four knobs level tone attack and sustain

This pedal is o.k. for the money. It will fill out single note lines with a clean sound.Usefull for country or whatever.the tone knob I think is of no paticular use.The attack knob I also don't like it is artificial sounding.The sustain knob gets very noisy and adds more hiss than sustain.My main use has been placing it before a distortion pedal.

I bought this pedal (not modded) from my local music store. The control options seem decent, but unfortunately, whenever I adjusted it just enough to get a nice sound, I would get crazy feedback any time I stopped playing even for a fraction of a second.

Boss pedals are obviously all very durable, but the electronics definitely could be better.

For such a little difference, it's not quite worth it. Next time, I'll probably get an MXR or something. I of course brought it back and traded for another pedal in the store.

It could possibly be decent with modding or with another setup, but for me it wasn't what I was looking for.

    First off, I'd like to say that before you rate a compressor/sustainer/limiter, learn what it does to your signal and how it operates. I hear too much about these devices creating noise etc.

    Secondly, I am going to compare it to a Dyna Comp, which I've used for decades and is considered "a standard" by many.

   The CS-3 I feel is an excellent device. It does what it was designed to do and has some nice added features. It DID NOT add noise to my signal. If you hear noise it is because you are compressing the signal output closer to the noise floor of your instrument or other devices set in the path before the CS-3. The CS-3 in a A/B comparison to the Dyna Comp comes out on top. This was done with several guitars (including a classical acoustic with a piezo sensor). Both the Dyna Comp and CS-3 are quiet and add minimal distortion. In a way I prefer the Dyna Comp because it's so easy to use with it's one knob adjustment, but, the added features of the CS-3 make it overall a better device in my opinion. I especially like the attack adjustment which lets me customize the amount of "pop" or "snap" I get. The tone is cool too, but not that big of a deal as we have tone controls on guitar, amp etc. Then with the level and sustain adjustment you can come up with a sweet spot for the particular sound you want. Another plus, is has an electronic on/off switch unlike the Dyna's mechanical switch, so it doesnt pop when you stomp it.

    I think one major problem people have is that thier reverb unit built into thier amp (especially spring types) is noisy and is placed ahead of the compressor thus raising the noise floor. If possible go directly from your guitar into the compressor and make this the first in the signal path.

    Now the negative side of the universe. This unit will suk your batteries dry fast, and if you leave the cord plugged into the input, poof, new batteries will be turned into dead ones faster than Chuck  Norris can kick you upside your head. Easy solution, just get a 9 nine volt adapter, which you should have already if you have more than two stomp boxes (call me captain obvious).

       I have used many compressors and limiters of the professional variety, Uries etc. in many recording studios. Not to say that this on the same level, but electronics have come a long way over the years, and this device is remarkable for the price. As far as it's ability to withstand the test of time and how rugged it is, I dont know. I havent owned it that long. But it seems practically bullet proof and well made.

     To sum all this up, I'm happy with my CS-3, it does what it's supposed to and does it well, and I didn't pay a whole lot for it. Kudos to Boss on this one.

It seems to be well made. Has curb appeal. No problems yet. But I've owned it less than a year. So time will tell

Best compressor I could find for a small price.

For the price I don't think you can beat this deal or even come close. You don't always get what you pay for, sweet deals do come along.