Customer Reviews

Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a decent pedal, I wouldn't say one of the best that Boss has made but is pretty decent on sustain/compression. Great for thin leads and improving sustain. My recommendation is to read up on this pedal before you buy, its not for everyone. It does have a hiss to it that will drive you nuts and most people recommend getting an NS-2 (noise gate) if you use this pedal. Recommendations for this pedal is to have this as the first in line (I have my at the end of the line sometimes and its still a little noisy), I try to find a good middle ground on my gear to eliminate the majority of the hiss then play the rest by ear. This will take a little time to find out what works for you because everyone's gear is different and everyone wants to achieve a different sound ;o)

Good: Great sustain, can add a few more seconds on with the right equipment and setup

Bad: Hiss is terrible but manageable

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
If you want to have better sustain and decent compression its not a bad pedal to pickup used, if Boss redesigns the pedal then they should find a way to eliminate the hiss and slightly improve the compression.

This compressor DOES compress, but it isn't transparent. There is such an audible tone sucking that when you take it OUT of your signal chain, or turn it off, you really notice the difference (I use Elixir cables, might not be able to tell on a 10 dollar cable)

For that, this is at best "average". What KEEPS it an average pedal, no not a GREAT pedal like their Blues Driver, is that the extreme ranges are NOT pleasing, they're harsh. You don't get a nice squish compression, it's just an unusable setting.

I guess the point is, you can't get GOOD compression at this price range. Sorry, but if you're not dropping at least 2 clams, your compression will never be truly transparent and any more than average.

As a pro musician, I am always on a quest for better tone to expand and comply with different gig situations. I had a bad experience with a few Compression Pedals through my years only to toss them in the closet & give up on the thought.
When I upgraded my pedal board, I decided to give the idea of adding a Compression unit to give my G&L American Legacy (Stratocaster style guitar) more sustain at lower volumes. Boss is the company that dominates my effects board... I rely on their Chormatic Tuner, Digital Delay (2 of them), Line Switch & Direct Box almost every night (for gig & Practice).
With a somewhat negative attitude going into this I had a great surprise to find that I really, really like this unit. It did what I wanted & then some! Great tone & sustain oozes from this little box & stays in the "On" position for most of the time I am playing my electric guitars, especially any Stratocaster styled guitar I own.

If you play the guitar, you really should have this pedal.


First, adjust the Volume (Level), Tone, Attack and Sustain.

For a best result, turn your Volume and Sustain all the way up and Tone and Attack to preference.

When you turn it on, you will tell. It makes your guitar very sensitive. It acts like you have the best pick ups on Earth. If you breath on your cords, you can hear it.

You can pull off mind melting pull offs.

You can use it as a tone adjuster.

You can use it for a slight Volume pedal.

If you use it when you have your clean sound on, it will produce and plucky sound.

If you use it with other distortion pedals, it will produce a clearer sound.

If you use it with any pedal, it will produce a different sound, so it will be like you have an infinite number of pedals.


For the bad part, it is VERY noisy. It will make a very loud hiss. While you play with it on, it won't make any hiss at all. So, just turn it off when it's not in use. Here's a hint, when you're playing, you can keep it on all the time but take another of one your pedals and turn that on but turn the Volume all the way down and it won't make any noise at all.

If you've never used a pedal before, you need 2 cords. You have to plug your amp into the input and your guitar into the output.

And of course, for all pedals, you should unplug your input for a much longer battery life (9 Volt) when not in use. If you leave it plugged in, your battery will last 2 days; unplugged, about 6-12 months, depending how long you play.

I've had no problems with this pedal. I use for my ibanez electric bass for church/worship music. I does compress, almost more than I'd like. I plan on buying the boss limiter/expander to compensate. It's easy to use, the sustain is a little noisy, but works great! If you research, don't listen to the idiots that think it's an time FX pedal and say it doesn't work. It's a dynamic effect that if you know what your looking/listening for you'll appreciate it.

This is okay but when modified with [...] using the opto plus mod! its a great pedal,
with that mod I always have it on and never loose my original tone. I'm getting ready for my second purchase
and install the monteallums mod. Otherwise I would not use this pedal at all cause its a tone killer stock.

I like the product a lot. For me, the only problem is the time of the "sustainer effect".It is not so long as I thought. I though it would be like the piano's sustainer. But it's a good pedal effect. My guitar get a good sound with the "attack effect". Thank you.

I have definitely gotten to love this pedal. It does take some playing around with to get fully used to and establish your sound. Once you have it down, you can't imagine how you ever played without it. As a gguitar player, I run my pedalboard direct. Dynamics can get pretty harsh at times so there was a good reason for me to try this pedal. Now, it's not going anywhere but with the pedal train it's stuck to.

I was looking for a pedal that I could use for sustain without distortion. Unfortunately, this does not fit that need...

CONS
1) The noise/hum is out of control. Its bad on its on and don't even think about using this with a distortion pedal. I've read a few people that say you have to use it with a noise gate. I don't have a noise gate since I don't own any other pedals that are anywhere near this bad, but maybe with a noise gate it would be better.
2) No matter how low I turn the attack knob, this pedal greatly amplifies the noise of the pick plucking the string. Maybe I have my pickups to close to the strings, but it is completely artificial sounding.
3) I took this off my board because it kills all tone. Its just way too artificial sounding.

PROS
- works ok with my bass to sustain notes, which is where I use it (and why I give 3 stars instead of 1 or 2) so maybe it would work well for people into fret-tapping, I don't know.

Good luck, I'm not a hater, I just don't think you should have to get a noise gate to make a pedal usable.

Every review of a Boss Pedal includes the "built like a tank" reference, so lets get it out the way. It has a sturdy metal body and solid riveted hinge that make this stomp box almost impossible to break.

The way I use it is to reduce the 'width' of the bass output in conjunction with other pedals like an octave or chorus. It has a clean output without much 'noise', as opposed to the Overdrive Pedal which makes it 'dirty' and howls like a banshee at a rave.

It's a keeper on my pedal board. BTW, I use it with a volume pedal.