Fromel Supreme Mod Kit for Boss CS-3 Compressor

Boss makes some great pedals, but the stock CS-3 isn't one of them. It's thin and noisy, and though built well, doesn't sound all that great. This mod solves everything! Now my CS-3 sounds awesome, and is stone quiet. You do need some basic soldering skills and anywhere from 30 min. to 3 hours depending on how fast you are at soldering. (And yes, this mod voids your warranty. But who cares.) How rare is it that a product (or a mod to a product) actually lives up to its claims? Take it from me: if you are a "do-it-yourselfer" with some basic soldering skills and a stock CS-3, this is for you. Your tone will thank you!

Hi, I bought both the OS-2 Mod and CS-3. These are two pedals that I seldom used, so I didn't really care about messing them up.Which I guess is/should be the criteria for modding a pedal.Unfortunately, I might have been a little bit uncareful, and both my pedals are not working 100% after the mod. This is not the reason why I'm rating these fairly low, but it is rather that there is no help to get. I sent some e-mails with one of the guy at fromel, and I understand that perhaps they do get some e-mails, but it would be nice to get some support to see what I can do from here. What can I test? Where do I start testing? II'd say, buy them if you want to fiddle a little bit. If you have great expectations and MUST have the pedal working, I would rather recommend getting a mod from somewhere else. Perhaps someone who can give some support, or have som forums available for it.I'm not saying by any means that these mods are bad, only that it will be hard getting help if it is not working as expected.

This is not their best effort. You get some gain and a bit more tone in the middle, but it sounds harsher. I am also less impressed with the components. The Panasonic caps are fine, but despite all the talk of germainium 1N34 diodes, and pictures of the larger bottle type AND a description in the directions that the germanium diodes are "vintage," what came were the tiny 1n60 glass diodes with who knows what inside them. For the price Fromel could include the parts promised rather than say that "these work fine in this application." I have done mods of theirs using the older, larger 1N34's and they made a huge difference. This, in the end, is disappointing.

I just bought this Boss CS-3 Compressor Supreme Germanium Mod Kit ($19.95) and it is really quite good I must say. I used it with a Dean Schenker V directly plugged via the CS3 into a Mesa Boogie. I have another unmodded CS3 for comparison. Compared to it the mod produces a very silky tone, slight smooth distortion at output levels past 12 o'clock, and only little noise buzz even at high levels of sustain. Buzz is also increasing at output levels beyond 3 o'clock. All in all very good sustain with nice, low buzz tone.The kit itself is clearly described, but you will need a good electronic soldering iron and a solder sucker or tape to remove the original components. A cheap solder gun will not do. The parts look different than the original pieces, and some replacement parts looked even different from the depicted ones, so pay careful attention to the rest of the documentation listing the part specifications.

Personally I love this mod. Cleans up the mud and now it just works as a compressor without affecting the tone.

Terrific modification. I’ve only used a soldering iron on a few projects in the past, but I learned to do so quite well with this mod. With that said, it’s a relatively easy modification that sounds absolutely phenomenal. I didn’t even want to add reverb or delay after modifying the pedal.

I have had one of these...several years back.It was well built,however it did not perform as a studio compressor.The Janglebox does..a bit more money...but not as much as a studio unit.Check out there sample clips on the web site...you will see....

This mod made CS-3 usable again. It sat dormant for 2 years because of it's noise level. After the mod, it went back on my pedal board and is now used at gigs.