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  1. Thank you for purchasing the CS-3 Supreme Mod Kit. After these mods you will not believe it’s even the same Pedal. Included are all the components necessary for total tone transformation, it replaces most every capacitor in the signal path and turns the CS-3 into a serious tone machine. There is a new LED to replace the red one, it will not change the tone of the pedal, just change the color of the light. The longer lead goes to the red wire
    • Thank you for purchasing the CS-3 Supreme Mod Kit. After these mods you will not believe it’s even the same Pedal. Included are all the components necessary for total tone transformation, it replaces most every capacitor in the signal path and turns the CS-3 into a serious tone machine.

    • There is a new LED to replace the red one, it will not change the tone of the pedal, just change the color of the light. The longer lead goes to the red wire

    • Open up the back and take a look inside. There are three circuit boards. The main board in the picture, a tiny board that only houses the LED, and a board that all the pots are on. We will need to get to all three boards and you will need to remove the knobs but not the input or output jacks

    • CAUTION: Read all these instructions before beginning, if you pedal is currently under warranty it will not be after these mods. This kit and the instructions do not include any warranty of any kind and you agree to hold harmless the seller of this kit against any and all claims.

  2. After the board is exposed it’s time to start removing components and replacing them with the new ones. See pic for the components to be swapped. Boss used two different styles of PCB - pictured. NEVER heat the solder and try to pull the component out you WILL damage the PCB. Use solder wick to completely remove the solder and the component will come free easily.
    • After the board is exposed it’s time to start removing components and replacing them with the new ones. See pic for the components to be swapped. Boss used two different styles of PCB - pictured.

    • NEVER heat the solder and try to pull the component out you WILL damage the PCB. Use solder wick to completely remove the solder and the component will come free easily.

    • The diodes can only be inserted one way, on the board there is an arrow where the diodes go, the black band on the diode should be closest to the tip of the arrow.

    • ACA vs. PSA power supply. Older CS-3’s are normally powered only by an ACA 12v unregulated power adaptor, if you want to use any normal PSA 9.6v 200ma power supply you can remove D10 and R32 then install a jumper as pictured. This will also make the LED a bit brighter

    • Note 1: that there are two C-1’s and the only one that is being replaced is on the small PCB that holds all the pots

    • Note 2: The Germanium diodes are vintage stock and can break easily if not handled carefully. The leads should be bent at least 1/8” inch from the diode itself. Bending the lead directly at the base of the diode may cause the glass to break

    • All of the caps in the kit for this step have a minimum voltage rating of 25V, but may be as high as 50V. Your pedal will still work just fine with 9V after these mods, you just won't damage it if you use up to 18V

    • Change C1 to 100uf

    • Change C3 to 47uf

    • After swapping out the parts put your pedal back together and enjoy your new pedal!

    • Troubleshooting: Check to make sure that the soldering all looks shiny and that two pads aren't bridged by too much solder. Check to make sure no pads have lifted, if they have you can use a lead cut off a component to connect the broken connections. Check to make sure that none of the wires have come loose at the top of the PCB and fix them if so

Finish Line

John Fromel

Member since: 06/03/2020

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