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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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Some of the caps in the kit can be different from the photos, notably the 1uf caps were changed to MLCC and are not polarized like the electrolytics they replaced.
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The MLCC cap values are designated with a three number code in teeny tiny characters on the cap, magnifying glass and a bright light are your friend here. First two numbers are value and the third is the decinal point. 430pf = 431, .01 = 103, .1uf = 104, 1uf = 105, etc.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Change C1 to 100uf
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Change C3 to 47uf
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These caps are polarized and will only function correctly installed with the "+" and "-" in the right place
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After swapping out the parts put your pedal back together and enjoy your new pedal!
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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
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4 Comments
One other problem. The diagram shows "Jump" at D10 and R32. The board I have already has a jumps there. Do these get replaced by components?
Nope, you just don't have to do that step because it's already been converted to 9v PSA power
The parts kit labels 5 small caps as 105. The diagrams only refer to 1 ufd electrolytics. I assume these replace each of these? It is somewhat counterintuitive as these replacements are not electrolytics or have polarity marked. Also, the the cap marked 430 replaces a 431 pfd? Just a bit of a challenge to correspond these without proper markings on the diagram or the small parts pack.
Thanks for the feedback! I just added some info that should clarify reading the cap values going forward. MLCC caps that replace the electrolytics are not polarized so it doesn't matter which way they're installed and better yet they have no lifespan attached to them and should never need to be replaced.
