Boss CS-2 Cap Upgrade Mod

monteallums — Sun, 03 Sep 2023 00:02:19 +0000

Electrolytic caps in tube amps, over a period of time, start to leak, loose their tolerance and go bad. It’s just the nature of Electrolytic caps. Sometimes the leaking is actually visible. But Electrolytic caps can look okay and still be faulty. By replacing Electrolytic caps in older pedals you can actually improve the overall effect of that pedal. Honestly I was skeptical until I received an email from a client that was having issues after he modded his Boss BF-2 with one of my kits. He said the flange effect was barely noticeable. A couple of weeks later I received another email from the same client. The client said he had solved the issue by replacing all the Electrolytic caps in his BF-2. This peaked my interest so I started experimenting.

I was astonished how some of my older pedals benefited from the cap upgrade! Noise seemed to be reduced and clarity and presence of the effect were enhanced. I am now offering these Cap Upgrade Kits for many of the pedals I offer kits for. In some cases some of these caps are already upgraded in the kits that I offer. But I am offering kits that replace all the Electrolytic caps for those that have not purchased my kits. They will benefit from upgrading the Electrolytic caps that I do not replace in my kits. You’ll find that some of these same caps are already replaced in the kits I offer. It’s a win win all around for those that want the maximum benefit when upgrading their pedals. But I didn’t stop there, when possible I have upgraded these Electrolytics with Metal Film and Tantalum. Not only do these caps have tighter tolerances but they will also last the life of the pedal.

IMPORTANT — Boss has started using surface-mount components on some of their new pedals. I’ve created a page to help you determine if your pedal is moddable. Read about it here.

Boss CS-2 Hi-Fi Plus Mod

monteallums — Sat, 02 Sep 2023 23:53:52 +0000

This is the only compressor many players will use for compression. The BA662A VCA Chip that the CS-2 uses is held in high regard. The compression is much smoother than the CS-3 and has a much smoother attack.

My only complaint is there’s no tone control and it does add a bit of noise. So I’ve added a treble/presence mod and also added a switch that adds a bit of bass and girth to the circuit. Plus I upgrade a few critical areas in the signal path that will lessen noise. The mod makes an already good pedal even better.