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severinsteel
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Boss Pedal Review #39: Boss CS-1 Compression Sustainer
After reviewing the Boss CS-2 back in Episode #19, I was pretty excited to get my hands on the very first Boss compressor, the CS-1. After many months of hunting for a good deal, I finally snagged one. Was the wait worth it? Eh...
Well, let's not be too hard on the old CS-1. It did come out in the late 70's, and uses a totally different circuit than the CS-2. According to Bossarea.com, the CS-1 uses photocouplers instead of the VCA's used in the CS-2 and CS-3. What does that mean? I don't really know. It does seem to make a big difference in the overall sound.
Right off the bat, I noticed that you have to crank the level control to the max to get anything close to unity gain. Otherwise, the pedal is pretty much unusable. There is such a volume drop from the off to on position, that you almost have to commit to leaving it on all the time. This is the fatal flaw of the CS-1.
Control wise, it's very simple. You have a Level control, a Sustain control, and a 2 way mode toggle switch. The level control is your makeup gain, the sustain control is your threshold, and the mode switch toggles between 2 EQ settings (Normal and Treble). As I said before, you have to crank up the level control to even use the pedal. That leaves the Sustain knob and the mode toggle to mess with.
The Sustain knob sounds best left at around 9 o'clock. The higher you go from there, the more compressed the signal gets. And let me tell you, the CS-1 is not a subtle compressor. This is the type of compressor you use when you want to sound like you are running through a compressor. It's not subtle or transparent whatsoever.
The mode toggle sounds best in the normal setting. If you want to add some high end bite, flick the switch to the Treble setting. Simple as that.
Overall, the CS-1 was a huge disappointment for me. I had very high hopes for this pedal. As I mentioned before, the tragic flaw is the lack of volume. I couldn't run the pedal without ending up with a volume drop. And the compression is very very obvious and in your face. If you want a great Boss compressor, try the CS-2
http://instagram.com/boss_pedal_project
Boss Pedal Review #39: Boss CS-1 Compression Sustainer
After reviewing the Boss CS-2 back in Episode #19, I was pretty excited to get my hands on the very first Boss compressor, the CS-1. After many months of hunting for a good deal, I finally snagged one. Was the wait worth it? Eh...
Well, let's not be too hard on the old CS-1. It did come out in the late 70's, and uses a totally different circuit than the CS-2. According to Bossarea.com, the CS-1 uses photocouplers instead of the VCA's used in the CS-2 and CS-3. What does that mean? I don't really know. It does seem to make a big difference in the overall sound.
Right off the bat, I noticed that you have to crank the level control to the max to get anything close to unity gain. Otherwise, the pedal is pretty much unusable. There is such a volume drop from the off to on position, that you almost have to commit to leaving it on all the time. This is the fatal flaw of the CS-1.
Control wise, it's very simple. You have a Level control, a Sustain control, and a 2 way mode toggle switch. The level control is your makeup gain, the sustain control is your threshold, and the mode switch toggles between 2 EQ settings (Normal and Treble). As I said before, you have to crank up the level control to even use the pedal. That leaves the Sustain knob and the mode toggle to mess with.
The Sustain knob sounds best left at around 9 o'clock. The higher you go from there, the more compressed the signal gets. And let me tell you, the CS-1 is not a subtle compressor. This is the type of compressor you use when you want to sound like you are running through a compressor. It's not subtle or transparent whatsoever.
The mode toggle sounds best in the normal setting. If you want to add some high end bite, flick the switch to the Treble setting. Simple as that.
Overall, the CS-1 was a huge disappointment for me. I had very high hopes for this pedal. As I mentioned before, the tragic flaw is the lack of volume. I couldn't run the pedal without ending up with a volume drop. And the compression is very very obvious and in your face. If you want a great Boss compressor, try the CS-2
