Boss CS-2 vs CS-3

[Sir Axeman]

Watching this comparison vid...well, yeah I can hear the CS-2 is a tad betterer..but I was under the impression its night n day. Loads rave about the CS-2. Chris Rea and Gilmour both used them...and i've heard lots of not so good views on the CS-3 but this demo vid shows only a subtle difference. Does the CS-3 get an underserved bad rep?

[ICBM]

I think what's missing from that clip, and which you can never get in one - but is critically important with a compressor - is how it feels to the player. I personally don't like the CS-3, not because it sounds bad tonally but because it has an odd squashy, 'rubbery' feel to it that seems to squeeze the dynamics out of my playing. Yes, I know that's what all compressors do! Just that this one seems worse than most. The CS-2 is not nearly as bad, it's got more 'guts' to it somehow. It also does sound slightly dirty at extreme settings, which I like, but some people won't.

I'm probably not really the right person to ask though since I don't like compressors! - at least when I play them. Some of my favourite players, including Gilmour and Rea, are heavy users, so I do like the actual *sound*. That said, the CS-2 is the one I find least bad, although I still don't currently own one. I did have a CS-3, hated it. Sold it to a friend who loves it .

[HJohn]

I own both, and to my ears the CS2 is streets ahead of the CS3. The CS3 is good, but IMO the CS2 is a knock out.

[wolf5150]

I'm using my old CS-2 while my Mad Prof comp is being replaced under warranty.
Its amazing but VERY noisy.
Chris at PedalMods thinks he can cure the hiss without changing its tone so I'll be sending it to him when my Mad Prof comes back next week.
If his mod works, it will go straight back on my board.

[Sir Axeman]

The lack of diffference in tone in the vids must be one of those cases of youtube audio isn't showing the full story...cos to my cloth ears in the vid I linked in the OP its only a subtle difference...but seems that everyone says they're actually quite different. I do like the Xotic FX compressor and the Wampler Ego also but not sure I want to spend that much..hmmm.