True Bypass mod for old Boss CE-1 ?

[Bornhorst]

Has anyone modded a Boss ce-1 for true bypass? Was it easy?

Im trying to get rid of the clipping when the effect is bypassed.

Daniel

[Mark Hammer]

The Retro-Sonic CE-1 clone uses true bypass, but the current model forfeits the stereo option (separate wet/dry outputs) to do that.

If you want to preserve the unit, and do not wish to start desecrating the board with mods that may or may not do what you want, the simplest thing is just to use an external loop selector.  In fact, this is one of the reasons why I always recommend it as a project for beginners.  Somehow it seems like the more advanced people get in their equipment, the more likely they are to have something whose bypass could be improved upon but not without the risk of serious depreciation or even damage.  Consequently, a loop-selector box almost always remains useful to the player/builder for a long, long time.

[Dirk_Hendrik]

I did a couple of times. Switching is basically the same as with any pedal. Drawback is that the stereo output won't work when bypassed. The LED wiring is the simplest in this case. A ce1 takes one section of a 2pdt switch for that. Just take the 3 wires loose and solder em back on the 3rd section of a 3pdt. You might want to increase the overall output a little.

[Mark Hammer]

Dirk's right.

Look at the schematic here: http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Library/1355/BossCE1.gif
In the upper right you'll see R52/R51.  Those two resistors act like a voltage divider (volume pot) on the output.  Drop R52 a bit to offset the volume difference between bypass and effect.  Something in the 2k7 or 3k0 zone ought to do it.