More depth in my Boss CE-2

[knut]

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I recently got a MIJ Boss CE2. A really nice pedal, but I'd like a little more depth as I thought it was too subtle. I did some research about this and found out that if I replaced the 47pf capacitor in C22 with i.e. a 100pf it will do the trick.

I'd like to try this, but as I am a complete beginner at this I have to make sure I do everything right. Is it just to replace the original capacitor with another one, simply by soldering? And is there a specific capacitor type I have to buy, in terms of specs?

Schematic:http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/boss/BossCE-2.gif

[Mark Hammer]

1) "Depth" can have several meanings in this context.  Quite often, the control labelled "Depth" on modulation pedals is really adjusting the LFO amplitude, such that the sweep (in this case from shorter to longer to shorter delay times) is made "wider" or "narrower".  Some companies will label a control used to adjust the amount of wet-vs-dry signal as "Depth", though most will likely call it "Mix", "Level", or "Intensity".

2) From your comments, what you are calling "Depth" is something that other people might call a "thicker" sound.  That is, the delay range is increased a bit such that the time difference between dry and wet starts to become audible AS a brief delay.  What you propose doing IS a means to accomplish that, since increasing that cap will increase the delay range.  Note, however, that what you are doing is slowing down the clock.  The filtering in the pedal is intended to strike a balance by permitting as much treble to come through as possible, while keeping clock noise out.  If you slow down the clock enough, that filtering will be insufficient to do the second part of that job.

What I would suggest is scoring yourself some small value caps, say, 22, 33, and 39pf, and tacking one of them in parallel with the existing 47pf cap on the copper/solder side, and aiming for the minimum value that gets you the desired "thickening" without the noise.  When you identify the total capacitance value (47pf+parallel cap) that nails you the desired sound, THEN you can remove the stock 47pf and replace it with the nearest common value.  So, if 47pf+22pf gets you there, replace the 47pf with 68pf.

3) The stock "Depth" control will have ess usable range when you increase the time delay.  Where you might have been able to turn it to 5:00 for some speeds when stock, you'll find that you can't stand having it above 12:00 for a great many speeds.  It may even be worth considering opting for a different taper on the Depth pot.  The stock one is 100k linear.  You may find you end up needing 100k reverse log to keep the same range of usable settings on the control..