Boss CE-3 Restoration Part 3 : Ingenuity and Silence
- Apr 1
- 1 min read
This is Part 3: Old Boss CE-3 Chorus Pedal Restoration project.
In the previous post, the restoration of the Boss CE-3 hit a physical wall: the leads of the new audio-grade capacitors were too thick for the vintage PCB holes. Force was not an option.
Read previous post: Boss CE-3 Restoration Part 2

The plan remains:
Trimmer Replacement
Full Recapping (Audio Grade)
ACA to PSA Conversion
Here is how I navigated the hardware incompatibility.

The solution required a workaround to adapt the modern components to the vintage board without modification to the board itself.

I trimmed the thick leads of the audio-grade capacitors, leaving about 10mm of length.

I then salvaged the clipped-off leads from the standard capacitors I had installed earlier. These thinner leads fit the PCB perfectly. I soldered these thinner extensions onto the thick stumps of the audio-grade capacitors.