Buffers vs True Bypass video

[Archer_of_Fish]

I have always been into using a Buffer in my pedal chain.

These videos outline the reason why buffers are NOT evil.

[the guy who invented fire]

Pete always does great quality clips.

Buffers are not a bad thing and neither is true bypass...it all depends on your needs and your limitations.

For example I have no issues with buffers in general but due to my use of various fuzz boxes I have to be careful where I put them in my signal path if I use them.

[gibson175]

i use a dedicated (T1M) buffer at the start of my pedalboard. All the pedals are true bypass, except the last one (SD Deja Vu Delay) which i use in trailing repeats mode (not the true bypass option). Works pretty well. Buffered into the board, buffered out of the board.
The only exception for me is fuzz. If i was going to use my fuzz face live(i dont use it much), id put that before the first buffer cos germ fuzzes are finnicky things. For recording, i use it on its own.

[That90'sGuy]

One thing I thought was nice that he showed was just how different some buffers sound from others.

[xxxplorer]

Mullets are back?

[guitarded]

When you lose power on your pedal board or a simple inline buffered pedal, at a gig, buffers are evil !

[aleclee]

When you lose power on your pedal board or a simple inline buffered pedal, at a gig, buffers are evil !

Meh. If you're using dirt boxes for your dirty tone, you're hosed whether they're buffered or true bypass. Seems as much an argument against pedalboards as much as against buffers.

It does make me wonder about whether some folks "always on" pedals are as much about buffering as about tone shaping.

[xxxplorer]

If you lost power, your amp would go out too I would think. I've never had just my pedal board lose power and nothing else, and if it did, unplug and go straight in. 30 seconds and your running. Gotta go with the flow! Sometimes I have awesome gigs with weird lil' bugaboos that force me to think on my feet and be creative.

[surface54]

what if you NOT playing on stage and you have a home studio setup.
i dont need to worry about losing signal from long cables.
then is bypass better?

[Archer_of_Fish]

Mullets are back?

THere are no mullets in that video.


This is a mullet

[aleclee]

what if you NOT playing on stage and you have a home studio setup.
i dont need to worry about losing signal from long cables.
then is bypass better?

Maybe, maybe not. You might prefer the bypassed tone but you might prefer the buffered tone instead. They'll probably sound a bit different but which one's better depends on your taste...unless you're listening with your eyes.

[Fresh_Start]

what if you NOT playing on stage and you have a home studio setup.
i dont need to worry about losing signal from long cables.
then is bypass better?

My bet is that even in the studio there's enough capacitance in all of the connector cables and jacks to lose some high end. Unless you're only using 2 or 3 pedals.

Gibson175 describes the ideal setup IMHO. Fuzz/wah first, then a buffer or pedal that includes a buffer, remaining pedals true bypass and buffer at end to drive the cable to you amp. Stacking multiple buffers in series just can't be good for your tone, and some buffers are much more transparent than others.

BTW the Fuzz Face is a peculiar circuit with very low input impedance. That's why the guitar's volume control has such a big impact on the Fuzz - it controls the output impedance of the guitar. Stick a buffer with constant, high output impedance in front of a fuzz and you lose all of the touch sensitivity of the fuzz and your ability to set the fuzz level with your guitar tone.

Geeky but cool!

Chip

[aleclee]

My bet is that even in the studio there's enough capacitance in all of the connector cables and jacks to lose some high end. Unless you're only using 2 or 3 pedals.

Thing is, for some players, that capacitance is part of their sound. SRV used a POS curly cable but it wasn't because he wanted to be reminded of pubes.

[Jessie's ghost]

My bet is that even in the studio there's enough capacitance in all of the connector cables and jacks to lose some high end. Unless you're only using 2 or 3 pedals.

I usually play with 1 pedal, so I like having true bypass for that. But I also see the uses of buffers, too. I think it would be great if high-quality buffered pedals had an internal DIP switch to let you select between the buffer and true bypass. That way you could configure the pedal to whichever way works better in your rig.