efffing BUFFERS, dude?

[pigmaker]

alright ive been looking around for my answers about BUFFERS, trying to get the right ones

so much conflicting information out there...

so fuck it ill just come here and get the straight dope...

- do i need a buffer at the beginning and at the end of my chain? (i do have a lot of fucking pedals in my chain.)
- is anything that isnt true bypass a buffer? like my old dod compressor for example. or this old ass DOD a/b box i have. doesnt have an LED.
- do all old fuzzes / old style designed fuzzes not work after a buffer?

some other stuff i cant remember right now, but thats a great start on my knowledge quest. thanks.

[Derelict78]

Some fuzzes react differently if you have a buffer in front of them. Easiest way to figure out witch ones is to try them with a buff in front. Also not all buffers are created equal. The behringer stuff is shit in fact I need a TB looper for my BSY couse it sucks my tone big time. On the other hand my board sounds better when I have my DS-1 on it.

[bronzetalon]

Basically the best scenario would be a buffer after your fuzz and a buffer at the end of your chain. Boss buffers work fine but some cheaper ones suck. Not being true bypass doesn't necessarily mean its buffered bypass. This is also a bigger deal if you have a long pedal chain or a long cable from your last pedal to your amp.

[pigmaker]

Cool thanks guys. right now i have the TU2 at the end of my chain.
so my dod comp is buffered, im quite sure. i would much rather have it before my fuzzes than after, however.
so if i got at true bypass comp, problem solved, eh? i could put it in front....

[Holy Schnikes]

1. I like a buffer or clean boost (preferably something with active EQ control to fine tune things) at the beginning OR end of the chain, just depends what I've got going on the floor. Best buffer I have is the that in the Arc Effects Klone 2 , usually placed in the lead position. As for clean boosts, the Dr. Scientist Cleanness is tops imo, volume plus gain plus 3-band EQ. Always use that one near the tail end. Experiment, see what sounds best with your setup.

2. Pedals that aren't true bypass may send a buffered signal through your chain at all times but that all depends on design, not always the case. A true bypass pedal will buffer the signal when active but that buffer is removed when bypassed, again, based on circuit design.

3. Also, as mentioned, a true bypass looper is pretty much a necessity in my experience with buffers. Once a buffer is added to the mix, I get too much random noise and weirdness with various fuzz/dirt pedals. Whining, white noise, hiss, etc, etc. It's not with EVERY fuzz pedal but many don't behave well so it's nice to have the simple option of removing stuff from your signal via looper.

[Derelict78]

Yeah fuzzes like fuzz faces or the great destroyer work much better being first I the chain, that way you can drastically change its sound with the vol and tone knobs on your instrument

[bronzetalon]

But try em all with the buffer before and after. Some fuzz is just different not necessarily worse after a buffer like with muff fuzzies.

[Derelict78]

^

[pigmaker]

have any of yous ever used an EH LPB-1 at the end of your pedal chain?

how is it? it's pretty cheap

[rfurtkamp]

This is a subject where the consensus will change in six months, just like it has for the last decade or so. Before that, nobody cared. A well designed pedal is a well-designed pedal that sounds good in your rig, no matter if it has super magic bypass buffering or not.

It's a case of listen to what you need - buffers work if they sound good, and bad ones are horrific (like the old DOD stuff - I wouldn't touch a square box, big ugly plastic footswitch pedal with a ten foot pole after avoiding them like the plague they were in the 80s and 90s). Some will sound good to your ears but not mine, or with one guitar versus another.

It's much ado about not a whole lot in many cases though. If your signal sounds fine to you, then it is fine.

[pigmaker]

well, the fx 80b sits at the front of my chain, and it's always on. i'm definitely not the only person to use it like that. cheap doesnt automatically mean shitty, it took me years to realize...

[cheesecats]

have any of yous ever used an EH LPB-1 at the end of your pedal chain?
how is it? it's pretty cheap

i use one at the very beginning--i always have it on. it's like $40 and the best bang for the buck of all my pedals.

[space6oy]

so those of you w/ buffer experience, what're you using / what's your favorite? i've been a pedal junkie for almost two decades and am still a newb to that scenario...

[JuJo]

I'm using the solidgoldfx buffer on my board. I don't really have alot of experience with buffers, but it seems to be doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing. My guitar comes out sounding exactly the same through 12 or so pedals as it does straight into the amp with short cable, and I had some very noticeable tone loss before. Also, I had a couple boss pedals in the past and sold them because I found the buffering was changing my tone in a way i didn't like.

It's third in my chain so I can still oscillate, but it doesn't have alot of effect on my other fuzzes. Minor differences on a couple, but nothing I can't work with.

[space6oy]

i just grabbed a cheapo on ebay...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Electric-Gu ... 3a82162d6f