I don't have a huge pedal chain these days, between 5-10, but I do like to have a lot of cable so I'm not right next to my amp/pedalboard. So, I've found that my rig sounds a lot better when I've got a buffer involved on account of my nearly 40' of cable
So far the best buffer I've used is the one in my ekko 600D, it just sounds perfect, and it comes at the perfect spot for my peds: after initial fuzz/mod and before ending mod/fuzz. Placed there it doesn't mess with my more input sensitive pedals, the wolf computer and deluxe octave, but it helps my sound out a lot going into the more modulation-heavy part of my board.
There are lot that have buffers and a lot that have buffers that don't effect the bypassed signal (ala Dr Scientist). Here are the few I know of: -Boss everything: I don't mind one or two of these on a board, but it seems like every time I plug into one of those Boss boards at a shop that my clean tone is just garbage. -Behringer everything: these have horrible buffers from my experience. Some people say it's because of the power supply, but I'm not so sure about that. -Malekko Ekkos: they all have switches that let you turn the buffer on/off and they all sound pretty good to me. -Muza's do, I've noticed that my fd900 has one that adds a bit of color. There are a lot more too, but I can't for the life of me think of any others right now. Anything that gives you a buffered bypass option, like delays or reverbs with trails options.
so apparently the boss tu2 tuner acts as a buffer whether engaged or not. i didnt know this, and thought maybr thats why theres a normal out on it as well as a bypass out...so u can engage it constantly and use it as a buffer.
so now that i have my god amp, i am going thru all my pedals and figurin out which ones work after buffers or not. of course this could also be subjective based on if i think they sound good or not with the amp, guitar, even if theyre technically not supposed to work after a buffer.
on the analogman site theres something about pedals that sound bad or better BEFORE a buffer, and it's recommended that u try a long ass cable and a buffer to see if your pedal is affected.
there should be a searchable database that lists every pedals buffer friendliness, power adapter requirements, greencell or standard 9v, shit like that.
http://mathewriley.com Want:; EFE Dope Priest Particle Series '77/Standard .... Malekko ID-600 Bright or Dark
I prefer batteries to adapters, but there's really no difference between 99% of them in 99% of pedals. Fuzz face circuits and tone lawyers like fancy batteries, though.
D.o.S. wrote:I prefer batteries to adapters, but there's really no difference between 99% of them in 99% of pedals. Fuzz face circuits and tone lawyers like fancy batteries, though.
Ha! Tone lawyers. never heard that one.
with david mains stuff he usually specifically recommends the green cell type batteries.
im assuming thats what you mean by "fancy batteries' even though they seem to be cheaper than duracell etc
re: hatchet harry
"Harry likes Zinc Carbon or Zinc Chloride type batteries. These are also cheap…just like you."
http://mathewriley.com Want:; EFE Dope Priest Particle Series '77/Standard .... Malekko ID-600 Bright or Dark
It depends on the pedal. I know of the ones I make, the Plume likes buffers the least (though if you roll back the input knob and treble a bit you will come back pretty much to the tone sans buffer). I also make others like the savior machine and pixel that couldn't give two shits if there's a buffer or digital pedal or what in front of them. (Savior actually seems happiest after a delay or reverb buffered or not).
Generally, it's about impedance. If the pedal has a high input impedance already it's typically less affected by buffers. Fuzz Faces, for example, do not have a high input impedance at all and like sounding like crap with a buffer in front.
Buffers really only need to be placed at one location in a chain for the most part. You won't gain very much at all (or anything, really) but putting one before your board and after. Think about the name of the pedal. It's a buffer between guitar/input cable and amp/output cable. What it does is reproduce your guitar signal using active electronics (typically an op amp) with unity gain (gain of 1). This means that the filter circuit created by your guitar's tone controls/pickups/cable/etc comes into play more or less only before the buffer and not after. Everything after stops interacting with the guitar and typically becomes a low impedance op amp output.
So if your pedal works by feeding back into itself and oscillating, for example, and you place it after a buffer, it will work differently than if it were directly connected to the electronics in your guitar.
I have tried this with the Weird Robert (which can feed back on itself and become an analog oscillator). You get a very different pitch and lose the ability to change pitches with your pickup selector if you use it after a bufer.
Oh, and no not all bypass is true bypass or buffered bypass.
Some old pedals had some REALLY CRUMMY bypass techniques (Deluxe Big Muff I'm Loking at You).
For example, they used to sometimes just disconnect the output of the circuit from the output jack or diconnect only the input from the input jack. The problem with this is then you have this big old resistor/capacitor/transistor network still connected to your signal, you just don't get the "effect" at the output. You instead could get a different effect: sounding like crap or getting bleedthrough through hte ground commons.
like i said yall, there should be a DB that *at least* tells u what kinda signal path a pedal has...be it true bypass, buffered bypass, or neither.. info on type of polarity and voltage/mA required would also be helpful...
http://mathewriley.com Want:; EFE Dope Priest Particle Series '77/Standard .... Malekko ID-600 Bright or Dark
if your straight through signal is brighter than with your pedalboard, then turn the treble on your amp up.
if you care this much about this crap then go into designer furniture manufacturing. dont most of you guys play doom or another heavy type of music? it matters even less.
for all those confused, go watch a Nels Cline play and tell me his tone sucks.
