What does buffered circuit mean?

[eclipseall]

In the case of the Boss TU2 pedal tunner, Ive read that it has a buffered cirucuit and thats why it should be placed first in the pedal chain of effects.

 

Why is this and what does it mean?

[TweedBassman]

simply put, a buffered pedal usually refers to a pedal that has an electronic buffer that is active when the pedal is 'off.' this is how all boss pedals are done.

 

a buffer is a simple circuit that helps your guitar signal by increasing the input impedance into the pedal (which makes your pickups happy), decreasing the output impedance (which usually makes other effects and your amp happy), and helping to 'drive' the signal down the line of cables so it doesn't lose clarity or signal strength.

 

if you use a lot of effects, or long cables, it's usually a good idea to run at least one or two buffered pedals in your system to help keep things strong and clear. if you have certain fuzz or wah effects, they do NOT like to be after a buffer so put those first. then, people usually put there buffered tuner (like the TU-2), a bunch of other pedals, then a buffered pedal at the end to correct the impedance before the amplifier.

 

some folks hate the sound of a buffer circuit. they're supposed to be transparent, and a lot of them are quite good, but some are pretty bad. it completely depends on your setup and preferences... i prefer fuzz's and other usually true bypass (no buffer) effects first, then a boss pedal or two at the end to help the signal reach the amp in one piece. some poeple like the sound of the TU-2 first, then everything else after it, so the TU-2 'drives' the signal past the other effects to the amp. it's really dependent on the rest of your rig.

[RoboPimp]

A good buffer helps maintain good tone as opposed to the gradual dulling effect of true bypass pedals.

 

putting a buffer at the end of your pedals does nothing to counter the signal loss of all the pedals before it.

 

Buffer first.

[jake.lind]

Basically (very basically, actually), you have two kinds of bypass, TRUE and BUFFERED. True Bypass is good because the circuit inside the pedal is completely taken out from between the guitar and the next thing in your chain. Thus, a true bypass pedal "looks" like this to a guitar's circuitry when it's switched on:

 

GUITAR------>PEDAL------>AMP

 

and like this when it's switched off:

 

GUITAR------------------->AMP

 

This is good because the only thing that's in a signal path is what's supposed to be there. But unfortunately, you can see how much more cable you have between the guitar and amp, and because of the picofarads of capacitance between the ground and live parts of your guitar cable, this much cable length will seriously suck the treble right out of your system (as a general rule of thumb, more cable = more tone suck).

 

Now, for buffered circuits, they tend to look more like this:

 

GUITAR----->BUFFER->PEDAL------>AMP

 

Now, that's a highly simplified version of what's happening, and a little bit misleading because the buffer is actually inside the pedal, but this is just a quick demonstration, so it'll have to do. Anyways, that's what the signal looks like when the pedal is switched on, and this is what it looks like when the pedal is switched off:

 

GUITAR------->BUFFER------->AMP

 

Now, this can be good or bad, depending on the buffer. Mostly, cheap effects have a buffer switching system (and all boss pedals, regardless of price) simply because it's much cheaper to implement than a true bypass system. But the quality of a buffer in your signal chain has a huge impact on what happens to your signal when it enters and exits it. A high quality, high impedance (>1 MEG) buffer will actually keep your signal intact, and it will usually pass on a signal that is far lower impedance than your guitar pickups. Basically, this means it will drive long lengths of cable for your guitar, and you won't lose any signal (any perceptible signal, anyways). But if it's a poorly made buffer, it will again suck the treble right out of your signal. But here's something cool: A high-quality buffer in front of a poorly made buffer will generally not lose any treble. Why? Because a poorly made buffer is more easily driven by a low impedance source (quality buffer) than a high impedance source (guitar pickups).

 

A short answer would be the tuner pedal is question is buffered to be first in your chain and drive long lengths of cable associated with true bypass or even low quality buffer switching without signal loss.

 

Of course, this brings up a whole realm of problems if you plan on using germanium fuzz faces or a Blackstone.

 

Happy playing!

[jake.lind]

MY explanation has nifty ASCII art.

 

[ArrMatey]

what pedals are buffered one? Do we have some sort of list available or such?

[tenoken]

good information here...

 

I'd like to know more about which brands have good buffers and which have bad ones.

 

I use about 8 or 9 pedals at any given gig. Where should the buffers be in that chain?

 

Something like this, e.g.:

 

fender tuner>

dynacomp>

ts-9>

modded RAT>

true bypass'd fuzz>

boss EQ>

70's small stone>

tuna melt>

dd20 delay

[TweedBassman]

 

good information here... I'd like to know more about which brands have good buffers and which have bad ones. I use about 8 or 9 pedals at any given gig. Where should the buffers be in that chain? Something like this, e.g.: fender tuner> dynacomp> ts-9> modded RAT> true bypass'd fuzz> boss EQ> 70's small stone> tuna melt> dd20 delay

 

 

Boss buffers are generally pretty nice, i don't mind them. same with Ibanez. i've heard bad things about behringer's buffer tone.

 

for that setup, i'd go into the TB's fuzz first, then the tuner (assuming that it has a buffer), then the rest to whatever you like.

[Stonedtone]

 

what pedals are buffered one? Do we have some sort of list available or such?

 

 

There's a big difference in the quality of the buffer. I keep my TU2 outside of the shain with my Loooper A/B/Y. I have two Demeter pedals that have really good bufferes. There are many that feel TBP is not as good as a good buffer in the chain. The very nature of jacks and connections affects the tone, even in TBP

[tenoken]

 

Boss buffers are generally pretty nice, i don't mind them. same with Ibanez. i've heard bad things about behringer's buffer tone. for that setup, i'd go into the TB's fuzz first, then the tuner (assuming that it has a buffer), then the rest to whatever you like.

 

 

interesting... thanks!

[ninjaaron]

This thread isn't complete until someone mentions that a Zvex SHO is basically just a very good buffer that's been glorified with an active volume circuit.

[DanJep]

http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/bypass/bypass.htm

 

All you need to know about bypass.

[eclipseall]

thanks for all the info. very valuable information.

 

does anyone know if MXR effects such as the phase 90 or a digitech whammy pedal are buffered.

 

thanks

[killyridols]

 

thanks for all the info. very valuable information. does anyone know if MXR effects such as the phase 90 or a digitech whammy pedal are buffered. thanks

 

 

The phase 90 is not buffered nor does it have true bypass, the same can be said for the digitech whammy (which has one of the worst bypasses known to man)

 

Believe it or not, I really like the buffers on the older DOD fx series. Nice and clear (w/ good retention of treble). I drive my chain with an old DOD fx82 Bass Compressor. The guyatone micro effects have pretty good buffers (except for the new ones which claim to be true bypass). The Morely Bad horsie Wah also had a really good buffer (used to run one of these at the front of my chain, until the thing bit the dust) Also roger mayer and visual sound effects are supposed to have excellent buffers (don't know, never used either)

 

The problem with true-bypass effects are that when you have five or six of them chained together, with 18" cables running both from your guitar to the pedals, and the the pedals to your amp, you effectively have about 50" of cable between the guitar and amp when the pedals are switched off, which can cause noticable treble loss. So then you turn up the treble and presence at the amp to compensate. The bigger problem is when you switch one of the pedals on since most (not all) effects contain some sort of signal buffering when engaged. So switch that first pedal on, and now it will sound like you have 18" of cable between the guitar and amp, along with the accompaning rise is treble and volume. This is really bad with unitay gain effects (like chorus pedals), which will seem like stepping on a booster pedal when engaged.

 

A quality buffer placed at the front of your pedal chain should eliminate this problem.

[Wood Chuck]

In the case of the Boss TU2 pedal tunner, Ive read that it has a buffered cirucuit and thats why it should be placed first in the pedal chain of effects. Why is this and what does it mean?

It's like this......when an aspirin is buffered, it is easier on your stomach right?? Get the point??:poke:

[Man and Mer]

 

This thread isn't complete until someone mentions that a Zvex SHO is basically just a very good buffer that's been glorified with an active volume circuit.

 

 

Also: Boost 'N' Buff.

[Wood Chuck]

http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/bypass/bypass.htm All you need to know about bypass.

triple??