Buffers

[9Lives]

I just breadboarded a tranny buffer from ormans website. I think it's the one from the T screamer. Anywho I actually really like the results I got from it so I loaded it on a lil radioshack general use board. (wasnt pretty but hey.. It worked) I poped that badboy in the input wire that connects to the tip jack of my orange squeezer (first in my pedal chain) and I'm not sure ifs my imagination but it brightened the hell out of my set up. I backed off a BUTTload of treble on several effects.. And even on my amp. It made the OSQ sing. I also hooked a wire directly from buffer to voltage. This keeps the buffer on even with bypass correct? Also if I decide to make a cleaner more complex buffer will it work within my chain of effects or will it muck it all up? I'm currently building a sonic stomp for the end of my chain. I was thinking I could put a buffer in it being the last one. Good idea? Should I put it on the input jack or the output jack after the effect, or will it make a difference? I've brushed off the whole buffer ordeal until now to be really impressed what one trannie and a couple resistors can do.

[jkokura]

You ask a lot of questions, I'll try to edit your post down to just the questions and answer as best I can.

1. I also hooked a wire directly from buffer to voltage. This keeps the buffer on even with bypass correct?
2. If I decide to make a cleaner more complex buffer will it work within my chain of effects or will it muck it all up?
3. I'm currently building a sonic stomp for the end of my chain. I was thinking I could put a buffer in it being the last one. Good idea?
4. Should I put it on the input jack or the output jack after the effect, or will it make a difference?

1. I'm not sure what you mean. If you have voltage going to the board, then it's always drawing power. However, pretty much ALL effects are wired this way. Are you talking about signal or voltage? What you're asking isn't really clear.

2. A buffer really affects your impedance, not your tone persay. What you do is change a high impedance guitar signal into a lower impedance signal that an amp likes to see. This helps especially with long cable runs, as long cables tend to create a 'load' on the system, making it work less efficiently. This ends up giving the percieved effect of 'tone loss' or 'loss of high end.' When buffers are introduced into the system, users often report a percieved 'brightening' or 'clearing up' effect on their guitar tone.

To really answer your question, the only answer anyone can give you is 'I don't know.' There are too many variables really. I'm still not sure how you're wiring your current transistor buffer. The guitar, cables, pedals, and amps you use all come into play in this case, and since you haven't given us any details on them we can't really tell you. I can tell you that if it's a verified buffer, they all work essentially the same. A buffer is a buffer is a buffer. Some people different types, but they all 'do' the same thing.

3. It depends on how you use the sonic stomp. Most guitar effects, the sonic stomp included, essentially work the same as a buffer. Their circuitry generally takes a high input impedance signal and spits out a low impedance signal. That's why I don't need a buffer early on in my chain, because I simply run an 'always on' pedal there, and then don't worry about it. My reverb, last in my chain, has a built in buffer, so again I don't worry about the end of my chain either. So really, the questions are, "will you leave the sonic stomp on all the time? What other pedals do you have in your chain and do they already have a buffering effect?"

4. Where you put a buffer in a pedal totally depends on the purpose. For example, I will put a buffer between the input jack and the switch if it's a compressor, a boost, or an overdrive pedal. This is because these pedals often go early in a pedal chain, and a buffer is better 'before' the effect in these cases. I haven't put a buffer between the switch and output yet because I haven't seen a need to, but I don't think I would. As mentioned, buffers only really matter when an effect is "OFF", so that means in a true bypass pedal there's no difference between having one between the input and switch or the output and switch - it's the only thing in the pedal that's on at that point.

Now that I think about it, perhaps the best place for a buffer in a pedal is in the 'bypass' position. That way, the buffer is active when the effect is bypassed, and when the pedal is switched on the buffer doesn't interfere with the circuit at all. Hmmmm, I wonder if this would cause problems when the effect is being switched...

Jacob

[9Lives]

dude, your better at sorting out my nonsense better than my wife does lol. I sometimes go on "rants" when I'm pleased or pissed. And the info was good. I think I actually got the idea of placing it after the input tip from you in a previous thread. I'm very pleased with ths.... Effect? Would one even call it that? I guess it made such a difference in my set up that it almost seems an effect. Come to think of it I got this idea from one of your pedals I saw on your page that had a toggle to switch from buffer to true.. Nice idea. If you did them all like that you could switch buffers on and off to get the best outcome. The buffer I made was very crappy. Actually the first successful non-made pcb. I'm not good with arranging components on a breadboard or pcb. Wires and components all over the place. But.. It worked. When I referred to the signal/voltage I meant, does the buffer stay on when I'm bypassed with this wiring" to make it simple. Anyway I'm ranting again. I'm gonna try not to do that. Thanks