Best Dedicated Pedalboard Buffer?

[Charley Umbria]

I'm looking for a small buffer to use on my pedalboard when I'm not using any effects. I've only got one non-true-bypass (buffered) pedal, an AnalogMan silver-modded Ibanez TS9DX Turbo Tube Screamer. Its bypassed tone is decent, but not totally clean, so I'm currently bypassing it with a mini-looper. I'm looking for something small that I can put in the chain and leave on all the time. So far, I've found these:

Pete Cornish LD-1

Visual Sound Pure Tone Buffer

This1sMyne Mini Buffer

Lovepedal Line Driver

Tone Freak Buff Puff

Wampler Clean Buffer

JHS Little Black Buffer

Creation Audio Redeemer Inline

GigRig Humdinger

Barber B-Buff

Montreaux Little Buffer

CMATMODS Buffer

Masotti Black Box

SoloidGoldFX Buffer

Cusack More Louder

Road Rage Buffer

Coopersonic Tube Screamer

Orion Effekte Null Booster/Buffer

I'm interested in hearing from anyone who's used one or more of these units. Pricing for most of them is reasonable (from about $50 to $125), with the Cornish LD-1 being waaaay up there at $192.00. Please feel free to recommend any others I've missed.

I'm also wondering if the [SFX] Micro Thumpinator would make a good buffer (paging Silent Fly...). Thanks!

[bongomania]

Of the ones you've listed, I've only used the Redeemer and the Thumpinator; another I've tried that you could check out is the Radial PB-1. My favorite buffer is actually the one built into the Fromel Shape EQ. The Redeemer is great, but so transparent that it's hard to say "I like it"--it just works, and does exactly one thing. The Shape OTOH has a subtle pleasant tone to it, and happens to also have a great EQ. And the Thumpinator has its low-cut function... I like dual-purpose gadgets.

[TOOL460002]

ive never used it, but t1m does excellent work, and all his stuff is tiny and cheap. the thumpinator is on my wanted list, though, and sfx also does great work.

im curious about the mini looper you are currently using. is it not buffered? if youre going to spend money, you could always get a nice, buffered looper; more functional.

[Charley Umbria]

Thanks, Bongo. I edited my post to reflect that I was looking at the Micro Thumpinator, but am I to infer from your reply that either version of the Thumpinator will work as an effects buffer?

[Smurf-o-Deth]

As long as it is engaged, any pedal is a buffer. So, yes.

[RickenBoogie]

+1 to using a loop with built-in buffer, like the Lehle DLoop, which actually has a great buffer, but is expensive. I'm sure there are others priced lower.

[mozarwasagenius]

I'm pretty picky on buffered bypass tone. I haven't tried the ones you mentioned, but I will say the following are the best that I have tried:

Boss GEB7 (suprisingly underrated pedal imho)
MXR M80 DI+
Radial Bassbone

I wasn't impressed with many other pedals when bypassed. I had an old DOD compressor that was horrid. I'm not a fan of the VTdeluxe bypassed either (it is buffered bypass).


(I have the M80 for sale by the way )

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by Smurf-o-Deth

As long as it is engaged, any pedal is a buffer. So, yes.

True--and that goes for the Micro Thump, which hasn't got an off switch --but then not every buffer sounds good or does its job well. The Thump does its job and sounds good, but honestly I'm not sure what the output impedance is--maker Silent Fly would have to address that.

[Charley Umbria]

Originally Posted by TOOL460002

im curious about the mini looper you are currently using. is it not buffered? if youre going to spend money, you could always get a nice, buffered looper; more functional.

Tool460002,

I'm just using a simple homemade bypass loop in a Hammond 1590A enclosure, similar to this one: SmolskiTech - True Bypass Looper Electric Guitar Switch Pedals ...and a dozen others.

I've got the Ibanez TS9DX near the front of the chain, before my Catalinbread SFT. However, the SFT seems to respond dynamically a little better without any pedals (or buffers) between it and the bass. So, I'm bypassing the TS9DX to get it out of the way when I'm not using it. In this case, a buffered loop wouldn't help me, as it would just put a buffer back in front of the SFT.

[Charley Umbria]

Originally Posted by bongomania

The Redeemer is great, but so transparent that it's hard to say "I like it"--it just works, and does exactly one thing. The Shape OTOH has a subtle pleasant tone to it, and happens to also have a great EQ. And the Thumpinator has its low-cut function... I like dual-purpose gadgets.

Thanks, Bongo. After reading about two dozen of your compressor reviews, if you say something's transparent...it must be transparent!

[screaminglucy]

MXR micro amp is what I use. Im happy with it.

[caeman]

My always-on EQ pedal. I figure why waste space on another pedal when this one is always on always...on. Something like that. Sorry, been reading too many Bhendy posts this past week.

[gillento]

Don't forget the Lehle stuff:

Enjoy Cool Switching

and: Enjoy Cool Switching

[Charley Umbria]

Yeah, the Lehle stuff looks really nice. The only problem is the size: roughly 3.5" square. I don't have room for another pedal, otherwise I'd get a good EQ (as mentioned by caeman above) or something else with a top-notch bypass buffer.

One suggestion I've received is to add a high-quality compact buffer (like the Barber B-Buff) to one of my true bypass pedals. There's something perversely appealing about that idea...

[Silent Fly]

Originally Posted by Charley Umbria

(...) I'm also wondering if the [SFX] Micro Thumpinator would make a good buffer (paging Silent Fly...). Thanks!

The micro-Thumpinator works very well as a buffer. As Bongomania said, it can be seen as a dual-purpose unit.

The circuit itself can operate at instrument or line level so I recommend my customers to try it in different positions in the signal chain.

--
Charley Umbria, I send you a PM with more information. I didn't post it here because I feared it sounded like promotion and I didn't want to break the forums rules (just to be on the safe side).

Apologies if I disapeared from the forum and my contribution to the threads is almost not existent but I'm super-busy and I have to spend all my time on [sfx] project. If you have questions please do feel free to contact me directly (preferably via email instead of PM).

[gillento]

Originally Posted by Silent Fly

The micro-Thumpinator works very well as a buffer. As Bongomania said, it can be seen as a dual-purpose unit.

The circuit itself can operate at instrument or line level so I recommend my customers to try it in different positions in the signal chain.

--
Charley Umbria, I send you a PM with more information. I didn't post it here because I feared it sounded like promotion and I didn't want to break the forums rules (just to be on the safe side).

Apologies if I disapeared from the forum and my contribution to the threads is almost not existent but I'm super-busy and I have to spend all my time on [sfx] project. If you have questions please do feel free to contact me directly (preferably via email instead of PM).

Strangely I never thought of it as a buffer.
Could you pass that information to me as well, as I am using 2 MicroThumpinators (for subsonic filtering) in the first position on my 2 boards.

I am using exclusively passive basses right now
Is it preferable to have the MicroThumpinator AFTER a buffered pedal (or buffer) or IS IT a BUFFER?.

[Silent Fly]

Originally Posted by gillento

Strangely I never thought of it as a buffer.
Could you pass that information to me as well, as I am using 2 MicroThumpinators (for subsonic filtering) in the first position on my 2 boards. (...)

I'll post part of the PM I sent to Charley Umbria as I understand there might be general interest about it. If I break any forum rule it wasn't my intention. I'll be happy to remove the offending part if it is a problem.

One thing that is very rarely mentioned is that the micro-Thumpinator is a very useful recording tool. I use it in all my recordings and I think it is at least as useful in a recording studio as it is in a pedalboard.

One of the problems in recording bass is the peak in the note attack. Unfortunately, this portion of the signal consists mainly in subsonic content that adds nothing to the music content. Regardless the post-recording processing that is applied to the signal, the subsonic content is sent to recording interface and in requires the gain to be kept low in order to avoid clipping.

I am sure you experienced the problem first hand. You record bass and the clipping light turns on for a fraction of a second when you hit the note. If it wasn’t for that fraction of a second, you could have recorded the bass at higher level.

In practical terms, what often happens is that the bass is recorded relatively low, the signal is compressed to limit the attack peak and the gain is increased to restore the signal to a relatively higher level.

Because the Thumpinator filtering removes the subsonic content at the note attack, this processing becomes unnecessary. The signal sent to the recording interface is simply the note. No further processing is necessary to keep the signal under control, the signal level can be increased and the overall signal/noise ratio improves. In other terms it is easier use the entire 24 bit dynamic range available on the recording interface.

Originally Posted by gillento

(...) I am using exclusively passive basses right now
Is it preferable to have the MicroThumpinator AFTER a buffered pedal (or buffer) or IS IT a BUFFER?.

Strictly from a technical viewpoint, I think the micro-Thumpinator works at its best just after the bass. The main reason is that as soon as the subsonic content is removed the better it is for everything that follows. Having said that, some bassists use it very successfully between pre and power amp. This is why I recommend trying it in different positions.

If you need a buffer and you have a micro-Thumpinator I don’t see any reason to use an extra buffer pedal after or before the micro-Thumpinator. Apart from the filtering, the micro-Thumpinator had specs that are perfectly in line with the best buffers on the market. So, to summarise, yes, it can be used as a buffer.

[bongomania]

Thanks for chiming in, Max. Glad to see you here, and also glad to hear you are busy, meaning your business is thriving! FWIW the rules here say you can answer any question from another TB'er about your goods except for pricing, which stays in PM's. Answering technical/usage questions is welcome and appreciated!

[gillento]

Thanks Max

(Looking forward to my H1)

[Charley Umbria]

Thanks, Max and Bongo. Sounds like just what I'm looking for. I've placed an order for a Micro Thumpinator and will follow up with a review once it makes its way across the pond.