boss ceb-3, not true bypass...what to expect?

[hecTr0n]

So, I'm in the mind set of only gettin true bypass pedals...but heard a lot of good about bosses bass chorus. So, what can I expect to hear or not hear when its by passed ? I really don't want anything taking around from my sound and was leaning to the ehx small clone chorus because of its true bypass but, since its not a bass chorus, I was afraid of losing too much low end. Any suggestions? I wanted to stay in these pedals price range but for the right pedal, I can splurge

[mattfong]

Boss pedals tend to have great sounding buffered bypasses. TBP isn't always better...

[hecTr0n]

Originally Posted by mattfong

Boss pedals tend to have great sounding buffered bypasses. TBP isn't always better...

Really? How is true bypass not always better? Not trying to be a jerk, I really don't know lol.

What is expected in boss bypass? Lower volume, noise, diff eq?

[mattfong]

You shouldn't, as far as I know, get any volume loss or noise from a Boss bypass. I haven't noticed any tone alteration from my TR-2's bypass. I have a number of buffered pedals on my board and my clean tone still sounds great.

There are some links at the bottom of this page that explain a lot about bypasses:

Edit: FWIW too, I remember liking the Small Clone on bass. Never tried the Boss chorus.

Beavis Audio Research

[Jimbob Jones]

Boss pedals have a buffered bypass. If you have a long chain of pedals, having one or two of them buffered can be a good thing, as it helps to combat signal losses from all that copper.

If the chorus is your only non-TBP pedal, then you won't hear a difference between your bypassed tone, and your tone going bass>amp. I currently use 5 Buffered and two TBP pedals on my board, and have no bypass issues.

Hope that helps!

[BassMonstrum]

Visual Sound did a mythbuster on TBP vs. buffered bypass... check out the link:

YouTube - Visual Sound: Myth Buster #1: True Bypass

[Chrisk-K]

What is expected in boss bypass? Lower volume, noise, diff eq?

The same as what is expected in TBP sans a loud click. I have several Boss pedals as well as TBP pedals.

[dannybuoy]

Originally Posted by BassMonstrum

Visual Sound did a mythbuster on TBP vs. buffered bypass... check out the link:

YouTube - Visual Sound: Myth Buster #1: True Bypass

Buffered bypass increases treble and makes it sound better to random audience shocker!

[BassMonstrum]

Originally Posted by dannybuoy

Buffered bypass increases treble and makes it sound better to random audience shocker!

Haha, true!

[rob_thebassman]

true bypass is also alot quieter

[CHILDISHGAMBINO]

I have 3 boss pedals and I don't notice anything. My setup is dead quiet.

[stflbn]

Believe it or not... musicians survived for generations without the apparent revelation of True Bypass. A good pedal is a good pedal is a good pedal...

[bassman1185]

Originally Posted by rob_thebassman

true bypass is also alot quieter

Quieter how? Because it's certainly not the actual switching moment. Most TBP pedals make a very audible pop when they are engaged or disengaged. Boss' pedals have silent switching, in my experience.

As far as background noise, it is much more of an issue of the individual pedal than the bypass. Some pedals are noisy, and some are silent.

[cassius987]

The Boss buffered bypass changed my clean tone to the point I was not happy with it. Some of the high-mid character inherent in the tone flattened out and the bass sounded "neutered". This has also been the case with many other buffered bypasses. People can wave their hands all day saying a good buffered bypass is the best, not true bypass, but I spent a good hour proving otherwise for my bass and my rig.

What I do is run a great buffer at the front of the chain, then true bypass the rest of the way down. This is the only way I will do it now.

[mmbongo]

I always use true bypass pedals, probably just more of a mindset thing that comes from my formative years of using cheap pedals with crap buffers that introduced major tone suck. Just think..if each pedal robs a little bit, one or two might be okay..but then as you add more pedals, the more you lose. That's the way I see it, so true bypass only for me.

Boss headroom is a different story though. I hate Boss pedals because a high output bass will clip the input and sound like arse.

My advice? Avoid both issues and get a TC Electronic Corona chorus. True bypass, line level headroom, plus Toneprint and a much better sounding pedal to boot!

[Bassmike62]

Originally Posted by CHILDISHGAMBINO

I have 3 boss pedals and I don't notice anything. My setup is dead quiet.

+1

I've had numerous Boss pedals and the only ones that were noisy are the ones that were notorious for it, so it was expected: Boss CS-3 (when sustain above the noon mark) and Boss LMB-3 (when enhancer knob is anywhere except at its lowest). I got rid of the CS-3 and still have the LMB-3 and must admit that I don't have any reason to change it this pedal. No noise issue at the moment and at the time I had 7 Boss pedals on a PT Pro, no noise other than what was generated by the CS-3.