Bypass question (not the usual, and very specific)

[blastjv]

OK,

I think I fully understand the idea of True Bypass, the potential problems with it, and the benefits of buffered bypass (if the buffer is 'good').

So, if I had an OD pedal (any pedal, but probably either a Xotic BB or a Sparke Drive) first in my chain and have it as an "Always-On" pedal to add a little flavor and drive, will it serve to buffer the rest of my (short) chain of TB pedals in the same way having a buffered bypass pedal as the first in your chain would?

Huh, I guess it's not a bypass question after all.......


-JV

[FreaqyFrequency]

Yes, it should.

[scotch]

Yes. ANY pedal when engaged (turned "on") will buffer your signal.

[blastjv]

That's what I thought. Thanks. I got so wrapped up on bypass concerns that I wasn't thinking about buffering for an always on pedal (and never used an always on pedal...or really any effects before)

-John

[Taylor Livingston]

Originally Posted by scotch

Yes. ANY pedal when engaged (turned "on") will buffer your signal.

Not true. Lots of pedals do not have buffers at all (Fuzz Faces and their derivatives like Fuzz Factory and Woolly Mammoth are a notable example) and any pedal that has a volume knob tacked on right at the end (many) is a bad buffer because this raises the output impedance, and the whole point of a buffer is to present a low output impedance. In fact, plenty of dedicated buffer pedals are bad buffers because of this.

But in the specific case of the BB or Sparkle drive you'll be ok.

[scotch]

Originally Posted by conical johnson

Not true. Lots of pedals do not have buffers at all (Fuzz Faces and their derivatives like Fuzz Factory and Woolly Mammoth are a notable example) and any pedal that has a volume knob tacked on right at the end (many) is a bad buffer because this raises the output impedance, and the whole point of a buffer is to present a low output impedance. In fact, plenty of dedicated buffer pedals are bad buffers because of this.

But in the specific case of the BB or Sparkle drive you'll be ok.

Interesting. I knew that such pedals (fuzz faces, etc.) had atypical input impedance issues, but I was not aware of higher output impedances. Hmmm...

[Silent Fly]

I agree with conical johnson.

In ideal world, you need a pedal with high input impedance and low output impedance. A Boss pedal turned off would to the trick.

In an ideal world, a buffer should have a selector for high input impedance (passive basses) or lower input impedance (active basses). It should also have variable output impedance to fine tune the interface with the first pedal of the chain.

[blastjv]

OK, here's another question:

Does the buffered bypass on a pedal like the sparkle drive act any differently with the blend control. Does the clean blend mix an actual 'clean', unbuffered signal with an overdriven, buffered signal? What I mean is will the pedal only present a 'half' buffered signal if you had the clean blend at 50% (hypothetically)?


-John

[bongomania]

No, the blending device itself is active, which is another way of saying buffered. A passive blend pot at the very end of an effect circuit would effectively cancel out any benefits of buffering from the effect--but I'm not aware of any pedals like that.