This is an instance of where a buzzword "True Bypass" has forced an industry into a flawed direction for the last 8 years or so.
The best solution is what TC have put in some of their new pedals. It is EITHER relay switching OR analog buffered bypass. Best of both worlds, because each has its benefits given placement on the pedal board.
I will note that a well implemented analog buffered bypass will always be less POPPY than any form of TRUE BYPASS (3PDT switch or relay). It is not possible to remove any charges built up in true bypass system, hence the POP.
Asking for "true bypass" without knowing what you really need can have unintended consequences!
This is another very interesting thread.
Is there such a thread already, that I am missing? Or we probably should ask the mods to separate it?
I am referring to the relay switching in the KORG Pitchblack tuner, because it is the only pedal that I own that is true bypass and has inaudible switching noises at the same time. I don't claim there are no noises at all, but they are at levels so low that they are not heard through the amp. On the other hand the two other real true 3PDT true bypass effects that I have - you can always hear when I am engaging them (unless the drummer covers it with his break) and that has bugged the hell out of me.
I read somewhere that having all effects true bypass and no buffering at all can degrade your tone, but I never figured out exactly why.
It was explained that it is because the length? of wire the signal has to travel in the effects, but it doesn't make sense to me, cause I have got ~ 20 ft. of cable from the bass to the pedals and another ~ 20 ft. from the pedals to the amp. so how much difference do another, say 3 ft. make? OK, said 3 ft. are not shielded instrument cable, but they are in (mostly) metal boxes, which are tied to ground, so that must have some shielding effect.
Or is it about total capacitance of the wires shorting the high end to ground? That makes "some" sense, because if the wires are not decoupled the equivalent capacitance is the sum of all the different wires' capacitance. Does 40 ft. of cable make that much of a difference? In any case if it does a filter in the middle of the equivalent 40 ft. wire would mean higher cut-off frequency with a steeper slope?
If buffering is done through op-amps, which I suppose is at least 80% of the cases then I guess that the all-tube players didn't want them cheap semiconductors to "spoil" their all-tube tone and suddenly everybody wanted the true - wire to wire bypass?
At least I don't have to worry about that - the first thing my signal meets on its way out of the bass is the buffered input of the bass crybaby and my amp is solid state anyway
Lastly - would you please give an example of a TC effect that has the option of buffered - relay switched bypass?
Sorry guys, for the long and somewhat inappropriate post.
Cheers!
. Wish the original VT Bass had speaker sim defeat so I woundn't have to buy another one 
