What's a Buffer?

Buffers play a significant role in both pedal design and pedal boards, so let's delve into a basic guide to grasp their functionality and discern when and where to employ them.

In simple terms, a buffer takes a high impedance signal and transforms it into a low impedance signal. This impedance transformation serves to fortify your signal flow, much like straightening out kinks in a hose. By altering your signal's impedance from high to low, buffers ensure your guitar's signal remains robust throughout its journey to your amplifier.

Our əˈlo͞osiv buffer represents just one of several excellent buffer options available. It boasts a 1 megaohm input (high impedance) and a 100-ohm output (low impedance). If you're encountering signal loss due to lengthy cable runs or an abundance of true-bypass pedals on your board, consider placing one of our əˈlo͞osiv buffers either at the beginning of your signal chain (following vintage fuzzes like Tonebenders and Fuzz Faces) and/or at the end of your setup. This should rejuvenate your signal's strength.

The number of buffers you require typically depends on the size of your pedalboard, but it's generally a consideration for rigs with ten or more true-bypass pedals. To determine your needs, it's essential to listen to your setup. Does your clean tone seem darker and weaker when passing through your pedalboard compared to a direct connection to your amp? If so, you'll need to find the right combination of buffers and buffered-bypass pedals to restore your signal to its full potency.

Many pedals are designed with "buffered-bypass" switching, which implies they contain an always-on buffer, even when the pedal is bypassed. This contrasts with "true-bypass" switching, which emulates the pedal's absence when bypassed. Buffered-bypass pedals actively buffer your signal continuously, even when they are not engaged. If you use multiple true-bypass pedals, you may experience some tonal degradation. Hence, it's advantageous to incorporate a mix of true-bypass and buffered-bypass pedals on your pedalboard. Some well-known buffered-bypass pedal brands include Boss and Eventide. Additionally, several pedals offer switchable buffered or true-bypass options, such as Strymon and TC Electronic. Currently all ToneCraftFX pedals are true-bypass.

Buffers and buffered pedals can also influence the sound of certain pedals, particularly fuzz. Generally, positioning a buffer before a fuzz pedal can cause the fuzz to sound thin or weak. This is because fuzz pedals typically require a high impedance signal at the input to produce the correct tone. Therefore, it's typically advisable to place buffers or buffered-bypass pedals after fuzz units in your signal chain.

For more comprehensive information on pedal chain order and the appropriate buffer placement, you can reference my article on Pedal Order that dives deeper into this topic.