Noise floor on pedalboard

Cirrus

What do you accept? I don't generally think about it, hiss is part of the instrument - especially with higher gain pedals and even moreso if stacking things.

But I noticed that if I use a buffer or other unity-gain pedal in front of my Rat clone, the background hiss is a lot higher - even though with the Rat bypassed I can't discern (or measure through my soundcard) any difference in the noise floor whether or not the buffer is in the circuit in front of the Rat - so I don't think it's as simple as the buffer having a higher noise floor for the rat to amplify. What else might be going on?

Puddlesurfer

As I'm sure you know, buffers reduce capacitance in a circuit, allowing higher frequencies to pass more easily. Perhaps you can just hear more of the RAT's inherent circuit noise with a buffer in line?   

Wazmeister

I accept zero noise from an added pedal.

springhead

Puddlesurfer said:

As I'm sure you know, buffers reduce capacitance in a circuit, allowing higher frequencies to pass more easily. Perhaps you can just hear more of the RAT's inherent circuit noise with a buffer in line?   

Buffers don't reduce capacitance, that's always there.  They reduce the effect of that capacitance and other loading impacts downstream of them on what is upstream of them.  If that makes sense!

Is it just guitar > buffer > RAT >amp/soundcard ?