Clean boosts, buffers and buffer placement

mark_jwedge

I have been really thinking about my board and live sound. I have had the feeling for a while that my live sound lacks a bit of presence and sparkle and I wonder if my board is the cause. I have a cornford roadhouse 50 and play a strat and Les Paul.

I have a 3m kabl lead into a board of uni vibe > germanium fuzz > wah > tuner > twin stomp twin boost > ThorpyFX peacekeeper > amp. All of these are true bypass before a 5m Kabl lead into the amp.

I use drive mainly from the amp but have the twin stomp always on as it seems to add a bit of sparkle, punch and bite. But i was wondering if the main effect is the fact that the pedal is simply switched on (I have the boost dial right down) and therefore swapping out the twin stomp for a buffer would have the same effect as having the twin stomp engaged all the time?

I am going to try this later as I have a fredric zombie klone which as far as I know is buffered. I know buffers need to come at the start of the chain but because of the germanium fuzz it will have to come third after the uni vibe and fuzz. Just wondered what people's thought were on this before I pull my board apart!!

Fretwired

I have a buffer > compressor > rest of my signal chain. I find a buffer helps the tone of my Strat when using a bunch of tone sucking true bypass pedals .. :-)

Maybe just get a dedicated buffer ..

I got one of these .. only had it a week or two .. check out the video at the bottom ..

http://www.tcelectronic.com/bonafide-buffer/

ThorpyFX

In my experience Wahs are usually the biggest culprit for tone suck. You'll be best putting the buffer after the fuzz and wah (that fuzz won't play nicely with a buffer most likely). If you want some more info on buffers and how best to use them, try this.

Fretwired

ThorpyFX said:

In my experience Wahs are usually the biggest culprit for tone suck. You'll be best putting the buffer after the fuzz and wah (that fuzz won't play nicely with a buffer most likely).

This is true .... I can't stand wah and don't have a fuzz ...

mark_jwedge

Thanks @Fretwired and @ThorpyFX i think I will use my fredric zombie klone rather than a dedicated buffer as the klon buffer has a good reputation and it would allow me to have buffer and a clean boost in one as I don't have enough power supply outlets for both and I like to use a clean boost live with single coils and then switch it off for humbuckers.

@ThorpyFX having the buffer after the univibe, fuzz AND wah would be very helpful in minimising board disruption. I have just looked up the specs of my wah which is a Morley bad horsie 2. It has a Morley 'true tone' buffer so isn't true bupass it seems. However there is still definite high end loss when going through the board compared to straight into the amp. I guess all buffers aren't made equal? And perhaps the klone buffer is superior to the Morley?

ThorpyFX

mark_jwedge said:

Thanks @Fretwired and @ThorpyFX i think I will use my fredric zombie klone rather than a dedicated buffer as the klon buffer has a good reputation and it would allow me to have buffer and a clean boost in one as I don't have enough power supply outlets for both and I like to use a clean boost live with single coils and then switch it off for humbuckers.

@ThorpyFX having the buffer after the univibe, fuzz AND wah would be very helpful in minimising board disruption. I have just looked up the specs of my wah which is a Morley bad horsie 2. It has a Morley 'true tone' buffer so isn't true bupass it seems. However there is still definite high end loss when going through the board compared to straight into the amp. I guess all buffers aren't made equal? And perhaps the klone buffer is superior to the Morley?

I dont know that wah particularly, but your assertion that not all buffers are equal is true. a straight a/b with the wah will tell you what you need to know.

mark_jwedge

Thanks all, just put the zombie klone back on the board after the wah and fuzz and problem solved, sounds exactly like just going straight into the amp. Plus gives a nice little boost to the single coils when engaged and stacks beautifully with the peacekeeper after it!

ThorpyFX

mark_jwedge said:

Thanks all, just put the zombie klone back on the board after the wah and fuzz and problem solved, sounds exactly like just going straight into the amp. Plus gives a nice little boost to the single coils when engaged and stacks beautifully with the peacekeeper after it!

Sorted then! pedalboards are one of the most fun and frustrating parts of electric guitar. I can see why people like plugging straight into an amp.

mark_jwedge

ThorpyFX;994742" said:

mark_jwedge said:

Thanks all, just put the zombie klone back on the board after the wah and fuzz and problem solved, sounds exactly like just going straight into the amp. Plus gives a nice little boost to the single coils when engaged and stacks beautifully with the peacekeeper after it!





Sorted then! pedalboards are one of the most fun and frustrating parts of electric guitar. I can see why people like plugging straight into an amp.

Very true, I do often wonder if I over complicate things and should just strip the board right back. To be honest I think I could cover pretty much everything I reasonably need with a tuner, the peacekeeper and a clean boost in the loop for solos. I do love a strat and a fuzzface tho!

Also goes to show that all buffers definitely aren't made equal and the klon buffer in the zombie klone sounds great, and much better than the one in the Morley wah.

That said if I were to be stranded on a desert island I think a feline lion, your mjw amp and a peacekeeper would see me happy for the rest of my days!