True Bypass Myths?

tkingen · June 11th, 2004, 09:47 PM

This has probably been beaten to death, but it's new to me. With all of the marketing about true bypass switching, I've come to the conclusion that true bypass doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to achieve transparent tone.
In personal a/b tests, and without naming the expensive pedals, true bypass switching seemed to actually dull the bypassed tone in some cases. Although subtle, the overall tone was a little lifeless compared to not having the pedal in the signal path. This was even with short cable runs of good quality.
With the buffered bypass pedals, which were BOSS BD2, DD2, DM2 and CH1, there was definitely a small volume loss. But when I turned the volume on the amp up a smidge, the tone was the same as if I had plugged straight into the amp without pedals.
I've also noticed that Pete Cornish is against true bypass switching. See his "lecture" here:

http://www.petecornish.co.uk

Any thoughts about this subject?

Thanks,
Terry

Tim Bowen · June 12th, 2004, 12:57 AM

A chain of all true bypass pedals definitely needs a good buffer in line. Otherwise the high end is attenuated due to cable capacitance & loading, & you can hear it. The *best* place for a buffer is probably the earliest in the chain where it doesn't muck with something else (notably germanium-based fuzz). On the other hand, a chain of several buffered pedals doesn't really do it for me... there's no absolutes, I think you just have to use your ears & make adjustments when something irks you. I definitely get my best tones when using mostly true bypass stompers as combined with a good buffer or two. The Klon is an example of a pedal with a superior buffer. With it in line, everything seems to sound better, even when it is bypassed.

I've not had a chance to read the article that you supplied a link for, Terry. I don't see myself shelling out 600 clams for Cornish pedals anytime soon... but Pete Cornish is an icon that has been at this game for many years, & he knows of what he speaks. He designs & builds for cats like David Gilmour; it's doubtful to me that Gilmour could run his signal through all that processing & get those delicious tones without the use of superior buffers - it would be lost. Active pickups have probably aided him in that respect as well.

dwdyer · June 12th, 2004, 07:14 AM

As Cornish says, "Many effects I have tested have an input impedance of less than 100 Kilohms (ie: only one tenth of the amp input impedance) and cause serious signal losses in the effects chain."

People talk about "clean boost" pedals all the time -- those are buffers. I know people that say they have a clean boost on all the time because it makes things sound better, and it's probably in part for the reasons Cornish mentioned.

-W-

Kris · June 12th, 2004, 07:26 AM

Most of the time I don´t care much whether I use true bypass or buffered pedals, provided buffers are good quality.

The problem comes in when I want to play sqeaky clean and there is a bad buffer in the signal chain -- this can really mess with my clean tone when the effect is bypassed. This is the reason why I leave my Boss and Ibanez pedals at home when I need to play clean in some of the songs.

Kris

June 11th, 2004, 09:47 PM	#1 (permalink)
tkingen Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 182	True Bypass Myths? This has probably been beaten to death, but it's new to me. With all of the marketing about true bypass switching, I've come to the conclusion that true bypass doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to achieve transparent tone. In personal a/b tests, and without naming the expensive pedals, true bypass switching seemed to actually dull the bypassed tone in some cases. Although subtle, the overall tone was a little lifeless compared to not having the pedal in the signal path. This was even with short cable runs of good quality. With the buffered bypass pedals, which were BOSS BD2, DD2, DM2 and CH1, there was definitely a small volume loss. But when I turned the volume on the amp up a smidge, the tone was the same as if I had plugged straight into the amp without pedals. I've also noticed that Pete Cornish is against true bypass switching. See his "lecture" here: http://www.petecornish.co.uk Any thoughts about this subject? Thanks, Terry

June 12th, 2004, 12:57 AM	#2 (permalink)
Tim Bowen Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Age: 48 Posts: 3,300	A chain of all true bypass pedals definitely needs a good buffer in line. Otherwise the high end is attenuated due to cable capacitance & loading, & you can hear it. The best place for a buffer is probably the earliest in the chain where it doesn't muck with something else (notably germanium-based fuzz). On the other hand, a chain of several buffered pedals doesn't really do it for me... there's no absolutes, I think you just have to use your ears & make adjustments when something irks you. I definitely get my best tones when using mostly true bypass stompers as combined with a good buffer or two. The Klon is an example of a pedal with a superior buffer. With it in line, everything seems to sound better, even when it is bypassed. I've not had a chance to read the article that you supplied a link for, Terry. I don't see myself shelling out 600 clams for Cornish pedals anytime soon... but Pete Cornish is an icon that has been at this game for many years, & he knows of what he speaks. He designs & builds for cats like David Gilmour; it's doubtful to me that Gilmour could run his signal through all that processing & get those delicious tones without the use of superior buffers - it would be lost. Active pickups have probably aided him in that respect as well. __________________ "Everyone is different in how they learn, but for me, it's turning the pegs and just playing." - BB

June 12th, 2004, 07:14 AM	#3 (permalink)
dwdyer Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 148 2 Photos	The problem is crap buffers, not buffers As Cornish says, "Many effects I have tested have an input impedance of less than 100 Kilohms (ie: only one tenth of the amp input impedance) and cause serious signal losses in the effects chain." People talk about "clean boost" pedals all the time -- those are buffers. I know people that say they have a clean boost on all the time because it makes things sound better, and it's probably in part for the reasons Cornish mentioned. -W-

June 12th, 2004, 07:26 AM	#4 (permalink)
Kris Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Reykjavik, Iceland Posts: 357	The problem is poor quality buffers Most of the time I don´t care much whether I use true bypass or buffered pedals, provided buffers are good quality. The problem comes in when I want to play sqeaky clean and there is a bad buffer in the signal chain -- this can really mess with my clean tone when the effect is bypassed. This is the reason why I leave my Boss and Ibanez pedals at home when I need to play clean in some of the songs. Kris