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PSA - The Dunlop 535QAR is buffered bypass (advertised as "true hardwired)

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  • #1

    PSA - The Dunlop 535QAR is buffered bypass (advertised as "true hardwired)

    Hey team!

    I just got a great new toy, the dunlop 535QAR mini. It is ALMOST everything I've wanted in a wah, but it's buffered and it will mess with your fuzz / treble booster if you put it in the front of your signal path

    I've always loved the tones from Dunlop wahs (except maybe the basic GCB95), and the 535Q was one of my favorites. However, I hate how finnicky it is to engage these wahs on the fly, and because of that, have often used other wahs with automatic engagement features like Morley or the Wahter.

    Anyway, I thought that 535QAR, with the auto-engagement feature was exactly what I've always wanted. It's advertised as having "true hardwired" bypass. Whatever that is supposed to mean, it definitely has a buffer, and considerably screwed with the tone I get from my fuzz and treble booster until i figured out what had gone wrong.

    I ended up just putting the wah further downstream in the signal chain, and it sounds fantastic! It's a great little wah with some lovely tones, and I do like having a buffer going in the front end of my amp, now that I've placed it properly and have fixed the buffer-into-fuzz problem.

    This is my signal change:
    Axe -> Analogman Sun Lion -> Wah -> Mesa Mark v:25 -> (FX loop (Truetone H2O -> Tuner))

    Just thought I'd share. And I do highly recommend the pedal!
    Gibson LP, Burstbucker 3 A6, 490R A4
    Gibson LP, Pearly Gates A6, Sentient A4
    Gibson LP BFG, Burstbucker A8, P90
    Gibson SG special T, GFS Crunchy Mini, Gibson mini A3
    Strat SSS, SD STK-6 , SSL1 middle, Bootstrap Sparkle Neck
    Strat HSS hardtail, Perpetual Burn A6, Bootstrap Sparkle mid/neck
    Tele, DMZ Area Hot T, Gibson Mini A3
    Tele, DMZ Pegasus A2, Gibson Mini A3
    Jackson V, SD Pegasus bridge, 490R A5
    PRS SE CU24: Air Norton A2, 490R A3
    Tags: None
  • #2
    I've had the JP wah for a few months now but haven't used it with a fuzz or anything finicky. It's also listed as true-hardwire.
    From my research that's their "transitional" way to say true-bypass so as to not make the older pedal models hardwire bypass seem as bad.
    On some of the newest models they are printing it true-bypass as they should, but true-hardwire is the same, and the old models just say hardwire.

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    • #3
      I wonder if the full size is also a buffered bypass...I don't use a fuzz pedal, so it might not affect me at all, but I was looking at the 535Q full size wah.
      Administrator of the SDUGF

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      • #4
        There have been several board revisions of the full sized 535Q wah. The new ones are true bypass. Some of the older ones are half-assed bypass and suck tone noticeably - you can rewire them to be true bypass (I did and it's not too hard to do) but it involves cutting and stripping some thin wires out of a ribbon cable.

        Dunlop has a long history of using weaselly BS language regarding their bypasses - I don't trust anything they say unless I've traced the circuit.
        Join me in the fight against muscular atrophy!

        Originally posted by Douglas Adams
        This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.
        • Likes 2

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        • #5
          Originally posted by GuitarStv View Post
          There have been several board revisions of the full sized 535Q wah. The new ones are true bypass. Some of the older ones are half-assed bypass and suck tone noticeably - you can rewire them to be true bypass (I did and it's not too hard to do) but it involves cutting and stripping some thin wires out of a ribbon cable.

          Dunlop has a long history of using weaselly BS language regarding their bypasses - I don't trust anything they say unless I've traced the circuit.
          Well, crap...how do I know if it is a newer one? Is there something to look for if I buy it used?
          Administrator of the SDUGF

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          • #6
            pull the battery. if it still passes sound when its off, its really true bypass
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            • #7
              Originally posted by jeremy View Post
              pull the battery. if it still passes sound when its off, its really true bypass
              If I am buying used on Reverb, I can't do that, nor trust the seller to tell me the truth.
              Administrator of the SDUGF

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              • #8
                fair enough. i usually buy local and try and check things out in person before i buy. i know most people arent that way these days though

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by jeremy View Post
                  pull the battery. if it still passes sound when its off, its really true bypass
                  Unfortunately, this isn't a reliable test for true bypass.

                  Dunlop used a really half-assed bypass for ages (including on the early crybaby pedals) where in they bypass mode they kept the whole (unpowered) circuit hanging off of the guitar signal - this mostly prevented the effect from sounding but added a lot of capacitance to your tone. It also would remain bypassed when unpowered. Let them save a dollar or two by buying a cheaper switch though . . .
                  Join me in the fight against muscular atrophy!

                  Originally posted by Douglas Adams
                  This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.
                  • Likes 1

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Mincer View Post

                    Well, crap...how do I know if it is a newer one? Is there something to look for if I buy it used?
                    If you're buying used, ask for the revision number written on the circuit board (just need to open the pedal and read what's written there). The true bypass models from what I've seen seem to have started on rev F boards.

                    If you want to mod an older one to be true bypass you just need a 3pdt stomp switch and to follow this tutorial: https://www.thegearpage.net/board/in...d-mod.1168208/
                    Join me in the fight against muscular atrophy!

                    Originally posted by Douglas Adams
                    This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by GuitarStv View Post

                      If you're buying used, ask for the revision number written on the circuit board (just need to open the pedal and read what's written there). The true bypass models from what I've seen seem to have started on rev F boards.

                      If you want to mod an older one to be true bypass you just need a 3pdt stomp switch and to follow this tutorial: https://www.thegearpage.net/board/in...d-mod.1168208/
                      Thanks for this info!
                      Administrator of the SDUGF

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by GuitarStv View Post

                        Unfortunately, this isn't a reliable test for true bypass.

                        Dunlop used a really half-assed bypass for ages (including on the early crybaby pedals) where in they bypass mode they kept the whole (unpowered) circuit hanging off of the guitar signal - this mostly prevented the effect from sounding but added a lot of capacitance to your tone. It also would remain bypassed when unpowered. Let them save a dollar or two by buying a cheaper switch though . . .
                        gotcha. if you pull the battery on a pedal and it works, you know for sure it is true bypass. though from what you say sounds like you may get false negatives when a company like dunlop gets "inventive" with their wiring

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by jeremy View Post

                          gotcha. if you pull the battery on a pedal and it works, you know for sure it is true bypass. though from what you say sounds like you may get false negatives when a company like dunlop gets "inventive" with their wiring

                          Basically this is what Dunlop uses and calls 'true hardwire bypass' (see how the whole circuit is still impacting the signal?):


                          And this is real true bypass where it's clean as plugging into a few extra inches of cable:


                          Both work without power (because neither depend on buffered switching). Dunlop often does the former because it allows them to use a slightly cheaper component for the footswitch.
                          Join me in the fight against muscular atrophy!

                          Originally posted by Douglas Adams
                          This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.
                          • Likes 2

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                          • #14
                            ah, i see what you are saying now. lame. so disregard the battery thing

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                            • #15
                              So does anyone know about their newer EQ-6? It always says true-bypass in the descriptions but in the manual it says true-hardwire still.

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