Re: How much does True bypass matter?
Not all buffers are created equal, some affect the signal negatively. The boss buffers are fine though. Actually some of those true bypass pedals might be more tone suckers than others depending on the quality of the switch used in there.
This is generally true, but I would add that not even all Boss pedal's buffers are created equal. There are some genuine tone killers in the Boss lineup as well. The DM-2 Analog Delay, SG-1 Slow Gear and DC-2 Dimension C are all tone thieves, despite the fact that they are great sounding effects when engaged.
We can't just say 'buffer' and have it mean one thing. Like anything, some are better than others. When Pete Cornish talks about a buffer, he's not talking specifically about the buffer in a cheap Boss pedal. As simple a circuit as it is, it can still come down to components and implementation. So we can't just say, "My Boss pedal has a buffer...Pete Cornish recommends buffers, so I'm in line with Pete Cornish." A poorly implemented buffer can do more harm than good.
To quote Mike Ibrahim from MI Audio, "The primary role of a buffer on a mass produced pedal is not to ‘rescue’ your guitar tone from degradation, but rather to drive the low quality transistor based switching system. The input impedance of these buffer circuits are thus designed not to keep all of the top end sparkle of your guitar tone. In some cases, the input impedance of this buffer is as low as 200kOhms, which is 25 times lower than the input impedance of the Boost ‘n’ Buff circuit." Sure, he wants to sell us his pedal, but he makes a valid point.
The basic rule of thumb should be, if you find a pedal that has a negative effect on your clean signal when disengaged, put it in a bypass looper. All of this discussion of buffers is only relevant when you have nothing engaged on your pedal board, your 'straight through' signal. If you are happy with the way it sounds, you need not be concerned about buffers. If you feel there's room for improvement, you can run some experiments on the pedals in your chain and see if there are any offenders. If there are, you can run them in a true bypass looper and take them out of the straight through chain.
As has been mentioned, too many true bypass pedals without some sort of buffer to drive the high impedance signal of your guitar output through a bunch of cable and connectors will also negatively impact your tone. In this case, a quality buffer will negate the capacitance of the cable run and deliver you a tone through your pedalboard that is
closer to plugging straight into the amp. Where you place the buffer in the chain is also a matter of personal preference. For many years, I ran a buffer after my overdrives and distortions, because I didn't like what the buffer did to those pedals running before them. Recently, I got a modded EB Jr volume pedal that has a variable impedance buffer, and its quality is so good, and it is so well voiced, that it actually
improves the sound of my overdrives and distortions...go figure.
All about opinions, because there aren't many that agree with me!
