Is my GCB-95 True Bypass?

[mrchodito]

I noticed last night as i was playing, that my wah effect wouldnt turn on. Upon further inspection i hadnt plugged it in yet. How was it playing in normal mode with no juice? Any other pedal i've seen wont let sound go through it whether its on or off unless its got a battery in it or adapter... It's a brand new one if that makes a diff.

 

[mrchodito]

Re: Is my GCB-95 True Bypass?

I know that their not supposed to be, but could it be the newer ones are getting the treatment now?
I heard that on this forum somewhere..

 

[mrchodito]

Re: Is my GCB-95 True Bypass?

I guess the better question would be then, is it possible it is. Really, I just want to know if it's normal for them to convey a clean signal to the amp when not plugged in, as opposed to, say, a distortion pedal... I'll open it open and get some pics on here sometime, unless someone can show, tell me what to look for when i open it up, to tell if it is or not. Anybody have some wisdom on this?

 

[ErikH]

Re: Is my GCB-95 True Bypass?

When did you buy it? New or used? I've got one from 1991 and it was not true bypass until I made it so. The newer ones may have what's called "hard wire bypass" which is essentially the same thing. You might not be able to tell easily from looking at the switch and the board but if you're getting clean signal when bypassed, with no power to the circuit, that's a sign that it is true bypass. And that's a good thing for wahs. Everything else, buffered bypass is a good idea (like Boss and Ibanez units).

 

[mrchodito]

Re: Is my GCB-95 True Bypass?

Its new. I got it like 4 months ago.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Is my GCB-95 True Bypass?

When did you buy it? New or used? I've got one from 1991 and it was not true bypass until I made it so. The newer ones may have what's called "hard wire bypass" which is essentially the same thing. You might not be able to tell easily from looking at the switch and the board but if you're getting clean signal when bypassed, with no power to the circuit, that's a sign that it is true bypass. And that's a good thing for wahs. Everything else, buffered bypass is a good idea (like Boss and Ibanez units).

If you get a signal through a pedal without power, it DOES NOT mean that it's true bypass. It just means that the pedal doesn't use a buffered bypass. A pedal can allow a signal through without a battery and suck tone horribly. Many wahs suffer from this problem. . .

 

[mrchodito]

Re: Is my GCB-95 True Bypass?

I wish i had gone for the 535Q, but how was i supposed to know that a company with such a name for itself would do something so stupid as to not include a true bypass. i didnt even know what true bypass was at the time. Why wouldnt they just put one in there, i dont understand... couldnt have bumped the price up THAT much...

 

[ErikH]

Re: Is my GCB-95 True Bypass?

If you get a signal through a pedal without power, it DOES NOT mean that it's true bypass. It just means that the pedal doesn't use a buffered bypass. A pedal can allow a signal through without a battery and suck tone horribly. Many wahs suffer from this problem. . .

Old wahs yes. Mine has no input/output buffers or buffered bypass and would not work without a battery in it. It sucked tone really bad until I made it TB.

Newer wahs have input and output buffers and even some a buffered bypass so the tone suckage should not be that bad, if at all.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Is my GCB-95 True Bypass?

I wish i had gone for the 535Q, but how was i supposed to know that a company with such a name for itself would do something so stupid as to not include a true bypass. i didnt even know what true bypass was at the time. Why wouldnt they just put one in there, i dont understand... couldnt have bumped the price up THAT much...

True bypass is not the end all be all for everything. It's just a term and a way of wiring things. You have to remember, they make these things to work in a wide range of rigs. A true bypassed pedal may work great in one person's rig but not another. The buffered bypass systems make them play nicely with whatever is in front/after them no matter what.

 

[mrchodito]

Re: Is my GCB-95 True Bypass?

Is there a visual way to tell if buffered bypass?

 

[ErikH]

Re: Is my GCB-95 True Bypass?

Is there a visual way to tell if buffered bypass?

Not unless you know what to look for. I haven't looked at any of the newer ones so I can't tell without seeing the circuit up close or a schematic.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Is my GCB-95 True Bypass?

Is there a visual way to tell if buffered bypass?

I think that you would do well to read this: http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/bypass/bypass.htm

The whole buffered vs. true bypass has a lot of myths that are spouted on forums like these by people without much real knowledge of what they're talking about. There are benefits and disadvantages to both types of bypass.

 

[mrchodito]

Re: Is my GCB-95 True Bypass?

cool

 

[ErikH]

Re: Is my GCB-95 True Bypass?

This is another good article. http://www.muzique.com/lab/truebypass.htm

With stuff I've built, I've made them true bypass simply because it's easy and haven't dove in to making buffered bypass units yet. I do like to have at least one buffered bypass pedal in the chain (of two or three) for the long cable runs.

 

[devastone]

Re: Is my GCB-95 True Bypass?

While I am one of the proponents of TB being overrated, I will say that wahs, at least the old Crybaby and Vox (at least the RI I had) ones without TB are some of the worst tone suckers. The problem is that the input impedance of the circuit is low enough that it bleeds off some of the highs when the wah is off because the circuit is never completely switched out of the signal chain.