True Bypass -- what is it?

[RW James]

I will confess my sin - I buy cheap stuff - but I've gotten by until now.

I have a few DOD and Digitech pedals - and a Fender pedal tuner - all under $50.

When they are all off - I still get a bit of noise. Especially when I have the amp on one of the overdrive channels.

Okay, that may not be that much of problem since I will probably use my pedals through a clean channel - but even on clean I still get a bit of hum. When I pull all the pedals out of the chain, the tuner itself seems to be generating hum.

I've read in this forum about "true bypass" -- what is it? Is it something found in only the more expensive pedals? Or is it something I can add to my board or mod onto my pedals.

Could the hum possibly be generated by the wall warts? I have them mounted on a power strip on the same board with the pedals -- are they producing enough RF to make a difference?

I'm about ready to just dump the whole board...

Any reasonable suggested would be much appreciated...

Thanks

 

[HamerPlyr]

Re: True Bypass -- what is it?

Here, Rick. Read this. It'll tell you everything that you need to know (and then some).

http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/bypass/bypass.htm

 

[RW James]

Re: True Bypass -- what is it?

Thanks... that article was great... has anybody built his by-pass box? Does it work well?

I also have a Dunlop Crybaby (saw it mentioned in the articls as a major tone sucker) - along with the Fender tuner and assorted effects pedals. I actually didn't have a problem until I ran them into my new Line 6 Spider II amp (I used to use a Crate GFX). I'm guessing the Line 6 is more sensitive to these noises.