Visual Sound: Myth Buster #1: True Bypass

http://www.visualsound.net/index.php/store Bob explains the difference between True Bypass and Visual Sound's Pure Tone Buffer. The spin stops here!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• true bypass
• visual sound
• pure tone buffer
• pedal shootout
• Bob Weil
• effects pedals demo

[timmy47]

you said to put it in front, but what if my first pedal on my board is a fuzzface? it's pretty picky about what goes in front of it, which is why it's first on my board.

[VisualSoundUSA]

@timmy47 You can put it after the FuzzFace, but you ought to modify the FuzzFace with a true bypass switch to eliminate the tone suck from that pedal.

[carlsanders371]

if i buy one of these pedals with the bypass buffer, can i run the boss noise suppressor pedal without any tone being sucked?

[VisualSoundUSA]

@carlsanders371 YES!

[ForeverSoul]

Hi just wondering..for the pure tone buffer effect..do I need to place one of your pedals BEFORE all other effect? or does it matter where i place them on the chain? or like in the middle? because i have a KORG TB tuner (supposedly) currently placed on the first in the chain.

thanks

[VisualSoundUSA]

@ForeverSoul PureTone at the beginning of your signal chain is the best place for it.

[arifreeman]

Is there a problem with having 10-20 buffers in a chain? My friend has a LOT of boss pedals on his pedal board and his clean sound is dull.

Is this anything to do with the pedals or will the problem more likely be with the pickups/cable/amp?

[oatstao]

I love these myth busting audio workshops. I wish I could have attended.

It puts the knowitalls on the same page as the idiots.

They both are flawed in approach and yet so much the same.

Good job on your product. Capacitance is tricky at times.

[Geepsterr]

@LetzBeaFranque This video demonstrates very well. Absolute perfect sense in theory and in practice: However once you have one good buffer up front or right after a true bypass pedal you are golden even with several pedals following the buffer . Even with 50 ft cord running to your amp still bright. Oddly I used to like the sound of my 61 Strat into about 30k load took some edge off . A buffer in the guitar is nice before a 10-20 k volume like EMG does , don't like their pickups

[LetzBeaFranque]

This is excellent! Electronically buffered bypass, Pure Tone bypass, makes total sense. Using the term "true bypass" necessarly implies that any other bypass is "false bypass" thus demonizes buffered bypass - a political and marketing trick. Electrical engineers know that "true bypass" is BS. Read Rodger Mayers discussion in Dave Hunters pedal book - pretty much the same info. as this video.

[VisualSoundUSA]

@MrSkAtEfReAk12 I hope you got this question answered by a call or email to our office. (We don't monitor YouTube all the time (sorry!) and we try to let the community answer a lot of questions.) The Pure Tone buffer needs to be at the beginning of the chain in most cases, but it really depends on whether the pedal(s) in front of it are tone suckers or not. If you have an old-school wah pedal like a VOX, it's gonna be a tone sucker. But if it's a modern pedal, it might not be bad at all.

[VisualSoundUSA]

It's still a good idea to use quality cables, including patch cables, in order to have the best signal, low noise, sturdy construction, etc. Do you need to spend hundreds of dollars on cables? ...that's pretty debatable, but you make the call on that one. If your budget doesn't include new cable and you've got "cheap" stuff now, the Pure Tone buffer will still make a huge difference.