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To Buffer or Not To Buffer - That is the Question

2,498 views · Published 1 January 2018 · 10:33 · Indexed 22 September 2026

Channel: millstap · 2018 · Music

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It dawned on me that one of the secrets of my tone is having a high quality buffer at the end of my effects chain.  It keeps me from losing any high frequencies on my long cable runs to my amps.  A subscriber was looking at buying a used (they don't make them anymore) Framptone 3-Banger amp switcher and asked me about mine.  Then it made me wonder how much affect does the buffer circuit actually have on my tone.  It definitely livens up the tone and keeps it from sounding too muffled.  I couldn't imagine playing without it.  

I have not disconnected my Framptone since I bought it 8-9 years ago, so in this video, I disconnect it just to reinforce my reason for using it.  There are many buffers out on the market.  I have attached a few links explaining their use and also of Brad Whitford's (Aerosmith) rig and how he uses his (13:50).  I think they are worth experimenting with.  I don't endorse any particular buffer unit.  I just found this link and thought it was a good explanation as to why they may be necessary on your effects board.  Experiment.  If you have an Boss pedal, you can use those to experiment with placement.  I also noticed that TC Electronics just came out with the new Polytune 3 with a built-in buffer.   

(Brad's Framptone at 13:50) https://youtu.be/rnQMMU8arGI

http://screaminfx.com/tech/why-and-when-to-use-a-guitar-buffer-pedal.htm
https://youtu.be/9LfrFncSCQU

Here is an excerpt from the Framptone manual:
Instrument Loading/Signal Loss- When splitting an instrument signal to multiple amplifiers, sound quality is lost because the high impedance output of guitars and basses is not suited to feed more than one high impedance amplifier input. The Framptone Amp Switcher’s instrument input is fed through a custom-designed buffer circuit which converts the instrument input to a low impedance signal allowing the instrument signal to be fed to many amplifiers simultaneously without suffering ANY signal loss or degradation.

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