Effects pedals - true bypass or not

Kegzy05

When buying effects pedals is it imperative that I only get ones that are true bypass? I have heard from people that they suck your tone alot when they are off. but i cant tell whether its really going to matter. after all, pretty much boss's entire range ARENT true bypass.

All Those Yesterdays

Kegzy05 wrote:

When buying effects pedals is it imperative that I only get ones that are true bypass? I have heard from people that they suck your tone alot when they are off. but i cant tell whether its really going to matter. after all, pretty much boss's entire range ARENT true bypass.

Can always add one, common with vox wah's etc.

ianvomsaal

YES and NO - it really depends on the pedals design.
Boss pedals don't degrade your signal much while some others do.
I've left my BOSS stuff alone while I've gone True Bypass with my VOX V847 (plus I added a bright blue LED).
In the end it's really up to the individual and their ears.
However, the reason so many people go the True Bypass route is because it DOES make a difference in your sound.

- Ian

Jooooosh

Most boss pedals have a pretty decent buffered bypass that doesn't degrade the signal much at all. Which is good since they're so difficult to convert to true bypass.
You'll be fine just leaving it as is. There are some wahs (vintage ones especially) that are notorious tone suckers so those you'll want to convert to true bypass or buy or build a true bypass looper, but for boss pedals you really won't have to worry about it.

Guitarhero27

Just remember that having True Bypass pedals and Radio Shack pedal cables kinda defeats the purpose. If you're upgrading your pedals to true bypass....make sure to upgrade your cables

lava cables
george l

just a friendly tip

scot88

so the question i've always wondered is why not just make all pedals true bypass?

cost issue?

Novawind

If all pedals were true bypass, you would have signal loss over the course of 8+ pedals on your board. The reason that many pedals are made with buffered bypass (like Boss) is to so that the signal is "buffered" along the chain and it doesn't undergo volume drop. People who run all true-bypass pedals usually need a clean boost of some kind to help combat this volume drop.

Kevin Wilson

While there will be some signal degredation through the length of the cable there is a big difference between your guitar signal moving through the cable and true bypassed pedal vs. through your cable the circuit of each pedal and to the amp. While with true bypass there is some signal loss which as posted before me can be defeated by encorporating a clean boost. There is a big difference between tone sucking and signal loss. Tone sucking refers to the signal running through each pedals circuit even in bypass mode. Greatly depreciating the true sound of your guitar rather than just some signal loss.

Jooooosh

Novawind wrote:

If all pedals were true bypass, you would have signal loss over the course of 8+ pedals on your board. The reason that many pedals are made with buffered bypass (like Boss) is to so that the signal is "buffered" along the chain and it doesn't undergo volume drop. People who run all true-bypass pedals usually need a clean boost of some kind to help combat this volume drop.

That's true, although I think cost is a factor as well. 3pdt switches are expensive as hell ($9+)
Putting a $10 switch in a $40 pedal doesn't make much sense and would just raise the price (granted Boss would get the switches significantly cheaper than that, but you get the idea.)

Not to mention most people who buy pedals don't seem to know the difference or just don't care.

ianvomsaal

Jooooosh wrote:

That's true, although I think cost is a factor as well. 3pdt switches are expensive as hell ($9+)
Putting a $10 switch in a $40 pedal doesn't make much sense and would just raise the price (granted Boss would get the switches significantly cheaper than that, but you get the idea.)

Not to mention most people who buy pedals don't seem to know the difference or just don't care.

I buy my 3PDT true bypass switches for $4.50 a piece.
I usually order 3 at a time for $13.50.
Shipping on the 3 is only $1.64 for a total of $15.14.

Jooooosh

ianvomsaal wrote:

I buy my 3PDT true bypass switches for $4.50 a piece.
I usually order 3 at a time for $13.50.
Shipping on the 3 is only $1.64 for a total of $15.14.

Where from? I get all my pedal parts including switches from smallbear which has 3pdt's at $10 a pop
http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=20

maybe mouser would be a better bet, I dunno. I think I'm going to start just using dpdt's and forget about an LED.

ianvomsaal

Jooooosh wrote:

Where from? I get all my pedal parts including switches from smallbear which has 3pdt's at $10 a pop
http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=20

maybe mouser would be a better bet, I dunno. I think I'm going to start just using dpdt's and forget about an LED.

You're

ianvomsaal

Jooooosh wrote:

Where from? I get all my pedal parts including switches from smallbear which has 3pdt's at $10 a pop
http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=20

maybe mouser would be a better bet, I dunno. I think I'm going to start just using dpdt's and forget about an LED.

Getting

ianvomsaal

Jooooosh wrote:

Where from? I get all my pedal parts including switches from smallbear which has 3pdt's at $10 a pop
http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=20

maybe mouser would be a better bet, I dunno. I think I'm going to start just using dpdt's and forget about an LED.

Ripped

ianvomsaal

Jooooosh wrote:

Where from? I get all my pedal parts including switches from smallbear which has 3pdt's at $10 a pop
http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=20

maybe mouser would be a better bet, I dunno. I think I'm going to start just using dpdt's and forget about an LED.

Sorry - had to do that . . .
Man, you really are getting ripped off - so many people go through places like Mouser and Smallbear because
everyone else says "here's where you can find these parts", and you end up paying more for the same parts.
I have to say that these guys have been really great to me, and I get my switches in like 3-days for minimal
shipping (and I even get their RoHS compliant switches at 50-cents more a piece) Pedal Parts Plus. They're
just the same blue type Electro Harmonix switches that everyone else sells, but at less than half the price.
It sometimes pays to look around . . .

- Ian C.T. vom Saal

Jooooosh

ianvomsaal wrote:

Sorry - had to do that . . .
Man, you really are getting ripped off - so many people go through places like Mouser and Smallbear because
everyone else says "here's where you can find these parts", and you end up paying more for the same parts.
I have to say that these guys have been really great to me, and I get my switches in like 3-days for minimal
shipping (and I even get their RoHS compliant switches at 50-cents more a piece) Pedal Parts Plus. They're
just the same blue type Electro Harmonix switches that everyone else sells, but at less than half the price.
It sometimes pays to look around . . .

- Ian C.T. vom Saal

No need to apologize, I appreciate tips on saving money.

The last time I checked pedal parts plus they had an abysmal selection on anything other than enclosures but it looks like they've really started getting a bigger stock. I was planning on building a few more pedals this winter, looks like I'll give PPP a shot -- thanks for the tip.