If you have a BOSS Tuner and haven't bought a Pitch Black...

[Mizati20]

I've been a fan of Boss pedals for quite awhile... I have a decent sized pedal board but never had use for a delay in my bands music until recently... so of course I just went and picked up a Boss Delay, brought it home, and it sounded like complete ass...took it back and the gentleman recommended the MXR Carbon Copy, absolutely amazing pedal, true bypass, blah blah blah, that got me thinking about my other Boss pedals and if I was limiting myself...

Long story short I started doing some pedal swapping and came across the Korg Pitch Black tuner...I did some research online and watched all the stupid Youtube videos, and once I found out that the Boss TU-2 is only accurate up to 3 cents +/- and the PB has a 1 cent accuracy I was sold....the only reason I'm writing this is because if you are using a Boss tuner you are seriously selling yourself short... I hate everything about it now, the note doesn't register right away, the lights don't fade into each other so your either 1 dot out of tune, or in tune, and it always jumps back and forth, it's not true bypass, ugh.

I'm not pretending this thing is as good as a Strobo Stomp, and I saw a video for a Turbo Tuner that looked really nice, the strobe thing just isn't for me....but seriously, no joke, go out and buy a Pitch Black tuner if you are debating on getting one, or if you have a TU-2, get rid of it, thank me later, yes CSB, and a ridiculous first post LoL

 

[titanamps]

i'm probably about to stir up a shit storm, but i gotta do it...

pedal geeks make way too much fuss about "true bypass". in reality, if every pedal is true bypass and you have 20 of them, the signal going to the amp is so degraded and crappy, it's a miracle anybody gets decent tone with a huge board loaded with true bypass pedals.

one of the things that SS stuff is REALLY good for is clean, transparent buffering. high quality pedals with good input/output buffers are much better for your signal integrity than a bunch of stompbox switches.

<cue shitstorm>

as for your recent discovery regarding non boss pedals, congratulations! brand loyalty is cool and all, but it's MUCH better to use stuff that actually works for you

 

[NewWorldMan]

Personally, I like my TU-2. Works great and I could spill beer in the thing and run over it with the truck loaded with gear and it would probably still work just fine. That type of reliability and "if it ain't broke - don't fix it" leads me to stay with it...

 

[Mizati20]

i'm probably about to stir up a shit storm, but i gotta do it...

pedal geeks make way too much fuss about "true bypass". in reality, if every pedal is true bypass and you have 20 of them, the signal going to the amp is so degraded and crappy, it's a miracle anybody gets decent tone with a huge board loaded with true bypass pedals.

one of the things that SS stuff is REALLY good for is clean, transparent buffering. high quality pedals with good input/output buffers are much better for your signal integrity than a bunch of stompbox switches.

<cue shitstorm>

as for your recent discovery regarding non boss pedals, congratulations! brand loyalty is cool and all, but it's MUCH better to use stuff that actually works for you

Thanks for the congrats, and I respect your opinion knowing who you are from HC and also knowing you have infinite more knowledge than me when it comes to electronics and the ins and outs of gear, but since switching to true bypass pedals, there is definitely a difference in my sound when I have everything turned off and it's just my Mark V's raw distortion, call it better pedals, call it because of the true bypass, dont care, but there is most certainly a difference in sound...

 

[titanamps]

oh yeah, i'm sure there's a difference.

whether it's a good difference or a bad one is in the ears of the beholder

FWIW, i used to have the notion that TB pedals were superior. then i read an article written by some pedal guru that went in depth about impedances and buffers that totally changed my point of view.

as always, if it's working for ya, keep doing it...there's no right or wrong, only different.

 

[lordriffenstein]

oh yeah, i'm sure there's a difference.

whether it's a good difference or a bad one is in the ears of the beholder

FWIW, i used to have the notion that TB pedals were superior. then i read an article written by some pedal guru that went in depth about impedances and buffers that totally changed my point of view.

as always, if it's working for ya, keep doing it...there's no right or wrong, only different.

That guru probably was Pete Cornish as he has a nice article about pros and cons of TB on his website.

You are right about using only TB-pedals, it will suck tone compared with going straight in. So you will need at least 1 buffer early in the chain to "drive" the signal thru all the cable and get the best tone to your amp. However, not all buffers are created equally and there are some great quality buffers on the market and some bad as well.

Good buffer + quality cable + TB pedals will get you the best results.

I love my Korg Pitch Black, great tuner. I have a Strobostomp1 on my other board and I would replace it with the Korg PB if something happened to it.

 

[Digital Jams]

oh yeah, i'm sure there's a difference.

whether it's a good difference or a bad one is in the ears of the beholder

FWIW, i used to have the notion that TB pedals were superior. then i read an article written by some pedal guru that went in depth about impedances and buffers that totally changed my point of view.

as always, if it's working for ya, keep doing it...there's no right or wrong, only different.

That guru probably was Pete Cornish as he has a nice article about pros and cons of TB on his website.

You are right about using only TB-pedals, it will suck tone compared with going straight in. So you will need at least 1 buffer early in the chain to "drive" the signal thru all the cable and get the best tone to your amp. However, not all buffers are created equally and there are some great quality buffers on the market and some bad as well.

Good buffer + quality cable + TB pedals will get you the best results.

I love my Korg Pitch Black, great tuner. I have a Strobostomp1 on my other board and I would replace it with the Korg PB if something happened to it.

Yeah Pete had a killer articule in GP about TB and it is not what people think esp if you have a long loop between you and the amp.

 

[moltenmetalburn]

True bypass is a godsend when used correctly. you will need at least one buffer in the signal chain,a good sounding one at that.

I think that many people who play guitar just really don't understand the ins and outs of the equipment, and rightfully so musicians are not electronics engineers.

I too often see the "case against true bypass" presented as such that TB is not a solution to tone suck from a chain of pedals.

It is when used correctly.

If you went out and replaced 30 odd pedals on your pedal board with all true bypass and are now that suffering the effects of capacitance on your guitar signal, it is your fault. you went ahead and went TB without even understanding what it uses are.

a long signal chain of any type will suffer capacitance issues. pedals or no pedals.

So as stated before an awesome buffer before your TB pedal and possibly after them also will sound far better than 15-20 odd crappy buffers in your signal chain.

 

[droptrd]

So what are some examples of good buffers? I have a Decimator, a Boss PS-5 and a soon to be replaced TU-2 on my board. the other 4 are TB.

 

[Death by Uberschall]

First thing my guitar signal hits is my Morley Bad Horsie II which buffers the signal. Seems to be completely transparent.

But I also run EMGs, so it really doesn't matter for my set-up.

 

[guitarplayer]

I love my PB. Very small footprint and easy to see.

 

[moltenmetalburn]

So what are some examples of good buffers? I have a Decimator, a Boss PS-5 and a soon to be replaced TU-2 on my board. the other 4 are TB.

stand alone buffers I guess.

http://www.lehle.com/frameset.php?country=us&lang=en
this sunday driver sounds great.

this axxess buffer is good:
http://www.axess-electronics.com/sc/BS2 ... 16133.html

this wobo buffer/booster one:
http://woboge.com/effects.html

I like the valvulator for warmth:
http://www.sfdamp.com/valvulator.html

im sure there are many more that are good, these Ive used.

the decimator is good at the end of the chain before the amp.

 

[Death by Uberschall]

The Valvulator is a great tube buffer, I have one. But didn't have any room left on my pedal board for it.

 

[blackba]

So what are some examples of good buffers? I have a Decimator, a Boss PS-5 and a soon to be replaced TU-2 on my board. the other 4 are TB.

I really like the buffer in my Korg DT-10. Its a nice tuner too.

 

[guitarslinger]

I've been a fan of Boss pedals for quite awhile... I have a decent sized pedal board but never had use for a delay in my bands music until recently... so of course I just went and picked up a Boss Delay, brought it home, and it sounded like complete ass...took it back and the gentleman recommended the MXR Carbon Copy, absolutely amazing pedal, true bypass, blah blah blah, that got me thinking about my other Boss pedals and if I was limiting myself...

Long story short I started doing some pedal swapping and came across the Korg Pitch Black tuner...I did some research online and watched all the stupid Youtube videos, and once I found out that the Boss TU-2 is only accurate up to 3 cents +/- and the PB has a 1 cent accuracy I was sold....the only reason I'm writing this is because if you are using a Boss tuner you are seriously selling yourself short... I hate everything about it now, the note doesn't register right away, the lights don't fade into each other so your either 1 dot out of tune, or in tune, and it always jumps back and forth, it's not true bypass, ugh.

I'm not pretending this thing is as good as a Strobo Stomp, and I saw a video for a Turbo Tuner that looked really nice, the strobe thing just isn't for me....but seriously, no joke, go out and buy a Pitch Black tuner if you are debating on getting one, or if you have a TU-2, get rid of it, thank me later, yes CSB, and a ridiculous first post LoL

no.


Long story short.

Boss tuner sucks

I don't need a strobe tuner

Korg Pitchblack is good.


Oh, and CSB

 

[moltenmetalburn]

The Valvulator is a great tube buffer, I have one. But didn't have any room left on my pedal board for it.

it is pretty huge!

 

[guitarslinger]

Anybody want to buy my VHT Valvulator Tube Buffer?

$110 shipped + giftpaypalled.

It has velcro on the bottom, and some of the lettering has rubbed off slightly on the silver top.

works great.

I don't have any dc power cables for it. I just used the Visual Sound DC daisy chain from GC. It worked fantasticly.

 

[moltenmetalburn]

Anybody want to buy my VHT Valvulator Tube Buffer?

$110 shipped + giftpaypalled.

It has velcro on the bottom, and some of the lettering has rubbed off slightly on the silver top.

works great.

I don't have any dc power cables for it. I just used the Visual Sound DC daisy chain from GC. It worked fantasticly.

interested in any trades? i heard you were on an eminence kick, i have some 8 ohm speakers kicking around here... swamp thing and wizard.

 

[guitarslinger]

Anybody want to buy my VHT Valvulator Tube Buffer?

$110 shipped + giftpaypalled.

It has velcro on the bottom, and some of the lettering has rubbed off slightly on the silver top.

works great.

I don't have any dc power cables for it. I just used the Visual Sound DC daisy chain from GC. It worked fantasticly.

interested in any trades? i heard you were on an eminence kick, i have some 8 ohm speakers kicking around here... swamp thing and wizard.

I'd love an 8 ohm ST and 8 ohm sleeve of wizard.

How close to a straight up trade do you want for both speakers.

 

[sebby123]

The Valvulator is a great tube buffer, I have one. But didn't have any room left on my pedal board for it.

it is pretty huge!

Thats was she said....