Buffer/Booster
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The
Wampler Pedals
Clean Buffer was an extremely well-liked pedal during its
production, known for its purity of tone and for offering fantastic buffering that
allowed pretty much any gear to get along nicely. The
Wampler Pedals
Talent
Booster is another favorite from the past, a pedal which could make your tone
not just louder, but better.
Calls for another
Wampler Pedals
boost intensified when the SLOstortion was
released, with many users so enamored of the separately usable boost side of
that 2-in-1 pedal that they demanded Brian put his mind to making Wampler
Pedals users a new pedal that they could put wherever they want. Well, we
listened, and true to form, Brian figured "why do just a buffer or just a boost
when you can do both?"
Meet the
Buffer|Boost, a pedal that offers excellent, stable buffering
AND a fantastic clean boost, in one great, durable, easy-to-use package!
Controls
To get the most out of your new pedal, you'll want to become very familiar with
the controls, or in this case, control: the
Gain
knob. As with all
Wampler Pedals
products, the
Buffer|Boost includes a high-quality true-bypass switch
which takes it completely out of the signal path when bypassed. Experiment and
enjoy!
Bypass Switch – A true-bypass footswitch ensures solid, mechanical removal of
the circuit when it isn't wanted, meaning you don't lose any tone when the pedal
is off. Some people may wonder, "Why stick a true bypass switch on a buffer?"
First, when using the
Buffer|Boost as a buffer, it allows you to place the pedal at the start of the signal path without any
concerns about disrupting the functionality of certain pedals that want to be "wired in" to your guitar. For example, if you have a
vintage fuzz pedal or an old wah, its design probably isn't very friendly toward any sort of complicated signal path. It probably
sounds its best when it is the first thing in the signal chain coming from your guitar. Another case would be any of the modern
oscillation-machine freak-out fuzz pedals. Putting a buffer in front of any of the aforementioned pedals can disrupt their sound or
even make them not work as intended.
However, buffer pedals do their best work at the very start of a signal chain, preventing high frequency loss from cable runs
before or after the buffer, AKA the dreaded tone suck. The simple solution? Being able to bypass the buffer lets you place it at the
start of the signal chain without worry. You can simply disengage it for any other pedals that need to be wired into your guitar to
sound their best, then kick it back on the rest of the time to prevent tone suck.
The second reason is straightforward: if you're using the
Buffer|Boost for its boost function, you have to be able to turn
it off and on depending on whether you currently want your signal to be boosted or not!
Gain
– This single knob is everything you need to operate the
Buffer|Boost pedal. When turned fully counterclockwise,
the pedal operates in full "Buffer" mode, reproducing the signal faithfully while preventing tone suck due to long cable runs,
pedals that don't have compatible input and output impedance, or any other reason. Default placement would be at the start of
your signal chain so that its high input impedance can stop your pickups from shaving off highs, and it converts your signal to a
very pedal-friendly impedance and voltage. Advanced troubleshooting placement would be to put it between any two pedals
that you find don't work well together. It will isolate them from each other and perfect your tone. If you have a very high output
guitar, you may need to turn the Gain knob up very slightly so that the bypassed signal and the signal when engaged are identi-
cal in volume, or "unity gain."
TM
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