The Truth About True Bypass

Is true bypass truly tremendous for tone?
Or are buffers basically better?
Let's discuss the pros and cons of each in order to reach a sound conclusion
Visit TC Electronic for more information on the Bona Fide Buffer:
www.tcelectronic.com
Watch in HD for best picture and sound quality!
Get 10% off your purchase at www.dragonsheartguitarpicks.com with this exclusive discount code: CSGUITAR10
Join the discussion at:
/ csguitars
www.plus.google.com/+0cscott
/ csg_scotland
/ colincsg
www.csguitars.co.uk
Contact:
[e-mail]

[@EytschPi42]

Great explanation.... Buffer demos are always difficult to produce and it is difficult to get the point across. Well done!

[@Loebane]

I just gained 2 IQ points and it only cost me 8 minutes of my life.

[@saedt]

+Loebane Right? This guy's vids are so straight to the point and easy to understand, unlike all the other channels on youtube

[@meusana3681]

If only it worked like that

[@meusana3681]

You already had the 2 points of IQ others that skipped after 10seconds did not have. Being open to being educated proves this philosophy

[@ThatMattGoodMusic]

It cost me even less because I watched it at 1.25 speed

[@onpsxmember]

You can still understand colin at increased speed?

[@TWill-zk3bt]

Colin, TC Electronic has a Buffered Bypass Mode on a lot of their pedals. Pretty much all the big pedals with Toneprint have it, including that Sentry Noise Gate. Just unscrew the back and flip the dip switch that's close to the power in jack.

[@ScienceofLoud]

+Tman5645 Ah, so that's what that does. Good info.

[@CharlesFreck]

+Tman5645 That's really really helpful cheers.

[@ethanyong7171]

+CSGuitars Oh yea btw Collin if you see a pedal with momentary switches it is a JFET bypass mechanic with buffers and so pedals like TC electronics, Boss, Behringer are JFET bypass that use buffers

[@darrkstarg]

Well hell, that's really handy to know!

[@rohadtanyad8908]

@@ScienceofLoud what language do you speak? i know it is not english, but it sounds familiar and i can understand about half of what you say.

[@MeetLocalSingles]

Love your videos Colin! As a hobby guitarist studying to become an electrician I've found your videos incredibly helpful! Explaining not just what various things are doing to our sounds, but the electrical processes behind it, happening to create all these lovely effects and tonal adjustments. It's really changed my approach in handling settings, to a way where I now know what options are desirable for certain situations, why they are desirable, and also how to achieve them. It's a really great way to be more in touch with the gear I use! Keep up the great content and many thanks from New Zealand!

[@EdMuse1122]

This was a truly great vid, very informative and well done. I particularly appreciate the side-by-side demos of long and short cable runs. Even for people who don't need to know about true-bypass vs. buffered circuits, that's incredibly useful, and I've never seen it more clearly explained and demonstrated. Thanks!

[@metalboy5150]

Awesomely clear and concise, just like all of your videos. I don't play as much as I used to (or as much as I should, to be honest), but I love your videos for how straightforward and clear they are. Keep it up, man, you're doing a good and necessary work here.

[@benjohnson2312]

your channel is keeping me sane (and educating me) during pandemic lockdown. THANKS

[@Claimjumper55]

Great stuff Colin. I was aware of a lot of that information but you're the first person that I've seen actually demonstrate it. I didn't realize that the difference was that noticeable.

[@thepaperkind]

Not really a guitar player but I find your videos fascinating.

[@gaelf.835]

Thanks for your videos. Your work helps me a lot in developing my pedalboard. Keep up the good work!

[@CAshton121]

Loving that Fossboard ;) Thanks for the clear, informative video!

[@kebab_boi]

Guess what, you've just gained yourself a new subscriber! Well done man! I love how well produced your videos are, and perfectly explained, with loads of evidence! Keep rocking!

[@Jaidezilla]

Thanks for really explaining buffers and getting into how to properly run one.

[@_THUMPR_]

dude you are really good and informative. thanks for not being boring

[@mikebreakwell3909]

Great video mate! Thanks for the tips.

[@DeltaF508]

wow KZbin has been so good to me today. Learning so much. Thanks Colin!

[@barbasbandas6665]

Great job Colin! Love yout videos, cheers from Portugal

[@samplecode]

Thanks, this is an excellent video. It really helped clear up some mental fuzziness (removed some impedance you could say...) I had about these frequently used terms.

[@russellbrown4718]

Excellent video, as always. So many people are scared to death of buffers and insist on true bypass only without really understanding what is going on. Thanks for posting that.

[@leon_mnl]

thanx for the information,love the easy to understand way you bring it,with a really cool accent! ,i have seen a lot of you're video and they thought me a lot as a biginner/wannabe musician ,keep m coming plz and greetings from hoorn ,the netherlands

[@Jack-xy7hi]

Really well done video man!

[@gregwienholt9864]

Great info. The new TC Polytune 3 contains the Bona Fide Buffer as well (two pedals in one) First in my signal chain.

[@OldManRoo]

Excellent video, very informative, I learned a lot from it, thank you!

[@Jokrono]

Congrats on getting this featured in TC Electronic's latest newsletter!

[@ScienceofLoud]

+Jokrono It is? I've not seen it yet. I might drop them a wee message :)

[@ScienceofLoud]

+Jokrono It is? I've not seen it yet. I might drop them a wee message :)

[@Jokrono]

+CSGuitars Yea, it was the top feature on their 20th of May email newsletter, above even Johnny Hiland

[@deadasfak]

That was a very useful video, thanks a lot!

[@lostlatinlover]

Yet another thing I learned today. Thanks!

[@BlaineLudeman]

nice vid man! perfect description ie; capacitors etc.!

[@kvd5998]

First time i saw this guy's videos i thought "man i will never understand a word..." but let me tell you, there is no other channel out there that gives you everything so straight up and simple +his own perspective on these topics... much appreciated!

[@darrensjames]

Nice work Colin.

[@bigevilmetalhead]

Fantastic video, Colin! Keep up the great work! Quickly becoming one of my favorite gear channels! \m/

[@BeethovenboyProductions]

Great video, super informative!

[@AntiphaseBand]

Very informative. Thank you!

[@rowlandstraylight]

I've done rack kit for 15 years and not really messed with anything other than a metal sound. Bought a small valve combo a few years ago to play about with at home. Just bought an EHX Crayon as I was looking for a mid boosting pedal and found the crayon did the metal TubeScreamer thing as well as well as being a useful distortion in its own right. Was great in the shop with short cables. Ran straight into needing a buffer when I got home.

[@higorguedes4413]

Thank you very much for your explanation

[@nicholascremato4861]

Great video. Point clearly made!

[@muse-mech-moda]

Succinctly and brilliantly put. Well done.

[@KaoswareMetal]

Thanks !! That was very clear and informative !

[@JamesJohnson-hb1me]

Thanks! Great info!

[@DylanSaliba]

Great video explanation! I just pulled the buffer from my crybaby and wow what a difference! I'm glad to know it's not a cure all though. Thanks for sharing!

[@ulricfernandez7541]

Excellent explanation.

[@youbi179]

Very well done! Thanks!!

[@Hallionuk]

Another wonderful method of avoiding tone and high end loss through my varied pedals was to make a Boss Noise Suppressor the only pedal between guitar and amp. With all other pedals running through the NS's send and return. The Spectrum Amalyser on my studio showed an identical result when compared to going straight into the amp. Was thrilled!

[@Slears]

So..that is why I have a Boss NS2 on all my Pedalboards...bufferd bypass..no worries...god damn...I learned sooooo much from you channel..my whole musical-gear-life changed..thx Dude

[@Superjet113]

Almost to 100k subs, that was fast. I remember 16k not to long ago. Congrats Colin!

[@ScienceofLoud]

Thank you. Seems like it's taken forever to me, but then I do judge my self worth by watching numbers slowly increment on a screen. These last few thousand are going to be torture.

[@Vortexafternoon]

Really good video, bru. Really helpful.

[@Cloughley22]

Really Educational Video dude, well in, i learned a few things !

[@spartanmen100]

Thank you. Nice video.

[@mindlesskris]

I feel like you could have also mentioned bypass systems where a section of (or even the whole) the pedal chain is bypassed, but I guess that can be very specific, I dunno. Awesome video man, keep 'em coming!

[@MaidenHairWa]

This is the second video I've seen from you and I must say... You are genius and a god. Thank you

[@tippybooch]

Very interesting indeed, definitely learned some things.

[@dogbiscuit1649]

Nice one Colin.

[@Melonos]

Great video!

[@Loscha]

So glad to see, as you described it, a Physics based discussion on bypass. You should consider getting an Oscilloscope and Signal Generator, too. Although, for Guitar frequency range, test tones from a PC or Phone will cover the spectrum required. Thanks again, and greetings from Australia (far away from NAMM, Sadly)

[@guitar19971]

I'll be honest I was really surprised by quite how much difference the cable length made to the tone. Not to mention the addition of the wah pedal and the buffer in the chain. Great vid as always Colin I look forward to seeing what you come out with next.

[@crashzero6517]

keep up these great videos you offer something heaps different to the other guys especially when it come to explaining gear and tone, but its also a fun channel. :) all the gain scoop the mids haha half my friends right there.

[@bravotronalpha3787]

Just FYI, a number of TC Electronic pedals have the option to be buffered bypass. There are dip switches inside that will allow you to choose between true and buffered, although I imagine that the Bona Fide is likely the best sounding buffer they've produced.

[@ok-tchau]

Amazing video, man. Noting like an A/B audio test to prove a statement.

[@sebastianmedina7075]

Thanks bro, this video was really helpful :)

[@miloradstrbacki4248]

Literally feel smarter since i saw this video... Thanks!

[@TheSpoonwood]

I was number 1000 like ... So proud,... But it was only because of how good this demo is, thanks

[@pedrostorms]

Great video! 👌

[@tonyy5482]

Excellent explanations & demo. Warren Hayes of Govt. Mule supposedly uses a long guitar lead as part of his tone, presumably for the capacitance/LPF. BTW The Bare Knuckles Mule pick-up tries to reproduce his tone and, to my ear, is the best pick-up sound I have come across. Of course, many guitarists use wireless rather than long leads now.

[@AmpworksCoUkRepairs]

Another great video Colin. It would be good to quantify what makes a 'good' buffer and what makes a buffer less good. I'd suggest something like: Frequency: 80-18kHz +/-0.5dB S/N>80dB input impedance >1M output

[@ScienceofLoud]

I'd be very interested to see your process and results. This would be an important resource.

[@Erukulon]

+Keld Ampworks Yes please! :) I would love to see results. What will you be using to measure the db's from the output?

[@RowanDiskinGuitar]

+Telebasterd Audio Precision gear for the audio tests, simple oscilloscope and fixed resistance method for the impedance checks. Not got round to it yet though, I'll dig out my DS-1 and make a start next week and post the results on. facebook.com/KeldAmpworks/?ref=hl

[@stevesmith3990]

Another very helpful video, many thanks. I have a Behringer reverb pedal that should have No Bypass printed on it!

[@ridhowiranatakusumah6531]

Thanks it help me a lot

[@troymarshall5783]

Great video 👍

[@countk1]

Interesting vid (amongst many others of you). I suspected my Crybaby was altering my sound quite a bit (mid tone junkie) and chucked it away for that. I was never able to pinpoint the real problem, but this vdeo made it perfectly clear. I suspect that this is the reason why I don't prefer to use pedals, although there's always one for boosting the signal or for quite specific sounds (HM-2 e.g.). Great Work! Love the accent btw!

[@deathhockey19]

This is why I loved the old vht valvulator. Have that first in you chain with a decent amp with a tube buffered fx loop and your done, simples.

[@numarion]

I just got a Bona Fide and plugged in between a chain of 6 pedals (true bypass and boss pedals as well) and placed it right in the middle of the chain. Sounds good right before the tremolo and delay. It's quite bright.

[@terran236]

I have an overdrive pedal made by Airis, it is buffered bypass and adds nice tonal quality even when bypassed. Especially noticeable on the clean channel.

[@JIMJAMSC]

I can vouch for the Bona Fide buffer and have 6 on 3 rigs. I run from guitar to stage pedals, mostly od's then to a rack with all the rest that are bypassed and manually turned off/on so they are not always in the loop. I noticed a nice bump up in volume,treble and overall tone with one after the floor pedals and one after the other effects and before the amps.

[@matoe123]

First of all you got a really great channel there. I love your vids, i can still learn from your guitar philosophies although i Play for more than 35 years (Perfect example is your vid about to set up gear with all the guitar volume and tone turned down a bit to be able to regulate up and down and not only to attenuate. I somehow knew this of course, but i never viewed it in that simple way which is totally logic :P) I also did a lot of modding to guitars and gear like you do, to know how to work with electronics is part of my Job and was a Hobby of mine since my youth.On True Bypass: Recently i really think about true Bypass for all pedals (aquiring some pedals who offer true bypass Feature to replace those i usen which don't). One thing about true Bypass: it allows the "working together" of the Input tube of a tube amp directly with the guitar if all effects are switched of. The second Advantage aspect true Bypass should reduce noise which all active buffer stages add to the Signal otoh the lower impedance provided by the buffer stage might reduce susceptability to external noise .A disadvantage of true Bypass otoh might be it could cause switching Pops depending on the Quality of the Switches.Sorry for my english which might not be perfect, since i am no native Speaker, Keep it up you really know what you do there!

[@sevreal4]

Awesome video Colin, very informative and useful like every vid you post. In other matters I have a question, if you would be kind to help me with this, does the amp size (in watts) affect the amount of saturation it can handle? does a valve amp can handle more saturation with the same amperage? Is the headpiece has more relation with it that the cabinet?

[@smacman68]

I don't even play guitar. I just come here to hear his voice.

[@zohaiblughmani5089]

Legend

[@StephenAvery93]

thanks for the video! already knew about this, but this was well done and explained. I'll definitely use it to explain it to friends. it does remind me that I need to replace my cry baby wah wah. I know it's a tone suck and I'm also not super happy with the wah sound itself. any good suggestions for a wah wah pedal that doesn't suck tone?

[@xxxdani310xxx]

Great video Colin! I am slowly beginning to understand true bypass and buffered bypass. The pedals I am currently use are a Ibanez F7 Fuzz, a Ibanez JD9 Jetdrive, and should be receiving an analog Boss Super Chorus soon. I am running it through a Fender Blues Jr tube amp with a Fender Strat MIM. So I believe all my pedals thus far are buffered, so would the buffered bypass you suggested enhance the my sound? I would really appreciate it and be grateful if you could help me out

[@UglyTheDuckling]

I personally like running long cables to kill some high end. It's a trick i learned from Warren Haynes on some rig rundown I saw years ago.

[@PackinForSuperbowl]

Good job on this video. I would say the buffer isn't the only thing that's missing from their lineup. Still waiting on a trem. :)

[@dr.akshatgange5883]

u r awsome... first guitar guy that talks physics... u r goin 2 quench my knowledge thirst... thx pal

[@JakeyBaby6]

This is why I run my Blackstar HT-Metal first, really good buffer in it, it does colour the tone slightly but I find the way it does so really useful. It seems as though the EQ is still slightly on even after being turned off meaning there isn't a really drastic tonal shift when I turn it off.

[@GogiRegion]

Scientifically, longer cables are the exact same as rolling down the tone control. I’d much prefer turning down a knob and having the option of bringing up the treble than my hardware limiting the high end.

[@Pedrohsc2]

Great vid, tks!

[@jukkapesonen8511]

Dude...you're smart. I love it!

[@MrSipi1988]

Damn good video, you saved me hours of reading about it. You easily illustrated what physics can do. Thank you ;)

[@EragonSuperM]

So that's why my playing lacks treble. I have a 25 ft cable running to a distortion pedal, and another 25 footer running from there to the amp. Such a simple fix to such a pain in the ass problem.

[@lentil5176]

EragonSuperM Run shorter cables lmao

[@Nopp3]

do you like to collect post or pop by the neighbors mid riff?

[@technoteardown4481]

This is an interesting video, if I use a long cable and it acts as a capacitor, I should be able to compensate for this by dialing the tone control all the way to 10, right? I think as you said in some of your other videos, it's nice to roll off the treble for a more pleasing tone.

[@SamVieiraGuitar]

Hi! Thanks for the video! Do you know or can you explain the down side of plugging more than 2 buffered pedals in a chain?

[@paintitmatt]

Thanks for the great video. It's easy to digest. So what's a "long cable run"? You gave 2 examples, ~10ft and ~86ft - but I would guess most guitar players cable runs are somewhere in between... I use 10ft and 15ft cables on either side of my pedalboard. Where does the treble loss start to occur typically? Also, how do high impedance and low impedance signals affect your tone? What if you have two or more buffers in your chain? Does the second buffer lower the impedance further? How does that affect tone?

[@ScienceofLoud]

+Matt M. Low impedance signals are not affected by the capacitance effect of the cables in the extreme manner that high impedance signals are. Being either High or Low impedance won't change your tone, but it will affect how the signal interacts with the cables and other equipment. A second buffer will not lower the impedance further, hence why only the first buffer the signal comes into contact with should be the only one making any effect (so long as the buffers aren't generating other detrimental effects) In terms of where the treble loss starts with cables, it's always happening no matter what length of cable. How much cable it takes to make an appreciable difference however is dependent on the equipment you are using. This is usually only a problem for guitarists playing live shows where the amp may be some distance away from the front of the stage, where the pedal board will be. At a guess I'd say that anything over 30ft you'd probably start to notice the difference, below that and it's down to how sensitive an ear (and equipment) you have whether you'll pick up on it or not.

[@ruelapostol1558]

+CSGuitars - I was about to order 2 sets of 20 ft cables to connect my DOD Flanger + TC Ditto X2 into my amp's effects loop... until I saw this video. I thought of the 20 footers to give me a good distance from my amplifiers for mobility and avoid feedback. If I don't have a buffer such as the TC Bonafide, would you advise to stick with 10 footers? Thanks!

[@William.Driscoll]

Interesting. Thanks.

[@cesmcmyth]

🤔🤔🤔 so... I use a boss chorus at the end of my signal. And there is SD1W somewhere in the chain.... where to better placw rhis SD1? Before the gain things? Or at the end of the gain pedals?

[@JasonAyalaSpare]

Question; if you use cables that are braided on the outside will that prevent treble loss?

[@saedt]

This channel, dude, so good. :) I'm planning on getting a Crybaby soon as the first step in an effects pedal board (been using an ME pedal), you think I should get a buffer to ensure that the tone doesnt get screwed?

[@wisteela]

Nicely explained and demonstrated. I'm wondering about the so called simulated bypass.

[@daphnegaertner7845]

Hey Colin, I always love your videos, and I have a question. What kind of cable did you use over there and where did you buy it? I'm trying to find something similar myself to solder my own patch cables. Cheers! 🍻

[@daphnegaertner7845]

I meant the purple one

[@kieranleski]

would the buffered pedals still colour the tone if theyre going through a send and return or an effects loop? i thought that took them out of the signal chain but im also still trying to figure this stuff out. im running a Boss Ns-2 (which probably affects the tone but i need it to reduce noise plus it is fairly inexpensive to replace) and running my 6 other pedals through it's send and return function. sadly most of said pedals are Boss and the wah is a Crybaby 535Q. Would i benefit from investing in this buffer?

[@eugeneerdozain7483]

I have used Morley Wahs for years and they have a Clear-Tone buffer circuit. Would it be advantageous to add a Bona Fide pedal as well?

[@garethniles6152]

Just when I think I'm starting to understand this stuff I find this video... now I'm intimidated again

[@spartan8390]

Similar boat. So apparently we need a buffer between our looper bypass switchboard and our guitar. That’s my take away.

[@Willam_J]

Leaving your guitar cable coiled up, like you did, is also called an 'inductor', which kills your high frequencies, as well. Use only as much cable as you need. If you have too much cable, don't roll it up, spread it around in a random pattern behind your amp to reduce inductance. Try it. The results are as pronounced as the experiment you just performed. A long time ago, I learned this lesson when our band was using 100' speaker cables on small stages, coiling the excess cable and wondering where all the high frequencies from our PA to speakers were going. When we shortened or uncoiled the cable, the high frequencies came back. Good video.

[@bpabustan]

Although this video exposes a lot of truths we all need as guitarist, in my humble opinion, the best way to show the cable capacitance is playing guitar clean meaning undistorted. Other than that - great video!