Buffers

[piltdownman]

At the risk of sounding stupid, I am still unclear about buffers.  It's like a mental block about them.  I get that Boss pedals have them and they works nicely on long runs of cable to keep signal strength.  That much make sense.  But, why do they effect some pedals and not others?  I built the Klon buffer to better understand what was going on.  Before distortions and overdrives - nothing.  Literally no difference.  But then in front of the Black Cat OD1, it brings out a ton of high end.  I put it in front a Devi Ever Ruby and it sounded really bad.  shrill and unpleasant.  What's the science here?  Are there benefits to having a buffer at the beginning of the chain?  Or at the end?  

Thanks

[IvIark]

A buffer ideally has a high impedance input and a low impedance output which allows it to drive a long chain without degradation.   Some effects just don't like the low impedance signal they receive from the buffer.  One thing that the Devi Ever Ruby and Black Cat OD1 have in common is they don't have an internal input buffer to their circuits, whereas something like a TS808 should be far less affected because it has its own input buffer which means the signal received by the opamp gain stage is consistent no matter what preceded it.

[piltdownman]

Okay, I have more of a sense than I did this afternoon, thanks.  I will keep experimenting with it.  Maybe I'll build the Cornish and see what happens.  Thanks again

[dodido]

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[Madferret]

The way I understood it was that if you plugged all your pedals in with a length of lead you'd usually use, but played with them all off and then plugged your guitar straight into them amp with a 1m/2m lead and played a while, if you prefer the sound with the short lead use a buffer if you can't tell the difference or just prefer the sound going through the pedals then it's not important.  Not very technical I know but sometimes it's best to just go with your ears.

[piltdownman]

I applaud the non technical.  I think you're right, it has to be what sounds good.  Lately, the only pedal I have in the chain is which ever one I just built, so I guess I should string a few together and try it.  It was just one of those concepts that I couldn't quite get my tiny brain around.