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Tools for the Task: Buffers

Ten buffer options to help you maintain your core guitar-to-amp tone when running multiple pedals and cables.

If you are working with multiple pedals and/or long cable runs, you’re also building capacitance that can suck the life right out of your tone. Luckily, this can be quickly remedied by placing a buffer device—like the 10 options here—in the correct spot in your signal chain.

SOS Buffer

The single knob on this buffer allows you to subtly dial in the highs to be exactly how you need them without getting unwanted interaction with fuzz and wah pedals.

J. ROCKETT AUDIO DESIGNS
$79

C-1

For use at the front or end of your pedalboard and effective for lengthy cable runs, this buffering circuit in a box was designed to restore vitality to your signal.

MOJO HAND FX
$75

BonaFide Buffer

Designed to combat treble-eating constraints put on tone from long cable runs, this buffer has a power-failure mode that automatically switches to true bypass if the power is cut.

TC ELECTRONIC
$69

Vitalizer WV

Wah and volume pedals tend to degrade and color a high-impedance signal’s tone, but players can minimize this degradation by sending these pedals a low-impedance signal via the Vitalizer.

PROVIDENCE
$119

Concord Utility Buffer

This handbuilt buffer can run at 9V or 18V and was designed to bring clarity and high-end sparkle to your input signal that may have been lost due to multiple pedals and cables.

EMERSON CUSTOM
$79

Stowaway

This 100-percent discreet, class-A buffer provides a stable, consistent load to remedy such issues as impedance loading and mismatching that adversely affect a pickup’s character.

MESA/BOOGIE
$99

Buffer

This transparent signal buffer/line driver employs unity buffering to reverse the effects of capacitance without impacting your instrument’s tone or output level.

SUHR
$129

SB-15 Tailbone StageBug

Designed to drive multiple pedals and long cable runs without added noise, this buffer also allows a player to combine two 9V outputs from a power brick and convert them to 15V DC.

RADIAL
$79

Buffer

Conceived to be the complete I/O interface for a pedalboard, this compact, all-analog buffer provides a separate tuner output to keep the tuner out of the audio path.

EMPRESS EFFECTS
$99

Little Black Buffer

Integrating this little box into a signal chain is intended to provide the perfect input impedance to your rig so it can deliver clear, natural tone—no matter how many pedals you’re using.

JHS
$75

The original Roland Space Echo RE-201 is comparable in size to an amp head.

The majestic Roland Space Echo is having a bit of a resurgence. Here’s a breakdown on what makes it tick, and whether or not it’s right for you.

In this article, we delve into one of the most cherished gadgets in my guitar collection, the Roland Space Echo RE-201. This iconic piece of equipment has been used by legendary musicians like Jonny Greenwood, Brian Setzer, and Wata from Boris, which only heightened my desire to own one. A few years ago, I was fortunate to acquire a vintage RE-201 in good condition and at a reasonable price.

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In collaboration with Cory Wong, the Wong Press is a 4-in-1 Press pedal features Cory’s personal specs: blue & white color combination, customized volume control curve, fine-tuned wah Q range, and a dual-color STATUS LED strip indicating current mode/pedal position simultaneously.

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Big time processing power in a reverb that you can explore for a lifetime.

An astoundingly lush and versatile reverb of incredible depth and flexibility. New and older BigSky algorithms included. More elegant control layout and better screen.

It’s pricey and getting the full use out of it takes some time and effort.

$679

Strymon BigSky MX
strymon.net

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Strymon calls the BigSky MX pedal “one reverb to rule them all.” Yep, that’s a riff on something we’ve heard before, but in this case it might be hard to argue. In updating what was already one of the market’s most comprehensive and versatile reverbs, Strymon has created a reverb pedal that will take some players a lifetime to fully explore. That process is likely to be tons of fun, too.

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Fender Player II Stratocaster HSS & Jaguar Demos
- YouTube
Refined necks and delectable sounds elevate the jamming experience in this evolution of the accessibly priced Player Series.
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