Gear - Signal Path

Question 1

Usual amp input impedance

Answer 1

1 Megohm

Question 2

Good buffer spec

Answer 2

1 Megohm input
100 ohms or less output

Question 3

General buffer placement

Answer 3

First and last (with exceptions)

Question 4

What to put before the input buffer

Answer 4

Impedance sensitive devices - Wah pedal, vintage fuzz devices

Question 5

What is a true bypass?

Answer 5

A hard wire bypass that results in no change of signal.

Question 6

Boss pedal buffers

Answer 6

All Boss pedals have buffers that are active even when the pedal is off.

Question 7

Rule of thumb re small signal impedance interfaces.

Answer 7

Driven circuit input impedance > 10x source circuit.

Question 8

Typical guitar output impedance

Answer 8

10k to 50k ohms

Question 9

What is the tonal effect of a buffer?

Answer 9

Prevents high frequency roll-off.
A buffer pedal can help preserve a guitar’s brightness when connected to long cables or pedals with lower impedance input stages.

Question 10

What does loading a pickup mean?

Answer 10

It means that the thing it’s plugged into is of a low enough impedance that it is demanding so much from the pickup that the signal (voltage) is weak and loses harmonic content (highs).