Bypass?

[smopo24]

Does anyone know what the difference is between regular bypass, true bypass, hardwire bypass, and true analog bypass is? How do these pedals effect someone's tone?

[Nubus]

Think of true bypass like the pedal isnt even there when bypassed. Pedals without true bypass can degrade your tone by introducing an unnecessary circuit to the signal path, even tho bypassed. If you've got good ears you'll be able to notice the difference, ususally as some volume drop and bandwidth loss. if you chain a bunch of poorly bypassed pedals up you'll end up with added noise. it might not bug you too much, or it might make you mad. I get a little mad.

I kinda would like one switch that takes the whole chain out so i could use some weirder pedals.

[abarnett]

Originally Posted by Nubus

I kinda would like one switch that takes the whole chain out so i could use some weirder pedals.

You could do that based on the insert model. A trs sidechain split into the send and return of your pedals. A stompswitch to bypass. Run a small resistor to ground on your summing output to make sure things don't go backwards. You could call it "The Express Lane". I bet some version of this is already being made.

[Alexi]

john mayer posted a blog about true bypass a while back:

"Oh, here's another misconception: True bypass is all-around better than buffered (regular) bypass. Not so. Think of your guitar cable as a hose, and your guitar only pushes a certain amount of water pressure out of it. After a certain length, you're going to need some more pressure to squeeze the water out. True-bypass takes the 'in' and 'out' cables of a pedal and connects them as if they were one long hose. After a certain length, you'll get some pretty hefty tone loss. I learned this when I unplugged my guitar from my pedal switcher and went straight into the amp. Guitar pedals without the TB serve as a buffer for the signal, and naturally keep that water flow going. Yes, sometimes the trade-off can be harsh; some pedals, while buffering your signal, can also adversely color it, even when in bypass mode. That's a good time to think TB. True bypass is a concept that only really took off as a selling point over the last 5 years or so. It won't kill you to have it, but it certainly isn't the only reason to get a pedal over another one without it."

[Nubus]

good point. I've got one boss pedal in the chain, but notice the tone loss when there are two or three. i try to never run any guitar cable longer than needed, but for long runs I'll make sure to have the boss in there.

[robotnerd]

as far as scientifically goes.... this came up on another message board, and i think the explanation is better than anything i could do:

http://www.questfortheholytone.com/viewtopic.php?t=1433

as far as personal experience goes, when i went from 11 pedals in my chain with only 3 true bypass, down to 8 with all true bypass, i noticed a HUGE difference in tone integrity, signal strength, and clarity. HUGE. it's an overused term, but it was literally like someone took a blanket off of my tone.

[smopo24]

Originally Posted by Alexi

john mayer posted a blog about true bypass a while back:

"Oh, here's another misconception: True bypass is all-around better than buffered (regular) bypass. Not so. Think of your guitar cable as a hose, and your guitar only pushes a certain amount of water pressure out of it. After a certain length, you're going to need some more pressure to squeeze the water out. True-bypass takes the 'in' and 'out' cables of a pedal and connects them as if they were one long hose. After a certain length, you'll get some pretty hefty tone loss. I learned this when I unplugged my guitar from my pedal switcher and went straight into the amp. Guitar pedals without the TB serve as a buffer for the signal, and naturally keep that water flow going. Yes, sometimes the trade-off can be harsh; some pedals, while buffering your signal, can also adversely color it, even when in bypass mode. That's a good time to think TB. True bypass is a concept that only really took off as a selling point over the last 5 years or so. It won't kill you to have it, but it certainly isn't the only reason to get a pedal over another one without it."

True bypass isn't a reason to pass up a pedal. For a price, a shop or website will convert your old "tone-sucker" stompbox into a true bypass pedal. Not a bad way to go if you have only two or three in your arsenal.

[smopo24]

Originally Posted by robotnerd

as far as scientifically goes.... this came up on another message board, and i think the explanation is better than anything i could do:

http://www.questfortheholytone.com/viewtopic.php?t=1433

as far as personal experience goes, when i went from 11 pedals in my chain with only 3 true bypass, down to 8 with all true bypass, i noticed a HUGE difference in tone integrity, signal strength, and clarity. HUGE. it's an overused term, but it was literally like someone took a blanket off of my tone.

Oh, I have another great article that pertains to this very subject from guitar pedal guru Pete Cornish:

http://www.petecornish.co.uk/case_ag...ue_bypass.html