Ok, I'm pretty confused about where to put true bypass pedals because I've had some conflicting information about buffers having to go before and after them or only after them etc.

I have a true bypass Big Muff, Nano Small Stone, Pro Co Turbo Rat, Crybaby Wah and MXR Compressor.

I'm concerned I'm not getting the best performance out of my pedals, especially the gain pedals. In fact, the Small Stone has kind of not sounded as good since I added the compressor to the chain - at least when they're running together. But I like the Small Stone after distortion more than before and I like Compressor before distortion...

I've moved some stuff around but all this true bypass stuff just has my head spinning. What do you guys think? Should I leave it alone or can I rearrange it to get more out of my true bypass pedals?

The full chain is looking like this right now:

Boss TU-2 Tuner
Crybaby Wah
MXR Super Compressor
Ibanez Tubescreamer
MXR Blue Box
Pro Co Turbo Rat
EHX Big Muff Pi
EHX Small Stone
Boss RV-3 Reverb/Delay

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In theory, the best order for minimum signal loss should be:

guitar-> one buffered pedal-> all TB pedals -> another buffered pedal -> amp

...so I think the order you're using is about the best it could be. It seems most players tend to go with compression -> distortion -> modulation -> delay -> reverb, so again, your set-up seems "right".

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I've heard that TB Fuzzes should be first in the chain - that a buffer screws them up. I haven't noticed this but I also don't know what to look for. Any truth to that?


This isn't related to the TB thing but I've also heard that the Rats don't like having other gain pedals after them... don't know if that applies to the Turbo. I've tried it both ways and it sounds harsher after the Muff. I'm curious what other people's experiences are with this.

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I don't think it's ALL TB fuzzes, but there are some particular circuits (germanium ones perhaps?) including the infamous Fuzzface that need to be placed before any buffered pedal, something to do with the pedal reacting better to a high impedance signal can't vouch for it's accuracy.

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Oh and is it okay to have buffered pedals inbetween the TB pedals?

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Ah, thanks. I didn't know that about the transistors.

It's not a fuzz but my Tubescreamer has Germaniums in it (it's a tri-gain mod) but I haven't had too much trouble with it so I guess that one's alright.

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Experiment. Put them where they sound best. I was disappointed in the FKR I got until I moved it before my TU-2 -- what a difference. I now run guitar -> fuzz -> OD -> TU-2 -> amp. Sounds much better than the way I've been running it for years prior to getting the FKR which was: guitar -> TU-2 -> everything else -> amp.

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I think you're getting your knickers in a twist unnecessarily.
All TB means is they don't suck tone when they're off.
Treat them as any other pedals, ordering them as they sound best, switch them around etc.

The fact that they are TB is secondary to your pedal order, if like my chain they are all TB, you then enter the debate of placing a buffer at the end or beginning (my fuzzhead doesn't like that) to boost your signal.

I'm currently experimenting with a buffered delay at the end.

As for your compressor/phaser woes, maybe they just aren't a pair.

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Cool. Thanks. I figured I was probably just getting worked up over nothing. I just keep reading all this crap on the internet about it and it's throwing me through a loop.

I'm going to try the Phasor before Compressor/Dirt again and really a/b it against the other way around. Otherwise I'll just have to avoid using the two together... or playing around with the settings on the Compressor more for when two two are working together.

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