Designing My FX8 Pedalboard... Buffer?

DanielB

DanielB

Member
I am designing a new pedalboard around the FX8 MK II. I am basically ditching every pedal except the FX8. The only things I'll keep are a wah pedal at the very beginning of the chain (prefer to save my expression pedals for other parameters) and a drive pedal just after the Out 1 Pre section, going into the front of the amp.

One other item that I have is an Emerson Concorde "always-on" buffer. On my last board, it really made a positive difference in my tone. Now I am wondering whether I need it at all.

I know everything says zero tone suck, but there is like a 1% tone suck. I am not complaining by any means, it's really so barely noticeable, but it's there. I A/B'd the FX8 on with all effects turned off with the buffered true bypass enabled, and I do lose the slightest big of punchiness with my Strat. As soon as true bypass kicks in, the tone is right back to 100% there. I feel like I can fix this with a compressor at the beginning of the FX8 chain. But I am wondering, would the Emerson buffer help with this? I used it at the very beginning of my chain before, but what if I used it right at the Out 2 Post? (Some people prefer a buffer at the end of their chain.)

Similar question—does the notion that you shouldn't put a buffer before a fuzz pedal still matter when we're talking about all digital emulation like the FX8? If I had a buffer all the way in the beginning of the chain, before the wah, would this potentially impact a fuzz pedal I might use in slot 1 or 2 on the FX8?

Input is appreciated, thanks!
 
I should also mention that I am using a Blackstar HT Club 40 Deluxe combo amp. I looked through the manual and I don't believe it has a buffered effects loop.

Anyone that has a decent level of understanding of these matters can likely see that I [in part] have no idea what I am talking about, haha.
 
I noticed something like this with a Mesa Roadster and increasing the gain on the POST Global eq by 2-3 dB did the trick. Try the eq to bring back more punch if it's still not quite there.
 
The FX8's buffer is always engaged, unless you're in True Bypass mode.

Personally, I don't hear a difference between True Bypass and an empty preset.


For the record, "tone suck" affects the high frequencies and won't influence punchiness at all.
 
Sonofiam said:
I noticed something like this with a Mesa Roadster and increasing the gain on the POST Global eq by 2-3 dB did the trick. Try the eq to bring back more punch if it's still not quite there.
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I'll try that, thanks!

Rex said:
The FX8's buffer is always engaged, unless you're in True Bypass mode.

Personally, I don't hear a difference between True Bypass and an empty preset.

For the record, "tone suck" affects the high frequencies and won't influence punchiness at all.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I wasn't using "punchiness" as a technical term per se, but rather attempting to describe the subtle difference I was hearing, which is still in keeping with what you say. Believe it or not I was originally going to say "high-end punchiness". Seriously though, not complaining, as the FX8 is light years beyond anything else I've used!

Still curious, does the classic advice not to use a buffer before a fuzz pedal still hold true when we are talking about purely digital emulation?
 
DanielB said:
Still curious, does the classic advice not to use a buffer before a fuzz pedal still hold true when we are talking about purely digital emulation?
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With modelers, there's no avoiding the buffer. The FX8's fuzzes sound great, but because of the buffer, they won't react to the guitar's volume knob in the same way as an unbuffered fuzz.
 
So back to my original question, is there any reason at all to have an additional buffer on my board?
 
DanielB said:
So back to my original question, is there any reason at all to have an additional buffer on my board?
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If you like the way the additional buffer enhances your tone then by all means use it. I've run the FX8 with a few amps using 4CM (25' cables) and never felt the need for an additional buffer but that's just my experience.
 
Personally, I've enjoyed the freedom of ditching EVERY pedal except the FX8. I can understand your personal preference for keeping the wah. In my experience anything between the FX8 and the amp is completely unnecessary. I haven't yet found anything I could not replicate (at least adequately for my needs) solely using the FX8. It's a marvelous piece of equipment.

In fact, just recently, somebody on this forum helped me model the EMG Gilmour EXG and SPC active controls with PEQ blocks with stunning results. It's the best clean guitar sound I've had ever. Also that's another $300 I didn't have to spend.
 
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Atmospheric said:
Personally, I've enjoyed the freedom of ditching EVERY pedal except the FX8. I can understand your personal preference for keep the wah. In my experience anything between the FX8 and the amp is completely unnecessary. I haven't yet found anything I could not replicate (at least adequately for my needs) solely using the FX8. It's a marvelous piece of equipment.

In fact, just recently, somebody on this forum helped me model the EMG Gilmour EXG and SPC active controls with PEQ blocks with stunning results. It's the best clean guitar sound I've had ever. Also that's another $300 I didn't have to spend.
Click to expand...

Yeah I ditched every other pedal including a few drive/dirt pedals, and feel better off for it!

Update—I left the buffer at the very front of the chain, just before the wah. It helps retain a nice sparkly high-end, albeit very subtle. Other than those two pedals, it's all the FX8. Just had band practice for the first time with my newly constructed FX8 board and man, it sounded incredible. I think the other guitarist was pretty jealous haha.

Need to get a nice cable cover/snake now... any suggestions?

FX8 Rig.jpg
 
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