Area 51 Buffer Kit
The A51 buffer kit is a multipurpose buffer circuit that can be used anywhere you need a buffer. It's designed to be fitted in a wah pedal as an output buffer that makes it possible to place your wah in front of your fuzzface type pedal in your signal chain. It has a true bypass slide switch, and an output level control trimpot. This board can also be installed in it's own pedal enclosure - so you can build your own custom buffer pedal. This is an opamp based buffer that is extremely low noise and transparent.
I often get the question: "Does the buffer change the tone in any way?" The answer is - "it depends". Since it takes your signal and converts it to low impedance, that means that your signal will no longer be affected by the dulling effects of cable capacitance/long cable. So in that case, you'll hear a definite level increase, as well as some top end chime you were missing before. However, if you normally play through shorter runs of quality, low capacitance cable (such as Klotz), you'll probably not hear any difference.
The level control is really a must-have if your using the buffer to interface a wah to a fuzz. Wahs produce a pretty large boost of their own, and many fuzz pedals choke a little when hitting the front end of them that hard. The level control lets you dial it down just a tiny bit, which smoothes the response dramatically. The wah-before-fuzz is something guys like Jimi were never able to do. So it's a different sound. It's a little more like running the wah straight into an overdriven amp. The fuzz-->wah order sounds cool too, but it's more of a grainy, nasally tone.
This kit can also be used to:
Build your own easy buffer pedal
Build your own deluxe buffer pedal
Or for wah wah pedals (it's best to have a dc jack powering the pedal)
Wiring diagram: Output Buffer config (buffer is bypassed along with the wah - fuzz still loads pickups as it normally would when the wah is off) This is the typical method.
Wiring diagram 2: Configured as a "True-Buffered Bypass" The buffer is always in the signal path, no matter if the wah is on or off. I don't recommend doing this if you use a fuzz after the wah - unless you don't mind your fuzz acting more like a distortion pedal. The buffer prevents the pickup loading, and that's an important part of the fuzz sound. But if you want an always-buffered output from the wah for driving lossy cables or long runs - this is a good way to go.
$29.95 usd plus shipping
You can use your credit/debit card to purchase even if you don't have a paypal account.
 |