The Kliché Mini's buffer caught me out!

[HamishR]

I knew I didn't like always on buffers... My go-to pedal is a 3-in-1 - I have a modded Red Rooster (Chickenhead) followed by a Rockett 45 clone followed by a Rockett Majestic clone all in one box. It saves lots of plugging/unplugging.

Today I was experimenting with a Kliché mini and a Kliché Clean mini as boosters in front of my main pedal and thought I was going mad! As my Red Rooster uses a 2N2222A Si tranny rather than a Ge Tranny I use a little cap on the output as a treble snubber - this time it was an 18nF cap, between the output and ground. But this time playing it seemed as if the cap wasn't there at all and every time I switched on the Red Rooster it sounded very trebley and brittle. So I tried bigger caps - all they did was reduce output.

Then it dawned on me that I had the Kliché in front. The buffer was affecting the treble response even when the Kliché was off. Take the Kliché off the board problem gone. So now all I have to do is either sell the Kliché or work out how to wire it true bypass. I tried using the Kliché after the other pedals but didn't care for the sound.

I know buffers are supposed to be a good idea but I use so few pedals usually I never seem to need one and all it does is create issues. So how do I now rewire my Klichés as TBP?

 

[Robert]

I think this should do it.

 

[HamishR]

Cool! Cheers.

 

[phi1]

In my experience, only a few pedals are really sensitive to having a buffer in front like that. They are mostly fuzzes, some wahs, and rangemaster style boosters. That’s because those circuits are interacting with the impedance of you guitar’s pickups. Usually with a bit of searching online you can find info about whether a particular pedal is sensitive to buffers before it or not (for example, many modern fuzzes are designed to work just as well after a buffer).

All that to say, sounds like you’d be all set if you modify the Kliché to true bypass according to the diagram pedalpcb made.

 

[HamishR]

Well I have rewired my Kliché Mini and Kliché Clean and much happier now. And having done all that I still like the Red Rooster/Chickenhead better.

 

[frankenteletron]

I think this should do it.

View attachment 2951

Does this true-bypass wiring diagram work for the updated Kliche' Mini pcb? I notice the one I bought a couple weeks ago looks different than this pic. Thanks!

 

[Robert]

Yep, same idea. The only difference is the IN/OUT pads have moved to the top of the PCB.

 

[Dirt_diggler]

Yep, same idea. The only difference is the IN/OUT pads have moved to the top of the PCB.

Sorry to revive an old thread but o was curious if this means the middle row/outer lugs of the switch are just left alone? So the positive from in and out jacks go to the board instead of the switch?

 

[SillyOctpuss]

In my experience, only a few pedals are really sensitive to having a buffer in front like that. They are mostly fuzzes, some wahs, and rangemaster style boosters. That’s because those circuits are interacting with the impedance of you guitar’s pickups. Usually with a bit of searching online you can find info about whether a particular pedal is sensitive to buffers before it or not (for example, many modern fuzzes are designed to work just as well after a buffer).

All that to say, sounds like you’d be all set if you modify the Kliché to true bypass according to the diagram pedalpcb made.

I'd add OCD V1.? and love pedal eternity to that list. I've built loads of those and the treble/bass gets messed up on both of them with a buffer anywhere near them.

I've got a V2 OCD board to see if that fixes my problem but haven't gotten round to building it yet.

 

[Robert]

Sorry to revive an old thread but o was curious if this means the middle row/outer lugs of the switch are just left alone? So the positive from in and out jacks go to the board instead of the switch?

That's correct. Like the original Klon, the Kliche/Kliche Mini is not true-bypass (unless you specifically wire it that way).

Page 5 of the build documentation shows the wiring configuration.

https://docs.pedalpcb.com/project/KlicheMini-PedalPCB.pdf

 

[brightlight]

I think this should do it.

View attachment 2951

I was having an issue with my Friedman IR-J where the kliche mini was causing signal loss and dulling the high end quite a bit so I decided to follow this picture to make it true bypass.

Is it normal to now not have a functional volume control? It goes from off to on and 90% of the sweep has no effect on volume. The gain and treble still work as intended it seems

 

[HamishR]

Um, no! I think something might have gone awry...