The Anti-Buffer v2.0

[MichaelW]

Build Rating

5.00 star(s)

A couple of weeks ago I posted a build report of my Anti-Buffer pedal build with a demo.

I've been really impressed with how useful this pedal has been, and not just for being able to use my fuzzes with buffers in my pedal chain.
It's also useful for super loud pedals like the El Sol (EQD Alcapulco Gold). The El Sol is unusable for me in its stock form.
There's just SO MUCH GAIN it's pretty much impossible to tame it with just my guitar volume controls.

Enter the Anti-Buffer pedal. Being that it essentially takes the place of your guitar pickup and volume/tone controls it gives me an added layer of knocking some of the gain down to usable levels. Now I realize that pedals like the El Sol are not about nuanced tones, but who knew that there are so many cool lower gain sounds available in the El Sol?

Anyway, the build I posted was more or less a prototype to see if it worked and if I liked it enough to do a proper build.
And I DO! And I DID!

I still wound up using a repurposed enclosure and 3PDT but I cleaned it up a bit and I changed the value of the tone pot to 33n from the original 22n. And I just happened to have an Orange Drop 33n, so I used that.
I also decided to add an LED after having it in my pedal chain for a while, not being able to tell what state it was in was kind of a pita.
The circuit itself is completely passive so adding the 9v circuitry is only for the status LED.

Once again, shout out to Waylon McPherson on Youtube for this great implementation of the AMZ Pickup simulator circuit.

 

[DeadAirMD]

Is it all the tekillya I drank tonight or is that some super phat wire.

Thanks for sharing @MichaelW, this and the strat you shared are still sitting on my workbench waiting for some love.

 

[MichaelW]

This is the wire I use, it's solid core 24awg but I guess the PVC sheath might be bit larger than most. But I've been using it for so long that it looks "normal" to me hahah.

 

[Gordo]

I’ve been following this since I use the Clapton boost and it sounds totally different in a guitar as opposed to being in a pedal. Which totally makes sense from a fuzz perspective. Does it make sense to do this as an add on board in the front end of applicable effects or do you need to manipulate settings enough that it’s more effective as a stand alone?

 

[Gordo]

And is there a smaller alternative to the transformer?

 

[Guilherme Collateral]

And is there a smaller alternative to the transformer?

42TL019-RC from Mouser are pretty small

 

[SillyOctpuss]

That's a lovely build. Bonus points for the large orange drop.

 

[MichaelW]

I’ve been following this since I use the Clapton boost and it sounds totally different in a guitar as opposed to being in a pedal. Which totally makes sense from a fuzz perspective. Does it make sense to do this as an add on board in the front end of applicable effects or do you need to manipulate settings enough that it’s more effective as a stand alone?

Well, if you have a lot of fuzzes, which is why I built it in the first place, then the pedal makes more sense because you can use it in different applications, with different guitars, etc.

And is there a smaller alternative to the transformer?

The transformer is pretty small, you could easily tuck it in most guitar cavities.