i have been buying effects recently, and i am fairly new at it. There was one thing i failed to consider when i was buyin however. I combined different brands. i.e i currently have a boss dd-7 delay a cs-3 compression sustainer boss metal zone mt-2 distortion, and i combined it with a digitech hardwire valve distortion, for worship/ christian music type gigs (and because i really liked the sound i could get out of it) i also have a digitech hardwire Rv-7 reverb, that i use only when i need it. Here lies the problem. The digitech hardwire series appearently have a true bypass mode, while the boss stomp box's are buffered bypass. I know that combining the two will cause volume and tone degradation, well at least i know that now, not when i bought it, but is the digitech series constantly true bypass, or does it only go into a 'true bypass mode' when power is lost? And if it is a true bypass than will i experiance tone/ volume degradation?? and wat can i do to fix it if that does happen??
first of all, combining true bypass and buffered bypass does not necessarily lead to certain loss of volume and tone degradation. such interactions depend upon the buffered bypass input and output impedances, as well as the buffering used in the effect circuits for all types of pedals. unless you know something about the design and specs of each pedal -- and specs are often incomplete, learning how various pedals work together is going to be a permutations experiment. obviously, there are preferred orders for effects based on 'what they do.' there also are preferred orders based on buffering and interactions. unfortunately, these do not always coincide. I will usually do some order swapping until I determine who is the culprit, and change to a different brand of pedal. 'culprit' is probably too harsh -- sometimes its just and interaction between two particular pedals, and neither is completely "at fault." nevertheless, something has got to change.
true bypass means when the effect is switched out-of-path (using footswitch or similar), the unit passes the signal from its input to output as if it were only a very short piece of cable: the input is connected directly to the output on the box. being a true bypass effect is about how the effect operates when connected and powered -- but the effect is switched out of circuit (off). some effects execute true bypass using a section of the same footswitch used to switch the effect on/off. others -- usually more expensive, but not nec better -- do in/out (effect/bypass) with relays.
if you are using a long length of guitar cable (lead), you probably should have at least one, high quality buffered bypass effect in your line-up -- closer to your guitar output is better. that will help reduce the attenuation and tone sucking of your long cable. a true bypass does not help with long cable issues. but not all buffered bypasses are created equal or are good -- and not all are bad, either. true bypass became a "desired" feature when many of the buffered bypass designs (such as that of the original Crybaby) were noted to suck tone in bypass mode. the knee jerk reaction: get all those buffered bypasses outta there and replace 'em with hard (true bypass) switching. today, most of the quality effects have either true bypass or very good active (buffered) bypasses, and the latter can provide the cable-driving advantages already mentioned. I have at least one effect that is programmable to select true or buffered bypass. why? because each bypass type has its pros and cons. normally, for short to moderate guitar cable runs, I will choose true bypass. long cabling => buffered. but in the case of my delay pedal, I also need to consider that should I choose true bypass, all the trailing echos disappear when I switch out the effect. not always the desired result.
in your case, the compressor with buffered bypass is the logical choice for first pedal for effect and buffering reasons ... unless the buffer is not a good one (anyone know?)
-=tension & release=-
thanks that helps alot! i am currently trying to learn how to order my pedals, so i am def gonna try out what you mentioned, and the info on bypass' is golden!
