# C-Buffer question



## Kroars (Feb 27, 2020)

Hope everyone is doing well! I’ve got a few C-Buffer pcb’s and can’t decide which pedals I want to put them in, since the chain changes so much....

My question is can I simply use the C-Buffer by itself as a stand-alone buffer pedal? I’d like to put one in front of the pedal chain and one at the end.

Thank you kindly for your response.

Ryan


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## phi1 (Feb 27, 2020)

You definitely could, here’s a few things to consider.

1.  You’ll need some way to mount your board in the enclosure. You could try some combination of double sided foam tape and super glue or something, but you might never be able to get it out. Others might have some better ideas on that.

2.  You’ll need to jumper som of the footswitch pins, should be easy.

3.  If it were me, I’d probably add a dpdt switch in to bypass the buffer circuit for quick experiments (ex. does this pedal sound weird after a buffer? does it sound any different with/without the buffer at the end of the chain? Etc).

4.  You could build the layout on tagboardeffects and leave the vero board slightly larger and drill our your own sort of mounting holes (maybe, I've not tried this).

5.  I think it would be great if @PedalPCB offered a PCB designed to do this.  DPDT toggle for bypass would solve the mounting issue (maybe still add mounting holes in case people don't want the switch).  1590A would be nice too.


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## Kroars (Feb 27, 2020)

phi1 said:


> You definitely could, here’s a few things to consider.
> 
> 1.  You’ll need some way to mount your board in the enclosure. You could try some combination of double sided foam tape and super glue or something, but you might never be able to get it out. Others might have some better ideas on that.
> 
> ...



I appreciate the response!  I’ve never heard of tagboard.  Just looked it up and am very excited!! Just started building pedals last year, but I dove in head first.  Got three 64 drawer organizers filled with components.  I’ve only done pcbs that we’re already laid out.  Looking forward to venturing into Vero board.  That sight looks extremely easy to use (as I still haven’t mastered using just the schematic to build).  Thank you for the suggestion, I’m sure I could find a proper buffer pedal layout on that site.


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## music6000 (Feb 27, 2020)

Kroars said:


> Hope everyone is doing well! I’ve got a few C-Buffer pcb’s and can’t decide which pedals I want to put them in, since the chain changes so much....
> 
> My question is can I simply use the C-Buffer by itself as a stand-alone buffer pedal? I’d like to put one in front of the pedal chain and one at the end.
> 
> ...


This should work, The white circle & cross is an Adhesive Standoff
Confirmed with Mr Pedal PCB :


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## phi1 (Feb 27, 2020)

It would work like that, but you’d have a stomp switch that does nothing. (Buffer is on regardless). It would be very easy to mount though.

Edit: the picture above has been edited and is correct.


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## music6000 (Feb 27, 2020)

phi1 said:


> It would work like that, but you’d have a stomp switch that does nothing. (Buffer is on regardless). It would be very easy to mount though.


I have updated Picture & confirmed with Mr PedalPCB


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## Kroars (Feb 27, 2020)

music6000 said:


> This should work, The white circle & cross is an Adhesive Standoff
> Confirmed with Mr Pedal PCB :
> 
> View attachment 3258


Awesome! Thanks a million!


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## zgrav (Feb 27, 2020)

If you wanted a c-buffer box that is always on, put it in a 1590A without a stomp switch.  Just in/out/power jacks with a piece of cardboard under the small PCB (or vero) to prevent any shorts.  I would probably rely on the wiring to hold the board mostly in place for that purpose.  Having a dpdt or a stompbox switch on the one in the front is a good idea since some fuzz boxes in particular sound different when they are directly connected to your guitar (meaning, you bypass the c-buffer)


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## Kroars (Feb 27, 2020)

phi1 said:


> It would work like that, but you’d have a stomp switch that does nothing. (Buffer is on regardless). It would be very easy to mount though.





zgrav said:


> If you wanted a c-buffer box that is always on, put it in a 1590A without a stomp switch.  Just in/out/power jacks with a piece of cardboard under the small PCB (or vero) to prevent any shorts.  I would probably rely on the wiring to hold the board mostly in place for that purpose.  Having a dpdt or a stompbox switch on the one in the front is a good idea since some fuzz boxes in particular sound different when they are directly connected to your guitar (meaning, you bypass the c-buffer)


got it.  Thank you kindly!


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## Kroars (Apr 7, 2020)

Finally getting around to this one.  I have one last thing to clarify:

It seems I can populate board and use a 3pdt footswitch as per build document and have a stand alone buffer that can be turned on or off via the footswitch?  I definitely want the ability to turn it on or off.

Also, I see it calls for a BC549C.  I only have BC549’s.  Can I use the BC549 in place of the BC549C?


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## Robert (Apr 7, 2020)

The footswitch is for switching the effect connected to the I/O pins (IN/GND/SW/OUT).     The buffer is always on, the footswitch doesn't switch it.

You can make the buffer switchable with a footswitch, but it can't be mounted to the onboard pins.

BC549 with any suffix should work fine in this case.


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## JetFixxxer (Apr 7, 2020)

I wanted to do the same thing last year, but ended up getting two of these https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GTLKHG9/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_zNiJEbHQX4VA2 it was cheaper this way at the time. I picked this up when they were around 15.


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## Kroars (Apr 7, 2020)

Robert said:


> The footswitch is for switching the effect connected to the I/O pins (IN/GND/SW/OUT).     The buffer is always on, the footswitch doesn't switch it.
> 
> You can make the buffer switchable with a footswitch, but it can't be mounted to the onboard pins.
> 
> BC549 with any suffix should work fine in this case.


Got it.  Thank you kindly! Love your boards!


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## falzhobel (Apr 7, 2020)

I've done that without the Footswitch, just pay attention to how you mount the PCB. I put a On/Off toggle on the top 









						BFR - Buffer Box
					

If you ask yourself if you need a buffer box, you probably don't... But if you think you're losing some treble in your tone due to long cable runs, you probably need one. This is the BFR, based on the same buffer as the Klon, you can also select to get a toggle switch cause we all want to know...



					gup-tech.myshopify.com


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## byrnej (Jun 28, 2020)

music6000 said:


> This should work, The white circle & cross is an Adhesive Standoff
> Confirmed with Mr Pedal PCB :
> 
> View attachment 3258



This diagram is perfect. Just put one into a 1590A. 

I do have a question, hopefully you would have an answer. I didn't have a BC549C but had a BC549B. I know the C has more gain than the B, but that shouldn't make a difference in a buffer, correct?


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## music6000 (Jun 28, 2020)

> PedalPCB said:
> The footswitch is for switching the effect connected to the I/O pins (IN/GND/SW/OUT). The buffer is always on, the footswitch doesn't switch it.
> 
> You can make the buffer switchable with a footswitch, but it can't be mounted to the onboard pins.
> ...


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## Musicislife6984 (Jul 17, 2020)

falzhobel said:


> I've done that without the Footswitch, just pay attention to how you mount the PCB. I put a On/Off toggle on the top
> 
> 
> 
> ...


How does the toggle switch hook up on the board?


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## falzhobel (Jul 19, 2020)

Musicislife6984 said:


> How does the toggle switch hook up on the board?



It's just a bypass switch, standard 2pdt. When engaged, the signal goes to the buffer, if not, it's straight bypass. Some people ask for it to test if they "really" need a buffer in their chain of signal.


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## Musicislife6984 (Jul 19, 2020)

falzhobel said:


> It's just a bypass switch, standard 2pdt. When engaged, the signal goes to the buffer, if not, it's straight bypass. Some people ask for it to test if they "really" need a buffer in their chain of signal.


I understand how it works, but was wondering where it connects to the pcb. Does it go where the Footswitch would hook up?


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## phi1 (Jul 19, 2020)

The C buffer board is designed so that the stomp sw controls a separate circuit, but the buffer is always on. 

So you’d want to jumper the stomp sw pads like the picture earlier in this thread shows. Then, install the toggle sw like this to bypass the buffer circuit.


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## Musicislife6984 (Oct 4, 2020)

Does anyone know the input and out impedance of the c buffer.


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## tcpoint (Oct 5, 2020)

Cornish Buffer


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