Messages

There should be some marking on the timefactor powersupply which would indicate the polarity.

I'd contact Eventide first at this point. Because it's one of their products they're better equipped to helping you deal with all of this.

I have a Timeline, it's pretty sweet. However, if I already had had a timefactor before getting it I wouldn't have switched over.

Jacob

I'd suspect it bein fried.

What kind of supply is it? Did you build it?

I would also suggest that perhaps the issue is not enough current to power the Timefactor.

Jacob

Yeah Jacob, I see what you mean, I guess there's nothing other than psycho-acoustics to support a buffer at the end vs one at the start, is there?  Yet, it's another pretty active debate.  Interesting...

I'm not sure. Part of the problem is that some buffers also include some tone altering circuitry included in them. The actual buffer itself is/should be truly transparent, meaning that imparts absolutely no adjustment to your tone at all. However, it's obvious that some actually do change your tone. If that's the case, I'd rather people call them a preamp than a buffer, but since buffers are quick cash in today's market I'm sure the manufacturers want to propagate the myth that you need more than one buffer.

jacob

Good stuff Crash.

Now that explains why a buffer at the end seems  more effective than "driving" the chain at the front.

That actually doesn't make sense to me. I often hear about people running two buffers, one at the beginning and a second at the end of the pedal chain. From my point of view, that shouldn't be necessary. In fact, I'm in favour of running a buffer about as early in your chain as possible. I think that because once your signal has been transformed into a low impedance signal it's done and you don't have to do it again.

One thing I should note is that most pedals when they're turned on act as a dedicated buffer. In fact, if you never operate with no pedals on then you probably don't need a buffer. You just need to be aware of your impedance.

Also, yes your output impedance can be changed by adjusting a few of the values in a buffer. Reading up on some electronics theory will help you understand it.

Jacob

This is how you tell who has kids here and who doesn't---posting in a MEME thread on a Friday night.

Sooooo true. However, before my kids I was boring too.

Jacob

Great question.

First off, many people misunderstand buffers, including a whole shwack of DIY guys as well, so don't feel bad if you don't know. Second, the most important thing to know is that the most important feature of a buffer is about impedance, which has little to no audible effect.

Essentially you guitar puts out a high impedance signal. This means that there's a lot of electrical load on the signal, meaning that it takes a lot of 'work' for that load to travel down the cable. On a short cable, that doesn't matter at all, there's little to no impact on what you hear. However, if you're using a very long cable, you'll begin to actually hear a depreciation on the signal being put out by your guitar.

To demonstrate this, plug a 10' cord from your guitar straight into a good amp. Turn it up a fair ways and then play for 5 minutes. Now take a 50' cord and do the same. Then go back to the 10'. Can you hear a difference? Try 100'. Even worse.

The solution to this problem of high impedance is called a buffer. What a buffer does is take the high impedance signal of your guitar's pickups and puts out a low impedance signal. Low impedance signals travel down cable with little to no issues at all. That's why you can string mic cables end to end and run snakes across stadiums and get no depreciation in the signal. Doesn't matter if it's 10', 100' or 1000', it should be fine.

A well designed buffer should be unity volume, and should have high enough headroom that your guitar pickups don't overload it. Most of the buffers available as DIY projects around here qualify easily. You should be able to run a buffer at 9V, because it should be imparting little to no impact on the tone of your signal.

A secondary use for a buffer is to assist in the bypass switching that you may have in some pedals. In this arrangement, your signal is always buffered even when the pedal is bypassed. In many cases, this allows many manufacturers to use less expensive methods for bypassing their effects, while simultaneously protecting the user from making the mistake of wrecking their tone with cables that are too long.

In the case of pedals with buffers that can be bypassed, essentially that should mean that the pedal becomes true bypass when the buffer is disengaged. True bypass should mean that the signal only travels through mechanical means and is never touched by any circuitry during it's transit. Most of the time, my experience is that this isn't true and it's really just marketing trickery or perhaps some sort of workalike method that a manufacturer uses. In some other cases though, it really is a choice between buffered or true bypass. I can easily build a simple toggle switch that does that exact thing into my pedals and you can too.

So, long story short, that's what buffers are about.

Jacob

Go.

Jacob

As long as you realize that the effects need to be in parallel not in series, I don't see why not.

Jacob

I still have a pack of 5 left over from Easter. They were on sale on Tuesday when I was in superstore. Two 5 packs for $0.44.

You can come over and share if you'd like.

Jacob

just booked the flight

Sweet. I'll hide the eggs in the pullout couch.

Jacob

I still have a pack of 5 left over from Easter. They were on sale on Tuesday when I was in superstore. Two 5 packs for $0.44.

You can come over and share if you'd like.

Jacob

[peep]

This peep is gold

Fixed. Also, I thought it was more yellow, but if you think it's gold...

Jacob

I don't think you can, and moreover, I don't know why you'd need to. What do you plan to do?

Jacob

PTP is my vote.

Jacob

Yes, I think I usually use 3/8".

Jacob

I like how tidy and neat it turned out. That's the way I would orient the board too, makes for more room.

Jacob