buffer

A buffer is a unity-gain amplifier that converts a high-impedance guitar signal to a low-impedance one¹²³. By lowering the output impedance, it strengthens the signal so it can travel over long cable runs without tone degradation³⁴. A buffer in the signal chain prevents "Tone Suck" caused by high capacitance⁵, and a strongly buffered signal will have noticeable fidelity, edge, and presence, which is neither a good nor bad thing¹. Placement matters: one source says a buffer is usually best placed after drive pedals¹, while another places it at the very beginning of the chain, with exceptions such as treble boosts, fuzz pedals, and wah pedals⁶.