True Bypass and Buffers

Every pedal has to answer one question before it does anything else: when it is off, what happens to your signal? Two answers dominate. True bypass physically disconnects the pedal's circuitry so the signal passes straight from input jack to output jack through the switch alone. Buffered bypass leaves a buffer, a small amplifier circuit that keeps the signal strong, active in the path even when the effect is off.

The choice matters more than many players expect. A chain of true-bypass pedals with long cables can sound duller than the same guitar plugged straight into the amp, because the pickups end up driving every foot of cable on their own. A buffer solves that, but a buffer in the wrong place can change how fuzz and wah pedals react. This page covers what each bypass type does, when each one helps, and which pedals let you choose.

What true bypass and buffered bypass mean

True bypass switching routes the guitar signal around the effect circuit entirely when the pedal is disengaged. Nothing in the pedal touches the tone: no buffer, no loading, no processing. Makers advertise it plainly, the way Barber Electronics lists "True bypass" for the Midnight Standard overdrive¹ and Revv Amplification lists "true bypass" for the G4 V2².

Buffered bypass keeps part of the pedal's circuit, the input buffer, in the signal path at all times. The buffer is a unity-gain amplifier with a high input impedance and a low output impedance: it presents an easy load to your pickups and then drives whatever comes next, cable and pedals alike, with a strong signal. Wilson Effects describes the buffered bypass on its Lusus Naturae as "faithful to the original design, maintaining clarity and consistency in your signal"³, which is the usual argument for it: the pedal behaves the same engaged or bypassed, and the chain stays driven.

A technical analysis of pedal switching at General Guitar Gadgets notes that some designers put the input buffer outside the bypass switching, so the buffer stays in the signal all the time and tone loss is minimized⁴. That is the design behind most classic non-true-bypass pedals.

How the two bypass types affect your signal

The practical difference shows up in two places: cable length and circuit loading.

With true bypass, a bypassed pedal is electrically invisible, which is exactly the point. But if every pedal on your board is true bypass and off, your guitar's pickups are driving the full length of cable from guitar to amp with nothing helping them. Long cable runs roll off high frequencies, and that is the dulling players describe as "tone loss". Strymon's product pages describe the problem directly: the premium buffered bypass on the Brig "preserves your signal's integrity by preventing the high frequency roll-off that can" come from longer cable runs⁵, and the Olivera's buffered bypass likewise "preserves your signal's integrity by preventing the loss of high frequencies"⁶.

With buffered bypass, the buffer takes over the job of driving the cable, so the high end survives the trip. The trade-off is that the buffer is always there, and some circuits, particularly vintage-style fuzz pedals, are designed to see the guitar's pickups directly and can sound different behind a buffer.

JHS Pedals' guide to understanding buffers puts a number on when buffering stops being optional: "you may need more than one buffer, but this is generally only for rigs with 10+ pedals that are true-bypass"⁷. Below that, with reasonable cable lengths, one buffer, or none, is often enough.

For the full ordering question, see our guide to pedal signal chain order.

Pedals with selectable true or buffered bypass

A growing number of pedals refuse to pick a side and let you choose, usually with an internal switch or a menu option. JHS Pedals notes that "a lot of pedals come with switchable buffered or true-bypass options, like Strymon and TC Electronic"⁷.

The Strymon approach is worth a closer look because the company explains its reasoning. On the DIG V2, true bypass gives "a 100% untouched, unprocessed signal when the pedal" is disengaged, while the buffered option protects high end on long runs¹³. The relay switching matters too: an electromechanical relay does the same job as a footswitch contact but is rated for long life and can be controlled electronically.

The Line 6 HX One shows a third consideration that only applies to digital pedals. Its buffered bypass is a "Buffered DSP bypass", meaning the signal still goes through the pedal's analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters even when the effect is off; its true bypass mode routes analog signals directly from input to output and avoids that conversion entirely¹⁴. Players who want their bypassed digital pedal to be fully analog prefer the second option.

JAM Pedals offers the same selectable bypass across its Boomster mk.2 line, including the "Dala" and "Achenbach" versions⁸, so the choice follows the player's rig rather than the pedal's design.

Buffered pedals and dedicated buffers

Plenty of pedals are buffered only, and their makers say so as a feature rather than an apology. Beyond the Wilson Effects example above, the Fender Engager Boost lists "True and buffered bypass modes" so the pedal "plays nicely in any rig"¹⁵, and BLAMMO! Electronics lists "True or Buffered bypass" for its Utility Boost¹⁶.

At the other end of the scale, many compact pedals are simply true bypass and make no apology for that either: the Walrus Audio Fundamental Phaser¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹, the Flamma FS02 reverb with its "low noise true bypass"¹⁸, the MOOER Rage Machine¹⁹, and PastFX's reproductions of vintage circuits¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹ all list true bypass outright.

If your board needs buffering and your pedals do not provide it, a dedicated buffer pedal does one job: it sits in the chain, presents a high impedance to whatever is upstream, and drives everything downstream. Our guide to building a pedalboard covers where one fits physically; the signal-chain question is covered above.

The case against true bypass

The argument against an all-true-bypass board is the cable-loading problem described earlier: bypassed true-bypass pedals give you no help driving wire, and high frequencies pay for it. Strymon's buffered bypass exists precisely because of "the high frequency roll-off that can" happen on longer cable runs⁵.

The counter-argument, from the true-bypass side, is that a buffer you cannot remove is a buffer you did not ask for. If a buffer colors the tone, or sits in front of a fuzz that needs to see the pickups, true bypass is the only switching that gets it out of the way completely. That is why the Asheville Music Tools ADG-1 offers its internal switch: true bypass "takes the ADG-1 entirely out of your signal path", or the JFET buffer stays in²⁰. Both camps are arguing about the same thing, who drives the cable, and the right answer depends on the rig.

Pedals on this page

Wilson Effects Lusus Naturae

Wilson Effects · Overdrive

$195 list price

Line 6 HX One

Line 6 · Multi-effects

$299 list price

JAM Pedals "Dala" Boomster mk.2

Jam Pedals · Boost

Fender Engager Boost

Fender · Boost

$119 list price

Flamma FS02

Flamma · Reverb

$78 list price

MOOER Rage Machine

Mooer Audio · Distortion

Asheville Music Tools ADG-1

Asheville Music Tools · Delay

$397 list price

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