The Pete Cornish All Tube Effects System is a custom-built effects board from Pete Cornish in which a tube buffer amp is placed between each effect in the chain. Cornish describes the design as giving "the overall warm and organic sound quality"1. The tube stages and their power needs come at a cost in portability: the extra power requirements add several pounds to the overall weight1.
The point of the tube buffers is tone preservation across a long signal chain. Cornish states that "With all effects OFF the guitar sounds EXACTLY the same as when you plug directly into your amp"1. He also describes the system's overall sound quality as "warm and organic"1.
Why buffer between every effect
The All Tube Effects System takes a different approach from a row of standalone pedals: instead of buffering only at the input and output, a tube buffer amp sits between every effect, so each stage drives the next at full strength. Cornish describes the result as an "overall warm and organic sound quality"1. The trade-off is practical rather than tonal: the extra power requirements add several pounds to the overall weight1.
This puts the system at the tube-based end of Cornish's range. He also builds a Solid State effects board system.
What it costs you in weight
The tube approach has a practical trade-off. Cornish notes that "The extra power requirements add several pounds to the overall weight"1. Tube heaters and high-voltage supplies need more power than standard pedal circuitry, so an all tube system is heavier to carry and more demanding to power than a comparable solid state board.
These are custom-built systems rather than off-the-shelf pedals, so the exact configuration, weight and power setup depend on what Cornish builds for a given player.
Questions
What is the Pete Cornish All Tube Effects System?
It is a custom effects system from Pete Cornish in which a tube buffer amp sits between each effect in the chain. The idea is that buffering every connection preserves the guitar's signal through a long board. According to the maker, with all effects off the guitar sounds exactly the same as plugging straight into the amp, and the overall sound quality is warm and organic.
Why does Pete Cornish buffer between every effect?
Cornish has long argued against true bypass, publishing his case in 2003. In his view, true bypass degrades tone in multi-pedal systems, while his buffered input design, used in his pedals and rack systems, keeps the signal consistent. The All Tube Effects System extends that thinking by placing a tube buffer amp between each effect.
Sources (1)
- Effects Pedal Board Systems, Pete Cornish (petecornish.co.uk), 2025
