Shnobel Tone Buffer

The Shnobel Tone Buffer is a compact class A buffer pedal from Shnobel Tone. A buffer takes a guitar's high impedance output and turns it into a low impedance signal that stays strong over long cable runs and complex pedalboards, which is how Shnobel Tone describes this pedal's job: preserving what the maker calls "the most natural tube like guitar sound"¹.

The pedal lists at $89.00, and orders carry a build time of 4 to 5 business days after placement¹.

What it does and where it goes in the chain

Shnobel Tone says the Buffer is meant to be the first device you plug your guitar into, and that it was designed alongside several tube amplifier inputs so it "disappears" when added before a tube amp¹. That placement advice is shared across the buffer world: Suhr recommends placing its Suhr Buffer as the first device in the chain²³⁴, and Lehle's technical writing puts a buffer at the beginning of the signal chain, before the long cable and the effects²³⁴.

The reason is cable capacitance. As Morley's buying guide explains, a buffer in the chain prevents the "Tone Suck" that comes from high capacitance⁵, and General Guitar Gadgets makes the same point: as a signal chain gets more complex with more stompboxes and patch cables, treble loss becomes noticeable, and a buffer prevents it⁶. Lehle's analysis adds a caution worth knowing: a buffer at the end of the chain does not regain signal that was already lost, which is why the front of the chain is the right home for one⁴.

The toggle: cable length for fuzz

The Buffer's one control is a toggle on top of the pedal. It adds simulated cable length to the buffer's input, in 10 foot or 20 foot steps, to load the input signal down. Shnobel Tone positions this for players using the buffer after a fuzz pedal, since loading the input changes how fuzz circuits respond to a buffered feed. With the toggle set to zero, the pedal operates as a standard buffer¹.

This is a feature aimed at a known problem: vintage style fuzz circuits often prefer the high impedance signal straight from a guitar, and a conventional buffer in front of them can change the fuzz's character. The toggle gives the player a way to reintroduce some of that loading without actual extra cable¹.

Power and specifications

The Buffer runs on 9 to 18V and draws 10mA¹. The wide voltage range matches other buffers in this class: the Revival Engineering Glory Buffer and the Suhr Buffer both operate from 9 to 18V, with Suhr specifying a center negative supply⁷⁸.

At 2.0 x 2.0 x 1.2 inches, the pedal is small even by buffer standards. The Truetone Pure Tone, for comparison, measures 2.5 x 2.37 x 1.2 inches⁹¹. Note that the Shnobel Tone Buffer's 50K ohm output impedance is much higher than the Pure Tone's 50 ohm output¹⁹, a difference that matters if the pedal feeds long cable runs or certain effects after it.

The Buffer / Fuzz Interface

Shnobel Tone also makes a larger combined unit, the Buffer / Fuzz Interface, at $189.00. It measures 4.4 x 2.4 x 1.5 inches, runs on the same 9 to 18V at 10mA, and shares the 1M ohm input impedance, but its output impedance is 100 ohms rather than the standalone Buffer's 50K ohms¹⁰¹. In its bypassed state, the input signal passes through what the maker describes as a high quality class A buffer that preserves the rich harmonics of the guitar without added harsh frequencies¹⁰.

Ordering notes

The pedal comes with a 30 day money back return policy¹. International customers are responsible for paying customs duties and import taxes, so the $89.00 list price does not cover those charges for buyers outside the United States¹.

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