The Vertex Effects DIY Mono Dual Buffer with Tuner Out is not a boxed pedal you buy off a shelf: it is a build-it-yourself pedalboard buffer interface, published by Vertex Effects as a guide with diagrams, a drilling template and a bill of materials. The idea is to "build a Pedalboard Buffer Interface system just like the pros!", using two Creation Audio Labs buffer PCBs in a single Hammond enclosure1.
The Mono Dual Buffer is aimed at a specific setup: as Vertex puts it, "The Mono Dual Buffer is ideal for any MONO pedalboard system running in front of an amplifier"1. One buffer sits at the front of the chain and one at the end, preserving the guitar signal through long pedalboard cable runs. The Tuner Out provides a buffered feed to your tuner, and lets you take the tuner out of the signal path while still getting a direct feed from the input1. Vertex also notes a second use for that output: "This could also be used as a direct out or clean (unaffected) output for re-amping"1.
What the build includes
The bill of materials on the guide page lists the parts needed to assemble the interface1:
- 1x Hammond 1590B Enclosure
- 2x Creation Audio Labs Buffer PCB (select Ai1 model, 1 Meg Ohm, Nylon ISO Jack, Unity Gain)2
- 5x Neutrik NRJ6HF 1/4" TRS Jacks2
- 1x DC Power Jack2
- 1x Hook Up Wire2
- Drilling Template (Hammond 1590B Enclosure)1
The same guide family from Vertex covers other wiring schemes, with "options for mono, stereo, wet/dry, split mono, effects loops or 4 cable method, audition loops, tuner outs, and more"1. The buffer PCBs specified are the same Creation Audio Labs design found in the Creation Audio Labs Ai1 Redeemer, and Vertex also makes a ready-built version of this concept, the Vertex Effects Vertex Buffer Module.
This is a DIY project, not a finished product: you supply the Hammond 1590B enclosure, the jacks, wire and DC power jack, and assemble them following the guide's diagrams and drilling template1.
Where it came from
Vertex Effects published the Mono Dual Buffer with Tuner Out build guide on 9 November 2020, as part of a set of DIY buffer interface guides released that week covering mono, stereo, splitter, tuner out and 4 cable method configurations1. The guide is tied to a companion video in which Vertex shows DIYers how to build the interface1.
If you would rather not solder one together, the buffer type page lists ready-made alternatives such as the TC Electronic Bonafide Buffer, the JHS Pedals Little Black Buffer and the Empress Effects Buffer.
Sources (2)
- DIY Mono Dual Buffer & Tuner Out Pedalboard Interface, www.vertexeffects.com, 2020-11-09
- DIY Mono Dual Buffer + Audition Loop Pedalboard Interface, vertexeffects.com, 2020-11-09
