Buffer Question

[Jon Light]

I have never had a grasp of buffers.
I have just fixed up a Carter Starter for someone who had bought in a pretty sorry state. It is now a really nice player. But it is a paint peeler. It's got full output, plenty of bottom end, so it's not a faulty pickup. But the high strings are really ice picky even when the amp's treble is cut way down.

Someone suggested 'have you tried a buffer?' So I ran it through my Freeloader and voila! It was night & day. Fantastic!
Messing around, I ran it through a Boss pedal (RV3) that I knew was not true bypass, expecting similar buffered results but there is no difference in the ice pickiness. Am I misunderstanding some difference between a buffer and a 'buffered' pedal?

I was hoping that I could recommend something super cheap or maybe he already has an FX pedal that could double as a buffer to tame his output. But all I can tell him right now is that this C-S sounds great through a Freeloader. I really don't want to tell him he needs to invest in more gear just yet.

[Jamie Howze]

Brad could give a better answer, but I'll try. A buffer or buffered pedal has an active stage that strengthens but, does not necessarily amplify, the signal and lowers the impedance of the output of the device. The buffer part usually has little effect on the sound.

The Freeloader differs by allowing you to change the buffer's input impedance which alters how it interacts with the steel's pickup. It still conditions the signal, but the impedance control is where the magic is.
Here is the Freeloader description.
Here is thread about a homebrew version.


I hope this helps clear things up.

[Jon Light]

Thanks!
I don't leave home without my Freeloader. And I surely use the knob for color adjustment.
Thing is, the difference was tremendous the moment I plugged the guitar into it. It didn't seem like I was 'dialing anything in' (or out). But there was zero difference with the Boss pedal. And just to be sure, I put them in a loop box so I could switch them in/out, because I don't trust my ears' memory even after 10 seconds of fumbling with cords.

[Tony Glassman]

Can you try lowering the pickups..,...or is that not possible on a Carter Starter?

[Jon Light]

Yes -- it had some room to go lower and I did that but it didn't make a big difference.
I just handed the guitar over a short while ago and as I demo-ed it for the beginner/owner, it didn't sound half bad (and really excited him to hear what the guitar could sound like) so I'm not going to sweat it. It's been a while since I played a single coil too so maybe my ears are not accustomed? (I don't really buy that but...)

I am really now firmly in the camp of 'the Carter-Starter can be a good student steel.' An upgrade to the LKL stop made a world of a difference and the over all sound is totally legit.

[Glenn Demichele]

A pickup has an internal series inductance due to its windings. It is brightest when it is driving very light load like the input of an amp or a 500 K volume pedal. If you put a resistance across the pick up, it interacts with the inductance to make a low pass filter and makes the tone darker. It sounds like the simple solution is to put a resistor across the output jack of the guitar. I would guess about 100 K, but you could use alligator clips and a 500 K a pot to see what resistance gives you the best tone. You could even put the resistor in the cable between the volume pedal, or across the “in” if the pedal inside the pedal.

[Jon Light]

Thanks Glenn. The C-S owner should be ok for a spell but I'll tell him that if the day comes when he is unhappy with the sound, I'll work with him. He's a beginner steeler but a veteran guitarist. His home rig for this will be an old Princeton Reverb. That won't hurt matters!

[George Kimery]

I'm an Evan's amp guy but depending on other factors, they can be pretty bright. The Freeloader works wonderfully. So good, I bought a 2nd one for a backup.

[Alan Muir]

A buffer allows your signal to retain its high frequencies. When you run an instrument through cables and pedals you suffer some high frequency loss. Using a buffer electronically matches the impedance of the amp and the instrument so you keep the sparkle over a long run.
The Freeloader as I understand it does one more step and "loads" the pickup and allows you to adjust the pickup's designed resonant frequency so it acts like a tone control but different.
I'm no expert but have spent the last few weeks doing a deep dive into guitar effect circuits and am building my first buffer. I feel like a cook who can follow a recipe but darned if I know what baking soda actually does. Hope that helps.

[Lee Baucum]

As I've stated before, I think he sprinkles some sort of magic fairy dust in his FreeLoaders.

[Cappone dAngelo]

If he doesn't want to get a Freeloader (which appears to be a buffer with adjustable input impedance), another option would be the Radial Dragster (~US$50) - which is a passive device that adjusts the impedance, designed for placement between a passive pickup and a buffer/active circuit: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... ion-device

[Larry Dering]

Has anyone used the Radial for pedal steel and what were your findings.

[Josh Yenne]

I only play tube amps and they definitely prefer the signal hitting the font end with my matchbox 7A IMO