[Darkstar860]

I dont remember if anyone posted about this, but Brad over at SMS has a buffer that he is going to be selling. He has them now, so you can message him and order one. They are not on the site yet. I ordered one $48 shipped. I will let you guys know what i think. But just thought id spread the word.

[Slewfoot2000]

Interesting! Is this something similar what Garcia had in his guitars? Also like the Waldo buffers?

I love his Doozy Boost which also has buffering benefits in addition to being a lovely clean boost.

[Darkstar860]

Yes this like what Jerry had in his guitars, but its made by SMS. I like Brad and trust their products 100%. So this outta be interesting.

[Chocol8]

That's a nice option to have and the price is reasonable.

[Darkstar860]

It shipped today. I have a gig up in NY state this weekend, so i wont be getting to it until early next week. But ill def post some stuff with it

[ac4468]

I've used 8-10 of these and they are excellent. While I haven't done a side by side comparison with a Wald or CAE (Which are also excellent products), but they certainly meet my standards. Price aside, The biggest advantage is the small footprint which translates to smaller control cavities and thinner guitars!

[Jon S.]

I have a Wald buffer in one guitar and a CAE which I put into the same guitar I pulled the Wald from to move to another. If there’s any difference between the two, I couldn’t hear it. Not that you’d expect to - buffers are simple, straightforward circuits.

[Cumtax]

I have a "tiger buffer" in my Boost of The Dead. If I decide to install an OBEL would it be ok or do I have to install a buffer inside the guitar?

[Chocol8]

The buffer needs to be very close to the pickups to have maximum effectiveness. The main problem it fixes is the roll off of high end caused by the capacitance of cables. Putting the buffer after a foot or two of cable (mounted on your guitar strap?) would sound very close to having it in the guitar. Having the buffer after 20+ feet of cabling will mean a meaningful change in high end.

I would put it in the guitar.

[Cumtax]

The buffer needs to be very close to the pickups to have maximum effectiveness. The main problem it fixes is the roll off of high end caused by the capacitance of cables. Putting the buffer after a foot or two of cable (mounted on your guitar strap?) would sound very close to having it in the guitar. Having the buffer after 20+ feet of cabling will mean a meaningful change in high end.

I would put it in the guitar.

Actually, I wasn't really concerned about the high-end as with the occasionally mentioned issue of whistling-like noises without the presence of a buffer to support the OBEL. So I was wondering if the pedal I have with the tiger buffer could potentially solve the issue as an "outboard buffer" if first in the chain or is it key to have a buffer installed inside the guitar?

[Darkstar860]

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/imSp7y6dfkc


I just got it. I will install it tomorrow and then take the old one from the Wolf and install it into my Bean. I have a plastic case for the 9v and plenty of room in the cavity of the Bean. But eventually if i like these SMS units, i may replace all of mine with these. Im so glad there has been more options recently for a lot of this stuff.

But thought id show ya what it looks like up close. Peace

[Searing75]

Love all of Brad’s stuff, so I am sure this buffer will be excellent, and on par with both CAE’s and Waldo’s offerings. CAE has gotten creative with their buffers, and I use their CB2 in my main guitar.

[Darkstar860]

Ok i have some things im doing to my #1 wolf today. I will restringing it and installing the SMS buffer. I am going to make sound demos of before and after. Then im going to put the older buffer into Bean and have before and after video of this as well. Gota busy day today, but tomorrow i should have time to do all this and put up links for videos and have pics posted etc.

[Darkstar860]

Ok so i replaced the stock Phred buffer with this. What a difference, i cant make this shit up. It really sounds that much better. Highly recommend this for any Phred users. I didnt even realize what i was missing until i plugged it in and strummed some Shakedown and wow.... Best upgrade for these Phred guitars for sure and at a great price and i get to work with SMS again and they have been so helpful and i love their SMS CTP (that will remain my main amp til i leave this earth).

I meant to do a before and after video but oops. Something that i notice with the SMS over the Phred, is i swear split tones sound different. Theres more of less cut happening on certain freq. I know ill have someone tell me it cant be doing that, but ive A'd, B'd, C'd and E'd this SMS to compare to the Phred units and its like night and day. The guitar breathes easier. More oomph which is strange, i didnt think this would make this big of a difference. I knew it may help with this or that, but this is a HUGE upgrade in tone.

If you own a Phred and upgrade, just remember Yellow is the Blue and white is the yellow. Youll know what i mean when ya look at the Phred and this SMS. So just a heads up so ya dont frustrate yourself. But i need 4 more of these now.

Thanks SMS so so much.

[Chocol8]

Is the SMS buffer unity gain, or can you use it to give a small boost to vintage output single coils?