Regarding Buffers

[AudioEcstasy]

I'm about to try my hand at a few buffer circuits and had some questions. Can I take a simple buffer circuit and add 1/4" jacks at the I/O to make a singular buffer guitar pedal? In order to add a buffer circuit to an existing schematic without one, I just insert it before or after the circuit? I.e. if it's a buffer on the output, the output of the circuit feeds the input of the buffer, and the output of the buffer gets the 1/4" jack?

Cheers!

[therecordingart]

You've got the idea. What you'll find is that adding a buffer to the input of a design may alter it's sound drastically...like the Fuzz Face.

[Mike Burgundy]

A buffer can serve several purposes:
-High input impedance. Higher input Z (=impedance) means more signal into it, less loading of the source*. Too high and you'll also draw unwanted noise (RF etc) into the input.
-Low output impedance. Lower output Z = more signal into the next stage. Also used to drive longer lines without signal loss.
Other uses include mixing stages, etc.

*A FuzzFace in particular does what it does because of a special interaction it has with your guitars pickups - it heavily lloads them, which results in a specific sound with this circuit. Adding a buffer in front will remove that interaction.