Does anyone build buffers into their stompboxes?

[Thecomedian]

I know, talking about wine culture is so hard due to grapes being blacklisted everywhere.

[Ben N]

... caused by the non-linear distortion of the JFET. 

Is there another kind of distortion?

[Gurner]

... caused by the non-linear distortion of the JFET. 

Is there another kind of distortion?

I ask the same of "clean" headroom ;-)

[Paul Marossy]

I generally don't use buffers, but the other day I had to put an output buffer on a circuit I've been messing around with (FET simulation of a tube circuit). It was getting loaded down by whatever is after it (big loss of volume), so I added the buffer on the output and the problem was fixed. First time I've ever run into this problem actually. 

[Jdansti]

... caused by the non-linear distortion of the JFET. 

Is there another kind of distortion?

I ask the same of "clean" headroom ;-)

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonlinear_distortion

http://www.amplifier.cd/Tutorial/Distortion/Distortion_linear.htm

http://www.amplifier.cd/Tutorial/Distortion/nonlinear_distortions.htm

[CodeMonk]

Whether or not I put a buffer in a pedal, depends on the pedal and how I want it to behave.

[Jdansti]

So it sounds like part of the difference is "in my head"

It's worth noting that "in your head" is real - to you. And the sweetening effect of soft asymmetrical distortion is shared by most humans. And the tendency to hear slightly louder as "clearer" is common to most humans. These are fairly well recognized psychoacoustic effects.

I'll try the Tillman with a 6-in cable and compare the sound to the 10-ft cable.

That would be a very interesting test. Post your results back here if you can.

I tested the difference in sound of three cables of differing lengths with and without a Tillman preamp inserted between the cable and recording device (iPhone using AmpKit).

The six recordings are in three SoundCloud sets.  The only difference between the sets is the order. The first one compares the effect of the Tillman on each cable length. The second set compares the cable lengths with the Tillman in bypass. The third compares the cable lengths with the Tillman engaged. You should be able to select individual tracks within SoundCloud if you want to do other comparisons. 

Set 1 order:
6-in Cable with Tillman in Bypass
6-in Cable with Tillman active
10-ft Cable with Tillman in Bypass
10-ft Cable with Tillman active
20-ft Cable with Tillman in Bypass
20-ft Cable with Tillman Active
http://soundcloud.com/john-danna/sets/dry-vs-tillman/s-7Bx8H

Set 2 order:
6-in Cable with Tillman in Bypass
10-ft Cable with Tillman in Bypass
20-ft Cable with Tillman in Bypass
http://soundcloud.com/john-danna/sets/set-2-tillman-bypassed-compare/s-D5W73


Set 3:
6-in Cable with Tillman active
10-ft Cable with Tillman active
20-ft Cable with Tillman active
http://soundcloud.com/john-danna/sets/set-3-tillman-engaged-compare/s-285iq

The 6" cable with the Tillman bypassed, sounds a little louder than the 10-ft, but so does the 20-ft. This might just be an artifact of my inconsistent playing.

I don't hear much difference between the cables with the Tillman engaged. If anything, the 20-ft cable might be a little "thinner".  It's hard for me to tell.

In general, I still like the sound with the Tillman active, regardless of cable length. For my purposes, I don't see an advantage in placing the Tillman closer or inside the guitar just based on this set of tests.  But it's possible that my untrained ear has missed something.

BTW-My apologies for choice of song. I'd be kicked out of the "Wayne's World" guitar shop.