JHS Little Black Buffer Micro Buffer Pedal Reviews

Is a good value. Yes, does it work? Yes, I have two of them. I use both paddles at the end of my chains I am going to try putting the buffer in front and on the end of one so don't change just to see what happens. I think that would be awesome. Unadulterated power.

The JHS Little Black Buffer was a game changer for me. After constructing a new pedal board, I found a loud, unwanted buzz from overdrive/distortion pedals. I placed this buffer at the front of the signal chain, right after the tuner, and was delighted to not only remove the buzz but also clean up the overall sound. The only thing I would change is place the input/output plugs on opposite sides for the wiring convenience, but that to me is minor. The compact size, improved sound performance and economical cost more than compensate. Thanks Nick Dutiel for always sharing your expertise!

I was frustrated with the tone of my fuzz, so I bought a longer cable to add capacitance into the signal. The fuzz has great "sputter" now, BUT the rest of the tone shaping pedals suffered from the added impedance. I have a Strymon Big Sky (high quality buffered bypass) at the end of the signal chain, right before the amp, so the end of my signal was buffered. But not having a good buffer towards the front of the signal chain was hurting the tone. Adding this buffer after the fuzz pedal brought EVERYTHING back to life again! PHENOMENAL tone! Thanks, Sweetwater! And thanks, JHS!

I had noticed a difference in my guitar sound when I went direct versus through my pedal board. I tried this and it worked and put back what was missing. I recommend it.

Pushes the signal really good... I run wireless and thought this might help in some way... To much signal, maybe not long enough cable length... Maybe when I run some peddles...

If you have several pedals and long cables the Little Black Buffer dose the job. I recommend getting this pedal.

They should name this "THE LITTLE BLACK AWESOME BOX" works great, totally cleaned up my sound. clean and crisp heavy and darks its all there!!!

You can tell the difference when you put this at the beginning of your signal chain exhalent product fromJHS

So originally I was gonna buy one because I do actually need it for my guitar chain, but most of my pedals get used in my DAW, and that's honestly where I have the most fun with them. And all of my DAW chain is in stereo, so I figured why not? I ordered two of these. I'm coming out of a Radial EXTC, so the sends are already buffered. All I need are two buffers for the returns. Worst case scenario, I'd use the second one on my effect send from my amp in my guitar chain if it didn't work on my DAW chain. Boy was I surprised when I put these at the end of my stereo chain. So because I make my own cables, and I make them small, I did not think I needed buffers. I do get a bit of noise when recording, but it's not major…. or at least I didn't think it was until put these buffers on. They really work very very well. If you're questioning whether or not to get them, just do yourself a favor and get them.

Okay, I'm going to do my best not to gush about this little dinky little box I'm now in love with a light so bright that it makes me night blind. But I digress! However What I will say is OMG does this thing bring back the sonic pizzaz to my pedal board. Yeah, this little bugger can seriously game change a tone sucked pedal board and bring it back from the dead. I'm very happy I made this purchase and it will forever have a spot on my board because; like every other pedal on my board, it frankly earned its spot. Yes the connection jacks both being on the same side is a quirk, along with the yum yum yellow light so bright. However for the bang these subtle quirks can easily be muted.

Great budget friendly buffer pedal. Hilly recommended especially if you are running more that 5 or 6 pedals on your board

It works great at end of front end or end of effects loop chain. Or do both like I did for a super hot tone.

So....there is not a lot to say about guitar signal line buffers...they either sound great on your rig, or they don't. I was experimenting with my front of amp signal chains where I have two paths, one for clean guitar, and one for dirt...the dirt path has a Wah pedal, Tuner, and 6 different O.D. / preamp pedals, all True Bypass devices connected in series to the front of my amps. I needed a buffer on that signal path for sure. I was testing the TC Electronics Sentry, Bona Fide, and the JHS Little Black Buffer. The Sentry was nice because it is a noise gate and effects loop double buffer...unfortunately it suffers from the dreaded tone suck in the low mids and high end...not gonna work. Then i tried the TC Bona Fide at the front of my signal chain...pretty much the same design as the Sentry buffers, with the same issues...again...not gonna work.

Then i plugged in the JHS Little Black Buffer expecting more of the same...Shazam!! I was floored how much more alive the JHS buffer sounded...the low mids were back as were the missing presence and top end. It sounded almost dead on to the straight in guitar to amp signal. Very impressive design. This buffer stays!!

Watched the JHS video, ordered the item; simply amazing....

Got my tone(s) back. Not just the high end but the clarity too. Even the effects sounds are different. Clearer and pronounced. I have to adjust them but that is half the fun. Thanks JHS and Sweetwater.

I got my tone back. The effects are clearer too. This is more than what I expected from a little box. Wow.

So I purchased this after doing some research and seeing some of JHS Josh's videos online, and after hearing a few times about how using many true bypass pedals (I'm a huge fan of true bypass) can dull your sound some, and having heard this theory over the 20 yrs iv been playing I gave it a shot. I placed it right after my tuner and before my wah, to say the least I was blown away. Best way I can describe it is it gives you the sound/signal as if you were playing plugged straight into your amp with a fresh set of strings every time. I never would have realized how much it helped my tone if I never tried it. It's simple to use just plug it into your chain, power it with 9v and it's always on, no buttons or switch's. If you can't decide do it you won't regret it, plus it's less than 100.00 to maximize your tone. (Just for reference I have a versatile pedal board with 8 pedals all true bypass, play thru a Marshall Origin 20w tube head w/ a Orange PPC 1x12 cab and play everything from Hendrix, Satch, Vai, Van Halen, Pantera, Slayer, etc.) Also shout out to my sales guy Keaton.V, always has great knowledge, extremely helpful, and a fellow tone enthusiast.

This works great to help tone loss and weak signal chain. It's the first item on my pedalboard. Like all JHS proucts, great quality.

Love this buffer box. It does a great job of cleaning up my chain and dampening some of the background noise without effecting tone or output.

I had some trouble finding the sweet spot in the chain to place it. I highly recommended people to play with where they put it, as it really does change your sound depending on where you put it.

I have mine after my OD/Dirt section, and seems to work best for me, beginning of my chain seemed to suck a bit of dirt out of the signal (but cleaned up my strat tone nicely), and later in the chain seemed to decrease the output (but enhanced tone on humbuckers). Like I say, do experiment and you will definitely find a spot for this box on your board somewhere.

This little puppy is fantastic! Since I decided to take my stereo Ambient guitar set-up and merge into all into a mono set-up, the tone became very lifeless. I figured out instantly that it was due to the extra cabling and the capacitance that resulted from it. After going through and reading up on a few options, I decided on this one. Once I plugged this in as the first device that my guitar sees, the sound instantly came back to life. This was the best thing that I could have done for my "spaceship". TO THE COSMOS!

This pedal really does wonders to the clarity of your tone. I have to say I was a little skeptical that this small pedal would do a big difference to my tone and I’m glad to say it does! I run several pedals in my chain and have more cable from my amps and guitar that caused an issue in my tone. If you have the same problem I highly recommend this pedal.

This pedal undoes the effect cables and pedals have on your signal. This pedal restored the high end clarity to your tone that you"d otherwise only get by plugging your guitar straight into the amp. I"m very happy with the results.

This is a must have if you have several effect pedals. I am glad I bought this buffer because it makes your bass sound like it is plugged directly in to your amp without any effects compromising your tone. So this basically restores your tone. Really worth it.

This is a must have if you have several effect pedals. I am glad I bought this buffer because it makes your bass sound like it is plugged directly in to your amp without any effects compromising your tone. So this basically restores your tone. Really worth it.

I run at least 10 pedals (core pedals: Wampler Tumnus, Wampler Ego Mini Compressor, and TC Electronic Spark Mini), plus cables to my guitar (H/H strat, 5-position switch, coil split Duncans) and amp (Mesa Express 5:25 combo). So, lots of wire between my guitar and amp. And lots of opportunity for signal degradation.

Got this pedal and tried it live to day at church. Full band, various arrangements and styles, and various opportunities for stand out lead lines. I had at least three people come up to me and comment on how sweet my tone sounded today. That doesn't usually happen. One said it sounded in the tonal neighborhood of John Mayer. I noticed that the sparkle and chime that had been lost is now back. Harmonics shimmered.

Still working on how this buffer interacts with my other pedals, but so far, so good.

While my Spark Mini has provided me with the missing oomph, the JHS Little Black Buffer provided the sparkle and chime.

I should have bought this the first time I saw it. 24 feet of instrument cable and the path through a pedalboard with 8 pedals are enough for signal losses. I had no idea that I was losing the upper frequencies until I added this pedal. My amp sounds much brighter now, so my Vox has the chime that it is supposed to have.

Need to eliminate unwanted noise or drop in your signal chain? BUY THIS BUFFER! Plug it in and go. If you have a pedal board you need this. Period.

I run five true bypass pedals on my pedalboard and I"ve always wondered why my tone lacked the immediacy of when I was plugged directly into my amp. The Little Black Buffer solved this dilemma by restoring the high end and giving me back the feel of running direct. I was really blown away by how much this pedal fattened up the sound of my guitar. Wish I had discovered this essential tool years ago. I order the majority of all my gear from Sweetwater. They are the gold standard for customer service.

Does as advertised! It's a very nondescript item! But if you are using 5 or less effects in your guitar pedal board one at the start of the chain, simply because you still loose signal even with "true bypass" pedals. If you are running more than 5 pedals I would use one @ the front and @ the end. It's not just the pedals that suck tone right out of ye olde guitfiddles!
Happy tone chasing!
And Merry Christmas to ALL OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE @ SWEETWATER! And Happy New year

I was skeptical about the benefit of adding a buffer to the front end of my 9-pedal-plus-direct-box array, but on the recommendation of a Guitar Center staff person, I decided to try the JHS Little Black Buffer pedal. I'm very glad I did. I didn't realize how much signal was being drained by all those pedals and connectors until hooking up the buffer and immediately having to turn my compressor effect down to return to the desired overall output volume. (Should have anticipated that, I suppose.) I'm very happy with the restored tone as well.

Wasn't sure if this would make much of an improvement in my sound or if I would even know it was there. It IS noticeable and I am VERY glad to have purchased it. I wouldn't have known that I needed this little black box if I hadn't purchased it. I can feel the difference as much as hear it. Definitely adds a spark to your sound--it's probably that "plugged directly into your amp sound" that everyone mentions.

Really works as advertised. Gives me that "direct to amp" tone even with a bunch of pedals in between

The buffer brought the life back to my tone - if you have a big pedalboard you truly need one or more of these. My amplifier no longer sounds like it's housed in a cheeseburger.

Amazing what this little black pedal did for my tone! I agree, it is a difference maker! I run a lot of true-bypass pedals and I was hearing, in retrospect, tons of tone suck! I've been so unhappy with my tone I bought a different pickup, but now after hearing this I'm feeling pretty satisfied with my tone! Might not do the pick up swap after all!

This little item is an essential part of keeping your signal strong through lengths of cable and patch chords. A dedicated buffer is preferred over a Bufferd pedal. This little gem is first in my signal chain. If it were destroyed, lost, or stolen, I would buy another one immediately.

I used this thing last Saturday at a gig with my small rig (Line 6 X3L > Boogie SOB/2x10 with an Xotic BB Preamp in the loop) It cleaned up the sound immediately! Took me a while to get used to the graphic instead of IN & OUT, but other than that. Super simple. Well worth the expense.

I have it at the end of my effects loop for now. It cleans my tone up well. The light is pretty bright(minus half a star).

JHS makes great pedals and the LBB is no different. It solved a studio problem for me of signal loss when splitting my guitar signal between a direct input and my amp. Plugged it in and it was instantly solved. One small "*": The LBB wants to be on an isolated power supply or on it's own OneSpot. When I looped my OneSpot from the LBB to my T-Rex tuner and Pettyjohn EQ, I got a pronounced 60hZ hum. As soon as I unplugged the other pedals that were daisy-chained, it stopped. It doesn't do this with all pedals, so that might not be an issue for you. So, with a clean power source, it's a great little box. Get it!

Thanks to Josh for recommending.

So far so good. I have it under the pedalboard at the end of the signal chain. No noise. It's on the same power source as a switcher and tuner and seems to play nice with them.

I have two of these on my pedalboard. I was initially skeptical that my smallish bass rig even needed buffers but after hearing the A/B comparison of my own signal, I was an immediate convert. What a difference in tonal clarity and articulation!!

But, they do have one irritating feature. The power LED is ludicrously bright. It's easily the brightest light on my board. A huge distraction and painful to the eyes when leaning over to make a knob adjustment on other pedals. This is really overkill in the lighting department, especially for a pedal that will always be on. A nice tiny subdued LED would be a welcome change to the engineering.

Oh man. This thing has been a life saver for my rig. I run a bass and multiple electric guitars through the same pedal board (some with humbuckers and some single coil), and this has brought my single coil guitars back to life. If you have any low output pups in your guitars, this little beauty will make you sound like you"ve got a direct input into your amp. I highly recommend it.

My only qualm is that the input and output jacks are on the same side of the buffer, so it"s a bit of an awkward positioning problem to solve.

This pedal has definitely reshaped my tone. I have it in the middle of my pedal setup after the od's and distortion. Will move it around to see where the best fit is. Great addition at a good cost. I'm happy with it.

This little box will save your tone! Before the JHS my bass sounded like a fast food drive through speaker. Now that I have it as my pedal vanguard (followed by micro tuner, Boss micro volume, Boss micro wah, Behringer Overdrive, Behringer Chorus) my tone is clear as a bell.

The JHS buffer works great.It cured my wah wah, tube screamer impedance problem %100. As always Sweetwater is great to deal with.

It was hard to know just how much of my amp's tone my pedal chain was killing. I put this buffer at the very front of my chain and WOW! My clean tone straight from the amp got its clarity and chime back! Would definitely recommend if you use a lot of pedals!

Makes a noticeable difference in brightness.

I run multiple pedals and sometimes my signal chain is pretty long. This little black buffer helped out tremendously. It's like I'm plugged right directly into the amp now. Tone is very important to me JHS make some great guitar pedals. And this buffer has exceeded my expectations thanks JHS and thanks Sweetwater for caring them.

I want a buffer at the very end of my effects chain on my pedal board. Because the the input, output, and DC power jacks are all on the same side of the enclosure, it's very difficult to find a good spot for this.

I don't understand why people are raving about this JHS Buffer pedal. It did absolutely nothing for my signal chain. I kept trying it in different positions and nothing ever made a difference. Maybe it was something I'm doing wrong, but I don't know what it could be, as it's a simple enough device. It should just work - or at least make some kind of improvement to the quality of the signal. And, yes, I did have it connected to a 9V 1Spot. And I did have the ins and outs plugged in correctly. Also, I agree with the question some have about why the in and out are on the same side of the pedal. Very strange design for integrating with a pedalboard. Sorry, I'm returning this.