by Mark King for Proworkshop.com
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| NOTICE THE 2B JUST TO THE RIGHT OF STROBE TUNER PEDAL |
If you use stomp boxes you need a buffer pedal. A buffer isolates your guitar from all the impedance and capacitance that can make your tone dull. Even if your pedals have true-bypass switches which completely disconnect circuitry when in bypass position, you can still end up with several ohms of resistance in the signal path if you use multiple pedals.
The Fulltone 2B is a great design. When it appears to be OFF it is actually ON doing the job of a buffer pedal. This means that the 2B is consuming the internal battery 24/7 if you leave an input cable plugged in. Just because the LED is OFF does not mean it's not drawing power, it is. This is because Mike Fuller (the Full of Fulltone) has decided that we do need buffer pedals after years of preaching about how the "True bypass" switching was what you really needed.
The Fulltone 2B acts as a clean boost when the LED is ON, the large knob controls the amount of boost, from unity when it's turned all the way down to 20 dB of boost when cranked all the way up. A second small knob labeled "Dynamics" controls a form of compression.
I have become a big believer in the benefit of the 2B as a buffer pedal at the front end of my big pedalboard (shown at top of this page). I notice tonal clarity as a result of the 2B doing it's buffer job. I use the clean boost to raise single coil pickups to the same output level as humbucking pickups.
I have my distortion effects pedals on a Voodoo lab PX-8 switcher which allows me to call-up different combinations with a single button press. The first effect on that PX-8 is another Fulltone 2B set for boost. I engage this clean boost to push some distortion pedals into higher realms of distortion.
The Fulltone 2B is a compact pedal in a formed steel enclosure. It is capable of running on a 9 volt internal battery and it has a standard external power inlet wired to inner-minus/outer-plus standard. The input and output jacks are mounted on the top/rear side of the 2B.
EPILOGUE
Overall the Fulltone 2B is one of the most necessary pedals Fulltone produces. It's compact, relatively low in price and highly useful for tone chasers. I bought my second 2B used off Reverb.com for a great price.
I purchased all the equipment referenced in this article. There are no affliate marketing links or advertising. H.o.T. is a labor of love. Thanks for reading.
Good music to you!
BTW This article is copyright January 2021 by Mark King. It is not ok to copy or quote without written permission.
