i was rocking out on one of my fuzz pedals, which has a lot of low end to it, switched from the first preset to the second one: Lo-Fi Tape (with Ribbons bypassed on both of them), and then i noticed that a lot of my low end was gone. in fact, i thought i blew out my amp somehow because i had been clipping the signal with the fuzz pedal for a while, lol.
i haven’t checked to see if the majority of presets affect my signal while Ribbons is bypassed. only the first three (my signal seems to be alright on the third preset). i tried all three bypass modes but my issue remained.
is there anything i can do about this, or is it a matter of me trying to replicate the preset on a new slot all the while trying to make sure that i don’t run into the same problem?
this isn’t a huge deal. though, i would like to know if this has a workaround. also, i’d like to know if anyone else was aware of this. thanks!
I feel like the original thread title “Ribbons affects my tone even when bypassed” reads as a confirmed defect and can spook other readers before we’ve tried troubleshooting anything. In almost every case like this where someone has run into an issue, the culprit is elsewhere in the signal chain. I’ve renamed the thread for now.
Here are some things to try:
Isolate Ribbons
Swap to a known good cable pair
Guitar → Ribbons → amp (nothing else)
Set Bypass to “Analog” and load Preset 1 (Init). Toggle the footswitch on / off. Does the bass stay intact?
If the low end is solid, you should should look elsewhere.
Check your pedal order. Put the fuzz first!
Vintage / germanium fuzzes want the raw guitar pickup impedance. Any buffered pedal in front of a fuzz can shave lows or alter the fuzz voice (Ribbons includes a full-range buffer, even when bypassed). Recommended chain:
Guitar → Fuzz → any buffered pedals, including Ribbons → Amp
Try moving the fuzz to the front and see if the low end returns.
Double check the hardware after your enclosure swap
We know that you disassembled and repainted your pedal and then we mailed you a new enclosure after the paint job didn’t turn out right. We don’t recommend handling the electronics - they are delicate and extremely sensitive to electrostatic.
With the pedal bypassed, lightly wiggle the input and output jacks. Does the low end come and go? If so, then something could be up with your particular unit, in which case you’d need to mail it in.
If you are still hearing low end loss after trying these things, please share more info about your setup or email us at support@kinotoneaudio.com and we’ll jump on it.