FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
Q:
What does "pickup loading" do?
A:
Loading is the amount of resistance or "impedance" that
follows a pickup. Since a pickup is a coil of wire (an
inductor), that means that the tonal response of the pickup
itself with change simply by varying the "load" that the
pickup sees. This is a very pure and simple way to take
control of the pickup's natural and inherent tonal
characteristics without having to use an electronic "tone"
circuit. The FreeLoader lets the pickup itself take part in
the tone shaping. This allows the FreeLoader's buffer
circuitry to be extremely minimal and clean.
Q:
Does the FreeLoader need power to
run?
A:
Yes, the FreeLoader has a 9V battery inside. The circuit
inside is run by just one single discrete transistor, no
opamps. The nature of this design is extremely
power-efficient, so you can expect hundreds of hours of
battery life from a single alkaline 9V battery.
Q:
Is the FreeLoader also a
buffer/impedance-matcher?
A:
Yes, the FreeLoader takes the guitar's signal, lets you
adjust the "load" on the pickup to perfectly tailor the
tonal response you want, and then it actively drives that
signal and lowers the impedance so you can easily drive
many feet of cable and pedals without tonal loss.
Q:
Is the FreeLoader compatible with both active and
passive volume pedals?
A:
Yes, the FreeLoader works perfectly well with any type of
volume pedal you prefer to use.