How can you use the BYPASS output on a BOSS TU-3 Tuner Pedal?

Question

I was wondering, what are the different ways to use the BYPASS output on a BOSS TU-3 shown here:

Is there more than one use? Is there many uses for it ore just one and how helpful are the uses? Any help is appreciated!

Answer 1

The bypass jack bypasses the switch on the pedal so you when you engage the tuner you don't cut the signal. In a live situation you are usually going to want to be silent when you tune, so you should use the regular output to your amp/effects. Only use bypass if you want the signal to be heard even when you are tuning. This might be useful at home so you can hear yourself tune through the amp.

It just occurred to me one interesting use might be to use the tuner as a splitter- you could have one signal chain going from the "output" to your effects pedals then into a higher-gain amp, while the bypass could go into a clean amp. That way when the pedal is engaged, the "output" won't get any signal (dirty amp is off) but the bypass (clean amp) will be on. When the pedal is off, both amps will get the signal. Of course this is just one possible scenario, you could split it into two different dirty amps, two different clean amps with different effects, split it into two different effects chains, etc. As with all pedals: experiment and use your ears.

Answer 2

One use for the bypass is when recording. The pedal then acts as a split box, the output is sent to e.g. an amp, while the bypassed signal could be sent to e.g. a re-amp box, which allows recording of the "clean" signal. This allows the track to be recorded again, with a different amp, the same amp on a different setting, sent to modelling software, something else or an combination of all.

This is how we've used a Boss tuner, especially for bass, where it pays to have the clean signal for extra low frequency goodness.