The new Radial Engineeringg SB-15 Tailbone, a high-performance signal buffer designed to sit at the beginning of the signal chain and drive multiple pedals without the added noise that can plague high-impedance circuits, is now shipping.
The compact design begins with a standard hi-Z instrument input. The signal is then “tamed” using Radial’s proprietary Dragster load correction circuit to replicate the tone and feel as if connected directly to the amplifier.
It’s then buffered via a 100-percent discrete, class-A unity gain amplifier. Unlike most others that employ ICs or integrated circuits to buffer the signal, the discrete design reduces the need for phase-canceling negative feedback producing a more natural and pleasing tone.
This is further advanced with the same class-A buffer that is in the Radial JD7 and used by guitarists as diverse as Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Steve Lukather and many others. Once buffered, the SB-15 Tailbone lowers the impedance and susceptibility to hum and buzz caused by radio interference and electromagnetic fields. The SB-15 Tailbone is able to drive multiple pedals distances of 15 meters (50′) without noise.
As an extra bonus, two 9V outputs can be combined in a power brick and the Tailbone will convert them to 15V DC for Tonebone pedals.
According to Radial President Peter Janis: “Over the years, we have received many requests to make our big Tonebone pedals work with 9V power bricks. Although 9 volts is plenty for average pedals, the higher voltage (15V) and double the average current (400 milliamps) increases the headroom and dynamic range. So instead of reducing the quality we have come up with a cool solution that takes two 9V outputs from a power brick and combines them to deliver the 15 volts.”
The Radial SB-15 Tailbone enhances sonic quality, reduces noise and adds the convenience of 15V DC power for the Tonebone. It is now shipping and retails for $90 USD.
