When the 2B is bypassed, it acts as a unity gain buffer so if you've got a long cable run or pedal chain, your tone won't suffer just because the boost is out of the equation. For good measure and a bit of extra tone, the 2B features a germanium diode limiter to even out big transients and spikes that could easily beat up the front end and speakers of your amp, acting as a fast, smart compressor.