My power supply died at my gig last week... The importance of backups.

[Rich_S]

Re: My power supply died at my gig last week... The importance of backups.

If I gigged regularly, I would carry a spare PP2+. On my board, it would be easier to swap it out that replace it with my One Spot and a daisy chain. Since I DON'T gig more than once a year, I just take my chances (extremely low) that the PP2+ will fail.

I also have a toggle switch between the input and out jacks on the side of my board. In an emergency I can flip the switch and hardwire-bypass the entire board.


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[Diego]

Re: My power supply died at my gig last week... The importance of backups.

Is the T-Rex Fuel Tank series any good? I want the tiny 5 output one with 120 mA to each output.
More than enough for me daisy chaining a bit.

[dystrust]

Re: My power supply died at my gig last week... The importance of backups.

Is the T-Rex Fuel Tank series any good? I want the tiny 5 output one with 120 mA to each output.
More than enough for me daisy chaining a bit.

The Fuel Tank Jr doesn't have an external wall wart, so at least you wouldn't have to worry about this particular problem. Otherwise I've heard they're decent, but never used one. I have a PP2+ on my board.

[Matt42]

Re: My power supply died at my gig last week... The importance of backups.

I'm avoiding any power supply with a wall wart from now on.

[Darg1911]

Re: My power supply died at my gig last week... The importance of backups.

Is the T-Rex Fuel Tank series any good? I want the tiny 5 output one with 120 mA to each output.
More than enough for me daisy chaining a bit.

That's the jr. Isolated supply and about 100 bucks. Good supplies.

[DeadandBuried]

Re: My power supply died at my gig last week... The importance of backups.

Is the T-Rex Fuel Tank series any good? I want the tiny 5 output one with 120 mA to each output.
More than enough for me daisy chaining a bit.

Yeah if you don't use many pedals, I use 3 (tuner, noise gate and tube screamer) and it performs flawlessly. Had it for a long time and its never given me any issues.

[treyhaislip]

Re: My power supply died at my gig last week... The importance of backups.

My pedal board has a lot of loops, but one main loop basically removes the entire board. It's like the "power failure". It lets the signal pass if there's no board power.

But you're right I cart way too much gear around but in a pinch, I've always got a solution.

That's a very good idea–I will have to borrow that when I build my next pedal board.

[Mincer]

Re: My power supply died at my gig last week... The importance of backups.

I generally have backups for almost everything when I play, but sometimes it is just the one thing you don't have a backup for that goes bad. If you are using a multieffects, you have to bring a few pedals with batteries in case the multi goes down. If you use an amp, I alsways bring a Sansamp pedal to go direct to the PA if I have to. Things never break at home for me, always at the gig.

[frankfalbo]

Re: My power supply died at my gig last week... The importance of backups.

Don't own the Brick so I'm not defending it. But, seems to me that a back up wall wart could solve the problem quickly if the Brick itself is a solid piece of gear.

it is, and you're absolutely right. The new Iso Brick is a great power supply. The wall wart format is a valid way to keep noise down and size. If you're using it at home then sure you can use the wall wart as the main plug. But for giggers it's meant to be zip-tied to a power strip or installed under the board, feeding an IEC connector at the edge of the board. Yes to plug and unplug the actual wall wart at every gig is asking for failure.

I use a Pedal Power 2 right now under the Pedaltrain board so my power-in is already an IEC connector. But I also use the courtesy outlet on it for a little 3x power strip that contains an 18v wall wart, and the Twin Tube Blue wall wart (which I've gone through 3 now because it runs hot, so definitely have a backup) plus one available outlet. They're all secured with zip ties so they won't ever fail from abuse.

That's a very good idea–I will have to borrow that when I build my next pedal board.

Thanks man! It also comes in handy for hot-swapping pedals. If I'm setting up and I decide I want a different overdrive in a slot or whatever, I can bypass the board and swap pedals around at will with no noise. Another thing it's good for is listening to how much your board is coloring your tone. Sometimes you put in a new pedal, or new cable(s) and you won't notice a difference in the bypass tone until you directly A/B it in realtime. When I first did this many years ago, it's what finally convinced me to put my beloved Japanese Boss SD-1 into a true bypass loop. You can listen and hot swap stuff around, mess with buffers, etc. until your bypass tone has the least amount of loss.

[Rodney Gene]

Re: My power supply died at my gig last week... The importance of backups.

it is, and you're absolutely right. The new Iso Brick is a great power supply. The wall wart format is a valid way to keep noise down and size. If you're using it at home then sure you can use the wall wart as the main plug. But for giggers it's meant to be zip-tied to a power strip or installed under the board, feeding an IEC connector at the edge of the board. Yes to plug and unplug the actual wall wart at every gig is asking for failure.

I use a Pedal Power 2 right now under the Pedaltrain board so my power-in is already an IEC connector. But I also use the courtesy outlet on it for a little 3x power strip that contains an 18v wall wart, and the Twin Tube Blue wall wart (which I've gone through 3 now because it runs hot, so definitely have a backup) plus one available outlet. They're all secured with zip ties so they won't ever fail from abuse.

Nah, not in this case. Even zip tied securely under the board connected to a standard 3-prong cable and this wall wart developed an intermittent short in 2 years and maybe only 40 gigs. It was my small local board. Maybe you've been fortunate Frank, but anyone who trusts a wall wart won't ever fail simply by being securely zip tied will be caught with their pants down at some point. It happens to all of us. Movement is inevitable when you gig and it doesn't take much. Speaking for myself, we do alot of our own shlepping when touring here in Texas. I manage my gear with care. I understand the validity of the design from an engineers perspective, but not the working musician. No matter, I replaced it the next day with a 4x4 and would never trust a wall wart as my primary power source.

[frankfalbo]

Re: My power supply died at my gig last week... The importance of backups.

Nah, not in this case. Even zip tied securely under the board connected to a standard 3-prong cable and this wall wart developed an intermittent short in 2 years and maybe only 40 gigs.

Well poop on a stick. Then yeah. Backup required.

Like I said I've gone through 3 Twin Tube wall warts, but those are AC and working pretty hard. They get so hot they sometimes deform the plastic. Had one pop open on me. I can't remember if the MXR is a switching power supply or not. The size and weight was appealing to me, but mostly the fact it's so flexible. I have 2-3 pedals on my board I prefer at 18v, but like I said those are on a wall wart in a power strip underneath. Here's my board today. It's never done!

[BloodRose]

Re: My power supply died at my gig last week... The importance of backups.

it amazes me how many of those things come with either a tiny thin wire, and/or the cord is only a foot long.. But good info here that it should be secured and have a real cord attached to it