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MXR Iso-Brick

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  • MXR Iso-Brick

    Has anybody used one of these? I've switched a few things round on my big pedalboard, including adding a Sliver Lake Reverb and Andromeda delay. The reverb is causing quite a nasty whine, which I suspect is the cheap power supply running everything on the board except the Blackstar HT-Dual. There are 2 higher capacity outputs on the MXR that I think will do just fine for the 2 SD pedals. What do you guys think?

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    Do what I do. Hold tight and pretend it's a plan!

  • #2
    Re: MXR Iso-Brick

    I have one and used it for gigging. I bought it to handle the higher volt/amp needs of my Strymons and my Marvel Drive. I didn’t have any whine issues, but some pedals have better headroom and sound better with the higher volts and amps. If the whine is truly power related, the ISO Brick could solve it. Otherwise noise is noise and would have to be addressed at the source.

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    • #3
      Re: MXR Iso-Brick

      I had one for quite a while. There were some online horror stories but I never had a problem at all. I actually really liked it. Ended up switching to a different unit to fit it under my current board.

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      • #4
        Re: MXR Iso-Brick

        I recently bought the Truetone one spot proCS12 because of the same issues you’re having.

        I am going to try to set it up tomorrow. I wanted to do it today but instead rewired a guitar.

        I had been using the regular MXR DC Brick for years without issue. But since I’ve now got a few digital pedals making noise, I needed an isolated unit.

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        • #5
          Re: MXR Iso-Brick

          Originally posted by Gtrjunior View Post
          I recently bought the Truetone one spot proCS12 because of the same issues you’re having.

          I am going to try to set it up tomorrow. I wanted to do it today but instead rewired a guitar.

          I had been using the regular MXR DC Brick for years without issue. But since I’ve now got a few digital pedals making noise, I needed an isolated unit.
          So, I had a read through your thread. It's certainly put the Truetone supply on my radar. I've got 2 SD digital pedals that are rated at 250mA each, everything else is low rated drive or analogue modulation. Can you tell me what the 2 18v outputs are rated at please?


          Do what I do. Hold tight and pretend it's a plan!

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          • #6
            MXR Iso-Brick

            Here’s the manual....it a few pages.



            But to answer your question, the 18v spots are 100mA each.

            Oh, also as an FYI. When I was setting mine up, I went to the Duncan site to check mA requirements for pedals. (I have the andromeda and silver lake too) and the site rates them at a 300mA requirement.

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            • #7
              Re: MXR Iso-Brick

              Hopefully that helps

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              • #8
                Re: MXR Iso-Brick

                Thanks for that! I'm thinking the CS12 might be a better option.


                Do what I do. Hold tight and pretend it's a plan!

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                • #9
                  Re: MXR Iso-Brick

                  The Iso Brick horror stories were real indeed. It was okay if the PSU died itself but the ISO was taking pedals along with for the ride. Mxr might have fixd the bugs in latter revisions though.

                  The truetone CS series are very good. The mA ratings on them can be exceeded beyond what is printed on the outlets, as per truetone a 200mA outlet can power a 300mA pedal without issue, the tech in them is different than the usual isolated supplies based on multitap transformers. More details for it can be found here https://truetone.com/cs7/

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                  • #10
                    Re: MXR Iso-Brick

                    Just a heads up...
                    The CS12 is a bit thicker than the MXR. I had to play around with it’s placement under my board, but it worked out in the end.
                    My board is a board I built so there’s that too.

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                    • #11
                      Re: MXR Iso-Brick

                      I have some very detailed posts on this topic elsewhere on here. -but Op -just know that you get what you pay for with ISO power supplies -there is no "deal" -as cost goes up, component materials get better and tolerances tighten -and the schematics gets smarter and more efficient.

                      the more expensive supplies work better with "difficult" pedal noise -such as notoriously noisy digital modulation -but if your just doing overdrive/distortion and analog delay -probably most anything works ok for live playing, but I see you've got more (and probably plans to have other options in the future) -so I would purchase purchase and test and be prepared to return and try another.

                      I prefer the Strymon (as much as it hurts me to say) Ojai and Zuma series -they were the quietest for pedal modulation of the 5 or 6 I tested. Had good luck with the Voodoo too.
                      “For me, when everything goes wrong – that’s when adventure starts.” Yvonne Chouinard

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                      • #12
                        Re: MXR Iso-Brick

                        I'm going to give the Truetone CS12 a try. The 2 Seymour Duncan digital pedals are the only ones that need a higher current draw, everything else is analogue and low current.


                        Do what I do. Hold tight and pretend it's a plan!

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                        • #13
                          MXR Iso-Brick

                          Fitted the Truetone yesterday, and tested it out today. Brilliant! The annoying whine has gone completely. As a bonus, I run a TC Helicon harmoniser pedal, and I think I’ll be able to run it from the Truetone too, saving me a power plug!


                          Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


                          Do what I do. Hold tight and pretend it's a plan!

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                          • #14
                            Re: MXR Iso-Brick

                            Originally posted by stevie_bees View Post
                            Fitted the Truetone yesterday, and tested it out today. Brilliant! The annoying whine has gone completely. As a bonus, I run a TC Helicon harmoniser pedal, and I think I’ll be able to run it from the Truetone too, saving me a power plug!


                            Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
                            I was super happy with my results too.
                            Rock on!

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