I need a pedalboard power brick thing.

B

Billy Gibbons

New member
Not sure exactly what they're called.

I don't want to worry about a pedal going out on me mid-gig anymore. I have about 10 pedals on my board right now, give or take a few at any given time.

So what's the best option without breaking the bank?

Thanks for the input!
 
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Re: I need a pedalboard power brick thing.

I have the older version of the Dunlop DC Brick (before it was rebranded as MXR), and if the new version is half as good as the old one, then that's what I would get. It looks clean as hell, too.
 
Re: I need a pedalboard power brick thing.

i like voodoo labs pedal powers a lot, and you can't go wrong with the dc brick. i used to use the sanyo pedal juice because it was rechargable, but that won't last very long if you are using 10+ pedals.
 
Re: I need a pedalboard power brick thing.

MXR brick works great for just supplying power. However, if you are willing to pay a bit more go with the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2+. I got a used one from GC that was practically brand new in box.
 
Re: I need a pedalboard power brick thing.

MUguy said:
MXR brick works great for just supplying power. However, if you are willing to pay a bit more go with the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2+. I got a used one from GC that was practically brand new in box.
Click to expand...

I don't see where he says that he needs anything else besides powering a pedal board. If he was also running a light off that, it'd be different, but he doesn't specify that, and for the money, the DC Brick has more outlets available to him. Also, the DC Brick is more compact (same size as a Phase 90), and with 10 pedals on his board, he's going to want compactness.
 
Re: I need a pedalboard power brick thing.

Johnny the Kid said:
I don't see where he says that he needs anything else besides powering a pedal board. If he was also running a light off that, it'd be different, but he doesn't specify that, and for the money, the DC Brick has more outlets available to him. Also, the DC Brick is more compact (same size as a Phase 90), and with 10 pedals on his board, he's going to want compactness.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the MXR brick looks perfect for what I need right now. If I need more from a brick in the future, I'll upgrade. Plus the fact that it's the size of a Phase 90 just hits it home for me. Thanks a lot guys.
 
Re: I need a pedalboard power brick thing.

Here's the deal - MXR/DC Brick is basically a glorified OneSpot. None of the outlets are individually isolated, so you are effectively daisy-chaining your entire board by using one. Sometimes that can be problematic in that one noisy pedal can induce noise in others compounding the issue. Using an isolated supply like the VooDoo Labs or a few of the TRex supplies limits that possibility greatly because each tap is it's own power supply.

I have used a few in my time both personally and for work - my personal boards ahve VooDoo Labs and TRex supplies, at work we use the Bricks because we're actually trying to test for noise thresholds. If a pedal is quiet on the Brick, it'll certainly be quiet on a higher quality isolated supply. The Bricks are decent, don't get me wrong. They can take a ton of abuse and keep going. But if you are at all concerned about noise save up another $60 or whatever and get the PP2+.
 
Re: I need a pedalboard power brick thing.

erksin said:
Here's the deal - MXR/DC Brick is basically a glorified OneSpot. None of the outlets are individually isolated, so you are effectively daisy-chaining your entire board by using one. Sometimes that can be problematic in that one noisy pedal can induce noise in others compounding the issue. Using an isolated supply like the VooDoo Labs or a few of the TRex supplies limits that possibility greatly because each tap is it's own power supply.

I have used a few in my time both personally and for work - my personal boards ahve VooDoo Labs and TRex supplies, at work we use the Bricks because we're actually trying to test for noise thresholds. If a pedal is quiet on the Brick, it'll certainly be quiet on a higher quality isolated supply. The Bricks are decent, don't get me wrong. They can take a ton of abuse and keep going. But if you are at all concerned about noise save up another $60 or whatever and get the PP2+.
Click to expand...

None of my pedals are particularly noisy or anything, and I have a noisegate if needed. Is the noise issue the only downfall of the Brick? It doesn't affect tone?
 
Re: I need a pedalboard power brick thing.

I've got two of these: http://www.musicstore.com/en_EN/EUR...CT-200-Multi-Power-Supply-/art-GIT0019066-000
If you can live with the size, they are awesome: stabilized isolated outputs, battery dying sim, 12AC, 12DC, 2 high powered 250mA outputs. Basically a cheap large voodoo pedal power supply.

To answer why you would want isolated power. Well to prevent ground loops for one, if you ever want to operate an older fuzz with the reversed polarity you'll be in trouble if you do not either use seperate power suppies or isolated power. Also a stabilizer per channel arguably is better then one for all effects, but that probably has no really consequence for your sound. Yet isolated power will make your pedals come alive and always behave nicely, without any ground hum. If you invest I would suggest going isolated, stabilized power, whatever company you get it from. In electronic creating ground loops really is asking for trouble and that is what you do when you have no seperated power. Good for you that you have a noise suppressor, yet ideally you do not need it for background noise, just for your high gain pedals noise when engaged and you are not playing.
 
Re: I need a pedalboard power brick thing.

i use a DC brick. 7 9v outputs and 3 18v outputs.
Make sure whatever power supply you use that it has enough outputs (and milliamps) to do the job for your particular configuration of pedals.
 
Re: I need a pedalboard power brick thing.

erksin said:
Here's the deal - MXR/DC Brick is basically a glorified OneSpot. None of the outlets are individually isolated, so you are effectively daisy-chaining your entire board by using one. Sometimes that can be problematic in that one noisy pedal can induce noise in others compounding the issue. Using an isolated supply like the VooDoo Labs or a few of the TRex supplies limits that possibility greatly because each tap is it's own power supply.

I have used a few in my time both personally and for work - my personal boards ahve VooDoo Labs and TRex supplies, at work we use the Bricks because we're actually trying to test for noise thresholds. If a pedal is quiet on the Brick, it'll certainly be quiet on a higher quality isolated supply. The Bricks are decent, don't get me wrong. They can take a ton of abuse and keep going. But if you are at all concerned about noise save up another $60 or whatever and get the PP2+.
Click to expand...

I believe the newer brick is fully isolated.
 
Re: I need a pedalboard power brick thing.

It feels so awesome to be able to con tribute to this thread!

I use a simple One Spot with extensions into a Power strip. Cheap, effective.
 
Re: I need a pedalboard power brick thing.

I have a voodoo labs iso 5. I got it cause it was cheaper than the pp2, had both the high current and 18v I needed. However it doesn't have enough 9v plugs so I'm using two daisy chains on top of the iso5. (My board is big enough to fit my les Paul)
 
Re: I need a pedalboard power brick thing.

I've got the DC brick......its great for the fact it has 18V as well as 9v. Can power my MXR flanger and Lovepedal OD 11.
 
Re: I need a pedalboard power brick thing.

Billy Gibbons said:
None of my pedals are particularly noisy or anything, and I have a noisegate if needed. Is the noise issue the only downfall of the Brick? It doesn't affect tone?
Click to expand...

It affects it only in that it won't filter noise nearly as well.

Why do you run a noise gate? Do you play with a ton of gain or something? I hate those things - they kill all the good dynamic content.
 
Re: I need a pedalboard power brick thing.

I use a bunch of "C" alkalines Velcroed to my board.
 
Re: I need a pedalboard power brick thing.

What is the benefit of these "bricks" over the onespots and a power strip?
 
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