Pedal board power supply?

[Psykel]

I'm in the middle of planning out my future pedal board and will buy some sort of multi-pedal power supply (been running my current board on batteries).
The ones I've been looking at are the Visual Sound 1spot daisy chain, the Dunlop DC Brick and the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2+.
I'm not too knowledgable when it comes to power supplies, so if anyone could not only recommend me one but also explain (in non-complicated technobabble) what the difference between those power supplies are it would be awesome.
If it matters, my new pedal board will most likely look like this: TC Electronic Polytune Mini - Overdrive (TBD - some might've seen my overdrive pedal thread) - ProCo Rat - EXH Big Muff Tonewicker - Mooer Trelicopter - EHX Small Clone - TC Electronic Flashback.

 

[Dr. Vegetable]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

I just got the 1spot recently to get rid of several wall warts from my board. It is pretty straightforward:

+ 9 VDC supply
+ 1700 mA of supply current
+ Comes with an 8-headed cable that has standard barrel-type connectors
+ Includes (2) barrel-to-9V battery clip adapters
+ Includes (2) barrel-to-3.5mm adapters
+ Includes (1) barrel-to-Line6 adapter

I've only used it a couple times, but it seems to provide quiet power that doesn't add hum or ripple to your pedals. This can be a problem when using wall-warts that are not designed for use with audio products. It worked just fine to power my pedals by MXR, Diamond, and even (with the included 3.5mm adapter) my old Ross Phaser. They claim compatibility with several other pedals as well, though I can't vouch for the brands I don't own.

The wall-wart is compact and designed to only take up one space in a plug strip. According to the manufacturer, it will work with power mains in any country. YMMV. (YVMV?)

Recommended. :bigok:

 

[Psykel]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

Well, seeing as it costs about 1/5 of the Voodoo Labs power supply, it's the most tempting one.
According to Visual Sound's website, the 1 spot is compatible with 90% of the pedals on the market, and the 3.5mm adapter can power my Rat and Small Clone (yay @ 2 being included - the Voodoo Labs one only comes with 1. )
Even if the Voodoo Labs or Dunlop power supplies would be better, it can't be a bad investment to get the Visual Sound one as at least a backup, with the loooooow price compared to the others.
That's my thoughts at least.

 

[Bludave]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

I have three different boards that i use for different things. They are all powered with a one spot. I don't use a lot of pedals though and my understanding is you can only power 9volt pedals. Now I built my board a bunch of years ago and they may have changed that now.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

Ive been using a dunlop brick for a long time. no problems, no noise - but the thing i don't like is the teeny weeny power adapter cord that drives it. i carry a spare just in case.
Id be happier using a power supply that has the big beefy 3 prong mains adapter...maybe i'm being paranoid. I dunno.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

I use a 1Spot on both of my boards.

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

I use and love the Pedal Power II+.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

If your needs are fairly simple (and yours are) a One Spot can be a fine power supply and I use one on my small board but on my bigger board which has more demanding power needs an isolated supply with more options is the only way to go and for that I use a PPII+.

 

[alteredbeast]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

Ive been using a dunlop brick for a long time. no problems, no noise - but the thing i don't like is the teeny weeny power adapter cord that drives it. i carry a spare just in case.
Id be happier using a power supply that has the big beefy 3 prong mains adapter...maybe i'm being paranoid. I dunno.

nah not paranoid. i have the same one, and im not into the power cord either.

 

[GregJr]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

One Spot.
I have two on my board powering 11 pedals( Boss,MXR,VFE,Barber).
NO problems what-so-ever.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

guitarfetish has the daisy chain plug for about 5 bucks and shipping
Amazon has a one amp nine volt adapter for about 5 bucks and shipping

you will have to flip the positive and negative wires on the adapter

I am cheap

made two one for me and for my buddy

mine works fine my buddy has trouble getting his to work
I dunno

 

[Psykel]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

Cheers for all the answers, guys! I think I'll at least start out with the Visual Sound 1spot. Seeing as I'll run 6-7 pedals and at the very most 8 (if I decide to get a reverb or something), it should be quite enough.
Gonna pick it up from thomann.de when I order some other stuff I need from there.

 

[jmh151]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

I've used the DC Brick and now the Voodoo Labs Power Plus 2.

As others have said, the power supply on the brick is flimsy. Eeven has a hard time staying connected to the Brick. Aside from that, if hoy tape everything down, it works fine.

I got a Pedaltrain board recently and decided to use a voodoo labs power plus 2 on it, since t had the mounts for it. It's a very heavy duty power supply, and the isolated outputs are supposed to mean less noise, something that's appreciated in my high gain amp, though I haven't noticed a difference from the brick. The pedals do seem to sound clearer and a little more robust than using the brick, but only slightly

 

[LReese]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

I've had the VS Daisy chain - If you have an electrical issue, you could be in for a headache. IMO, its a big ground loop. If you have a certain type of florescent fixture or still use CRT's you might have an issue. I did, even with EMG's.

I'd go for the Voodoo if I could spare the $$.

 

[Stratman]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

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• 6 separate outlets (use up to 5 simultaneously)
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[Psykel]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

I've had the VS Daisy chain - If you have an electrical issue, you could be in for a headache. IMO, its a big ground loop. If you have a certain type of florescent fixture or still use CRT's you might have an issue. I did, even with EMG's.

I'd go for the Voodoo if I could spare the $$.

Again, I think I'll go for the Visual Sound one to start with. The Voodoo Labs one costs 5 times more over here in Sweden, so if the Visual Sound works fine, then yay. If not, I'll get the Voodoo Labs one and have a nice backup power supply in the VS one.
As I'm bandless atm, I'll mostly play in my bedroom. I got an LCD tv, a laptop and 2 regular ol' lightbulb desk lamps (no ceiling lamp) there, so shouldn't be much if any electric interference.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

I've been using the DC brock on both my boards for years with no issues. Sure, the power supply seems a little 'flimsy' but I've never had an issue in over 5 years

 

[tonello]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

DC Brick any day of the week, and twice on Sundays. I love the fact that it has so many spots to plug in, and it's cheaper than a Pedal Power 2, and does it all in a Phase 90 sized box.

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

For all those advocating the Dunlop DC brick - there's a reason that it's so much cheaper than the Pedal Power. It's basically a glorified 1 spot at twice the price - no isolated power, or any of the other benefits of the PPII+. That's not to say it's not good - you just get what you pay for.

 

[Psykel]

Re: Pedal board power supply?

For all those advocating the Dunlop DC brick - there's a reason that it's so much cheaper than the Pedal Power. It's basically a glorified 1 spot at twice the price - no isolated power, or any of the other benefits of the PPII+. That's not to say it's not good - you just get what you pay for.

Yes, that's pretty much what I concluded too. I'm guessing the VS 1spot should be about as effective as the Dunlop, but for 1/3 of the price.