Pedal power supplies
- Thread starter rspst14
- Start date
some_dude
Raging BB Gunologist
Re: Pedal power supplies
The onespot won't do 12v and 18v.
The Pedal Power 2 won't do 18V.
The PP2 is probably your best bet, although it's pretty expensive for what you get.
Or, you could just get a One-Spot or Godlyke Power-All to run you're 9v stuff, and a powerbar and wall warts for the rest.
The onespot won't do 12v and 18v.
The Pedal Power 2 won't do 18V.
The PP2 is probably your best bet, although it's pretty expensive for what you get.
Or, you could just get a One-Spot or Godlyke Power-All to run you're 9v stuff, and a powerbar and wall warts for the rest.
Gearjoneser
Gear Ho
Re: Pedal power supplies
The Voodoo Lab is more expensive, but it'll be the last power supply you'll ever need to buy. I highly recommend it. It's dead silent, and does almost everything, including a variable voltage for a couple outlets to simulate a worn battery.
I just checked my instruction manual, since it was handy, and found out you CAN power an 18 volt pedal. The only downside to the PPII is that it may not come with every cable you need for your pedalboard. That means, you should find out exactly what cables you need, and contact their customer service around the same time you buy the unit, so you can finish your pedalboard with all the pieces you need.
They only give you one Line 6 cable, which is reverse polarity with a different size plug. Also, to do 18 volt, you need to tell them, so they can send you a y cord made for merging two 9V into 1 18V. They only give you 1 Line 6 cable and a few 9 volt cables. Find out what you need and Email them.
The Voodoo Lab is more expensive, but it'll be the last power supply you'll ever need to buy. I highly recommend it. It's dead silent, and does almost everything, including a variable voltage for a couple outlets to simulate a worn battery.
I just checked my instruction manual, since it was handy, and found out you CAN power an 18 volt pedal. The only downside to the PPII is that it may not come with every cable you need for your pedalboard. That means, you should find out exactly what cables you need, and contact their customer service around the same time you buy the unit, so you can finish your pedalboard with all the pieces you need.
They only give you one Line 6 cable, which is reverse polarity with a different size plug. Also, to do 18 volt, you need to tell them, so they can send you a y cord made for merging two 9V into 1 18V. They only give you 1 Line 6 cable and a few 9 volt cables. Find out what you need and Email them.
Fresh_Start
New member
Re: Pedal power supplies
Does anybody use Dunlop's DC Brick? Looks like it powers seven 9-volt pedals and three 18 volt pedals - $69.99 at Musician's Friend.
Is there a big difference between this and the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power II? I'm just interested in clean 9 volt power myself.
I really like my Visual Sound pedals but continue to have weird problems with the One Spot - even had to send it back once, although I must say Bob at V.S. was really cool about it and "fixed it" pronto for no charge. It seems like I get noise unless all of the pedals are powered by the One Spot - using a separate adapter for one or more units gives me problems.
Chip
Does anybody use Dunlop's DC Brick? Looks like it powers seven 9-volt pedals and three 18 volt pedals - $69.99 at Musician's Friend.
Is there a big difference between this and the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power II? I'm just interested in clean 9 volt power myself.
I really like my Visual Sound pedals but continue to have weird problems with the One Spot - even had to send it back once, although I must say Bob at V.S. was really cool about it and "fixed it" pronto for no charge. It seems like I get noise unless all of the pedals are powered by the One Spot - using a separate adapter for one or more units gives me problems.
Chip
some_dude
Raging BB Gunologist
Re: Pedal power supplies
What you're talking about is ground loop hum. The pedals are grounded to each other through the shield in your patch cables, and if they have two grounds to run to, they can create hum.
DC Bricks are supposed to be OK. I've heard they can cause noise if it's too close to certian pedals, but plenty of people have no problem with them. Just don't put it near your wah.
The Pedal Power 2's taps are individually isolated, which is really useful in the prevention of ground loop hum. I don't think the DC Bricks are, but if all of your pedals are powered off the same adaptor, it shouldn't be a big deal.
What you're talking about is ground loop hum. The pedals are grounded to each other through the shield in your patch cables, and if they have two grounds to run to, they can create hum.
DC Bricks are supposed to be OK. I've heard they can cause noise if it's too close to certian pedals, but plenty of people have no problem with them. Just don't put it near your wah.
The Pedal Power 2's taps are individually isolated, which is really useful in the prevention of ground loop hum. I don't think the DC Bricks are, but if all of your pedals are powered off the same adaptor, it shouldn't be a big deal.
rspst14
Tone Cat
Re: Pedal power supplies
I'm actually using the DC Brick at the moment. It works very well, and is much more reasonably priced than the pedal power. Unfortunately, it can't handle 12 volt pedals or AC-powered pedals. I have a Maxon analog delay that runs on 12 volts, so I installed a voltage regulator circuit across the input jack so that I could run it off the 18v output and have it dropped to 12 volts. I love those old AC-powered MXR pedals, but they're kind of a hassle to deal with unless you want to use a separate power strip.
Ryan
I'm actually using the DC Brick at the moment. It works very well, and is much more reasonably priced than the pedal power. Unfortunately, it can't handle 12 volt pedals or AC-powered pedals. I have a Maxon analog delay that runs on 12 volts, so I installed a voltage regulator circuit across the input jack so that I could run it off the 18v output and have it dropped to 12 volts. I love those old AC-powered MXR pedals, but they're kind of a hassle to deal with unless you want to use a separate power strip.
Ryan
Fresh_Start
New member
Re: Pedal power supplies
SD - thanks for the explanation. I should've figured that out on my own.
I'm going to email Dunlop about whether or not each lead/ground is isolated...
Chip
SD - thanks for the explanation. I should've figured that out on my own.
I'm going to email Dunlop about whether or not each lead/ground is isolated...
Chip
midnite_man
New member
Re: Pedal power supplies
I'm running approx. 15 pedals on my board with two 1-Spot adapters and 4 daisy-chains. Very little line noise as I used George L's cable and plugs for connection, and since about 80% of my boxes are true bypass I couldn't ask for a cleaner signal. Except going straight into the amp, of course.
I'm running approx. 15 pedals on my board with two 1-Spot adapters and 4 daisy-chains. Very little line noise as I used George L's cable and plugs for connection, and since about 80% of my boxes are true bypass I couldn't ask for a cleaner signal. Except going straight into the amp, of course.
midnite_man
New member
Re: Pedal power supplies
I had a similar incident with one of my 1-Spot's and emailed Bob about it. He had me send it back to him. They either fixed that one or sent me a new, and tested unit which ended up working fine and also n/c. They were very cool about it.
The 1-Spot isn't a bad little power source.
Fresh_Start said:
I had a similar incident with one of my 1-Spot's and emailed Bob about it. He had me send it back to him. They either fixed that one or sent me a new, and tested unit which ended up working fine and also n/c. They were very cool about it.
The 1-Spot isn't a bad little power source.
rspst14
Tone Cat
Re: Pedal power supplies
15 pedals? Just out of curiosity, how long are the cables from the guitar to the pedalboard and the pedalboard to the amp? Do you notice a major difference in tone when going straight into the amp compared to running through 15 pedals that are all turned off? Any buffered bypass pedals in your setup?
Ryan
midnite_man said:
15 pedals? Just out of curiosity, how long are the cables from the guitar to the pedalboard and the pedalboard to the amp? Do you notice a major difference in tone when going straight into the amp compared to running through 15 pedals that are all turned off? Any buffered bypass pedals in your setup?
Ryan
some_dude
Raging BB Gunologist
Re: Pedal power supplies
I put my two cents in on this one as well.
Boss FET buffered pedels rock.
Period.
I run 20' to my board, and 20' to my amp. For sh*ts and giggles one day I took out my Boss GE-7 and just left a true bypass pedal in there (40.5' of unbuffered cable) and my sound turned to muddy sh*t. The buffer inside the Boss does an excellent job of restoring my signal.
All I'm really trying to say is that although true bypass is good, in my opinion you NEED a buffered pedal in there somewhere to help restore your signal.
General rule of thumb is that you should have a buffer anytime your total cable length (including the little wires inside a true bypass effect) exceeds 20' you should have a buffer in there somewhere.
Ibanez pedals are supposed to have decent buffers now to.
The buffer in the new Dunlop wahs sucks, or so I was told.
rspst14 said:
I put my two cents in on this one as well.
Boss FET buffered pedels rock.
Period.
I run 20' to my board, and 20' to my amp. For sh*ts and giggles one day I took out my Boss GE-7 and just left a true bypass pedal in there (40.5' of unbuffered cable) and my sound turned to muddy sh*t. The buffer inside the Boss does an excellent job of restoring my signal.
All I'm really trying to say is that although true bypass is good, in my opinion you NEED a buffered pedal in there somewhere to help restore your signal.
General rule of thumb is that you should have a buffer anytime your total cable length (including the little wires inside a true bypass effect) exceeds 20' you should have a buffer in there somewhere.
Ibanez pedals are supposed to have decent buffers now to.
The buffer in the new Dunlop wahs sucks, or so I was told.
rspst14
Tone Cat
Re: Pedal power supplies
Yeah, that's a very good point. A lot of people mistakenly think that anything other than true bypass is unacceptable. A well-designed buffered bypass system should have no loss of tone, and it can help preserve your signal with longer cable lengths. Boss, Ibanez, and Maxon pedals all have very well designed buffered bypass systems. Based on my experience, pedals that will suck your tone include old MXR pedals, the new Dunlop pedals, and most wahs. In this case, true bypassing these pedals is a good idea. An even better idea is to use a true bypass box if you run a lot of pedals. This allows you to go straight into the amp by bypassing all the pedals at once and sending the signal from your guitar to the bypass box, and into the amp. I'd like to figure out a way to wire up the effects loop on my Classic 50 to be foot switchable. If I could get that rigged up, I could go straight into the amp, and not have the added cable length of the pedals in the effects loop, because the loop would be totally bypassed. I typically run 15 foot cables in the effects loop, so that's 30 feet worth of cable that could be removed from the chain if I could figure out how to wire it up. I know it can be done, I'm just not sure exactly how. That would be a very useful mod though...with that setup, I could theoretically run 100 pedals in front of the amp and 100 in the effects loop, and I'd still be able to bypass both and run straight into the amp with nothing but one true bypass box in between.
Ryan
screamingdaisy said:
Yeah, that's a very good point. A lot of people mistakenly think that anything other than true bypass is unacceptable. A well-designed buffered bypass system should have no loss of tone, and it can help preserve your signal with longer cable lengths. Boss, Ibanez, and Maxon pedals all have very well designed buffered bypass systems. Based on my experience, pedals that will suck your tone include old MXR pedals, the new Dunlop pedals, and most wahs. In this case, true bypassing these pedals is a good idea. An even better idea is to use a true bypass box if you run a lot of pedals. This allows you to go straight into the amp by bypassing all the pedals at once and sending the signal from your guitar to the bypass box, and into the amp. I'd like to figure out a way to wire up the effects loop on my Classic 50 to be foot switchable. If I could get that rigged up, I could go straight into the amp, and not have the added cable length of the pedals in the effects loop, because the loop would be totally bypassed. I typically run 15 foot cables in the effects loop, so that's 30 feet worth of cable that could be removed from the chain if I could figure out how to wire it up. I know it can be done, I'm just not sure exactly how. That would be a very useful mod though...with that setup, I could theoretically run 100 pedals in front of the amp and 100 in the effects loop, and I'd still be able to bypass both and run straight into the amp with nothing but one true bypass box in between.
Ryan
some_dude
Raging BB Gunologist
Re: Pedal power supplies
A rack switching system, such as a Custom Audio Electronics 2x4 Audio Controller or a Axess-Electronics GRX4 or RX1 Switcher/Router.
Essentially, when all the loops are off, the signal goes guitar -> cord -> amp.
When you switch an effect on, it places it inside that path, and as soon as it's switched off, it's removed again. So if you have a really cool but really tone sucking effect, you can turn it on, get your effect, then turn it off, and get rid of the tone suck.
They're also great for complex switching and eliminate the need to tapdance as you change from your boosted chorus lead sound, to your phased rhythm with delay and reverb.
It won't give you a complely bypassable loop, but it's the next best thing. All your pedals sit beside your amp, and you control them with a MIDI controller. So instead of needing two 15' lengths of cable, it's two 1' lengths - one to the switching unit, and one back to the amp.
Ahhh. The glories of MIDI.
Oh, the Voodoo Labs GCX Guitar Audio Switcher is supposed to be a good economical option compaired to the two units I mentioned above.
rspst14 said:
A rack switching system, such as a Custom Audio Electronics 2x4 Audio Controller or a Axess-Electronics GRX4 or RX1 Switcher/Router.
Essentially, when all the loops are off, the signal goes guitar -> cord -> amp.
When you switch an effect on, it places it inside that path, and as soon as it's switched off, it's removed again. So if you have a really cool but really tone sucking effect, you can turn it on, get your effect, then turn it off, and get rid of the tone suck.
They're also great for complex switching and eliminate the need to tapdance as you change from your boosted chorus lead sound, to your phased rhythm with delay and reverb.
It won't give you a complely bypassable loop, but it's the next best thing. All your pedals sit beside your amp, and you control them with a MIDI controller. So instead of needing two 15' lengths of cable, it's two 1' lengths - one to the switching unit, and one back to the amp.
Ahhh. The glories of MIDI.
Oh, the Voodoo Labs GCX Guitar Audio Switcher is supposed to be a good economical option compaired to the two units I mentioned above.
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MDS
New member
Re: Pedal power supplies
I use two different power supplies depending on the situation. My nice one is a VHT Valvulator I. It powers my whole board, and acts as a tube preamp/buffer at the front of the chain. It allows you to run craploads of cable and pedals without losing any signal. This is possible because of the buffering/impedance matching. Really cool item, though it is kind of expensive($180 or so), a little big, and kinda heavy.
My cheap-o one is the 1-spot. I picked it up for the musical I've been doing because stage space is a little short and I'm only using a few pedals(volume, tuner, delay). I've done about 25 shows with it in the last month and it has worked great for me. Tons of power, and zero noise. I think it is probably the best solution for the budget/space/weight minded.
Mike
I use two different power supplies depending on the situation. My nice one is a VHT Valvulator I. It powers my whole board, and acts as a tube preamp/buffer at the front of the chain. It allows you to run craploads of cable and pedals without losing any signal. This is possible because of the buffering/impedance matching. Really cool item, though it is kind of expensive($180 or so), a little big, and kinda heavy.
My cheap-o one is the 1-spot. I picked it up for the musical I've been doing because stage space is a little short and I'm only using a few pedals(volume, tuner, delay). I've done about 25 shows with it in the last month and it has worked great for me. Tons of power, and zero noise. I think it is probably the best solution for the budget/space/weight minded.
Mike
Gearjoneser
Gear Ho
Re: Pedal power supplies
Hey rspst14, you may be able to benefit from a GCX switcher that Burkweiser just sold to Puckboy. If Puckboy can't use it, you could buy it from him. It may solve your switching FX Loop problem.
I agree about buffered pedals. It's good to have at least one in your chain. My Klon Centaur is the first pedal I hit, and that has a buffered bypass, which drives the chain a little. Then, I have a pedalboard.com dual loopbox, which bypasses my tonesucking Line 6 pedals. Essentially, when the loopbox is off, I'm going from guitar to Klon/ ADA Flanger/Fulltone Choralflange, straight out to the amp. Nice pure signal.
I can choose to bring other FX in with one button on the loopbox.
Hey rspst14, you may be able to benefit from a GCX switcher that Burkweiser just sold to Puckboy. If Puckboy can't use it, you could buy it from him. It may solve your switching FX Loop problem.
I agree about buffered pedals. It's good to have at least one in your chain. My Klon Centaur is the first pedal I hit, and that has a buffered bypass, which drives the chain a little. Then, I have a pedalboard.com dual loopbox, which bypasses my tonesucking Line 6 pedals. Essentially, when the loopbox is off, I'm going from guitar to Klon/ ADA Flanger/Fulltone Choralflange, straight out to the amp. Nice pure signal.
I can choose to bring other FX in with one button on the loopbox.
