Power supplies?

J

Jigsisme

New member
Building my first pedal board and need advice in decision for the power supply. Here is a list of pedals:
-Tuner
-Wah
-Volume
-eq
-Phaser
-Flanger
-Delay
-Reverb
-Chorus
-Looper

So that's 2 needing 18v and the rest at 9v what do you recommend? Eyeing the mxr power block right now.
Trying to keep price down but don't want crap.

Appreciated!
 
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Re: Power supplies?

Voodoo lab or one of the T-Rex ones, for the T-Rex I think you can get a link cable to power an 18v pedal off one or two outputs.
 
Re: Power supplies?

Wow, a lot of pedals. It will be heavy, especially if you need a few power supplies for all of that. The power supply will likely be the price of a pedal for all of those.
 
Re: Power supplies?

The TrueTone CS12 will power everything with one supply. $179 definitely is as much as a single pedal, but it beats the $250 for the Voodoo Lab Mondo.
 
Re: Power supplies?

Matt42 said:
The TrueTone CS12 will power everything with one supply. $179 definitely is as much as a single pedal, but it beats the $250 for the Voodoo Lab Mondo.
Click to expand...

I second the One Spot Pro CS-12. I just got a CS-7 for my rig. Even that could probably power all those pedals, but you'd need a daisy chain of 2.

image.jpg
 
Re: Power supplies?

I would recommend the MXR M238 Iso Brick. 2A output across an array of voltage options, some variable between 9v and 15v, a bunch of 18v outputs. Great little brick. I power my whole board with one and absolutely no noise problems

Don't confuse it with the M237 Power Brick which is more or less the same as the Dunlop DC Brick. These are effectively Daisy Chains in a box and you'd sooner be better off just buying a cheap daisy chain PSU. Though the M237 is generally a little better build than the Dunlop offering and certainly the £40 Chinese jobbies on Amazon, I found significant problems using these daisy chain in a box supplies with high gain amps and running pedals both in front of the amplifier and in the FX loop using the same supply. It's more tolerable if you separate then, e.g. get two cheap supplies and power your pre amplifier effects using one and the fx loop effects off another. But to be honest that's a lot more board real estate and a lot more BS to put up with.

Overall for the money, the M238 has me every time. I've had Voodoo Labs gear and Gigrig stuff before. While they are great and you do notice where the extra money went, to me the M238 is a great swiss army knife. I have three separate pedal boards for different projects/amps/bands and the M238 currently powers two of them. My old Voodoo Labs still lives on my final board but there's a lot going on on that board and the Voodoo Labs currently still works so no need to change it.

The ONLY criticism I have with the M238 is the wall-wart power supply for the power supply. As in the thing what you plug into the wall. I'd have preferred if they had brought all that into the unit and made it a little bigger and kept the connector as a standard IEC C16 connector. I would say the Voodoo Labs powered board is a little tidier overall given that one simple change. But given what the M238 will cost you, it's a really small thing. I just added a few washers to the feet on my pedal train so I could angle the plug a little better and tie it in place. A little minor issue to resolve and not really all that big a deal.

But yes. For my $0.02, the M238 should be the absolute cheapest PSU anybody should consider. Especially seeing as I see a Wah on that list too!
 
Re: Power supplies?

How about Cioks ?

They're hated because of the one side RCA connection, but on my local scene every professional use them.

'Schizophrenic' model seems to fit your expectations.


I used to own DC10, but now I upgraded to CIOKOLATE model. It's the highest mountain you can cilmb on.

MXR and Dunlops power supplies are overpriced.
 
Re: Power supplies?

czarokrates said:
How about Cioks ?

They're hated because of the one side RCA connection, but on my local scene every professional use them.

'Schizophrenic' model seems to fit your expectations.


I used to own DC10, but now I upgraded to CIOKOLATE model. It's the highest mountain you can cilmb on.
Click to expand...

No it not. ;)

CIOKS-Overkill.jpg


CIOKS is also a good company. I really like that he admits some of his are toroidal and some are simply switched supplies. I'm still partial to Voodoo Lab, but am probably going to try a DC-5 for my mini board.
 
Re: Power supplies?

Jigsisme said:
Appreciate all the suggestions. Probably going to do the iso-brick but still looking.
Click to expand...

It's the M238 Iso-Brick you want there! Not the M237 DC Brick!

Someone said MXRs are overpriced and I really disagree... They're a great bang for the buck. I did forget I have a Ciokolate before which I use on my home test-out rig and it's a great PSU. But for the sheer footprint, wealth of features and decent 2A supply, the M238 wins for me hands down. There are plenty similar units of course and I would stress I don't work for MXR or are endorsed or anything. I just really like that little PSU.
 
Re: Power supplies?

PFDarkside said:
No it not. ;)

CIOKS-Overkill.jpg


CIOKS is also a good company. I really like that he admits some of his are toroidal and some are simply switched supplies. I'm still partial to Voodoo Lab, but am probably going to try a DC-5 for my mini board.
Click to expand...

Wow! I hadn't seen that! Every pedalboard should come with one of those built-in!
 
Re: Power supplies?

I would NOT recommend the mxr IsoBrick, if you are unlucky & get a bad unit then you are going to fry one or two pedals. There was a bass forum that had internal pics of it & stuff to read about that was worthwhile to not consider it, unfortunately it good shutdown some time ago. From bent knobs to sparking at some outlets & the adjustable outlet giving wrong readings, its had issues. You are better off with the CAE MC403, its well made but check the max amp ratings on it if it it will suit your pedals.

Your best bet is Voodoo Labs stuff, Cioks stuff, Truetone iso units or Trex chameleon, reliable & well featured.
 
Re: Power supplies?

Hank- said:
I would NOT recommend the mxr IsoBrick, if you are unlucky & get a bad unit then you are going to fry one or two pedals. There was a bass forum that had internal pics of it & stuff to read about that was worthwhile to not consider it, unfortunately it good shutdown some time ago. From bent knobs to sparking at some outlets & the adjustable outlet giving wrong readings, its had issues. You are better off with the CAE MC403, its well made but check the max amp ratings on it if it it will suit your pedals.

Your best bet is Voodoo Labs stuff, Cioks stuff, Truetone iso units or Trex chameleon, reliable & well featured.
Click to expand...

You might be referring to this thread?

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/mxr-iso-brick.1166654/page-15

I still went and bought one after reading it but there are a couple horror stories.

I've only been using it at home since I got it. I'll be performing tonight with it, let's see how it does.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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