Pretty Strange Question...

timorousme

timorousme

New member
I absolutely love my Sparkle Drive, and don't have a power supply for it, so I always use 9 volts. Today, I went to practice with my band and noticed that the sound this time was absolutely awesome. My other guitarist was asking me how I got that sound. Then as I continued playing, I realized what was different, the battery on the pedal was almost dead. When it finally crapped out on me, I replaced the battery and it just didn't sound the same.

Is there a way that I can get the almost-out-of-battery sound without having to constantly put in almost-dead batteries?
 
Re: Pretty Strange Question...

There is a power supply cant remember which one of the top of my head that has adjustable voltage sag (maybe voodoo labs ?!?).
 
Re: Pretty Strange Question...

James Rock said:
There is a power supply cant remember which one of the top of my head that has adjustable voltage sag (maybe voodoo labs ?!?).
Click to expand...

Yup, the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2+ has the two last outputs with little knobs above them so you can simulate the sag of the dying battery. My VLPP2 comes in either tomorrow or monday so I'll write a little review of it once I experiment with that feature. Now that you say the Sparkle Drive sounds good with the dying battery, I guess I'll try the sag output with my TS9 first!
 
Re: Pretty Strange Question...

I wonder if there's an independent sag unit that doesn't cost $170. I only have three pedals and really don't use my Tweak Fuzz, so buying the Pedal Power is kind of useless except for this one reason.

Though, I guess in the end, it's cheaper than constantly running batteries dead.
 
Re: Pretty Strange Question...

there has to be some kind of voltage regulator you can buy.

heck couldnt you just put a resistor in there to drop the voltage? or a pot?
 
Re: Pretty Strange Question...

Yeah, a resistor or pot is an option. I'd say get a 10k screw-adjust pot and dial in just the right sound, then leave it there. Or you could measure the supply voltage with the right battery in the pedal, then calculate the resistor you need to achieve that voltage drop.

http://www.beavisaudio.com/Projects/DBS/
 
Re: Pretty Strange Question...

Yup, what ParameterMan said. Sag is really easy to add into a power supply using nothing but a 10-cent resistor. But, you either have to know what you're doing and take measurements to figure out the right value, or experiment until you get it right.
 
Re: Pretty Strange Question...

I discovered this sound with a pedal I had once. It made a more saturated and organic tone with a near dead battery. so I used an adjustable powersupply from wal-mart!! The universal deals that have the various connectors and the polarity and voltage switch. I could adjust the voltage down til I got the sound I wanted. Worked great for less than $20!!
 
Re: Pretty Strange Question...

Jrex said:
I discovered this sound with a pedal I had once. It made a more saturated and organic tone with a near dead battery. so I used an adjustable powersupply from wal-mart!! The universal deals that have the various connectors and the polarity and voltage switch. I could adjust the voltage down til I got the sound I wanted. Worked great for less than $20!!
Click to expand...

great idea !! those things are like $10-$15 and you can go 3v, 4.5v, 6v, 7.5v, 9v, or 12v
 
Re: Pretty Strange Question...

Jrex said:
I discovered this sound with a pedal I had once. It made a more saturated and organic tone with a near dead battery. so I used an adjustable powersupply from wal-mart!! The universal deals that have the various connectors and the polarity and voltage switch. I could adjust the voltage down til I got the sound I wanted. Worked great for less than $20!!
Click to expand...

Dude! That's great! Thanks! I'll get on that ASAP.
 
Re: Pretty Strange Question...

That's a beautiful story man. I love it when you find the exact cause of the mojo!
 
Re: Pretty Strange Question...

Remember, it isn't the lower voltage, per se, that creates that sound. Its the current "sag", just like what happens in a tube amp with a tube rectifier. Its the battery's diminished ability to provide power that causes the "warm" sound. You need something like a resistor in series to cause this effect.

I know that Jack Orman used to have a "dying-battery" circuit on his webpage, but now I can't seem to find it. Here's the two pages to search if you want to look for it yourself:

http://www.muzique.com/lab/main.htm

http://www.muzique.com/sitemap.htm

Great info, even if you don't find exactly what you're looking for.
 
Re: Pretty Strange Question...

ArtieToo said:
Remember, it isn't the lower voltage, per se, that creates that sound. Its the current "sag", just like what happens in a tube amp with a tube rectifier. Its the battery's diminished ability to provide power that causes the "warm" sound. You need something like a resistor in series to cause this effect.

I know that Jack Orman used to have a "dying-battery" circuit on his webpage, but now I can't seem to find it. Here's the two pages to search if you want to look for it yourself:

http://www.muzique.com/lab/main.htm

http://www.muzique.com/sitemap.htm

Great info, even if you don't find exactly what you're looking for.
Click to expand...

Sag is voltage depletion...
 
Re: Pretty Strange Question...

Aye - a variable resistor in series. I'd say 25k max, 10k is probably right.

Or try rechargeable batteries, if you can find any of the older ones that peak at 7.2v for a PP3 sized one. As has been said though, it's not just the lower voltage, it's also the current strangling.
 
Re: Pretty Strange Question...

I was checking out this site - http://www.geofex.com/ - ,i was looking up power supplies.they have a thing called "spyder".Part of the circuit described/shown,has a "dying battery" section.It's in the FX section.
 
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Re: Pretty Strange Question...

That's pretty sweet, but I'll probably kill myself/set something on fire/cause the world to stop spinning if I try to make that. I'm horrible at that stuff.
 
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