@Stephen Docherty Some pedals can indeed take up to 18v with no issue. Another option is to use a port splitter to power two pedals from a single port. This make the two pedals non-isolated from one another, but isn't always a big deal. Brian Wampler has a good video on this: th-cam.com/video/V9jGGOnEJGY/w-d-xo.html
Man, I learned so much from this thank you. I still don't understand... but it's definitely a "Its not me its you" situation lol. Solution: me re-watching this a million times.
THANNNKKK YOOOOUUUU !!!!!! You solved me a Mistery .... ... i had 4 of those Voodoo Splitters and worked pretty well ... but one day i changed pedal order and ... puufff .... two of them stopped working !!! i didnt understood why .... i've put them aside for almost a year now (thank GOD i didnt throw them in garbage) ... and now after seeing your vid ... the cables came to life again ..... MIRACLE !!! MIRACLE !!!! ;) Thanks so much ... for sharing this info .... Greetings from Portugal Rui.
As an electrician who also plays guitar, I wouldn’t ever suggest splitting in general. You are de-rating the wires which increases the chance of fire. In reality, you’ll prob never get full load capacity but on the off chance that you do, it’s safer to spend the money on a second power supply. They designed their pieces of hardware to accommodate a specific number of ports for a reason. Always better to error on the side of caution.
I have a Line 6 M5 that doesn't like being daisy chained - very susceptible to noise in the power. I had to buy a separate wall wart for it as the one provided was flaky. The ISO 5 that I have now is going to simplify my hookup.
I've never had any extra hum or geoundloops that I could ever notice with a radio shack walk wart and basically every end of a daisy chain connected.. but I haven't connected big digital units at all. All matter of fuzzes and overdrives. Not a noticeable problem once. Got a Voodoo power 4x4 and didn't notice a single difference. I'm still trying to justify my purchase, 2 years later.
Best video so far. Hunting for a power supply for future board. Bought a few pedals so far, gonna add a couple more soon. Luckily haven't got one digital. Gonna avoid that one like a plague
Bite the bullet. Get the Strymon Zuma. Save yourself all the headaches and running out of space and power etc. expandable. Plug it in. Works. Isolated 500ma every outlet. Plus several outlets with variable 9/12/18v. I spent so much time and money trying to do it inexpensively. Should have just bought the best product from the beginning.
I’m curious about the seemingly cheaper power box. Some people on the internet are saying the power supply I bought isn’t isolated. I’m going to do the test with my multimeter. I bought a vangoa pedal board with integrated power supply and it says that it has an isolated power supply but the power cord for the wall outlet is a 1.5 amp power supply. I’m wondering if I was tricked into believing I bought isolated power in the board when they meant it comes with an isolated power converter as a power cord like a one spot
Awesome video! It really helped me to understand all of these stuff... Also is there a way to check regulation in the pedal power supply with the multimeter? Thanks!
Thanks! You could always use a meter to check actual output voltage, but you would need a scope to see any real advantages the unit is giving you over wall power.
Great stuff! And I guess my last question is - can I split from more than one output of voodoo labs pedal power plus 2 - like use a splitter for one output and then ano splitter from another output to power 4 pedals from two outputs from pedal power plus? Can power plus 2 handle 2 sppits? Thank you so much you really helped!
If I for example have a cheap power supply with 5 shorted outputs, and another good isolated power supply with 5 lifted outputs, what if in a signal chain I connect the pedals' power alternately, like pedals 1,3,5,7 in a daisy chain and pedals 2,4,6 with lifted sources? In this way I should break every ground loop created by the shorted outputs, hence have a same effect as using 2 isolated supplies for the price of 1.5, am I correct? Thanks in advance, great video.
If you truly have ground loops in your setup, this probably won't work. Ground loops can exist in both serial and parallel wiring schemes. I would just plug things in one by one and reconfigure as problems arise. Experimentation is key!
Thanks Jason awesome! I also do run a stereo rig and didn’t put the voodoo labs splitter in yet upon revamping my board. So I guess to avoid the problem of splitting the stereo signal as you mentioned with the Radial splitter, I should make sure that the the two pedals that are being joined by the splitter should be way in the front end of the board and connected together? In other words even though I am running stereo outs (with a Lehle ground and phase isolation) as the last in chain -this splitter should be ok because the pedals that are sharing the output split are two distortion pedals right next to each other?
Short answer is you should be OK. But, you have to experiment. Certain pedals will share power better than others. Don't mix analog and digital, don't mix modulation and drive, etc.
I just came to this video to have the answer to the question in the subject....please save me watching all 21 min of it and just kindly tell me where in the video is the answer? Thx!
Great video! At about 7 minutes in you explain about using voodoo labs output splitter, does it matter what cable goes into either pedal -as far as the one with the white stripe? In other words -does pedal one or two get the white side strip?
The white striped side of the splitter cable is ground lifted to eliminate ground loops. It shouldn't matter, but you can always swap them if you encounter any noise.
Great video! OK, you have 1-4, 5-6, 7-8. Can you mix say, 4-5 with a Y current doubler without doing any damage to the power supply or the pedal being connected? I have a pedal that needs 500ma to run, so a Y connector to 5-6 work just fine. I tried connecting 4-5 and it also powers the pedal. I'm no good with this stuff. Any thoughts?
If the pedal expressly says it requires 500mA I would say make sure to give it what it wants. Under powering a pedal can shorten its life even if it's functioning. If you plan to expand or upgrade to pedals that might use more power I would suggest you look into something that offers higher mA per port like the Strymon power supplies. Pedals seem to be getting more hungry for power with the more features they offer. Hope this helps.
A regulated power supply is one that maintains a constant voltage regardless of load. All pedalboard power supplies are regulated, although some will allow an output to become unregulated with a switch (like the PP2+). As far as an underrated output, what they probably mean is that the advertised current capacity is higher than what the unit actually provides. Personally, I hear almost universal praise for the Truone units, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Great information. I’m experiencing a ground hum similar to when a direct box ground switch is in the ungrounded position. Using a Strymon Zuma R300. Shure wireless into volume pedal-Boss OC-5 into Cloudburst then Kelley Omni reverb to direct box. Bought the Zuma because I thought my Onespot pro had gone bad. Sounded the same way as new supply. Tried each pedal with a onespot and perfectly silent. Went through each pedal the same way , all silent. Although I know daisy chaining isn’t the best idea I was forced to for Sunday service. Pedals run silent with 20.00 onespot but hum with the Zuma and Onespot pro . Same patch cables ,same outlet. Even went to a different wall ,circuit. Same results. I’m totally baffled. Any thoughts to try ?
Gary, sorry for the delayed response. Did you try each pedal individually with the wireless unit? I would be curious is the wireless with so many buffered pedals could be the problem. The buffers in pedals can be of different quality as well. Have you tried the chain without the wireless? What are your patch cables? Have you tried a noise suppressor?
Great instructional video! New subscriber, and i already have a question. I was under the impression that as long as the milliamp rating did not exceed to total of the power supply it would work fine. For example, I have a flashback x4 that needs 450/500mamp (not quite sure), but i power it from one of the 250ma outs on my vooddo lab out and it works with no problem since my other pedals don't drawn nearly anything. Was i mislead? Thanks
At the end of the day, if it works it works. Some digital pedals will have significant current draw on startup, but then draw less in normal use. Maybe the rating on the tc is on the conservative side?
@@AlphatoneAudio Thanks so much for the response. I believe it was Daniel from THAT PEDAL SHOW who said this. I was wondered how could the pedal isolate the signal but share the amperage. Either way, thanks again for the video!
You'd make a great teacher, if you aren't already. Question, I use something like the 1 spot you showed @1:06 9V 2000mA. I currently run 5 pedals daisy chained. The current consumption indicated on each pedal's manual add up to 205mA at 9V. I'm looking forward to add a new pedal. On its manual it says: Power: External 9V to 18V regulated DC adapter (center pin negative) with 300mA current rating. Consumption: 150mA. My first question is, is it the 150 or the 300mA that I should be looking at? I guess it's safer to supply it with the higher amount of power? But which one is it really? Second, do you think it will be fine to add that new pedal to my daisy chain? I don't wanna just try it and fry that expensive unit. If it isn't safe then I'm planning to get a brick.
Some pedals, especially digital ones like the H9 in this video, take more power on startup than in use. So maybe it wants 300 on startup and 150 in use. For sure you won't hurt anything by giving it too little power, so I would say just give it a shot and see how it sounds.
Great video. I have a question on your thoughts about a Tripplite LC2400. I Was wondering if you think something like that unit having a 50w tube amp and a pedal power 2 plus would actually be doing anything noticeable to keep noise floor down if plugged into the wall in a bar or house. Best, Taylor
It certainly can't hurt. Keep in mind that it will only filter noise from the wall power. There are plenty of other places for noise to get into your setup such as tubes that are becoming microphonic, single coil pickups in unshielded guitars, etc. Isolating unwanted noise can be a challenge, so make changes gradually to see what is working/not working.
@@AlphatoneAudio thanks for the advice. The rig i run is quiet as can be at home and most bars, i did add the tripplite as a way to protect the tube amp in case of a voltage surge or brown out. Most of the noise i hear is coming from my single coils, so i know not a real way to fix that. Any thoughts on the d'addario solderless patch cables?
@@moseybeat I'm not a fan of solder less in general. I believe solderless has only one benefit over soldered, and that's usability. Meaning, your average person that doesn't solder can get up and running with as many custom length cables as they need quickly. After that, I feel soldered cables win in every other measurement.
It's a pretty deep topic from an engineering standpoint. Basically, while switching power supplies haven't historically been popular for audio applications, the latest generation offer smaller size, greater power, and less proximity noise. Similar to how Class D amps are getting more popular.
@@AlphatoneAudio thanks for the reply, really appreciate it. but what i want to ask is how to be sure not to damage your pedal since h9 is expensive, and im buying a reverse polarity cable that is cheap. and hopefully it is really center positive
@@Feitan0123 All the power supply cables are cheap. As long as you got the right one (probably has different colored ends or something) you'll be fine.
Thanks for this video! question, i have the power 2 plus, im planning on buying the eventide H9, problem is that im already using one of the 250mA outputs with another pedal. Do you think i could get the H9 to work using the double current cable but combining say the 4 and 5 output to get me 350mA?? Thanks in advance
Jason, thank you for this!! If I have a device that I know draws 1100mA, can I use a daisy chain to take 1500mA from 3 isolated jacks to power this device?
This is exactly what a current doubler cable does. It's just a parallel-wired adapter to combine two outputs (a voltage doubler is series-wired). I've never seen a three-way cable, but you could build one. More info on this in an upcoming video.
Can i ask something about pedal current draw, if you stack say more than 3 pedal in front of an amp would the combined current draws of the 3 pedal hit the amp harder than if you only stick in 1 pedal? Thank you
The current draw of the pedals has nothing to do with the output of the pedals. One pedal could hit the front of the amp harder than three depending on what you were using.
@@AlphatoneAudio Thank you, so what actually measure the output of a pedal going into an amp please? My transistor Orange Crush 20 starts screeching when i stack 3 overdrive pedals in front. Thank you
Three main differences between all these power supplies 1. number of ports 2. mA rating of ports 3. voltage of ports. Just check the specs on each one to see how they align with your individual power requirements.
I bought a used Zoom multi effect unit w/ pwr supply and used it for 2 yrs before finding out it is a positive center and supposed to be negative center. How did it not damage the unit or did it. It still works as of this time. But once I found out, I haven't used it yet. It's for the bass and that's not set up at this time.
It just depends on the device. It's not difficult to provide protection against situations like this, it's just a matter if the manufacturer implements said protections or not.
@@AlphatoneAudio Well I switched to a Boss 9v which is what it is. It don't seem the 9v pos tip did any damage. It's just for the bass set-up I don't use much.
@Cameron Smith It is on the back of the pedal + center. I used what was supplied w/ pedal and never looked until I started learning more about pwr supplies. And then... found out how wrong not to pay attention to the right things.
Not sure about the specific ZOOM, but if the unit/pedal (or whatever it is) takes AC power and not DC power, the polarity shouldn't matter. I have a pedal that requires an AC to AC adapter and it doesn't matter which is negative and which is positive. If the unit uses an AC to DC power adapter (BOSS and most pedals in the market), the polarity matters.
Hey there, I’m fairly new when it comes to properly powering up pedals. I have the Pedal Power Plus 2, I was thinking of getting the Pedal Power digital as well to power up two Strymons that I have. Is it possible to connect the Pedal Power Digital to the back of the Pedal Power 2?
Yesterday I bought a Fazley PBP-03 isolated power supply for my pedals, but it's insanely noisy. I use an EHX Soul Food overdrive, Polytune 3 tuner and a Keeley Caverns v2 reverb and delay. If i plug those pedals (or even just 2 of them) in the powersupply I get an insane amount of hum (unplayable). When I plug only 1 pedal in the powersupply and another pedal in a wall socket it is very quiet (more quiet than when I use 2 pedals powered by different wall sockets). Is there something broken about my powersupply? It seems like there's a groundloop going on within the powersupply itself. It's brand new so I can't image it's broken already. Can somebody help?
@@AlphatoneAudio Thanks for your reply! Went back to the store today and tested it against another PBP-03 to check if mine was broken... It wasn't, both generated an insane amount of hum with 2 simple pedals attached. It's just terrible quality, I returned it and will save up a bit more to get a proper one. I know Fazley isn't a great brand but I expected it to at least do what it was made for in an acceptable/mediocre way. This product does the opposite it was made for, it literally has negative value. Tip for anyone planning to buy a power supply: Test it like you would test any other piece of equipment in the store, try it with some different pedals, and maybe consider spending a bit more than within the "budget" range.
@@stevechance4422 For me at that point you are essentially daisy chaining dirt pedals, and improving the chances of raising your noise floor. It would definitely depend on what mA the power port is offering. Some are as high as 500mA, but most commonly you'll find 100 or 250. I would want to make sure I have plenty of room to power them all to insure there isn't a fight for the mA. Mostly though I just want my dirt pedals to be isolated from each other to cut down on as much noise as possible.
What are your thoughts on this idea? Rat 5mA,RC Booster 6mA,Nobles 11mA,Lightspeed 11mA from a 100mA supply from a Mondo?I am running a large 16 pedal board with 3 strymons running in stereo with a Disaster Area dmc6 midi and I have a boss noise suppressor for my overdrives and a mxr noise clamp for the modulation pedals.My mxr dyna comp is only 3.3mA,could I power it with 3 of the overdrive.I appreciate any good advise on this.I am a bit technically challenged on all this.Thank you for your help.
say if you want to use 11 pedals should you get one isolated pedal supply with at lest 12 outlets or should you get 2 isolated pedal supply with 6 outlets.
You can do do either, but don't forget that you can power more than one pedal from a port on a power supply if you use a splitter. Just be careful not to exceed the max mA rating for the port. I have a video on this coming soon!
I am using two Voodoo lab plus 2 power supplies in my board and having a major issue with power drop. I have had this setup now for over three years and just now experiencing this issue. The audio volume literally cuts in half and then out of the blue you'll hear a loud pop and burst of power surge and the regular volume level returns. It is almost like there is some sort of power build-up and then release. Weird! I cannot find any issue with my cables. And the guitar and amp are both working fine when not integrated with the board. Could it be that the power supply is going bad? I am at a loss and need to get this working again quickly. Mayday, Mayday -- SOS.... any help greatly appreciated.
Hi Scott. I'm a bass player that doesn't use pedals so go directly into my amp and it does the same thing you are describing. Usually when I first power up at the gig. Doesn't always do it but when it does, the symptom is....I'm plugged in and turned on. I have a pre-amp tube so takes a few seconds to warm up. Sometimes it comes right on from the get go but sometimes nothing come out like there's a problem. If I hit a string really hard it seems to jolt something in the amp and sound jumps out then it's ok for the rest of the gig. I think it happens a time or two just sitting idle on break. When up for next set and did the same thing. I have been worried about it and started carrying a spare amp just in case. Just wanted to let you know in case you are blaming the wrong component. I don't know whats causing my problem. Just afraid it's going to be expensive so I'm trying to ignore it and hope the problem just goes away lol....
Start here: www.voodoolab.com/shop/index.php?cPath=22 You can buy them direct, Amazon, Sweetwater, etc. Most power supply manufacturers will sell their own versions of them as well.
This is super detailed and yet easy to follow. I learned so much, thank you! I've been learning by trail and error thus far 😭
Awesome!
Yes. So glad he goes in and explains everything. Makes me feel like I am actually grasping the concepts.
@@stephendoty8357 Thanks!
@Stephen Docherty Some pedals can indeed take up to 18v with no issue. Another option is to use a port splitter to power two pedals from a single port. This make the two pedals non-isolated from one another, but isn't always a big deal. Brian Wampler has a good video on this: th-cam.com/video/V9jGGOnEJGY/w-d-xo.html
8:30 "Not a big dildo, I think it's a very simple problem to get around".... I thought this was about power supplies lol
Power supplies and chill.
super helpful. Learned a lot. Just getting into building a pedal board.
Glad I could help!
This was driving me insane, thank you so much really made my day!
Glad I could help!
Man, I learned so much from this thank you. I still don't understand... but it's definitely a "Its not me its you" situation lol. Solution: me re-watching this a million times.
Glad I could help!
THANNNKKK YOOOOUUUU !!!!!! You solved me a Mistery ....
... i had 4 of those Voodoo Splitters and worked pretty well ... but one day i changed pedal order and ... puufff .... two of them stopped working !!! i didnt understood why ....
i've put them aside for almost a year now
(thank GOD i didnt throw them in garbage)
... and now after seeing your vid ... the cables came to life again ..... MIRACLE !!! MIRACLE !!!! ;)
Thanks so much ... for sharing this info ....
Greetings from Portugal
Rui.
Awesome! Glad I could help.
This is the most informative video about this topic, thank you very much for sharing!
Thanks for the kind words. Glad I could help!
Oh man, you are a genius and a God send! Im gonna have to watch it again there's so much information here to digest. WOW! Thanks brother.
Glad I could help!
As an electrician who also plays guitar, I wouldn’t ever suggest splitting in general. You are de-rating the wires which increases the chance of fire. In reality, you’ll prob never get full load capacity but on the off chance that you do, it’s safer to spend the money on a second power supply. They designed their pieces of hardware to accommodate a specific number of ports for a reason. Always better to error on the side of caution.
Aboslutely! Splitting is never ideal. Thanks for the extra insight, and thanks for watching!
I have a Line 6 M5 that doesn't like being daisy chained - very susceptible to noise in the power. I had to buy a separate wall wart for it as the one provided was flaky. The ISO 5 that I have now is going to simplify my hookup.
I've never had any extra hum or geoundloops that I could ever notice with a radio shack walk wart and basically every end of a daisy chain connected.. but I haven't connected big digital units at all. All matter of fuzzes and overdrives. Not a noticeable problem once. Got a Voodoo power 4x4 and didn't notice a single difference. I'm still trying to justify my purchase, 2 years later.
You can always sell the 4x4, grab a 1Spot and call it a day. Whatever works.
That was one of the most informative clips I’ve seen on this. Thanks!
Thanks for the kind words, glad I could help!
You rule!! Just bought an h9, and have the pedal power 2 already. So helped!!! 🙏
Glad I could help!
My H9 has been running this way with my pedal power 2 plus for a few months flawlessly via your vid.
Thanks again!!
What a fantastic explanation! Thank you, that was super informative.
Thanks! Glad I could help.
Thank you, been trying to wrap my head around power supplies and after watching a few videos you actually make sense of whats going on.
Glad I could help!
Explained a problem I was having and solved it when you discussed that aby pedal. Thank you!
Glad I could help!
This is why professional touring guitar players hire professional touring guitar techs; it ain't because they need someone to tune their guitars.
This video is awesome. Great audio and video quality. No idea how you have 70 (err, 71 now) subscribers!
Thanks! More to come.
This is great, thanks for this. Best explanation I've seen of these concepts, really helped here
Thanks!
Best video so far. Hunting for a power supply for future board. Bought a few pedals so far, gonna add a couple more soon. Luckily haven't got one digital. Gonna avoid that one like a plague
Glad I could help! The new Voodoo Labs stuff is great, the CS series from iSpot is great, Strymon, Cioks, etc. Lots to quality choices.
Bite the bullet. Get the Strymon Zuma. Save yourself all the headaches and running out of space and power etc. expandable. Plug it in. Works. Isolated 500ma every outlet. Plus several outlets with variable 9/12/18v. I spent so much time and money trying to do it inexpensively. Should have just bought the best product from the beginning.
These days I tend to agree with you. The Zuma is great and is actually for sale on the website. Sorry for the delay in response!
Great, concise and clear explanations, thank you!
Thanks! Glad I could help.
Hi.i see.i brought a set of iso bricks! From MXR '....solid built .and super feels.2021 ....on best quality
Fantastic and well explained video!
Glad I could help!
@@AlphatoneAudio Especially the 2.1mm - 2.5 cable! (was scratching my head). Again, great channel. Sub'd.
SUPER helpful. THX!
That was exactly what I needed to know. Thanks heaps :)
Glad I could help!
Thank you!
Glad I could help!
Nice. Thanks for the detailed explanations! Subscribed.
Glad I could help!
yeah, just divide wattage by voltage and you have your ma requirement.
Or multiply ma with voltage and you have the wattage.
I’m curious about the seemingly cheaper power box. Some people on the internet are saying the power supply I bought isn’t isolated. I’m going to do the test with my multimeter. I bought a vangoa pedal board with integrated power supply and it says that it has an isolated power supply but the power cord for the wall outlet is a 1.5 amp power supply. I’m wondering if I was tricked into believing I bought isolated power in the board when they meant it comes with an isolated power converter as a power cord like a one spot
Very helpful thank you!
Glad I could help!
Awesome video! It really helped me to understand all of these stuff...
Also is there a way to check regulation in the pedal power supply with the multimeter?
Thanks!
Thanks! You could always use a meter to check actual output voltage, but you would need a scope to see any real advantages the unit is giving you over wall power.
nice video
Thanks!
I feel like I have a 200 IQ now.
I hope it went up!
@@AlphatoneAudio oh for sure. big brain. great video.
How could a sounlab 450, power supply just stop powering pedals
My power supply do the beep on the center, but not on the Shield, Isolated or not?
Great stuff! And I guess my last question is - can I split from more than one output of voodoo labs pedal power plus 2 - like use a splitter for one output and then ano splitter from another output to power 4 pedals from two outputs from pedal power plus? Can power plus 2 handle 2 sppits? Thank you so much you really helped!
Yes. Just make sure you don't exceed the current rating for any given port and you'll be fine.
Awesome.... thank you!
No problem!
I have 3 pedals with different current consumption. Totaling to 420mA. Can i daisy chain these pedals and use the 500mA port?
If I for example have a cheap power supply with 5 shorted outputs, and another good isolated power supply with 5 lifted outputs, what if in a signal chain I connect the pedals' power alternately, like pedals 1,3,5,7 in a daisy chain and pedals 2,4,6 with lifted sources? In this way I should break every ground loop created by the shorted outputs, hence have a same effect as using 2 isolated supplies for the price of 1.5, am I correct? Thanks in advance, great video.
If you truly have ground loops in your setup, this probably won't work. Ground loops can exist in both serial and parallel wiring schemes. I would just plug things in one by one and reconfigure as problems arise. Experimentation is key!
Thanks Jason awesome! I also do run a stereo rig and didn’t put the voodoo labs splitter in yet upon revamping my board. So I guess to avoid the problem of splitting the stereo signal as you mentioned with the Radial splitter, I should make sure that the the two pedals that are being joined by the splitter should be way in the front end of the board and connected together? In other words even though I am running stereo outs (with a Lehle ground and phase isolation) as the last in chain -this splitter should be ok because the pedals that are sharing the output split are two distortion pedals right next to each other?
Short answer is you should be OK. But, you have to experiment. Certain pedals will share power better than others. Don't mix analog and digital, don't mix modulation and drive, etc.
I just came to this video to have the answer to the question in the subject....please save me watching all 21 min of it and just kindly tell me where in the video is the answer? Thx!
Great video! At about 7 minutes in you explain about using voodoo labs output splitter, does it matter what cable goes into either pedal -as far as the one with the white stripe? In other words -does pedal one or two get the white side strip?
The white striped side of the splitter cable is ground lifted to eliminate ground loops. It shouldn't matter, but you can always swap them if you encounter any noise.
Great video! OK, you have 1-4, 5-6, 7-8. Can you mix say, 4-5 with a Y current doubler without doing any damage to the power supply or the pedal being connected? I have a pedal that needs 500ma to run, so a Y connector to 5-6 work just fine. I tried connecting 4-5 and it also powers the pedal. I'm no good with this stuff. Any thoughts?
If the pedal expressly says it requires 500mA I would say make sure to give it what it wants. Under powering a pedal can shorten its life even if it's functioning. If you plan to expand or upgrade to pedals that might use more power I would suggest you look into something that offers higher mA per port like the Strymon power supplies. Pedals seem to be getting more hungry for power with the more features they offer. Hope this helps.
Hello. Are the MXR ISO Bricks Isolated???
Awesome Video! is the onespot Cs7 regulated? a review i saw from onespot said the they outputs were underrated. idk what that means.
A regulated power supply is one that maintains a constant voltage regardless of load. All pedalboard power supplies are regulated, although some will allow an output to become unregulated with a switch (like the PP2+).
As far as an underrated output, what they probably mean is that the advertised current capacity is higher than what the unit actually provides. Personally, I hear almost universal praise for the Truone units, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Great information. I’m experiencing a ground hum similar to when a direct box ground switch is in the ungrounded position. Using a Strymon Zuma R300. Shure wireless into volume pedal-Boss OC-5 into Cloudburst then Kelley Omni reverb to direct box. Bought the Zuma because I thought my Onespot pro had gone bad. Sounded the same way as new supply. Tried each pedal with a onespot and perfectly silent. Went through each pedal the same way , all silent. Although I know daisy chaining isn’t the best idea I was forced to for Sunday service. Pedals run silent with 20.00 onespot but hum with the Zuma and Onespot pro . Same patch cables ,same outlet. Even went to a different wall ,circuit. Same results. I’m totally baffled. Any thoughts to try ?
Gary, sorry for the delayed response. Did you try each pedal individually with the wireless unit? I would be curious is the wireless with so many buffered pedals could be the problem. The buffers in pedals can be of different quality as well. Have you tried the chain without the wireless? What are your patch cables? Have you tried a noise suppressor?
Great instructional video! New subscriber, and i already have a question. I was under the impression that as long as the milliamp rating did not exceed to total of the power supply it would work fine.
For example, I have a flashback x4 that needs 450/500mamp (not quite sure), but i power it from one of the 250ma outs on my vooddo lab out and it works with no problem since my other pedals don't drawn nearly anything. Was i mislead? Thanks
At the end of the day, if it works it works. Some digital pedals will have significant current draw on startup, but then draw less in normal use. Maybe the rating on the tc is on the conservative side?
@@AlphatoneAudio Thanks so much for the response. I believe it was Daniel from THAT PEDAL SHOW who said this. I was wondered how could the pedal isolate the signal but share the amperage. Either way, thanks again for the video!
So, I've got 4 - 5 pedals that draw about 5mA each would you daisy chain them off a single 9V 100mA isolated output?
You certainly can! No harm in experimenting.
How/where do I connect my H9 into my MXR ISO-BRICK?
Try one of the 9V 450mA outputs.
You'd make a great teacher, if you aren't already. Question, I use something like the 1 spot you showed @1:06 9V 2000mA. I currently run 5 pedals daisy chained. The current consumption indicated on each pedal's manual add up to 205mA at 9V.
I'm looking forward to add a new pedal. On its manual it says: Power: External 9V to 18V regulated DC adapter (center pin negative) with 300mA current rating. Consumption: 150mA.
My first question is, is it the 150 or the 300mA that I should be looking at? I guess it's safer to supply it with the higher amount of power? But which one is it really?
Second, do you think it will be fine to add that new pedal to my daisy chain? I don't wanna just try it and fry that expensive unit. If it isn't safe then I'm planning to get a brick.
Some pedals, especially digital ones like the H9 in this video, take more power on startup than in use. So maybe it wants 300 on startup and 150 in use. For sure you won't hurt anything by giving it too little power, so I would say just give it a shot and see how it sounds.
Great video. I have a question on your thoughts about a Tripplite LC2400. I Was wondering if you think something like that unit having a 50w tube amp and a pedal power 2 plus would actually be doing anything noticeable to keep noise floor down if plugged into the wall in a bar or house. Best, Taylor
It certainly can't hurt. Keep in mind that it will only filter noise from the wall power. There are plenty of other places for noise to get into your setup such as tubes that are becoming microphonic, single coil pickups in unshielded guitars, etc. Isolating unwanted noise can be a challenge, so make changes gradually to see what is working/not working.
@@AlphatoneAudio thanks for the advice. The rig i run is quiet as can be at home and most bars, i did add the tripplite as a way to protect the tube amp in case of a voltage surge or brown out. Most of the noise i hear is coming from my single coils, so i know not a real way to fix that. Any thoughts on the d'addario solderless patch cables?
@@moseybeat I'm not a fan of solder less in general. I believe solderless has only one benefit over soldered, and that's usability. Meaning, your average person that doesn't solder can get up and running with as many custom length cables as they need quickly. After that, I feel soldered cables win in every other measurement.
Can you elaborate on transformer vs SMPS?
It's a pretty deep topic from an engineering standpoint. Basically, while switching power supplies haven't historically been popular for audio applications, the latest generation offer smaller size, greater power, and less proximity noise. Similar to how Class D amps are getting more popular.
how to determine if it is center positive by using a tester
Just check the manual for the pedal.
@@AlphatoneAudio thanks for the reply, really appreciate it. but what i want to ask is how to be sure not to damage your pedal since h9 is expensive, and im buying a reverse polarity cable that is cheap. and hopefully it is really center positive
@@Feitan0123 All the power supply cables are cheap. As long as you got the right one (probably has different colored ends or something) you'll be fine.
Thanks for this video! question, i have the power 2 plus, im planning on buying the eventide H9, problem is that im already using one of the 250mA outputs with another pedal. Do you think i could get the H9 to work using the double current cable but combining say the 4 and 5 output to get me 350mA?? Thanks in advance
Doesn't hurt to try, but I doubt it. You'd be better off using the wall wart with the accessory outlet on the back of your power supply.
@@AlphatoneAudio Thanks for the reply man!
Jason, thank you for this!! If I have a device that I know draws 1100mA, can I use a daisy chain to take 1500mA from 3 isolated jacks to power this device?
This is exactly what a current doubler cable does. It's just a parallel-wired adapter to combine two outputs (a voltage doubler is series-wired). I've never seen a three-way cable, but you could build one. More info on this in an upcoming video.
Can i ask something about pedal current draw, if you stack say more than 3 pedal in front of an amp would the combined current draws of the 3 pedal hit the amp harder than if you only stick in 1 pedal? Thank you
The current draw of the pedals has nothing to do with the output of the pedals. One pedal could hit the front of the amp harder than three depending on what you were using.
@@AlphatoneAudio Thank you, so what actually measure the output of a pedal going into an amp please? My transistor Orange Crush 20 starts screeching when i stack 3 overdrive pedals in front. Thank you
thank you bro! would i be able to connect the h9 into a 9v 500ma? just confirming like a strymon zuma
It powered up for me with no problem on a 9V 500mA output.
Fernando Navarro where can I purchase the special cable for the h9?
whats the difference between this one and the VooDoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus thats says 12 volt and 250mA instead of ACA and L6
Three main differences between all these power supplies 1. number of ports 2. mA rating of ports 3. voltage of ports. Just check the specs on each one to see how they align with your individual power requirements.
I bought a used Zoom multi effect unit w/ pwr supply and used it for 2 yrs before finding out it is a positive center and supposed to be negative center. How did it not damage the unit or did it. It still works as of this time. But once I found out, I haven't used it yet. It's for the bass and that's not set up at this time.
It just depends on the device. It's not difficult to provide protection against situations like this, it's just a matter if the manufacturer implements said protections or not.
@@AlphatoneAudio Well I switched to a Boss 9v which is what it is. It don't seem the 9v pos tip did any damage. It's just for the bass set-up I don't use much.
@Cameron Smith It is on the back of the pedal + center. I used what was supplied w/ pedal and never looked until I started learning more about pwr supplies. And then... found out how wrong not to pay attention to the right things.
Not sure about the specific ZOOM, but if the unit/pedal (or whatever it is) takes AC power and not DC power, the polarity shouldn't matter.
I have a pedal that requires an AC to AC adapter and it doesn't matter which is negative and which is positive.
If the unit uses an AC to DC power adapter (BOSS and most pedals in the market), the polarity matters.
I have a question. So if I had a power supply with 9v 450ma and feeds through a 9v 100ma pedal would that damage the pedal?
No, pedals will only draw as much current as they need.
Run Forest Run...
Does it matter whether the pedal is digital or analogue when it comes to sharing power?
It's generally a bad idea to mix analog and digital pedals. Feel free to experiment though.
Hey there, I’m fairly new when it comes to properly powering up pedals. I have the Pedal Power Plus 2, I was thinking of getting the Pedal Power digital as well to power up two Strymons that I have. Is it possible to connect the Pedal Power Digital to the back of the Pedal Power 2?
You can plug the Pedal Power Digital into the accessory power port of the PP2+ with no issue.
Ohm's law calculator (multiplication)
Yesterday I bought a Fazley PBP-03 isolated power supply for my pedals, but it's insanely noisy.
I use an EHX Soul Food overdrive, Polytune 3 tuner and a Keeley Caverns v2 reverb and delay. If i plug those pedals (or even just 2 of them) in the powersupply I get an insane amount of hum (unplayable). When I plug only 1 pedal in the powersupply and another pedal in a wall socket it is very quiet (more quiet than when I use 2 pedals powered by different wall sockets).
Is there something broken about my powersupply? It seems like there's a groundloop going on within the powersupply itself. It's brand new so I can't image it's broken already.
Can somebody help?
If it's that bad, I suggest you reach out to the manufacturer for support. If they won't support you, take it back and get something else.
@@AlphatoneAudio Thanks for your reply! Went back to the store today and tested it against another PBP-03 to check if mine was broken... It wasn't, both generated an insane amount of hum with 2 simple pedals attached. It's just terrible quality, I returned it and will save up a bit more to get a proper one. I know Fazley isn't a great brand but I expected it to at least do what it was made for in an acceptable/mediocre way. This product does the opposite it was made for, it literally has negative value.
Tip for anyone planning to buy a power supply: Test it like you would test any other piece of equipment in the store, try it with some different pedals, and maybe consider spending a bit more than within the "budget" range.
@@niekert15 Ah, that sucks. Better luck with your next one!
Can I power 4 low mA overdrive pedals using a 4way splitter from one outlet of my power supply?
I suppose it's plausible...Though I wouldn't personally recommend it.
Why not?
@@stevechance4422 For me at that point you are essentially daisy chaining dirt pedals, and improving the chances of raising your noise floor. It would definitely depend on what mA the power port is offering. Some are as high as 500mA, but most commonly you'll find 100 or 250. I would want to make sure I have plenty of room to power them all to insure there isn't a fight for the mA. Mostly though I just want my dirt pedals to be isolated from each other to cut down on as much noise as possible.
Ok.Thanks for the explanation!
What are your thoughts on this idea?
Rat 5mA,RC Booster 6mA,Nobles 11mA,Lightspeed 11mA from a 100mA supply from a Mondo?I am running a large 16 pedal board with 3 strymons running in stereo with a Disaster Area dmc6 midi and I have a boss noise suppressor for my overdrives and a mxr noise clamp for the modulation pedals.My mxr dyna comp is only 3.3mA,could I power it with 3 of the overdrive.I appreciate any good advise on this.I am a bit technically challenged on all this.Thank you for your help.
say if you want to use 11 pedals should you get one isolated pedal supply with at lest 12 outlets or should you get 2 isolated pedal supply with 6 outlets.
You can do do either, but don't forget that you can power more than one pedal from a port on a power supply if you use a splitter. Just be careful not to exceed the max mA rating for the port. I have a video on this coming soon!
@@AlphatoneAudio cool thanks. I'm thing about getting a splitter just trying to get less hiss that i can and I don't want to over power my pedal.
I am using two Voodoo lab plus 2 power supplies in my board and having a major issue with power drop. I have had this setup now for over three years and just now experiencing this issue. The audio volume literally cuts in half and then out of the blue you'll hear a loud pop and burst of power surge and the regular volume level returns. It is almost like there is some sort of power build-up and then release. Weird! I cannot find any issue with my cables. And the guitar and amp are both working fine when not integrated with the board. Could it be that the power supply is going bad? I am at a loss and need to get this working again quickly. Mayday, Mayday -- SOS.... any help greatly appreciated.
Voodoo Labs has great customer service! I suggest you reach out to them.
Hi Scott. I'm a bass player that doesn't use pedals so go directly into my amp and it does the same thing you are describing. Usually when I first power up at the gig. Doesn't always do it but when it does, the symptom is....I'm plugged in and turned on. I have a pre-amp tube so takes a few seconds to warm up. Sometimes it comes right on from the get go but sometimes nothing come out like there's a problem. If I hit a string really hard it seems to jolt something in the amp and sound jumps out then it's ok for the rest of the gig. I think it happens a time or two just sitting idle on break. When up for next set and did the same thing. I have been worried about it and started carrying a spare amp just in case. Just wanted to let you know in case you are blaming the wrong component. I don't know whats causing my problem. Just afraid it's going to be expensive so I'm trying to ignore it and hope the problem just goes away lol....
How can I search for that cable in amazon, do you have a link?
(The one from 3:36)
Start here: www.voodoolab.com/shop/index.php?cPath=22
You can buy them direct, Amazon, Sweetwater, etc. Most power supply manufacturers will sell their own versions of them as well.
Excellent video. Thanks for the lesson. Ok then, dump the pedals and play acoustic. Lol.
Glad I could help!
Dude, I just wanna play guitar.
Get off TH-cam and go play!
This video is a tangled mass of wires everywhere. Very sloppily done.
Hi, can I to conect my line 6 HX Stomp with 1 cable to the Pedal power 2 Plus? Thanks. Nice video👌🏼
No, the HX Stomp requires too much power.