software

Part 2 of pedalboard design: power supply

I'm using a Visual Sounds One Spot right now. Somebody wrote that there could be problems using a single One Spot both for pedals in front of the amp and for the pedals in the effects loop, so maybe getting a second one is the cheap solution to my noise problem.

Then again, this house seems to have quot;dirtyquot; power. Plugged straight into the Blues Jr., I get much more 60 cycle hum than my old house and have some noise even with humbuckers. (This is regardless of whether the guitar is shielded or not - 2 out of 3 are heavily shielded.) The electrician told me it was probably a crappy transformer on a pole behind the house. Everything electrical is overhead and 50 years old in the neighborhood.

So, should I:

1) buy a Dunlop DC Brick ($99);
2) buy a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 ($169); or
3) try running AC through a computer-type power conditioner (or UPS) and using One Spots.

BTW - no fancy pedals with odd voltage or other special needs.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Chip

Hm. First, I would test the pedal board in a more friendly environment. I have lived in houses that had 2-wire outlets. I have lived in others that the 3-wire setup was questionable.

Resolve the pedal board power first, then find a way to make it work in the house.

Get the DC Brick if you don't need the power sagging feature. I have one.

I'll tell you this...I just finished my pedalboard after lots of shopping for both a board AND a power supply...I ended up with a VooDoo Labs Pedal Power II plus. This thing will power both PSA and ACA Boss pedals, DOD pedals, my Expandora, both 9 and 18volt Dunlop pedals, All new EH pedals (including the Holy Grail), all reissue as well as original MXR pedals, Line 6 Pedals (the big units as well as the smaller ones), the list goes on...in fact the ONLY pedal it will not power is a Digi Tech Whammy Pedal...I just plug it into the outlet! I also really like the quot;sagquot; features...I run the control down just a tad on my Rat and down a little more on my Tweak Fuzz...really cool feature! I know it's pretty costly compared to all the other units out there but it is WELL worth it in my opinion.

Chris, that sag feature sounds interesting. Can you explain it a bit more? I mean, I know what it does but what kind of voltage range does it have?

The sag control goes from around 4 to 9 volts...with distortion and fuzz boxes it actually makes more distortion with a lower voltage but it has a different feel as well as it changes he EQ a tad...I actually like it quite a bit.