Best way to supply power to pedals?

[Guithartic]

I have a OneSpot that can power 6 pedals. One of the outputs has a cable that splits into two, which I’m assuming is a daisy chain. So, I have 7 pedals total. I’d like to add another pedal or two. What is the best way to have 8 or 9 pedals all plugged in at the same time. They are all BOSS except for the Cry Baby Wah.

 

[naveed211]

Affordable - Donner makes a 10-spot supply for about $45.

Spendy - Strymon makes a 9-spot supply for about $250.

Me? I’d probably just buy another One Spot and have them plugged into a Furman surge protector power strip.

 

[Old Deaf Roadie]

You could add a tuner. Some tuners, such as TC Polytune 3, have pedal power outlets. IDK what it's current rating might be as I use mine to power a couple of passive units that use power simply for their LED indicators like those found on a loop switcher or amp footswitch.

 

[Mjea80]

I would suggest the Pedal Power 3 by Voodoo Lab. 8 outputs, but you can add more.

Also there is the Pedal Power 3 Plus, which has 10 but can add more as well.

http://www.voodoolab.com/pedalpower_3.htm

 

[naveed211]

Also, devil’s advocate, if you have pretty much all Boss pedals, have you considered a Boss multi-effect?

The ME series is great as you can basically set it up in pedal mode, don’t have to surf through menus or patches if you don’t want. I went with an ME-50 after I was noticing my board was pretty much all Boss and I’m happy about it. One power supply, less mucking about, no troubleshooting if a patch cable or power supply fails, more playing.

 

[Chandler996]

Keep your current power supply. Just get one of those daisy chain cables...

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1SpotMC5--truetone-1-spot-multi-plug-5-cable

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1SpotMC8--truetone-1-spot-multi-plug-8-cable

Each output on your CS-6 will have a max current rating, like 100mA or 500mA. Just be sure not to exceed that with the total from the pedals you have chained together. The manuals for most pedals will specify the current rating. If you don't have the manual, you can usually get it form the manufacture's website. Boss has all of their manuals available online, and they always specify the current draw.

If you can't find the manual, or in the rare case that a manual doesn't have the current rating, you can measure the current yourself. If you're using a standard multimeter, you'll have to splice a power cable in order to measure current (you can always repair it when you're done). If you don't have the means to do that, Truetone makes a meter for this exact purpose...

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1SpotmAMeter--truetone-1-spot-ma-meter

Most pedals use less current than you'd think. Out of the ones on your board, the digital delay and loop station are going to be the biggest draws. The dirt pedals aren't going to use much at all, and the wah will be less than 1mA.

 

[Beebe]

I like the Eventide PowerMAX V2 7. It uses an IEC power cable. I bought a relatively light 25 ft one and plug it into the same power strip my amp plugs into. It's a little pricey at $229, but I wanted this feature.

 

[beninma]

Just get one of the True Tone daisy 2x chain cables.. or 2 of them. I wouldn't bother with the crazy 8-way cable.

You can put 2 of your analog pedals on a daisy chain and it will be fine. I'd suggest simple ODs & fuzz can share, but try not daisy chain analog modulation or delay pedals that have an LFO and watch out for pedals that are analog but have a digital side chain to manage presets.

Keep the digital pedals isolated.

One or two analog pedals together is a totally different situation than a mix of 10 digital + analog all on a single daisy chain.

 

[ReverendRevolver]

Direct Current, via 9v batteries or a wall wart that converts the AC to it


Cheapest is one spot daisy chain type connector.

If you experience extra noise, pick up an isolated out 8 hole power supply (mine is the BBE Supacharger, there are others too) and run a single power supply to your crybaby if you hit 9 pedals.

 

[northernguitar]

Use current power supply. Where possible, try to let digital pedals have their own isolated power. Daisy chain analog pedals as needed. Don't daisy chain digital and analog pedals.

 

[uriah1]

Add up your total .ma

 

[Willie Johnson]

400 ma Snark wall wart, daisy chain, 300 ma wall wart for my delay/echo, and a power strip/surge protector. Convenience jack on my SF Princeton is my buddy. Done.

 

[Axegrinder77]

Keep the one spot, and daisy chain the analog pedals to one output. Keep the digital and the compressor pedals isolated. That would be my approach.

You could also add another power supply. My voodoo lab pp2 plus has a courtesy outlet for this.

 

[teleshopper]

I have the 1 Spot CS 7 under my board. I bought an extra 5 way daisy chain cable and put it in one of the 200ma spots. My whole board below is powered by the one spot. The Flashback 2 X4 and the Digitech drop each use a 500 ma spot (they each call for 300 ma min), then I have the VMT, HOF2 mini, MXR BCD, and the DS-1 on a daisy chain in one 200ma spot, and each other pedal has it's own 200 ma spot. I have nothing in the 18V 100ma spot.

 

[Obsessed]

Keep your current power supply. Just get one of those daisy chain cables...

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1SpotMC5--truetone-1-spot-multi-plug-5-cable

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1SpotMC8--truetone-1-spot-multi-plug-8-cable

Each output on your CS-6 will have a max current rating, like 100mA or 500mA. Just be sure not to exceed that with the total from the pedals you have chained together. The manuals for most pedals will specify the current rating. If you don't have the manual, you can usually get it form the manufacture's website. Boss has all of their manuals available online, and they always specify the current draw.

If you can't find the manual, or in the rare case that a manual doesn't have the current rating, you can measure the current yourself. If you're using a standard multimeter, you'll have to splice a power cable in order to measure current (you can always repair it when you're done). If you don't have the means to do that, Truetone makes a meter for this exact purpose...

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1SpotmAMeter--truetone-1-spot-ma-meter

Most pedals use less current than you'd think. Out of the ones on your board, the digital delay and loop station are going to be the biggest draws. The dirt pedals aren't going to use much at all, and the wah will be less than 1mA.

+1 This is the correct approach, because not only will you learn how to understand the power draw from your pedals, but in the future, it will keep you out of trouble when adding different pedals to your chain.

 

[telemnemonics]

I'd like to see a cable that takes one isolated supply output and splits it into two at the other end.
I see stuff like this but it has a female end so you get this 24" added to the 18" from your brick and end up with extra plugs and way too much cable to bundle.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1SpotMC2--truetone-mc2-24-inch-ang-str-daisy-chain-cable

The above cable doesn't plug into a power supply brick, just not the right part.

I don't want to run 5-8 pedals off one isolated output from my voodoolab 4x4 but two off some would be great for low draw analog pedals.

Anybody know of a cable like that?
Three male ends and maybe 18-24"?

 

[Lawdawg]

Ditto to what others have said -- the OneSpot Pro should have plenty of juice for 8-9 pedals. You can daisy chain several pedals to one power output, just make sure to check the draw for each pedal and the available power for each output so you don't overload it. There should be no need for you to get another power supply.

 

[Guithartic]

Keep your current power supply. Just get one of those daisy chain cables...

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1SpotMC5--truetone-1-spot-multi-plug-5-cable

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1SpotMC8--truetone-1-spot-multi-plug-8-cable

Each output on your CS-6 will have a max current rating, like 100mA or 500mA. Just be sure not to exceed that with the total from the pedals you have chained together. The manuals for most pedals will specify the current rating. If you don't have the manual, you can usually get it form the manufacture's website. Boss has all of their manuals available online, and they always specify the current draw.

If you can't find the manual, or in the rare case that a manual doesn't have the current rating, you can measure the current yourself. If you're using a standard multimeter, you'll have to splice a power cable in order to measure current (you can always repair it when you're done). If you don't have the means to do that, Truetone makes a meter for this exact purpose...

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1SpotmAMeter--truetone-1-spot-ma-meter

Most pedals use less current than you'd think. Out of the ones on your board, the digital delay and loop station are going to be the biggest draws. The dirt pedals aren't going to use much at all, and the wah will be less than 1mA.

Thanks a lot. That does seem like the easiest, cheapest, and best solution. I had heard that daisy chaining could cause sound issues or that the pedals wouldn’t be as effective or something like that. I could probably find a couple more of those cables that just daisy chains 2 pedals instead of 5 or 8 pedals. I’m thinking if I just did a couple or a few of the inputs on the OneSpot with daisy chaining two pedals for each of those 2 or 3 inputs, it won’t be a problem.

 

[northernguitar]

I'd like to see a cable that takes one isolated supply output and splits it into two at the other end.
I see stuff like this but it has a female end so you get this 24" added to the 18" from your brick and end up with extra plugs and way too much cable to bundle.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1SpotMC2--truetone-mc2-24-inch-ang-str-daisy-chain-cable

The above cable doesn't plug into a power supply brick, just not the right part.

I don't want to run 5-8 pedals off one isolated output from my voodoolab 4x4 but two off some would be great for low draw analog pedals.

Anybody know of a cable like that?
Three male ends and maybe 18-24"?

I just took an eleven plug daisy chain and cut it up to my needs.

 

[Chandler996]

Thanks a lot. That does seem like the easiest, cheapest, and best solution. I had heard that daisy chaining could cause sound issues or that the pedals wouldn’t be as effective or something like that. I could probably find a couple more of those cables that just daisy chains 2 pedals instead of 5 or 8 pedals. I’m thinking if I just did a couple or a few of the inputs on the OneSpot with daisy chaining two pedals for each of those 2 or 3 inputs, it won’t be a problem.

Yes, it could cause issues. Some pedals are stubborn and you'll need to have them isolated. But you might find that most pedals will play nice.

If you get a daisy chain cable that has 5 or 8 plugs on it, that doesn't mean you have to use all of them. You can leave as many of them unplugged as you'd like. So don't limit yourself. The 8 plug daisy chain cable will be longer, so you can reach a pedal that's further away from your power supply. Or, it'll allow you to more neatly snake the cable. You can put some electrical tape on the unused plugs, if you're concerned about it.

If you know how to solder, it's actually pretty easy to make your own daisy chain cables. You just need 2.1mm x 5.5mm plugs, which is the most common size. You can usually get a bag of them for cheap from eBay or Amazon. Then you can make custom lengths, and have just as many plugs as you require.