Does anyone actually use the "sag" controls on their isolated power supply?

[soulgeezer]

The title of the thread says it all -- While I grasp the concept of the sag controls, I'm really just curious if anybody actually uses them? I can see if you have an old Fuzz Face that it might theoretically give you some kind of additional sound option, but really... Does anybody actually do this?

This thread is born of absolute idle curiosity. I just got my first isolated power supply and those sag pots are sitting up there doing nothing, as I just don't need 'em. But, it got me thinking about whether people actually use them, so I just thought I'd ask...

So, do you use the sag controls on your isolated power supply? And, if so, for what?

 

[ICTRock]

I know a bassist that uses a sag pedal with his power supply and will hook it up to anything just to see how it reacts. he did it with a pt2399 delay I built him and it did do weird glitchy stuff so there's some merit to experimentation.

 

[DaveKS]

I use this. It might surprise you how running a 9v OD down at about 8v will make it feel more tweedy and saggy. Use with a 18v tap and a od pedal that can handle it, it can be revealing just how much voltage can change some pedals feel and response.

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[TmyBmore]

It gets a cool growl out of my $20 Honeytone amp then clips it off. I should experiment with all my FX. You never know.

 

[blackjaw]

Very rarely but most fuzz's with sag sound like dying robots which I find amusing

 

[ellisvertellis]

I use it with fuzz pedals and the sound changes a lot with some of the classics: fuzz face, tone benders, germanium overdrives, ...

Lowering the voltage makes them sound a bit "thinner", more open, less compressed. Wether that a good thing is a matter of taste, I guess..

 

[richey88]

Danelectro makes a sag power supply that makes fuzz pedals sputtery. Kinda cool

 

[waparker4]

Try it with an analog chorus.

 

[soulgeezer]

OK, here's the board:

View media item 35623
Which pedals, if any, would you try lowering the voltage to?

 

[jddub440]

Try it with all of them...except the Korg, that won't do anything special with that sag.

 

[Pajama]

I use it with my 3 knob Frontone Peachfuzz. I set it right before the Peachfuzz ceases to work at all. Sounds better than usual (which is fantastic, normally!).

 

[richey88]

Danelectro makes a sag power supply that makes fuzz pedals sputtery. Kinda cool

It's called Danelectrode. Makes my DAM meat head clone useable...

 

[Woollymonster]

Yeah, I use the sag outlet on my Voodoo Labs Pedal Power to sag my Tube Screamer. Sounds better, far more usable that way to me.

 

[redriding]

The sag on my pp2 does odd things to my boss ps-2.
When I set the pedal to delay mode and drop the sag slightly the repeats wobble randomly in pitch very much like a tape echo.
The low end roll off of this pedal also adds to the illusion of an echoplex.

 

[deadicated]

I tend to only due the dying battery thing with fuzzes and most of the time I'll put a knob right on the fuzz so I don't need the redundancies of one on my power supply. It does work great on certain circuits.

 

[smoss469]

I run multiple dirt pedals that way. My favorite of course are fuzz pedals, sounds great! That dying velcro sputtery decay works in some situations.

 

[tele-bastard]

I just bought this today so this post is very helpful

 

[cobaltu]

I've done this a bit with my Pedal Power 2 Plus. I like the way it reacts with my Germainium fuzz (EQD Sound Shank). I run it around 7.5 - 8 volts (assuming the pot is linear). It makes the fuzz a little spongier and fatter. lower can sound cool to but I find it takes away a little too much articulation, which is already pretty bad on a fuzz

I also think that orange squeezers can sound pretty cool with it's voltage dipped a bit. It takes on a cool snarl on heavier inputs (compound bends, chords, etc.). This is a very fine line though. Too much dip and the pedal starts to distort in a way that sounds like a bad/intermittent electrical connection.

Gain pedals (comps included) tend to be the ones you want to try this stuff on as a general rule. As stated before, this is something you want to experiment with your self. You never know what you might discover.

 

[moosie]

I have a Dunlop MC403, which has eight 9v jacks, four 18v, and two variable, between (I think 5v and 15v), plus a couple of AC that I don't have any use for. I don't use the variable jacks for 'sag' exactly, but to dial in the preferred operating voltage for certain pedals. Both AnalogMan BiComprossor and AM-modded Maxon OD-9 (tubescreamer) sound best at 12V.

Not exactly 'sag' either, but I used to run my AM Sunface NKT-275 on a dollar-store non-alkaline battery. Actually sounded quite a bit better than a standard battery.

 

[Revv23]

I too run my sunface with a non alk batt and it's a noticeable difference. I think it's because the batteries are so cheap the don't hold 9v for very long.