Pedal board power supplies

[DGWVI]

I have a pedal power 2+ and I really dislike it. It's the first power supply I bought and at the time, I thought it was good. It's noisy and it's woefully underpowered.

My board is full of really cool digital pedals so I need the juice. I don't just have 9 tube screamer variants

I'm rocking the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 3 Plus and two of the lil pedal Power x8s and have no issues with noise or power requirements.

I upgraded from their Mondo when the 3 series dropped, and the Mondo definitely had some noise going on, especially when multiple charge pumps were used or I had too many digipeds running at once. The 3 doesn't seem to suffer any of that, and I've currently got four current hungry digital pedals and five charge pumped doodads on my board.

The other thing I'm fond of with the 3 series compared to the 2 and Mondo is that they don't have the slow voltage ramp that the older models did, which caused some fuckery with start up on some digital pedals

 

[RetiredUnit1]

well, a while ago i cracked the shits at how overpriced power supplies can be (aud$20-50 for a POS SMPS, and then proper ones with XFR are about double/triple that) and so i kinda built this one on a tagboard / scrap pine board, and then installed/contained this inside an old steel flour tin with a swivel lid
View attachment 51747
pretty basic.
1A transformer.
12VAC tap into bridge rectifier, some filter caps etc., 7912 regulator for 12V supply, feeds into 7909 regulator for 9V supply.
works great. no noise at all.

9V runs a tuner, overdrive, phaser + delay
12V runs the CE-2

hasn't let me down yet.

This runs these pedals for close to 100 hours. I change the batteries about once a month 'cuz it's healthier for the battery. The sleds are a buck each at Tayda, the batteries are about 1.50 each, the two MP1584EN chips are about $1.50 each. And I can't remember what I paid for the barrels....

The batteries are 18650 - 18mm x 65mm, and are used in all power tool battery packs as well as the Tesla vehicles. I'm telling ya, for a couple hours you can DIY the ultimate cord free pedal power......

The chips will support 1.8 amps continuous and operate in the mhz range and are DEAD QUIET, since it's DC to DC not AC to DC.

 

[Harry Klippton]

@PunchySunshine do you still like that mission supply now that it's been a few months?

 

[SillyOctpuss]

As a person who upgraded to gigrig less than 2 years ago I find the new one preeeetty irritating. I can vouch that the old one is excellent though. No actual complaints other than the new one looking cooler. I run a big board but relatively few digital circuits so having an easily upgradable system has actually saved me money. I would've needed a second cioks/trutone by now had I gone that route.

I've been keeping an eye out for the older gigrig power system hitting ebay and Facebook marketplace since they announced the new one. I'm hoping a few people with wallets bigger than mine decide to upgrade and sell their old system.

 

[PunchySunshine]

@PunchySunshine do you still like that mission supply now that it's been a few months?

I do. Every time I get GAS and think I'd need a bigger one I remember that my board only holds so many pedals and that limitation enhances creativity. I've even been playing out with it and it's quite nice only worrying about power for the amps!

 

[Harry Klippton]

I do. Every time I get GAS and think I'd need a bigger one I remember that my board only holds so many pedals and that limitation enhances creativity. I've even been playing out with it and it's quite nice only worrying about power for the amps!

That rules. Definitely still have my eye on that one as well if the budget ever allows

 

[vigilante398]

I'd really like the ability to just use any available socket and know it will handle anything I plug in no matter how hungry it is. (looking at you SushiBox...)

You need a Cioks DC7 my dude.

 

[vigilante398]

Another option would be to get a 24vDC 6A power supply off amazon and use the Cioks 8 expander as a standalone. That's my move here shortly.

You get an extra tap and you just need to change the DC plug on the power supply for the Cioks DC input.

Yup, that also works. I needed a ton of taps so I went with a DC7 and a 4 expander for my board.

I have too many tubes on my board.

 

[Alan W]

…you just need to change the DC plug on the power supply for the Cioks DC input.

The connector you want is: 6.5 x 4.3 x 1.4. The Mouser part is 171-6014-E.

 

[Alan W]

The cool thing about adapting the Cioks 8 is that you can bump up the power supply amperage to 10A and then expand to another Cioks 8 for 16 taps, all adjustable.

Are you thinking of powering each 8 unit from the 24v supply, or can they be daisy chained?

 

[G.G.]

Anyone have experience with the MXR Mini Iso-Brick? I have a Fuel Tank Junior that has been working well for several years but I finally traced the noise on my board to the Jr's 9v jacks which have become loose. Looking for something low profile for under the board. Would prefer it not cost more than my entire collection of DIY gear.

 

[giovanni]

Anyone have experience with the MXR Mini Iso-Brick? I have a Fuel Tank Junior that has been working well for several years but I finally traced the noise on my board to the Jr's 9v jacks which have become loose. Looking for something low profile for under the board. Would prefer it not cost more than my entire collection of DIY gear.

I have the Onespot CS6 which is very low profile (I have it mounted under my pedalboard) and if has 6 outputs. As far as I can tell it’s pretty quiet.

 

[Harry Klippton]

@G.G. lots of praise in this thread for the CS6 that @giovanni mentioned above. I have one too and the only thing I don't like about it is that it's only got 6 outlets

 

[p_wats]

I keep my daily board pretty small, so I've been getting away with a tiny T-Rex Fuel Tank Jr. for a few years and just daisy chain one of the outlets when I need more, but I'd love to build something like what @RetiredUnit1 has

 

[G.G.]

Thanks guys, the CS6 looks pretty nice. I like that it doesn't require a wall wart like the MXR. I have 8 pedals on my board but usually only have one or two on at the same time, should work great.

 

[vigilante398]

I've heard a lot of good things about the OneSpot CS series stuff, if I didn't already have a Cioks that's probably the direction I would lean. I like what I've read about them and they seem to be a solid design.

@jhaneyzz The OneSpot CS supplies can also handle high output current for your weird tube pedals, so that's an option if you're looking to upgrade.

 

[jhaneyzz]

You need a Cioks DC7 my dude.

That does seem to be the way to go for people like me...

 

[Joben Magooch]

Thanks guys, the CS6 looks pretty nice. I like that it doesn't require a wall wart like the MXR. I have 8 pedals on my board but usually only have one or two on at the same time, should work great.

I've heard a lot of good things about the OneSpot CS series stuff, if I didn't already have a Cioks that's probably the direction I would lean. I like what I've read about them and they seem to be a solid design.

@jhaneyzz The OneSpot CS supplies can also handle high output current for your weird tube pedals, so that's an option if you're looking to upgrade.

In general I like the one spot stuff. I have a CS7 that I’ve had pretty much as long as they’ve been available so like 7 or 8 years or so I think. Moved between countless boards. Velcroed, dual locked, bracketed, metal strapped, etc. The LED failed a while ago, and pretty much all the paint/graphics have been chipped or peeled or smudged or scraped off at this point. Recently two of the outputs have failed so it only has 4 working 9v outs and the 18v out. So that’s a bummer. BUT it’s really been to hell and back so overall I think that’s a pretty decent record of service.

If/when I go to replace it i will probably go Cioks though. Fits my current needs a bit better and I believe smaller/lighter.

 

[KindCanuck]

I'm back on this quest as I'm about to load up my new pedalboard. Anybody have experience with this?

Fender Engine Room LVL12 12-output Isolated Power Supply

Pedalboard Power Supply, with 10 x 9V DC 500mA Outputs, 2 x Switchable 9V/12V/18V DC Outputs, 5V DC 2.4A USB-A Output, 18W USB-C Output, and AC Outlet

www.sweetwater.com

I've been eyeing the same supply but haven't used it myself.

I love the "screw it,,, everybody gets half an amp" approach though...

I have both the Engine Room Lvl 12 and Lvl5. Phenomenal power supplies, the 12 is on my main board and the 5 powers my bass board.They're powered from an IEC mains cable and the Lvl 12 has an IEC output to daisy chain to something else as well. My favourite features are the two switchable outputs, the fact that I can use a current doubler cable to power my HX stomp easily, and the handy USB ports. The USB-C puts out about 25w, so enough to maintain the battery level of my MacBook, or my Steam Deck. It's huge, but definitely does the job, with plenty of cables supplied. I've had them for about a year now and I don't need anything else.

Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[Harry Klippton]

I have both the Engine Room Lvl 12 and Lvl5. Phenomenal power supplies, the 12 is on my main board and the 5 powers my bass board.They're powered from an IEC mains cable and the Lvl 12 has an IEC output to daisy chain to something else as well. My favourite features are the two switchable outputs, the fact that I can use a current doubler cable to power my HX stomp easily, and the handy USB ports. The USB-C puts out about 25w, so enough to maintain the battery level of my MacBook, or my Steam Deck. It's huge, but definitely does the job, with plenty of cables supplied. I've had them for about a year now and I don't need anything else.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Awesome thank you for this!