Harry Klippton
Not Interested
Alright, I'll bite. What's with the gigrig? It looks complicated and expensive
Pedal board power supplies
- Thread starter Harry Klippton
- Start date
Harry Klippton
Not Interested
What are you using for a daisy chain?
Laundryroom David
Keyboard Cowboy 🤠
I really like my Pedal Power 2+
Dan0h
Well-known member
It came with daisy chain cables and you can also buy specific number chain cables. So I have my cs6 set up currently to power 10 pedals but have two jacks available to audition new pedals. But I think at one time I was using it to power 15 pedals. Not many pedals need their own dedicated source. So having a 3 or five or 8 jack cable plugged into one outlet works fine. This thing has lots of current to spare 1600ma* total and two lines can be 9v or 12v and 2 lines can be 9v or 18v via dip switch.
Dan0h
Well-known member
I will add, I was very hesitant to spend $140 on a power supply but it has been one of the best $140 I have spent on my rig. Haven’t had power issues or noise since. And one cord going to the wall is very nice.
PunchySunshine
Well-known member
I've been using the Mission Engineering 529i for about a year now and it's been a joy every time I just turn on all my pedals via battery. I thought about DIY 18650 route but the clean layout of this lil guy won me over.
Harry Klippton
Not Interested
I guess I should look in the box
Dan0h
Well-known member
Oh wait, my daisy chains came from separate purchases. One from my one spot regular and another from our friends at Amazon. I don’t think the cs6 came with daisy cables my bad.I guess I should look in the box
Dan0h
Well-known member
The battery feature is pretty rad. But lithium battery’s do have a life though so after several years you may have to plug in all the time.
Harry Klippton
Not Interested
I was looking at this yesterday. How long can you go between charges? What pedals are you running off of it? Do you leave the house with it?
Snicksound
Member
Big board (PT-2) has a Truetone CS-7, smaller one (Metro 20) has a CS-6.
Both can run the HX Stomp off a single 500mA output (as long as you don't exceed total current draw for the whole unit).
I like the flexibility for voltages, although the CS-7 limits you to a single 18V output unlike the CS-6 that can do 2 of them (but only 2 12V as opposed to 4).
My noise floor has gone down since going away from the Voodoo stuff, although my main motivation for switching was being able to run the HX Stomp
Both can run the HX Stomp off a single 500mA output (as long as you don't exceed total current draw for the whole unit).
I like the flexibility for voltages, although the CS-7 limits you to a single 18V output unlike the CS-6 that can do 2 of them (but only 2 12V as opposed to 4).
My noise floor has gone down since going away from the Voodoo stuff, although my main motivation for switching was being able to run the HX Stomp
Snicksound
Member
Don't know if it's a later revision, but mine is 9/18V on the 100mA outputs
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Harry Klippton
Not Interested
No need to sell me on the CS6- I already own one. This is not what I'm looking for
Joben Magooch
Well-known member
At one point I had a massive board powered by all three of a Voodoo Lab ISO5, Voodoo Lab PP2+, and Voodoo Lab PP Digital (this was before things like the PP3+ or Mondo, etc) and they all worked great but BOY was that a lot of weight to carry around.
In the time since then I have mostly been on the Truetone stuff - I've had a smaller board than that 3x Voodoo Lab one but still fairly sizeable. Had a Truetone CS12 for a while and it was largely overkill. Went down to a CS7 and I've owned a few on and off but overall that's been the main one over the last few years.
Overall I'm happy with it. It has a ton of power (more than I suspect most would need) and for me the only real limitation has been the number of outputs, which I've got around using some splitters/daisy chains as needed in the past. I haven't taken the time to check the mA numbers but it has seemed to me in the past that the CS7 can either output more than is advertised or (perhaps more likely) various pedal manufacturers have grossly overestimated their pedals' required mA draw. FWIW the CS7 is advertised as having an available 1,900 mA. I can't confirm for myself as tbh I don't know enough about any of this stuff but I've heard it also said that the output labels are more or less arbitrary; you can (allegedly) plug a 9V 500mA pedal into any of the outputs (doesn't matter if it's labeled 500mA or 200mA) and it will still get what it needs - what's important is just that you stay under the total shared mA number. But like I said, that's just me parroting what I've heard.
To give some context though probably the most complex rig I had powered off of a single CS7, along with their current draws (as I'm aware):
1. Line 6 HX Stomp - needs an adapter cable but it does work just fine. The included PSU with the Stomp is rated at 3A but in practice it seems like it draws more like 800-900mA depending on patch.
2. Strymon Bigsky - supposedly requires 300mA
3. Strymon Timeline - supposedly requires 300mA
4. Morningstar MC6 - have seen it listed at anywhere between 80 and 120mA
5. Behringer UV300 - listed at 30mA
6. TC SubNup mini - "up to" 100mA
7. PPCB Paragon/KoT - Like what, 10mA?
8. Mooer Trelicopter - <10mA
9. Mooer Yellow Comp - <10mA
10. A random custom splitter/interface box that was basically only requiring enough power to turn an LED on (lol) - <10mA
11. Mosky Black Rat - <10mA
12. PPCB Minidrive / FD2 (18V) - 10mA
Just estimates in part but by my count that would add up to approx. 1,800 mA which is still within the CS7's specs. So you can get quite a bit going from it!
In the time since then I have mostly been on the Truetone stuff - I've had a smaller board than that 3x Voodoo Lab one but still fairly sizeable. Had a Truetone CS12 for a while and it was largely overkill. Went down to a CS7 and I've owned a few on and off but overall that's been the main one over the last few years.
Overall I'm happy with it. It has a ton of power (more than I suspect most would need) and for me the only real limitation has been the number of outputs, which I've got around using some splitters/daisy chains as needed in the past. I haven't taken the time to check the mA numbers but it has seemed to me in the past that the CS7 can either output more than is advertised or (perhaps more likely) various pedal manufacturers have grossly overestimated their pedals' required mA draw. FWIW the CS7 is advertised as having an available 1,900 mA. I can't confirm for myself as tbh I don't know enough about any of this stuff but I've heard it also said that the output labels are more or less arbitrary; you can (allegedly) plug a 9V 500mA pedal into any of the outputs (doesn't matter if it's labeled 500mA or 200mA) and it will still get what it needs - what's important is just that you stay under the total shared mA number. But like I said, that's just me parroting what I've heard.
To give some context though probably the most complex rig I had powered off of a single CS7, along with their current draws (as I'm aware):
1. Line 6 HX Stomp - needs an adapter cable but it does work just fine. The included PSU with the Stomp is rated at 3A but in practice it seems like it draws more like 800-900mA depending on patch.
2. Strymon Bigsky - supposedly requires 300mA
3. Strymon Timeline - supposedly requires 300mA
4. Morningstar MC6 - have seen it listed at anywhere between 80 and 120mA
5. Behringer UV300 - listed at 30mA
6. TC SubNup mini - "up to" 100mA
7. PPCB Paragon/KoT - Like what, 10mA?
8. Mooer Trelicopter - <10mA
9. Mooer Yellow Comp - <10mA
10. A random custom splitter/interface box that was basically only requiring enough power to turn an LED on (lol) - <10mA
11. Mosky Black Rat - <10mA
12. PPCB Minidrive / FD2 (18V) - 10mA
Just estimates in part but by my count that would add up to approx. 1,800 mA which is still within the CS7's specs. So you can get quite a bit going from it!
Dan0h
Well-known member
So you need to sell it and then buy another one. Lol
Joben Magooch
Well-known member
With this in mind I should add it's not like I don't have any complaints, either.
I don't know if there exists a "perfect" supply to address all of this, but...
1. It's bulky and a bit on the heavy side. I haven't measured to be totally sure but it seems a bit "taller" than a lot of supplies and I know it's heavier than a number of competitors. The weight isn't a huge difference but there's been times where the height of the PSU has made it difficult to mount under-board in certain configurations and/or required adding taller feet to my pedalboard for clearance.
2. The LED has failed on two of them I've owned. Not a big deal overall as it's pretty apparent if it's working or not even if the status LED is out...but it does give me a bit of pause.
3. There is a bit of audible "whine" from the PSU itself. I don't know if it's got a fan in there or something? I've not noticed it coming through in my actual rig's sound but in a totally quiet room, even if I've got my amp off I can hear a bit of noise coming from the supply itself.
4. Probably not a fault of the CS7 (as I understand it many digital pedals require more power to boot up than they do in regular operation) but I have had one or two configurations where I would need to disconnect one of my digital pedals, let everything else power up and on, and THEN plug it in after the fact. It would be fine from then on; I suspect just the draw of everything trying to come on at once was perhaps pushing it over.
And I do still get a bit of noise/hum from time to time but I'm honestly not sure if that is something that can be blamed on the power supply or any other number of factors. I haven't really done a proper A-B comparison between other supplies to test as much.
I will also note that I have a Timeline currently that just does not agree with the CS7 for some reason. Tested on both the 9V 500mA and 9V 200mA outputs and for whatever reason this particular Timeline is noticeably more noisy on all of them. I have a Bigsky and Mobius as well and both have been powered off the same CS7 with no issues or additional noise but that particular TL is considerably noisier on the CS7. So I use a hybrid approach now where my big-box Strymons are all powered just by the factory wall-wart PSU and everything else (Iridium, Tuner, SubNup, comp, buffer, and 3 ODs) are all coming from the CS7.
Joben Magooch
Well-known member
I really like the idea of GigRig for the modularity, customization, ease of organization, etc...but I feel like it would just be crazy expensive for me.
My estimate for my current rig (Iridium, Bigsky, Timeline, Mobius, Informant, Pro-10, Cleaver, General Tso, Sub N Up, Tuner, Buffer, Morningstar MC6):
1. 1x Generator, $129 USD
2. 1x Distributor, $39 USD
3. 2x Isolator, $69 USD ea.
4. 4x "Mr. Universe", $69 ea.
That's roughly $580 USD and would pretty much be totally tapped out. I have one drive that can be ran at 18V and I do that from time to time, but to do so on GigRig would require an additional current doubler ($69) as well as an additional distributor block ($39) as the basic distributor has 6 outputs which would be filled by 2x Isolator (9V only) and 4x Mr. Universe. Meaning by my count it would be an additional $108 just to add in a single 18V OD, bringing the total to nearly $700 ($690).
Maybe I've over-estimated but that seems just insane to me. It's a cool system but I'd have a hard time putting that kind of money into just a power supply system....
My estimate for my current rig (Iridium, Bigsky, Timeline, Mobius, Informant, Pro-10, Cleaver, General Tso, Sub N Up, Tuner, Buffer, Morningstar MC6):
1. 1x Generator, $129 USD
2. 1x Distributor, $39 USD
3. 2x Isolator, $69 USD ea.
4. 4x "Mr. Universe", $69 ea.
That's roughly $580 USD and would pretty much be totally tapped out. I have one drive that can be ran at 18V and I do that from time to time, but to do so on GigRig would require an additional current doubler ($69) as well as an additional distributor block ($39) as the basic distributor has 6 outputs which would be filled by 2x Isolator (9V only) and 4x Mr. Universe. Meaning by my count it would be an additional $108 just to add in a single 18V OD, bringing the total to nearly $700 ($690).
Maybe I've over-estimated but that seems just insane to me. It's a cool system but I'd have a hard time putting that kind of money into just a power supply system....
PunchySunshine
Well-known member
Yes, yes they do, especially if you leave them plugged in and charged @ 100%. BUT, the unit works perfect off a USB power bank too so I can just strap that to it or dig in and rebuild when they do eventually crap out. This was a big consideration for me actually. Build quality is solid so the hardware should hold up.
I can get about six hours play time from the internal battery but you can also use any USB battery bank as a supplement/backup if you need multi day run times.
I'm using 11 pedals of various currents. It'll do everything it advertises. I'm daisy chaining the pedals that can be and I've still got PLENTY of inputs and power left.
I don't leave very often but I'm all set for the few times a year I do have to leave the house. I just picked up a pedaltrain classic pro to get this all rigged up properly so maybe I'll leave a little more this year!
Harry Klippton
Not Interested
I want to never have to buy a power supply again, ideally, but that's a bit of a stretch. There's no way of predicting what I might get into and what I might need in the future. These issues that @Joben Magooch brings up below are a no-go. I want everything to *just work* I'm thinking about just crying once, buy a Zuma when funds allow, and be on my merry way. I considered a CS12 but it has a bunch of taps I don't need or want.What ARE you looking for?
Not really interested in having to daisy chain either unless I had a connector with the exact number of plugs I need. I don't want loosies dangling all over the place.
I currently have a CS6, which has been decent for my smaller board, but I want to run more stuff. I also have a pedal power 2+, which was the first supply I bought several years ago. I think the 2+ is woefully underpowered and somewhat noisy. I'm surprised they still sell it because it seems dated.
Harry Klippton
Not Interested
The gigrig thing seems like a good way to have to buy a new dingdong every time you want to add a pedal. I don't want to have to keep buying power stuff
