Pedals where 18v is *actually* worth it??

[Joben Magooch]

Obviously it’s a subjective question, but…

I see all the time pedals being advertised as “can be run at 18v for added headroom!” And that’s fine and all but in my experience it’s typically either a very subtle difference or - as described - just takes a little longer to break up or etc.

So I’m curious: in your opinion, what are some pedals that are appreciably improved by running at 18v as opposed to 9v?

I remember that I used to run an old FD2 in-between at 12v and preferred it there, but that’s been probably a decade now so I dunno how well my memory is on that.

 

[Harry Klippton]

Pot and kettle

 

[Laundryroom David]

I use a commercial analog delay pedal at 18v and think it sounds noticeably cleaner (which is what I want for how I use it).

I had a Catalinbread SFT a long time ago that sounded almost like 2 different pedals 9v vs 18v. For the sound I wanted (louder longer with later breakup), 18v was the only way to fly.

Other than those 2, nothing really comes to mind.

 

[Gordo]

I think in the bass world it becomes more apparent because it takes more headroom to make the lower end happen. For most guitar stuff I don't see an awful lot of return. Sort of the optometrist "this...or this..." thing. That said, boosters might see a bit of return on investment. The bulk of the overdrives I've tried sounded better on 9v.

 

[Gordo]

Not that I'd shy peeps from trying by any means. I'm still open to options as well.

 

[eh là bas ma]

the only circuit i know is a modulation : A/DA Flanger, Lectric Fx's project known as Flintlock Flanger.

There's a voltage pump section to make it work internally at 15V from 9V, but it's rather noisy. Once you take the LT1054 IC off the board and use an 18V power supply, it's much better.

I also use an MXR M134 chorus and a bass tube overdrive, Bass Amuser, both running at 18V, but they aren't designed to be powered with 9V. I guess it's still worth mentioning them. Both are impressive stompboxes with amazing sounds.

That said, there are lots of circuits powered with 9V, but running at higher voltages internally. For exemple : GCI Apostle, Orange OR120 amp's head emulation, running at 36V, JFETs biased around 17V. It sounds great.

https://kurtballou.com/docs/N.E.W.%20Apostle%20Build%20guide.pdf

You can also check this recent thread :

Highest Headroom OD

Any PCB suggestions welcomed. Was just checking out the Aion Tesseract, which is a boost that goes to 32v. What are some of the highest OD circuits I can build to get a ton of headroom?

forum.pedalpcb.com

 

[Joben Magooch]

I think in the bass world it becomes more apparent because it takes more headroom to make the lower end happen. For most guitar stuff I don't see an awful lot of return. Sort of the optometrist "this...or this..." thing. That said, boosters might see a bit of return on investment. The bulk of the overdrives I've tried sounded better on 9v.

That’s more or less been my experience too. Most drives I feel break up nicer at 9v, but tbh for cleaner boosts a lot of the time it seems like 18v either means it just stays WAY cleaner longer… or you just don’t have to turn the gain up quite as much lol. But not really “better” a lot of the time

 

[JamieJ]

I think it’s about considering headroom. I like compressors at 18v because I don’t want it to break up. I feel the same about EQs too. I agree with @Harry Klippton in that blues breaker type circuits sound better at 18v (to me). I think this is because I use a blues breaker as more a a dirty boost than an overdrive. I even prefer a BB with no diodes in the circuit as well.

 

[MBFX]

OCD sounds better at 18V in my opinion.

 

[Alan W]

Chop shop, Mercurial, Comprehensive, Pot and Kettle, and the Spectron (Aion Nordland) are all great to my ears at 18v. I‘m finally going to be taking everything apart to paint the boxes in a month or so, and while everything is just guts, also plan on trying both the Tso and Pendulum at 18v, but I’ll need to change a few drop down resistors before doing that. (I find both these pedals really outstanding, and am curious what the changes will be with more voltage swing.)

Edited to add: Champ Stamp

 

[DeadAirMD]

Would love to hear about your results with the Tso. Absolutely love that pedal, so much so that I've built two. One with the LDRs and one with vactrols.

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

Lots of people said the Benson Preamp sounds better at 18v, so I built a pair of them with toggle-able charge pumps integrated into them. There is absolutely no tonal difference between 9v and 18v operation that I can tell except the most minuscule change at minimum gain settings. The LED gets a tiny bit brighter, but the sound stays mostly identical— you can literally flip the switch on the middle of a sustained chord and you won’t hear a change of any sort. I still like building it into some pedals just for fun lol

 

[Alan W]

Would love to hear about your results with the Tso. Absolutely love that pedal, so much so that I've built two. One with the LDRs and one with vactrols.

I will definitely update my tests with both pedals. The Tso really is a great compressor; for the gentle amount I typically use, it is very similar to my Effectrode LA-1A, only missing a bit of the atmosphere (“space between the notes, upper harmonic floats, etc.”) that I can hear, when playing clean, solo. And I mean truly “just a bit” of that stuff. Tonally, they hang together. It’s also very quiet.

 

[NickC]

I think it’s about considering headroom. I like compressors at 18v because I don’t want it to break up. I feel the same about EQs too. I agree with @Harry Klippton in that blues breaker type circuits sound better at 18v (to me). I think this is because I use a blues breaker as more a a dirty boost than an overdrive. I even prefer a BB with no diodes in the circuit as well.

yeah i like my xotic comp at 18v

 

[NickC]

I use a commercial analog delay pedal at 18v and think it sounds noticeably cleaner (which is what I want for how I use it).

I had a Catalinbread SFT a long time ago that sounded almost like 2 different pedals 9v vs 18v. For the sound I wanted (louder longer with later breakup), 18v was the only way to fly.

Other than those 2, nothing really comes to mind.

the commercial delay is the carbon copy?

 

[SillyOctpuss]

OCD sounds better at 18V in my opinion.

This is the only OD pedal I've preferred at 18v. The low peak running at 18v is a wonderful low gain OD.

 

[Laundryroom David]

the commercial delay is the carbon copy?

Vapor Trail

 

[Fizz]

My UberDrive sounded a bit weak compared to the new SD-1s so maybe it could use 18v?

 

[Hirti]

The Catalinbread SFT and Dirty Little Secret MKIII sounded a lot better at 18V than 9V to me.

 

[ICTRock]

most of your jfet drive pedals and anything voltage hungry like a bbd