Power Supply 101

Cucurbitam0schata

Well-known member
Hey Folks -

I'm up to 7 PedalPCB* pedals, plus Dyna Comp, Rat and TS-9... seems like my True Tone 1-Spot is getting to be overtaxed... right? Of course, not all are on at the same time, but it's nice to have an array of options for maximum tone diversity while picking and grinning.

My questions are:

First off, what kinds of power supplies do you all like?
What kind of power supply is appropriate when getting into the 8-12 pedal range for a board?
When is power isolation the appropriate choice?
When should considerations of mA's be made?
Can you daisy chain off of a power brick - or is that a bad idea?
Probably should get some C-buffers in there...?

Thanks pals! Wash those hands and be well!

(PedalPCBs in use: Bit Captain, Sea Horse, Zapper, Magnetron, Phase II, CDXL Reissue Envelop Filter, Mercurial Boost)
 
Of course, not all are on at the same time, but it's nice to have an array of options for maximum tone diversity while picking and grinning.

Keep in mind they're still pulling just as much current* when bypassed, none of the active circuitry is actually powered down.

*Idle current will be somewhat lower than when the opamps / transistors are actually amplifying / effecting a signal, but for the sake of calculating power consumption you should probably just consider them "always on"
 
I used to have issues with noise here and there at shitty venues with dirty power and finally picked up a Strymon Zuma. It's on the pricier end, but it's served me very very well. At the time I bought it I had a few digital pedals that required 500mA and it was one of the only ones that could accommodate more than a few slots. It's helped some with the noise issues, and I can happily run a smaller daisy chain off of inputs when necessary (I run one to power a wah that lives off of my board, for example).

The voodoo labs stuff is also great and a bit cheaper. Just be sure to steer clear of some of those cheaper brands on Amazon; they say they're isolated but are not.
 
I use one of those afore mentioned cheaper brands from amazon (around $40, ten outputs). Like he said they aren’t truly isolated. So if you’re gigging regularly it might be worth investing in one of the better ones like from voodoo labs.

That said I’ve never had any noise issues with my board, but I play mostly at home.
 
I recently switched to the new(isn) TruTone CS12, from a Pedal Power II. I really like it. Plenty of outputs. Some at 12V or 18V is you wish, different current outputs, it can even power a HX Stomp if you're so inclined. Pretty noise free, as well. I typically have 8-10 pedals on my board, this can support up to 12, but even more if you do a couple w/ Daisy Chains.
 
I've been a pretty big fan of the TrueTone CS7, have owned a handful of them and has always been enough for my needs. Used to have the CS12 too, but it was pretty much overkill for me. My understanding (from Truetone) is that the mA labeling on the outlets really doesn't matter much (voltage DOES!) and that as long as you're under the total mA rating of the supply you'll be fine. The CS7 is rated at 1900mA and the CS12 all the way at 3000mA.

I have owned a handful of the Voodoo Lab stuff too. PP2+, Digital, 4x4, Iso5, etc. They are all just fine, nothing wrong. IIRC, they're all 'transformer' supplies while the Truetone stuff is 'switching' supplies. I hear some chatter here and there that the 'transformer' varieties should in theory be quieter than 'switching', but in practice that hasn't been my experience. The Truetone stuff is more flexible, cheaper, and I don't notice any increase in noise in any way.

Currently I have a Timeline (~300mA), Bigsky (~300mA), Echo Park (~200mA), Strobostomp HD (~85mA), and a handful of analog pedals (Mooer Yellow Comp/Trelicopter, three PedalPCB ODs - all est. 10mA or less) powered by the CS7, no problem. In the past - it's not "officially" recommended - I had a Line 6 HX Effects powered by the CS7 (which supposedly requires 2000mA alone) as well as a Digitech Freqout (~250mA) and a couple of analog ODs, again - no problem. That was well above the rated capacity (~2300mA vs 1900mA rating) and it gigged just fine for me for months, no problems at all.
So that being said... I really recommend the Truetone stuff. If I were to move to a bigger board I'd probably go to just a CS12, but maybe a Zuma depending on the prices.
 
Hmmmm.... seems like a golden opportunity for somebody who makes pcb's to offer a well thought out power supply in a 1590BB or something. Wonder who that could be?!

But seriously - I have one of these and its' been perfect

 
I've used the cs7 for years but lately have been eyeing the amz musique power supply PCB to make my own. All my pedals save for the tuner and wah are diy, why not the PSU as well?
 
I've used the cs7 for years but lately have been eyeing the amz musique power supply PCB to make my own. All my pedals save for the tuner and wah are diy, why not the PSU as well?

That one's not individually isolated - just individually regulated.
I've built one like that, and one with separate transformer windings. Neither gave me any improvement - but I don't gig in bars with noisy power etc.

I am intrigued by the battery powered stuff. Would be a cool of the grid setup.
 
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