Tedster Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 Okay...for a long time I was only using my Ibanez Tube Screamer to kick up my solos a notch (most clubs we play are low key...don't mic my amp...plus, I run sound from stage anyway)...well, er..what's my point...OH...yeah... Now, I've got the Tube Screamer, a Dano Chorus, and a Boss Tremolo that I've been using. THOSE THINGS EAT BATTERIES FOR BREAKFAST!!! The damn Dano uses TWO! Okay...stupid question...I've been led to believe that power supplies for stompboxes aren't interchangeable. Is this true? I could track down the specific power supply for each pedal (I'll have to for the Dano anyway as it uses two batteries)...but will a generic supply work for the other two, or do I have to get the specific one for the specific pedal? And, is there one unit that I could use so I don't have a bunch of wall warts right up there onstage by my big clumsy feet??? You can stop laughing now. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsull Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 I feel your pain. My old flanger is good for about a week on a battery. No wonder I stopped using it. Echo boxes? Forget it. They're interchangable between most boxes (usually the 9-Volt DC wart), but something like your Dano will want something else. If the box (or the manual) has the power supply specs on it, you can probably find the right wall-wart at an electronics store. Like everything else, the better ones cost more, and some of the cheap ones get really hot, I've noticed. Take the box with, to make sure you get the right connector. Double-check the positive-negative thing at least 3 times before you plug it in. (And if it's the nationwide electronics store chain that probably has a branch in your neighborhood, don't trust the sales clerk's advice.) You can get a supply to power all of them, but they ain't cheap. The JuiceBox (www.pedalboard.com) costs - sitting down? - $209.00 US. Voodoo Lab's Pedal Power (www.voodoolab.com) is $239.00. Sure would be cool, though. Finally, if you like burning your fingers recreationally, you can build one. Craig Anderton's book has plans, and if you search the web you can find schematics for other versions. Probably wouldn't cost much at all, but you have to like doing this sort of thing. But why listen to me? Every time a battery dies I tell myself I need to get a better setup, but I still haven't gotten around to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted June 29, 2001 Author Share Posted June 29, 2001 Hey, thanks, JSull, and welcome to the board!! I guess I'll have to knuckle down and buy Craig's book. I'm pretty inept with a solder gun, though... "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbrock1san.rr.com Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 If you are going to use multiple boxes in a live situation, I would break out the credit card and buy the Voodoo Labs Pedal thing or an equivalent. It would save you from having multiple power supplies and it organizes your pedals neatly. The Boss stompboxes use two different power supplies. I think you can go to the website to find out which one you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHAN Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 >>>Topic: Stupid question about power supplies for stompboxes... - - - --- - - - - -------- - Geez Ted, what a stupid question... http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/tongue.gif There are no stupid questions...just stupid people. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/eek.gif I guess it takes a while to totally wash off that "Curve residue"... http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/redface.gif ------------------ ----------- KHAN (Always hopeful, yet discontent) www.floydtribute.hpwebhost.com So Many Drummers. So Little Time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted June 29, 2001 Author Share Posted June 29, 2001 Well, ummm..y'know, I should know all that stuff. I'm kinda "gear challenged". A buddy of mine back in Michigan keeps up with all the latest, always has some new "toy" to play with when I go up there. I feel like I'm in the Stone Age... "Unghghg...guitar...unghghg...amp...unghghg...me play guitar..." http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod S Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 Other than the stuff that was pointed out, you gotta make sure that the stomp box draws less current than what the power supply is rated at. Alesis has the habit of using AC power supplies which are a pain in the ass to find, but I think they are only ones. Rod Korg Kronos X73 / ARP Odyssey / Motif ES Rack / Roland D-05 / JP-08 / SE-05 / Jupiter Xm / Novation Mininova / NL2X / Waldorf Pulse II MBP-LOGIC American Deluxe P-Bass, Yamaha RBX760 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael saulnier Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 Tedster, There are some other options no one's mentioned. Rechargable batteries. Yep, they cost a bit more, but there's no dinky wall-wart and powercable to forget, step on, or pull out in the middle of a "passion moment"!!! I have two little girls (8 and 5) that have plenty of "battery powered" toys. There's a product that recharges regular (typically non-rechargable) batteries safely... in my experience, we've recharged them dozens of times... (God damn battery sucking GameBoy)... it was about 20 bucks or so... Great investment... I think we got it a Wal-Mart or Target or something... If you want it and can't find it... let me know and I'll go look for the brand name. If you're convinced about going the powersupply route, each stompbox typically has a chart that shows the Mamp power level it needs, and whether the ring or the tip is positive or negative... (You don't need to know what that all means, but you want to make sure you've got the right setup for your box). Too much voltage can FRY your toy, too little won't be enough juice to make it "talk" right... (especially for the Eric Johnson types)! RadioShack has a "multi-adapter" kinda unit that has several "tip/sleeve" combinations and even settings for different Mamp settings. I'd bring one or more of my toys in there and let the RadioShack geeks figure it out, (they LIVE for this stuff)!! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Anyway... hope some of these ideas help... have fun with your stompbox toys! guitplayer I'm still "guitplayer"! Check out my music if you like... http://www.michaelsaulnier.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted June 29, 2001 Author Share Posted June 29, 2001 Yeah, Guit, I'd kinda tend to shy away from rechargable batteries, just 'cause they're still batteries I have to deal with pulling out. And the last time I got into a great fiasco with that I pulled one of those stupid wires off the battery cap. Tried to solder it back on. Trying to solder fuzz back on a peach would have been easier. Yeah, I'm hip to the ring and tip bit...one of the problems with those multi-power supplies that you get at places like Radio Shack is just that they're made for a wide variety of applications...from your Black and Decker cordless drill recharger to the Game Boy (hehehe)...that's why I was wondering if all (or most) stompboxes were created relatively equal. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricknbokker Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 Whatever you do, Tedster, go back to the batteries if you're recording w/those boxes. Do an A/B with any of your effects using AC and batteries. You WILL hear da noise! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip McDonald Posted June 29, 2001 Share Posted June 29, 2001 You can always get one of those adapters that uses the 9-volt clip - those will always work on anything, but batteries sound better. ------------------ New and Improved Music Soon: http://www.mp3.com/chipmcdonald Guitar Lessons in Augusta Georgia: www.chipmcdonald.com Eccentric blog: https://chipmcdonaldblog.blogspot.com/ / "big ass windbag" - Bruce Swedien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clockwirk Posted June 30, 2001 Share Posted June 30, 2001 That dunlop juice power supply can power your 18 volt pedals as well as your 9 volts. It's got three outs for the 18s and seven for the 9s. It works great for me when I use MY tube screamer and Dano chorus. You can find one for about 100 bucks. check musictoyz.com. ~clockwirk~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trash Monkey Posted June 30, 2001 Share Posted June 30, 2001 Tedster, Heck no you don't have to have a Boss for a Boss, DOD for DOD, etc. Radio Shack can fix you right up, or if you want to really get organized try the SKB pedalboard case that comes WITH a power supply and 6 connects. That way you just plug the main power supply in and ROCK. Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted June 30, 2001 Author Share Posted June 30, 2001 Thanks, everyone...for some great ideas... "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Gauss Posted June 30, 2001 Share Posted June 30, 2001 ok, here's my 2 cents.... the dano is donna be an issue 'cause of the 18volts (plus its huge and heavy!.) everything else can be run off of a regular adapter. but NOT just any adapter. boss stuff is very picky about what adapter it likes. it needs to be at least 200ma. the generic radio shack stuff tends to hum and buzz, etc. i find that the danelectro adapter (9 volt not 18) works very well and doesn't hum and it only cost $9.99! for several years, i've been using one to power a boss DM2 analog delay, a tubescreamer, a boss stomp tuner, and a tremolo, with no problem. like others have mentioned though, for recording, i use the batteries....your mileage may vary. -d. gauss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the stranger Posted July 4, 2001 Share Posted July 4, 2001 The most important thing is to make sure the current is correct (amps). It's easy to find a power supply that is 9 volts, but if you look you will see that 9 volt power supplies come in an endless variety of milliamp ratings. Figure out the current draw on the pedals and just make sure that the power supply is never rated for less than what the pedal calls for. If the supply is a bit more, you will be fine. EX: Pedal: 9volts/300 Milliamps A 9 volt/500 milliamp supply should be fine. (This is what I know about analog pedals, I've been told that digital stuff is a lot more sensitive about getting the specified current.) PS: If you are going to hit radio shack, you might as well track down the original power supplies, cause RS ain't going to be any cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted July 5, 2001 Share Posted July 5, 2001 Well, not much to add to these comments, except that universal power supplies are a good bet. As long as the voltage, polarity, and current ratings are satisfactory, you should be okay. The question of noise from an AC supply varies. There are two parts to a power supply: the rectifier, which converts AC to pulsating DC, and the filter, which smooths out the pulsating DC. Most generic AC adapters do not include filtering, which is okay because many devices have filtering built in. Those that don't require custom AC adapters that include filtering. The next step up is an AC adapter with regulation. That's the kind I wrote about in my book. With regulation, the voltage coming out is constant. My supplies are also short-circuit protected. The issue of current rating is more complex than it first appears. One would think that if a device is rated at 300 mA, then a 600 mA supply should work fine because there's a huge margin of safety. But there's a catch: cheapo supplies generate more voltage than you need, and depend on current drain to bring it back down. In other words, an adapter may deliver 12V with no load, but drop down to 9V under their rated load. If the load is substantially less than the rated load, the voltage may only drop to 10 or 11 volts. That's why it's safest to get an adapter that's rated at the same current as the one it replaces. With all the effects I designed, you can plug the adapter in backwards and nothing bad will happen because there's a "safety diode" that shunts current to ground if the adapter is plugged in incorrectly. Most commercially-available effects that I've seen do not offer this protection, so be VERY careful about the polarity. One final thought: do not leave AC adapters plugged into the wall when the unit being powered is off. There is nothing to draw current from the transformer, and Eddy currents can occur that heat up the transformer. I highly recommend plugging your wall warts into a barrier strip, leaving the devices they power on, and turning off power at the barrier strip, not the effects. Hope this helps... Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted July 5, 2001 Author Share Posted July 5, 2001 Thanks, Craig...! "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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