Power Supply

[janmaat]

Okay I know this must have been done to death. However,
my pedal collection has now reached the point where I'm going
to take the dive and build / buy a pedal board, and I've got to
think about power supply.

I had the daisy chain thing going and a lot of hum, and I know
there are differences such as "isolated" etc., but I still don't
see the wood for the trees - prices vary widely, and opinions
seems to vary just as widely - in short, anyone came across
the dodgy hum, got something better, hum gone so everythings
perfect. But - can somebody please explain a bit more in-depth
what makes a power supply "good, not-hum", what it is to look
after, how one can calculate how much power one needs, and
so forth, and recommend me a power supply??

I am not running - at least, at present - time based things such
as delays, there's a wah and an envelope filter, a compressor,
a preamp, a tuner, that's it (for now).

Options are obviously the cheap Thomann thingy or one of
the more boutique things that pop up in the F/S section here
from time to time.

Many thanks!

[RandomProddy]

I have a similar issue but I have a cunning plan...

Am trying to build a 12v - 9v DC-DC converter gadget so that I can run my pedals off a UPS battery!

Edited April 2, 2012 by RandomProddy

[Thor]

FWIW I think the Diago Powerstation is excellent quality/value for money - I was getting a fair bit of hum etc from the previous power supply but the Diago is whisper quiet and currently powering 14 pedals without any worries.

[Prime_BASS]

Shep goes to some depth I think here. [url="http://www.sheponbass.co.uk/blog/"]http://www.sheponbass.co.uk/blog/[/url]

Working out what you need is easy. Just add up the current draw from each pedal, usually in mA and can be found on the pedal in the manual on the web etc.

Power Supplies like Headroom! So let's say your supply have a output of 1000mA you can be sure your pedals will be fine/not noisy when you are using up to say 50-60% of that current. any more and the supply becomes noisy and pedals start acting wierd.
Some pedals are just noisy (Moog LPF for example) and some times this can be fixed by isolating it's power. Diago has a isolated adapter for their powerstation (it's £20 though) and gigrig's battery apaters act as isolators too (this is more expensive though)

From the current list, I think you'll be fine with the diago powerstation. Just be aware of overlapping power leads and patch leads etc, a tidy pedal board is a quiet one.

[janmaat]

Thanks for the helpful replys so far. I understand everyone says "diago", but I'd really like to know some more technical info like Prime Bass has pointed out. For example, seems that when you buy a Pedaltrain board, it has a slot only for the size of the Voodolab power supplies. Apart from that, there is the T-Rex Fuel Station, and there is the cheap copy of that, and then there are a gazillion more with very different prices. I guess there will be things like how firm the cables sit and so on. Can someone hint me out what justifies these huge price differences, and if they make any sense?

[Thor]

[quote name='janmaat' timestamp='1333437024' post='1601532']
Can someone hint me out what justifies these huge price differences, and if they make any sense?
[/quote]

In a word - no!


Before I bought the Diago I'd seriously considered a T-Rex Fuel Tank (and previous to that the Voodoo Labs range), however I couldn't bring myself to spend that much money on a power supply!? Having looked at all options - I'd even considered the Gigrig generator and Gigrig distributors (which do make for a nice tidy set-up and also give an element of supply headroom and allow for future growth), I decided to speak to James at Diago to discuss whether he thought the PS-01 would cope with what I wanted to achieve - he agreed it would and at around half the price of the other options it seemed a total no-brainer to me.

The PS-01 I have is velcro'd to the underside of my Pedaltrain 2, out of site and not taking up any of the valuable space on top, the supply cable runs have been cable tied around the board in mini looms - it's a tidy and reliable set-up IMO.

[Prime_BASS]

[quote name='janmaat' timestamp='1333437024' post='1601532']
Thanks for the helpful replys so far. I understand everyone says "diago", but I'd really like to know some more technical info like Prime Bass has pointed out. For example, seems that when you buy a Pedaltrain board, it has a slot only for the size of the Voodolab power supplies. Apart from that, there is the T-Rex Fuel Station, and there is the cheap copy of that, and then there are a gazillion more with very different prices. I guess there will be things like how firm the cables sit and so on. Can someone hint me out what justifies these huge price differences, and if they make any sense?
[/quote]

Honestly, no idea. Why is diesel at BP 1.49 where it is 1.32 and Sainsburies............

I highlighted the basic facts you need to know, the pedal train allows for any supplies to be attached, many people have velcro'd on top their units.
Shep uses gigrig stuff which is the best 1 stop shop for power supply needs and is made very well.

[url="http://www.diago.co.uk/pedal-power/diago-powerstation.html"]http://www.diago.co.uk/pedal-power/diago-powerstation.html[/url] Diago proves that the voodoo stuff is vastly overpriced what it is and does. 3000mA is a lot of pedals.
At the same time diago actual pedal boards are expensive, compared to pedal trains.

If you want an easy solution and only have standard 9v pedals to power then you are set to go with a powerstation.

[Thor]

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1333440463' post='1601583']
Shep uses gigrig stuff which is the best 1 stop shop for power supply needs and is made very well.

[url="http://www.diago.co.uk/pedal-power/diago-powerstation.html"]http://www.diago.co....werstation.html[/url] Diago proves that the voodoo stuff is vastly overpriced what it is and does. 3000mA is a lot of pedals.
At the same time diago actual pedal boards are expensive, compared to pedal trains.

If you want an easy solution and only have standard 9v pedals to power then you are set to go with a powerstation.
[/quote]

I can fully understand the need for Shep to choose the Gigrig set up - with his EPIC set-up it's needed.

But for the average pedalboard I see no reason for anything else but a Diago - perhaps as Janmaat eluded to earlier in the thread - everyone says Diago - probably because they're the best all rounder and reasonably priced.

I agree, their boards do seem expensive for what they are? I'd sooner stick with the Pedaltrain.

[Prime_BASS]

[quote name='Thor' timestamp='1333441101' post='1601602']
I can fully understand the need for Shep to choose the Gigrig set up - with his EPIC set-up it's needed.

But for the average pedalboard I see no reason for anything else but a Diago - perhaps as Janmaat eluded to earlier in the thread - everyone says Diago - probably because they're the best all rounder and reasonably priced.

I agree, their boards do seem expensive for what they are? I'd sooner stick with the Pedaltrain.
[/quote]

I would only suggest to anyone gigrig if they had the money and a similar setup to Shep. It's only fair to state the gigrig stuff as it isn't that expensive and has the ability to power everything out there, with ease (unless it's AC ofcourse)

It should be noted that diago stuff isn't isolated(although there is an adapter) and the voodoo stuff is so if you wanted 5 isolated powers voodoo works out cheaper than the diago stuff.

You have to decide what's best for you and your needs.

[mikegatward]

Had the same dilemna myself and decided to go for the t-rex which i hope will be the quietest and most reliable option. I'd rather spend a little more on the pwer supply rather than one extra pedal that i may call upon once in a blue moon

[pantherairsoft]

I'm late to this one.

Prime has summarised the headroom issue quite well which I think is important. The Diago PowerStation is a GREAT power supply and I used one for quite some time. Saying it will power 14 or 20 or x number of pedals is pointless though. The Diago will power 100 pedals if they only have a draw of 30mah each, but it will only power 3 pedals if they have a draw of 1000mah like the TC Nova pedals...

It's a case of getting whats right for you - and make sure you include headroom. Once you hit the 50% of capacity for a supply it 'can' start to get warm and introduce noise to the system. Power surges, little peaks in the pedals performance etc etc can 'spike' in power usage unless they are advanced units with lots of regulating technology built in. My diago started to get very hot when I was using about 1600-1700mah of power and started to buzz when I hit 2200mah. I have no doubt that it would still power stuff upto 3000mah but at a compromise - One which I was not prepared to swallow.

This is not an issue with the Diago specifically, rather with power supplies in general. Also worth noting that a friend uses a Diago and we added up his set up to be hitting about 2300mah ish and while it gets warm it does not hum - as such the pedals used make a huge difference. As everyones set up is different, you never know until it's put together.

The GigRig Generator is expensive but you do get what you pay for - It has 5000mah of juice and runs cool and silent even with the load I throw at it. I agree it may be overkill for many peoples set ups - but so is a custom bass costing £1500-2000 when a Squire P-Bass will still do the job. It's about a balance of performance and what you value as important. I would happily pay the price of an expensive effects pedal in order to get the best out of my collection of very expensive pedals. Many people see power supplies/patch cables etc as annoyingly expensive add ons, I see them as being as important as the pedals themselves.

As for the adapters to upscale voltages/isolate supplies/change polarity etc - they are all interchangeable and GigRig adapters will work with the Diago and visa versa. The only thing I would add to this is that the high voltage/current adapters from GigRig will happily work, though I'd be concerned about them making the Diago or other supplies run out of juice (they have been decided in mind that the generator has a whole 5amps to play with!).

Shep

[janmaat]

Thanks Shep - and all the other contributors, that's very helpful (maybe worth a sticky?).

[lxxwj]

[quote name='Thor' timestamp='1333401851' post='1601341']
FWIW I think the Diago Powerstation is excellent quality/value for money - I was getting a fair bit of hum etc from the previous power supply but the Diago is whisper quiet and currently powering 14 pedals without any worries.
[/quote]
+1, the Diago is amazing.

[pantherairsoft]

[quote name='janmaat' timestamp='1333464670' post='1602078']
Thanks Shep - and all the other contributors, that's very helpful (maybe worth a sticky?).
[/quote]



I'm actually working on something at the moment along these lines - which goes into much more detail as well - without going too advanced which should cover most aspects of powering (voltage, current draw, isolations, upscaling power, polarity and a list of good supplies up for the job) which I hope to have finihsed by the end of the weekend and publish on my blog. I'll post a link here when it's done and if everyone finds it covers all the needed questions I'll sticky it at the top of the forum... then as and when any questions come up that were not answered we can add to it...

[brensabre79]

There's a Harley Benton thing on Thomann which is similar to the T-Rex one (but considerably cheaper!) It also has a 12v and an 18v output so handy for any tube based pedals that need more volts. Unfortunately I need two 12v outputs for my Compressore and DHA, as well as two 9v outputs so I'm still looking...

[mcnach]

When it comes to noise, you should also consider your patch leads.

A while ago I was getting some annoying hum on my board, and finally I decided to find the culprit. It was *one single patch lead*. All my leads were from the same source, and used them for years, except that one. That one was longer, which I needed, and I bought it cheap on eBay in a pack of 5 or something. Substituting that with my usual decent quality ones removed the hum.

Don't skimp on leads!

[pantherairsoft]

[quote name='pantherairsoft' timestamp='1333465443' post='1602090']
I'm actually working on something at the moment along these lines - which goes into much more detail as well - without going too advanced which should cover most aspects of powering (voltage, current draw, isolations, upscaling power, polarity and a list of good supplies up for the job) which I hope to have finihsed by the end of the weekend and publish on my blog. I'll post a link here when it's done and if everyone finds it covers all the needed questions I'll sticky it at the top of the forum... then as and when any questions come up that were not answered we can add to it...
[/quote]

Here it is...

[url="http://www.sheponbass.co.uk/blog/2012/4/7/signal-chain-bassics-part-vi-pedal-power.html"]Shep on Bass - Signal Chain BASSics, Part VI: Pedal Power[/url]

If everyone thinks it covers all the frequently asked questions then I'll make a Basschat friendly copy and sticky it. Anyone that thinks its overlooked anything etc then let me know....!