9v to 12/18v Converters for Effects

[Sean]

Bit of a cry for help with a pedalboard snag.

Now then, I have a couple of well loved pedals that run on 12v and when they're on my big pedal board that's not a problem as I have a T-Rex Chameleon that does all the voltages I need.

I'm putting together a small pedalboard (4 pedals) and wanted to use a One-Spot and daisy chain the power. The big problem here is that the DHA VT1 pedal I have doesn't sound anywhere as good at 9v. I decided to start looking for a solution and found this:

http://www.godlyke.com/power-all/godlyke-power-all-accessories/iso-pump-voltage-converter

$40 from the USA. Hmm, s bit steep but it's a solution. Postage is $48.50 plus there'll be the tax stuff meaning it'll be about £100 by the time it's landed. My last holiday didn't cost that much and I knew exactly what I was getting.

There's no magic in that iso-pump device so does anyone know of some equivalent available cheap in the UK or a very simple 9v-12v conversion solution for one pedal?

 

[elephantgrey]

There's always the Gigrig SupaNova. Works with my VT1-pro.

[dannybuoy]

Thing is though, you could get a second cheap isolated supply for the same price as a couple of 12V / 18V adaptors:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adjustable-Switching-Stabilized-Anallobar-AC100-240V-DC8/dp/B015XZQWIU

https://www.musicstore.de/en_GB/GBP/Fame-DC8/art-GIT0038973-000

A word of warning, these adapters have a max current rating and the DHA takes quite a lot of juice to power, so check your numbers carefully before buying anything!

[knicknack]

Xotic do a doubler that's only about £25, easily available and superb!

[dannybuoy]

1 hour ago, knicknack said:

Xotic do a doubler that's only about £25, easily available and superb!

Only issue is that might blow up the DHA that's only expecting 12V, or blow up the adapter since it's only rated for 80mA when I would estimate that the DHA needs around 300-500mA.

On the other hand, thanks for posting as that one has a 15V option that I've not seen before, and I have a 15V pedal incoming!

[Sean]

11 hours ago, dannybuoy said:

Thing is though, you could get a second cheap isolated supply for the same price as a couple of 12V / 18V adaptors:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adjustable-Switching-Stabilized-Anallobar-AC100-240V-DC8/dp/B015XZQWIU

https://www.musicstore.de/en_GB/GBP/Fame-DC8/art-GIT0038973-000

A word of warning, these adapters have a max current rating and the DHA takes quite a lot of juice to power, so check your numbers carefully before buying anything!

I’ve got a Pedaltrain Nano that I bought from a guitarist in Work. It’s 14” long and will take the DHA, my TC SpectraComp mini pedal, TC PolyTune mini and a standard size chorus pedal. There’s no room underneath like on the large PedalTrain boards to fit a power supply unless I get cunning with some spacers and longer machine screws and adapt the feet. Time to investigate a hack I think.

Edited January 1, 2018 by Sean

[dannybuoy]

You can fit a Cioks DC5 or Visual Sound CS6 underneath, but if you don't want to go to that expense I would just run a couple of standard 12V/9V adapters for such a small setup.

There is also a chance your 9V pedals will run happily at 12V, meaning you could just run a single 12V daisy chain. It's risky, but I've had many a happy accident running 9V pedals at 18V by mistake only to find they sounded even better!

[Sean]

1 hour ago, dannybuoy said:

There is also a chance your 9V pedals will run happily at 12V, meaning you could just run a single 12V daisy chain. It's risky, but I've had many a happy accident running 9V pedals at 18V by mistake only to find they sounded even better!

It's two sockets or carrying an extra adaptor. I think a Behringer BDI21 and a daisy-chain off the One Spot is a fairly cheap option here. The DC5 is similar money to my T-Rex fuel tank on gigging board.

Before I wore glasses (2016) one of the "Should have gone to Specsavers" moments I had was plugging an MXR M80 DI into an 18v supply. That was an expensive afternoon's recording session