TRBboy Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 (edited) Hey folks! I've always used either individual power supplies, or the daisy chain type ones. My extension and the PSUs take up quite a bit of space on my board, so I'm curious about these power supply blocks that everyone seems to use these days. Can anyone educate me much about them? Pros/cons, do's/dont's, etc? What should I be looking for in one? Are there any cheap ones that are good? I see there's a whole load on Amazon, eBay etc, which seem to get great reviews. Any recommendations? Thanks for the help 😊 Edited February 23 by TRBboy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 (edited) Some basic rules: - capacity of the PSU is measured in amps (like 3000 mA, or 3 A) * the capacity needs to be more than the consumption of the pedals * check the manufacturer's website for specs and add all mA together (chorus + comp + eq +...) to get the total consumption - separate, isolated outputs lessen ground loop, and noise issues * may be or not necessary depending on the complete board * analog and digital may not always work together if they are daisy chained - some daisy chaining may be necessary if the board has many fx - a dist/OD/fuzz usually consumes just few mA, while a digital reverb, or a delay may need hundreds of mA (and one output) - a functional PSU does not cost an arm and a leg * extras raise the price, special fx may need those functionalities (12 VAC, 18 VDC...) * secured cabling is important for a functional board - it is not uncommon that a PSU creates changing magnetic field around it (because it works with a changing electric field, 50 Hz) * the field degrades very quickly, but a wah wah (or any unit that gets interfered) should be situated far from the PSU: every inch counts - liquids (water, beer, wine...) are not good for any electrical unit * a board with high feet may be good against sudden waves - as with audio cables, keep all cables in pristine condition to prevent shocks! Edited February 23 by itu 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StingRayBoy42 Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 (edited) Everything @itu said, plus my 2 cents. I use a Harley Benton ISO-5 on my little board - it's great and was only £42. You might need a bigger one as you've got more than 5 pedals. The only issue with HB stuff is the Clunky EU wall wart. Myvolts do a good replacement but that's another £15 or so. Voodoo Lab pedal power 2+ on my big board. These are the business. Pricey (£70-100 used) but worth it IMHO. Silent, reliable, lots of outputs and 12/18V options. Cioks stuff is good as well. Get one with more outputs than you need, you'll be buying more pedals at some point. Size matters of you've got it on your board (rather than under it). Don't get a cheapo one , it probably won't be isolated and could be noisy. Edited February 24 by StingRayBoy42 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 (edited) Thanks for all the info guys, very helpful. I think I'm going to struggle to get one for reasonable money that'll do everything on my board, as most have a bunch of 100mA sockets, one 500mA and then a 12 and 18v socket. The zoom PSU is 500mA and the Smooth Hound wireless is 250mA.... It's not worth me doing if I can't power it all off one block. EDIT: Actually, there's a cheap one on Amazon with great reviews which has 2x 500mA sockets 😏 Edited February 24 by TRBboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StingRayBoy42 Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 The Harley Benton ISO-2 has 2x500mA outs and 6x300mA outs for £60 https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_powerplant_iso_2_pro.htm There is the clunky wall wart issue, but it looks like it'll power your board. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 I use this and love it Uses a regular kettle lead https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_powerplant_iso_10ac_pro.htm 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StingRayBoy42 Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 35 minutes ago, lidl e said: Uses a regular kettle lead This is a Very Good Thing - everyone's got a spare kettle lead and having wall wart wires across a stage gives me the heebie jeebies. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 Lots to think about, thanks guys. If I'm gonna spend £100+ though, I'm tempted to save the money towards an HX Stomp or something instead though 😅 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 An addition: If the effects of your board cost £1000, why do you want to power them up with a £20 PSU? This is slightly similar than an amp + a cab. If you have invested £1000 to an amp, why are you trying to pair it with a £100 cab? A good cab (or a PSU) is a complex set of knowledge, development, and quality materials - although it doesn't have lots of knobs, or fancy lights. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 44 minutes ago, itu said: An addition: If the effects of your board cost £1000, why do you want to power them up with a £20 PSU? This is slightly similar than an amp + a cab. If you have invested £1000 to an amp, why are you trying to pair it with a £100 cab? A good cab (or a PSU) is a complex set of knowledge, development, and quality materials - although it doesn't have lots of knobs, or fancy lights. I fully appreciate what you're saying. If I had expensive pedals, I absolutely get it, but mine aren't and I've had most of them for many years. My current daisy chain PSU was a cheap one, and it works just fine. It's just not worth me throwing a load of money at to save a little space. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Cioks DC7 for the win. Buy it right and buy it once. loads of power and expandable. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkMohawk Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 I back the Harley Bentons, I use one of the old ISO-1 PRO models, when they were blue not grey, and it's been rock solid for me. No noise issues (and I run a lot of gain so I'd notice them immediately), plenty of power, and a good price. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 The Zoom B3 is really really fussy about having an isolated power supply. I used a Vitoos ISO-8 with mine - sadly no longer available. However, the B3 isn't a massive current draw, unlike something like an HX Stomp. Some power supply blocks use wall warts, some are mains powered. There are pros and cons to each - the mains powered ones mean you're running a mains lead to the pedalboard, the wall wart ones mean you can use a DC extension lead cable-tied along its length to the jack-jack lead running from the amp to the pedalboard, but wall warts do need care taken with the leads - never wrap a lead around a wall wart, always coil it separately and velcro tie it so it doesn't get stressed where it joins the wall wart body. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 I am aware that this does not answer the OP question but it is kind of on topic. I recently realised that my concept of having different pedal boards for different things meant I never actually used any of them because none were wired up and ready to go. So I bought one of these https://www.thomann.de/intl/harley_benton_spaceship_power_60.htm. It is the bomb. No faffing with securing the power to the board (I realise that this is lazy, but....<shrugs>) it has extra USB power outputs and takes a kettle plug. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 (edited) Smoothhound PSU is 9V centre positive so you'd need a polarity adaptor. I have a Nordell Audio unit which is really great, it's isolated and totally silent, but only has one 500ma output. Edited February 25 by pete.young 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Japhet Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 9 hours ago, tauzero said: The Zoom B3 is really really fussy about having an isolated power supply. I used a Vitoos ISO-8 with mine - sadly no longer available. However, the B3 isn't a massive current draw, unlike something like an HX Stomp. Some power supply blocks use wall warts, some are mains powered. There are pros and cons to each - the mains powered ones mean you're running a mains lead to the pedalboard, the wall wart ones mean you can use a DC extension lead cable-tied along its length to the jack-jack lead running from the amp to the pedalboard, but wall warts do need care taken with the leads - never wrap a lead around a wall wart, always coil it separately and velcro tie it so it doesn't get stressed where it joins the wall wart body. Vitoos ISO 8 is a cracking little unit. Been using one for a few years now and no problems. Fits really well under a pedal board too being as it's so slim. As you say, shame they're no longer made, 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Do you actually need the space you might save for another pedal? If not and if everything is working fine with no unwanted hums and buzzes I'd leave it alone and stop worrying. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 4 hours ago, Owen said: I am aware that this does not answer the OP question but it is kind of on topic. I recently realised that my concept of having different pedal boards for different things meant I never actually used any of them because none were wired up and ready to go. So I bought one of these https://www.thomann.de/intl/harley_benton_spaceship_power_60.htm. It is the bomb. No faffing with securing the power to the board (I realise that this is lazy, but....<shrugs>) it has extra USB power outputs and takes a kettle plug. I did the same for my secondary gig board. I got the smaller 50m They are amazing and it has a 3 amp port to run digital multi effetcts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 3 hours ago, BigRedX said: Do you actually need the space you might save for another pedal? If not and if everything is working fine with no unwanted hums and buzzes I'd leave it alone and stop worrying. A very valid point! It's taken a lot of faffing around to get everything squeezed on, and I'm not crazy about the B3 being sideways and the comp being upside down, but it works. Just wondered if I could save some space to have a bit more room to get everything to fit better. I did have the extension outside of the pedalboard before, but that came with it's own problems. Maybe I just go back to doing that if I want more space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkMohawk Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 4 hours ago, TRBboy said: A very valid point! It's taken a lot of faffing around to get everything squeezed on, and I'm not crazy about the B3 being sideways and the comp being upside down, but it works. Just wondered if I could save some space to have a bit more room to get everything to fit better. I did have the extension outside of the pedalboard before, but that came with it's own problems. Maybe I just go back to doing that if I want more space. I might be wrong, but looking at your board, I'm not totally sold on you being able to get everything pointed the right way around. If the power supply is good and small, or you even stack a pedal on top of it you'd be able to manage it, but if it's in the budget, I'd consider a new board, something that lets you put stuff on the underside, rather than the kind you've got now. Rockboard is what I use currently, and I've got zero complaints about it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 15 minutes ago, PinkMohawk said: I might be wrong, but looking at your board, I'm not totally sold on you being able to get everything pointed the right way around. If the power supply is good and small, or you even stack a pedal on top of it you'd be able to manage it, but if it's in the budget, I'd consider a new board, something that lets you put stuff on the underside, rather than the kind you've got now. Rockboard is what I use currently, and I've got zero complaints about it. Funnily enough, I've been looking at that a lot over the past month or so. I couldn't find much that would actually give me more room though, not without throwing a lot of money at it. Obviously it would save the space of the extension and power supplies though. I think probably the best option for me would be to build one I guess, could completely customise it to suit then. 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkMohawk Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 1 minute ago, TRBboy said: Funnily enough, I've been looking at that a lot over the past month or so. I couldn't find much that would actually give me more room though, not without throwing a lot of money at it. Obviously it would save the space of the extension and power supplies though. I think probably the best option for me would be to build one I guess, could completely customise it to suit then. 😊 Yeah if you've got the gear and know-how, a total DIY would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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