kwmlondon Posted April 28 Share Posted April 28 Hi. I've put a little pedal board together but I'm getting a chronic buzz when I chain more than one together. I've tried a few things: Replaced the patch cables, still got an issue. Removed individual pedals - no problem. Each one works fine on its own. Took the octave pedal out - that reduced the buzz but it was still there. Solution - I've run a separate power to the ADAM. The Octave and Metaphors are taking power from the power block on the board. See last pic to see what I mean - this has no buzz at all. It's not an earth thing because when I run the ADAM and Ocatave off the pedalboard PSU and plug the other supply in the Metaphors the noise returns. I know the ADAM is a hungry bugger but there's a dedicated 500mA outlet. Would a solution be getting a 1.5A 10v PSU? I'm really stumped by this. Any help gratefully received! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted April 28 Share Posted April 28 Try to simply daisy chain them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwmlondon Posted April 28 Author Share Posted April 28 34 minutes ago, Hellzero said: Try to simply daisy chain them. I have some daisy chain cables somewhere Will have a go. Ta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted April 30 Share Posted April 30 Are the outputs on your power supply properly isolated? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwmlondon Posted April 30 Author Share Posted April 30 2 hours ago, LukeFRC said: Are the outputs on your power supply properly isolated? 2 hours ago, LukeFRC said: Are the outputs on your power supply properly isolated? The outputs? Can you clarify a bit - they're just those standard PSU to pedal cables coming out of a power brick. I've connected the hight output one directly to the ADAM as it draws 500mA and then standard connections to the Octave and Metaphors but they're individual cables. See pic above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted April 30 Share Posted April 30 digital pedals can create noise on the power lines needing isolated power supplies… So power supplies can be built differently - some cheaper ones will have the outlets and they are not electronically isolated from one another - inside it is essentially a daisy chain. more expensive to do is to electronically isolate each output from one another meaning the noise from digital pedals doesn’t bleed elsewhere. My Cioks power supply does this but cheaper power supplies like Harley Benton I think do too. From what you’ve said I suspect the Caline power supply isn’t isolated 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwmlondon Posted April 30 Author Share Posted April 30 1 hour ago, LukeFRC said: digital pedals can create noise on the power lines needing isolated power supplies… So power supplies can be built differently - some cheaper ones will have the outlets and they are not electronically isolated from one another - inside it is essentially a daisy chain. more expensive to do is to electronically isolate each output from one another meaning the noise from digital pedals doesn’t bleed elsewhere. My Cioks power supply does this but cheaper power supplies like Harley Benton I think do too. From what you’ve said I suspect the Caline power supply isn’t isolated One of them, at least, must be isolated as it is rated at 500mA. I can imagine 1-7 would be chained but 8 being "high current" must have its own circuitry, no? Also, what's weird is there's no interference between the Octave and Metaphors, but there is when the ADAM is connected to either of the other two. I'll have a crack at plain old daisychaining them using a bog-standard 9v tonight and report back but thatnks - I do appreciate your input. If you're right then I'll need a whole new power supply which is really fricken' annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted April 30 Share Posted April 30 4 minutes ago, kwmlondon said: One of them, at least, must be isolated as it is rated at 500mA. I can imagine 1-7 would be chained but 8 being "high current" must have its own circuitry, no? Also, what's weird is there's no interference between the Octave and Metaphors, but there is when the ADAM is connected to either of the other two. I'll have a crack at plain old daisychaining them using a bog-standard 9v tonight and report back but thatnks - I do appreciate your input. If you're right then I'll need a whole new power supply which is really fricken' annoying. I wouldn't presume they were isolated. The fact you're getting noise would suggest it's not. Octavr and Metaphors are analogue I think - it would be less likely for noise from them... ADAM is digital so when you add it it creates the noise. This might work https://www.thomann.de/gb/joyo_zgp_noise_blocker.htm?glp=1&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwrcKxBhBMEiwAIVF8rOmLqE1JUT7hbSGWW__9k7B9x4oXg8Dgsc52GUFQtSRK3UJfc_wQkhoCJlMQAvD_BwE to isolate the digital pedal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwmlondon Posted April 30 Author Share Posted April 30 4 hours ago, LukeFRC said: I wouldn't presume they were isolated. The fact you're getting noise would suggest it's not. Octavr and Metaphors are analogue I think - it would be less likely for noise from them... ADAM is digital so when you add it it creates the noise. This might work https://www.thomann.de/gb/joyo_zgp_noise_blocker.htm?glp=1&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwrcKxBhBMEiwAIVF8rOmLqE1JUT7hbSGWW__9k7B9x4oXg8Dgsc52GUFQtSRK3UJfc_wQkhoCJlMQAvD_BwE to isolate the digital pedal Yeah. Just daisy-chained all three using the 9v wall-wart and the noise was really bad. I just found the Joyo you linked to on Amazon so I can try it out and easily return it if it doesn't do the job but seriously. Thank you for your help with this - it's much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProjeKtWEREWOLF Posted April 30 Share Posted April 30 I had one of these. They're noisy and not truly isolated. I now have a Cioks DC7 (hey big spender!) which is dead silent. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwmlondon Posted May 1 Author Share Posted May 1 17 hours ago, ProjeKtWEREWOLF said: I had one of these. They're noisy and not truly isolated. I now have a Cioks DC7 (hey big spender!) which is dead silent. £215.... on a power supply. WOW! Well. Hmm. I think I'll try the Joyo first but I am very very impressed with your commitment to the best quality kit! Nice one! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 I've got the Cioks DC7 as well. It's excellent. Very quiet and will run just about everything. It can even be expanded later. There's little point in having high quality pedals like the Darkglass stuff and then feeding it with crap power. For power supplies my own view is: buy it once, buy it right. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProjeKtWEREWOLF Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 (edited) 1 hour ago, kwmlondon said: £215.... on a power supply. WOW! Well. Hmm. I think I'll try the Joyo first but I am very very impressed with your commitment to the best quality kit! Nice one! I paid £120 for my 'as new' Cioks DC7 😂 absolute steal! I'd still pay twice that, knowing what I know now. Edited May 1 by ProjeKtWEREWOLF 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwmlondon Posted May 1 Author Share Posted May 1 58 minutes ago, fretmeister said: I've got the Cioks DC7 as well. It's excellent. Very quiet and will run just about everything. It can even be expanded later. There's little point in having high quality pedals like the Darkglass stuff and then feeding it with crap power. For power supplies my own view is: buy it once, buy it right. I mean. I can see the argument but it's never been a problem while using it on its own. It's only been an issue when adding other pedals. However... you're right and I may start saving. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwmlondon Posted May 1 Author Share Posted May 1 12 minutes ago, ProjeKtWEREWOLF said: I paid £120 for my 'as new' Cioks DC7 😂 absolute steal! I'd still pay twice that, knowing what I know now. Hmm. That does sound like a steal, but I'm never going to run more than 3 or 4 pedals so I'll never need that many connections. I'll consider upgrading at some point though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 Harley Benton are apparently the budget but good option 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ567 Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 +1 for the Harley Benton "iso-ac" series. Another cost effective way to do this is to run a regular daisy chain but add joyo zgp adapters on all but one pedal. Then they're isolated from each other. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisisswanbon Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 As previously mentioned - absolutely your power supply causing the issue. Digital pedals need to be properly isolated. I use a truetone CS6, cheaper than the Cioks stuff but fantastic quality. I used to use the standard amazon/ebay solutions, but after receiving similar advice to what you've been given I bought a Cioks DC5 at the time, and now I'd never to go back to cheap power. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwmlondon Posted May 2 Author Share Posted May 2 As an update, the Joyo blocker takes the noise down to a very low level. Totally fine for live use and I don't tend to multiple pedals when practising so this is perfect for me for now. I'll keep an eye out for a better PSU in the future, maybe the next time I order something from HB I'll get one of their ISOs so I can dodge the postage charge but thanks - this has all been illuminating! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admiralchew Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 (edited) In case it’s not already been mentioned, there’s a Cioks DC7 for £145 on Bass Direct: https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/product/cioks-dc7-pre-owned/ Edited May 2 by admiralchew 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProjeKtWEREWOLF Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 50 minutes ago, admiralchew said: In case it’s not already been mentioned, there’s a Cioks DC7 for £145 on Bass Direct: https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/product/cioks-dc7-pre-owned/ Worth every penny. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 59 minutes ago, admiralchew said: In case it’s not already been mentioned, there’s a Cioks DC7 for £145 on Bass Direct: https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/product/cioks-dc7-pre-owned/ I agree - but to a man with a £27 power supply and three pedals it’s a bit of a jump! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admiralchew Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 Just now, LukeFRC said: I agree - but to a man with a £27 power supply and three pedals it’s a bit of a jump! Agreed, sorry, I was just pointing it out to the thread at large as there seems a lot of DC7 love and that’s the best price I’ve seen for a while. Sorry if it seemed I was suggesting an unnecessary/unrealistic solution. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwmlondon Posted May 2 Author Share Posted May 2 1 hour ago, LukeFRC said: I agree - but to a man with a £27 power supply and three pedals it’s a bit of a jump! £30 used from this site, as it goes but it’s still frustrating that it’s not up to the job. Honestly I am a bit depressed by all this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwmlondon Posted May 3 Author Share Posted May 3 11 hours ago, admiralchew said: Agreed, sorry, I was just pointing it out to the thread at large as there seems a lot of DC7 love and that’s the best price I’ve seen for a while. Sorry if it seemed I was suggesting an unnecessary/unrealistic solution. Not at all - it's just that it's total overkill for my needs. I mean, I do like a bit of over-engineering and I do like nice things but I'm not the kind of player who uses a great deal of processing. I got the ADAM mainly for its distortion, compression and the fact that it's a really high-quality interface for recording - I can pretty much use it with a laptop as the I/O of a DAW. I run the Metaphors because the treble control acts like a good passive tone control and with the compression in and the tone all the way down it can get a really dark, vintage tone so between that and the ADAM I can get all the sounds I want. The octave pedal is mainly for fun, I don't think I'd ever use it live but it's nice to have, but this board as it is is really portable so I can pack my bass, the pedal board, a rucksack and put my amp on a trolley and basically take the full rig to gigs and rehearsals on the tube! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.