Power supplies

Recommended power supplies

This is what it all boils down to, in the end, isn't it? I can spend all day spelling out the various differences, strenghts and weaknesses of all the different power supply units (heretofore known as psu's) that are available, and I do all that on my other site. But at the end of the day, most people will still ask me: "But what do you use/recommend?". So... here are my choices, in three different categories:

Boss PSA

For small/medium rigs, there's not much that beats the original - it's dead quiet (as long as you don't place it too close to wah pedals, as with all transformer based adapters) and dependable. With this, you will not get any of that whining noise from your delay pedals, that the newer "switching" type adapters can give you. It is a little limited in power - after all, it only provides 200mA - but together with a daisy chain cable it will do for most small to medium rigs. And if you have room for an outlet strip on your pedalboard, you can create isolated groups easily - just slap another PSA on there, and you have two isolated groups!

Please note that Boss just released a transformerless (digital switching) version, with the suffix "S" (e.g. PSA-120S). I do not recommend that version. I don't know yet if Boss will retire the regular PSA (even though it seems likely), so if you buy a Boss adapter, make sure you know which one you're getting!

Cioks Big John

For bigger rigs, where you need more power. There is a small unit as well - aptly named "Baby" - but the "Big John" and "Double Jack" is where it's at for me. 600mA (three times the power of the Boss) in a sturdy package. Again, don't place it too close to wah pedals, and you'll be happy. Cioks products are sold at selected music stores, or direct from the factory in Denmark via www.cioks.com.

Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2

The ultimate in power supplies for medium to large rigs. This one has a special trick up its sleeve - its eight outputs are individually isolated, so that each pedal (or group of pedals being powered from a single output) thinks it is alone in the world. This is perfect for when you have problems with the pedals interacting with each other (causing hum and other noises). This also means that this unit can provide power to positive ground pedals (PNP Germanium fuzz pedals, Octavia etc) right alongside pedals with regular negative ground (Boss/Ibanez etc), as long as you keep the PNP pedals on a separate output. This unit can also power two Line 6 pedals, if you need to. 8 outputs do tend to be used up rather quickly - but don't forget that each output represents a separate 100mA adapter! Pedals that have a modest current draw and don't complain when you feed them in parallel can be fed via a daisy chain from a single output on the PP2. As long as you don't exceed 90mA per output, you're set. Also, on the "plus" version, two of the outputs are beefed up to 200mA, to provide power for Boss Twin pedals or other power-hungry 9vDC units.

BBE has a power supply (Supa-Charger) which looks to be more or less copied from the Pedal Power 2, except for a couple of the special features. It does however have a voltage selector on the back, if you want to bring one over from the US...

Why no switching type adapters?

These days there are plenty of switching type supplies out there (1spot/Godlyke/Diago/Rocktron etc, and of course the Maplin/Radio Shack variants). They can deliver more current than a standard adapter of similar size, and are also said to be quieter with less hum. And still I do not recommend any adapter of that type. I'll even go so far as to strongly advise against using them. They can cause a high frequency whining noise in certain pedals (mostly clock-driven circuits like delay/reverb/chorus etc), which is not nice. Also, a problem in one of your pedals can cause them to severely damage your pedals. Click here if you want to know more about this issue.