I have a HM-2 which i love dearly but i have a question/theory?
When i use this pedal with a battery it only takes a matter of time before the battery runs out (obviously) but just before it runs out the tone radically alters, now i know this sounds like a previous post but let me continue.
When this happens for about 10 minutes or so i get some of the greatest vintage fuzz tones I�ve heard (think very early Genesis) but it's very short lived. Now i've heard that as a battery dies the voltage drops thus causing this effect but is this true?
If this is indeed true does this mean that i could indeed with a drop of voltage coming from a power adaptor(say 7 volts) achieve this sound, but more importantly IS IT SAFE TO DO!!
I love my pedal dearly, as i do the local fire service and would not like to compromise either.
Yes, I believe the battry's voltage drop is the reason for this. Long time ago I ran an OD-1 off batteries and after a while it became fuzz-like as well. With alkaline batteries the fuzz period was much shorter. Alkaline batteries are supposed to hold their voltage longer and drop it quicker so that matches the observed behaviour from the pedal. I didn't much like the OD-1 fuzz though
It should be perfectly safe to drop the voltage. You could run into problems with switching the pedal on or off but I can't see anything breaking.
Voodoo Labs actually makes the Pedal Power 2+ which has power outlets for 8 pedals, then two additional outputs with adjustable voltages specifically for the "dying battery effect".
That's brilliant news, nice one. It just gives me a whole new avenue to explore. Haven't been able to give it a go as yet but i'll let you know how i get on.
That Voodoo Labs power supply looks like a stroke of genius!! It's such a shame it's not available over here in the UK. I'll have to keep looking.
Using reduced voltage on pedals
Posted - 04/12/2006 : 17:15:00
Haven't been able to give it a go as yet but i'll let you know how i get on.
I'll have to keep looking.