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rickyfella
Copper Member
United Kingdom
2 Posts |
 Posted - 02/08/2007 : 16:30:33
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what's the best, and cheapest way I can safely and effectively power my 6 boss pedals with one adaptor. I don't wanna lose any power while doing so. I've got a boss trem, tu-2, blues driver, phaser, flanger and dd-3. Also I've got two proco rat 2 pedals which have a different power input that i'd like to somehow get into the power supply and proco don't make any adaptors...?
thanks |
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Dirk
Platinum Member
Netherlands
1309 Posts |
Posted - 02/08/2007 : 16:57:49
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You want 2 things there my friend, best and cheap 
The cheapest is off course to use a single adaptor with a daisy chain to power all the Boss pedals at once.
With all the humming and extra noise that comes with it and it still doesn't solve powering of your Rat pedals.
A better way (and more expensive) is to purchase an adaptor with multiple isolated outputs such as the Dunlop DC brick, the Voodoo labs pedal power and a few others.
For the Rat pedals you just have to solder a bunch of new power leads, or have someone do it for you.
Good luck with it and keep us posted. |
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rickyfella
Copper Member
United Kingdom
2 Posts |
Posted - 02/08/2007 : 17:15:56
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Thanks Dirk. Yeah i was checking the dunlop bricks out yesterday cos that's what proco recommended to me but didn't really wanna shell out �80 or whatever they were going for on eBay...but I suppose you only get what you pay for...!  |
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mattoqua
Silver Member
Canada
438 Posts |
Posted - 02/08/2007 : 21:31:16
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What works for me is 2 Boss PSA-20s. I power 16 boss pedals and a crybaby off of them
I use a daisy chain on each of the adaptors, then I have 2 PCS-20As so that i can power some more out of my TU-2 and NS-2.
Just look out for the current draw from each pedal. PSAs give 200mA. Make sure all the pedals current draw taking from that adaptor dont exceed that. |
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omikl
Copper Member
Malaysia
17 Posts |
Posted - 02/14/2008 : 15:23:39
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I have to confess that I've given up on Boss adapters apart from the one in my BCB-60. I had two die in six months.
Anyhow, my most awkward pedal board contains:
Cry Baby, Vintage RAT, Drivetrain II, Korg G4 and Ibanez UM-10 tuner. I used to use two power supplies with that lot to avoid humming, but I doscovered that the Daneceltro Zero Hum adapter would handle the lot through a single daisy chain with no problems. I made my own adapter for the RAT. |
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August West
Bronze Member
USA
137 Posts |
Posted - 02/14/2008 : 16:54:06
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| Like the previous poster I power my four pedals from my BCB-60 which includes one power supply and the daisy chaining cords. I have not had any ground loop problems with it at all. If I recall the BCB power supply is rated to 1000 mA so you'd have to check your pedals to see if this is enough. |
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omikl
Copper Member
Malaysia
17 Posts |
Posted - 02/15/2008 : 01:03:18
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Currently I run 8 devices from my BCB-60's power supply. 6 stomp boxes and a tuner in the BCB-60 and the Jim Dunlop wah/volume that I hang off the side of it. I just attached a second daisy chain cable to the end of the BCB-60's daisy chain.
I do get some earthing type issues with the first board I mentioned. The Korg G4 and the RAT interact in such a way that if the RAT's on there's a low level whoosh & whistle noise coming out of the G4 at whatever rate the G4's set to, irrespective of whether it's in bypass mode or not. It's not noticeable at gig levels though. I think this problem comes about because the earthing on the RAT is on the positive side of the supply voltage whereas the other pedals or earthed to the negative side and that's ;eading to some funny earth loops through the audio hook up cables. Not a big enough issue to worry about though.
However, when I tried to hook up these pedals using an unearthed power supply and daisy chain it buzzed like mad. |
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jaymzHal
Silver Member
United Kingdom
297 Posts |
Posted - 02/16/2008 : 15:28:16
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| I recommend the Carl Martin Big John, it's really fantastic, although limited to 9v outputs. Some psu's allow you to select the output or have a running down battery type effect, I think the Voodoo labs one does that. |
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Boogieman
Copper Member
29 Posts |
Posted - 02/17/2008 : 00:14:32
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ProCo used to have their own AC adapter for their Rat series pedals and the R2DU rack unit. The model number is RPS-1. I have a R2DU which came with it. That one's plug was starting to come apart a few years ago, so I ordered one from Musician's Friends as a spare.
Having said that, there are loads of alternatives to it, so don't despair if you can't find the RPS-1. I don't know if ProCo had discontinued it or not. |
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stinkfoot
Silver Member
Sweden
181 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2008 : 14:35:18
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quote:
Originally posted by Dirk
A better way (and more expensive) is to purchase an adaptor with multiple isolated outputs such as the Dunlop DC brick...
Just a clarification - the DC Brick does not have isolated outputs. It's a common ground supply with 375mA max current from the 9vDC jacks, and a further 625mA from the 18vDC jacks.
I'd use two separate power supplies, to help with ground loop issues. One for the dirt pedals (the RATs will need 2.1mm -> 3.5mm converters, but other than that they should power up just fine) and another for the modulation/delay pedals.
/Andreas |
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stinkfoot
Silver Member
Sweden
181 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2008 : 14:36:56
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quote:
Originally posted by omikl
I do get some earthing type issues with the first board I mentioned. The Korg G4 and the RAT interact in such a way that if the RAT's on there's a low level whoosh & whistle noise coming out of the G4 at whatever rate the G4's set to, irrespective of whether it's in bypass mode or not.
I have a G4, and ended up using the supplied Korg adapter for it. Mine didn't want to play nice with any other supply, so I'd simply use the Korg adapter and be done with it. Lovely pedal, though! 
quote:
Originally posted by omikl
I think this problem comes about because the earthing on the RAT is on the positive side of the supply voltage whereas the other pedals or earthed to the negative side and that's ;eading to some funny earth loops through the audio hook up cables. Not a big enough issue to worry about though.
Nah, that's not it. If RAT were positive ground, you'd get nothing at all when daisy-chaining it. The power would simply short out. I'm guessing the noise is simply the G4's way of saying "I want my own power supply", and the reason it's coming through the RAT is because it's a simple distortion pedal. Irregularities in the DC power tend to shine through in simple devices, and the fact that it is a distortion pedal (which in itself can be noisy) doesn't help...
Give the G4 its own power source, and everything should be dandy.
/Andreas |
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Dirk
Platinum Member
Netherlands
1309 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2008 : 16:56:15
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quote:
Originally posted by stinkfoot
Just a clarification - the DC Brick does not have isolated outputs. It's a common ground supply with 375mA max current from the 9vDC jacks, and a further 625mA from the 18vDC jacks.
Ok, I see.
But at a side note something I noticed, my optoplus modded CS-3 hums on an old ACA adaptor, but on a PSA it's dead quiet.
Any thoughts on that one?
Is it a wise decision to ditch all the ACA's, buy all new PSA's instead and mod all old pedals to PSA style powering? Which off course involves replacing a diode and a resistor with a jumper. |
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stinkfoot
Silver Member
Sweden
181 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2008 : 18:55:49
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Pedals will sometimes hum when powered from an unregulated adapter (like the ACA), so yes, using a PSA (regulated) adapter might do the trick.
Old (pre 1997) ACA pedals powered from a PSA adapter will need to be modified to work properly, yes. Unless they are powered through a daisy chain/common ground power supply, with at least one regular PSA pedal in the chain - in that case, they will receive full power anyway.
/Andreas |
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2008 : 21:37:34
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Sort of off topic a little bit,but i needed one of the boss daisy chains a while back so i went into a music shop in the city,the only one the shop had was an 8 gang chain rather than the normal 5 way one...i pointed out to the assistant that the 8 pedal one couldn't be connected to a boss adapter as i doesn't have the little barrel connector for the incoming power off an adapter but has to come off a pedal like an LS-2 or TU-2 etc... he then tried to sell me the tuner pedal and told me boss did't make the 5 way daisy chains anymore..... when i pointed out to him that the tuner is only a link and wouldn't boost the power to fire up 8 boss pedals he looked a bit 'put out' and of course a couple more of the muppets behind the counter came over to tell me how wrong i was... i had a fair idea of the amount of power it takes to power all my boss pedals (thanks andreas... ) from a link stinkfoot supplied a while back..so i went to a local electronic shop about 5 mins walk away and found what i was looking for on the shelf for a couple of euro...so i bought two just in case ..... the point i'm making is do a little research if your not sure,some of these guys in music shops would try to sell you stuff you don't want or really need..... |
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stinkfoot
Silver Member
Sweden
181 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2008 : 16:19:24
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This is true - Boss no longer sell a regular daisy chain. Their chains have all male plugs (to fit the power through jack on their "power" pedals). Luckily, there are still other manufacturers who are on the ball. If you're in the UK, Maplin has one that isn't too expensive. And the big german music stores (Thomann, Musik Produktiv etc) all carry daisy chains under various brand names (Collins, Sssnake etc). There's no real quality difference there, so don't worry that it isn't a Boss item. And if you want right-angle plugs, Visual Sound has one that fits the bill.
/Andreas |
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2008 : 22:01:27
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quote:
Originally posted by stinkfoot
This is true - Boss no longer sell a regular daisy chain. Their chains have all male plugs (to fit the power through jack on their "power" pedals). Luckily, there are still other manufacturers who are on the ball. If you're in the UK, Maplin has one that isn't too expensive. And the big german music stores (Thomann, Musik Produktiv etc) all carry daisy chains under various brand names (Collins, Sssnake etc). There's no real quality difference there, so don't worry that it isn't a Boss item. And if you want right-angle plugs, Visual Sound has one that fits the bill.
/Andreas
thats exactly where i got it,in maplins.... and we do a good bit of business with thomann as well for stuff for the band,we have a new lighting rig on the way as we speak...the right angle version by visual sound is handy to know about especially when it sometimes can get a bit tight on the pedalboard......thanks...... |
Edited by - FRANZONI on 02/26/2008 22:02:56 |
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adaptors
