DC Brick, Pedal Power II, or....other?

[guitlouie]

Well, I'm trying to build myself a pedal board.  Possibly two.  I'm trying to figure out if I should go with the DC Brick, or Voodoo Labs Pedal Power II for a power supply.  I was wondering If any of you guys have any firsthand experience with these, or even any other power supplies that maybe I haven't thought of.  What would you recomend, or not recomend.  Most of my pedals are Boss and Electro Harmonix, with a Crybaby and some oddball stuff thrown in.  Any input is welcome, I just have too much stuff to be bothering with these "daisy chain" deals anymore! 

 

[WMHOLP]

I have the Voodoo Labs PP II on my board.  I've been very happy with it; however, there are some pedals that prefer batteries.  A fine example would be my Beano Boost, or vintage fuzz effects.  Even with the voltage sag adjustment on the Pedal Power, my Beano Boost is rather noisy.  I'm sure an alkaline battery would solve that problem.  Never tried the brick, but I'm perfectly happy with the Voodoo Labs unit.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

I have the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power II also.  I haven't noticed any pedals sounding bad with it.  It does have a set of DIP switches on the bottom if you need to have the polarity flipped, and the two of eight leads that you can adjust the voltage on.  I do know that there is a DIY version, not as many frills, from General Guitar Gadgets that power four pedals.  From what I read, the Dunlop DC Brick does not isolate the grounds, so you can get noise transfer from that, but it also has three 18 V lines on it.  I really like the Voodoo 2, and don't require much more.  It is built like a tank, and I really don't ever think about power issues anymore.  That is really nice.
Patrick

 

[RLW]

I've got a Voodoo Labs PP, the first version. Seven years of plugging and unplugging effects, and it just roars on. No noise, no problems, no complaints. It performs as advertised, if not better.

 

[JamesL]

I have the Dulop power brick... I like it.. Works perfectly for me!

 

[Wyliee]

I use the Visual Sound OneSpot on my board.  They offer an multi-connector that is run beneath my pedals and I just plug the OneSpot in to that.  They offer a couple different adapters so you can even run battery only units or Line6 products on the same supply.  It has plenty of power at 1700mA.  No sag option though.

 

[jimh]

+1 for the OneSpot

 

[guitlouie]

Thanks everyone for the replies so far.  The Voodoo Labs PP seems to get the best reviews everywhere I look.  It's a bit pricier, but not by much.  I have looked into the One Spot, but have read that there is a noise issue with it, though it sounds like you guys have not had that problem, so maybe it's worth considering.  It certainly seems to be the most cost effective.  What I'm trying to do is build two pedal boards, one with my "never leave home without it" pedals, and one that has more of my auxillary, use once in a while stuff.  That way I can decide if a gig is worth dragging both to, or just the number one! 

 

[Patrick from Davis]

It really looks like any of them work well.  I hardly consider myself an expert, I only have used one, the Voodoo.  I do like it.  Anything to stop futzing with batteries.  But, if there is only one gripe on the boards about one pedal, and that could be the pedal not liking a power supply, then it seems to me that you can probably get any one of the power supplies and not worry about it.  My major factors for getting the Voodoo was good reviews and I just wanted it for no good reason.  The inner three year old said, "Dat one!" and that was the end of that.
Patrick

 

[guitlouie]

Your inner three year old and my inner three year old should get together and play, they sound like they would get along perfectly.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I use the Visual Sound OneSpot on my board.  They offer an multi-connector that is run beneath my pedals and I just plug the OneSpot in to that.  They offer a couple different adapters so you can even run battery only units or Line6 products on the same supply.  It has plenty of power at 1700mA.  No sag option though.

When you mention the Line 6 products, are you referring to their Tone Core effect pedals, and/or modeler pedals, the POD XT LIve, or other?

I'm just curious.  I'm trying to find a single power supply that will power my POD XT Live, Digitech Whammy, and my Shure wireless, & so far, the answer I'm getting is that the POD XT Live requires AC power & none of these units offer that.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

The Pedal Power II has an AC out on it.  It is not for pulling the power needed for an amp, but if you have a wall wart driven pedal that has unique power demands that cannot be met by 9 or less volts, you can use it.  I think it was put there because of the Whammy pedal's power requirements, but that is a fuzzy memory, not fact.
Patrick

 

[Wyliee]

I use the Visual Sound OneSpot on my board.  They offer an multi-connector that is run beneath my pedals and I just plug the OneSpot in to that.  They offer a couple different adapters so you can even run battery only units or Line6 products on the same supply.  It has plenty of power at 1700mA.  No sag option though.

When you mention the Line 6 products, are you referring to their Tone Core effect pedals, and/or modeler pedals, the POD XT LIve, or other?

I'm just curious.  I'm trying to find a single power supply that will power my POD XT Live, Digitech Whammy, and my Shure wireless, & so far, the answer I'm getting is that the POD XT Live requires AC power & none of these units offer that.

I have the MM4 modeler on my pedalboard and it works just fine.  I've also used it with the FM4.  Visual Sound does specifically caution against using the OneSpot and more than one of the ToneCore pedals.

 

[shanejw]

I've got an SKB 45 and i couldnt be more happy with it