Newbie pedalboard question

[KaiserSoze]

Last night I finally put all my pedals on a board instead of just taking the few I need.  I use a Spot and found that when I add the fifth pedal to the chain I lose most of the volume on my amp. 

All the pedals power up and work individually and I verified that the cables all work, but when I add that fifth pedal, no matter which one it is, I lose the volume/power.  What do I need to fully power these pedals? I really have six I'd like to use.  Different power supply?

If it matters, the chain is: guitar>tuner>Soul Food>Wampler Ace Thirty>Catalinbread F56>OCD>amp

 

[stratamania]

Here's a link to a decent power unit.

http://www.voodoolab.com/pedalpower_2.htm

Have a browse of the site they have some useful things for pedal boards.

 

[Cagey]

Also, I don't know that it's an issue here, but sometimes when you get into larger numbers of pedals or long cable runs you need to feed them a little differently due to impedance issues. So, there are devices called "buffers" that are used to put some beef behind your guitar signal so it can drive things. Not an amp or gain stage or anything like that, just something that makes your signal line stiffer.

 

[croquet hoop]

Check the power draw (in amperes, or hopefully in milliamperes) of your pedals (if you don't have a multimeter, check their spec sheets), and check that the total power draw of your six pedals don't exceed what your power supply can provide.

 

[KaiserSoze]

Good suggestions, thanks guys.  Would a power supply like the Voodoo take care of all those potential issues anyway?  Because I had considered getting one eventually and its probably a worthwhile investment.

 

[Cagey]

If adding a pedal is causing a current draw heavy enough to drop the voltage to where the pedals are underpowered, your existing power supply is going to burn up. Replace it now, before something dreadful happens.

As for the buffering issue, that may or may not be a problem. Once you have enough power to keep everything up, if you don't have signal quality issues, you may not need it.

 

[croquet hoop]

The Voodoo looks like a good buy if you plan on using pedals often. Linear power, isolated outputs... if you were considering getting one, go for it.

 

[KaiserSoze]

As usual y'all were correct.  Last night I assembled my board and mounted the Voodoo unit with my fav pedals.  Not only did it solve my power issue but the whole rig sounds noticeably better.  Should have done this long ago  :doh:

 

[stratamania]

:icon_thumright:

 

[croquet hoop]

That's nice to hear!

 

[drewfx]

I use One Spots with no problems, but most of my pedals are analog. Analog pedals, especially OD/distorion/fuzz pedals draw almost nothing. Digital pedals typically draw ten times as much or more.

 

[stratamania]

Yes, One Spots are fine for less power draw, and can be a quick and simple solution. It's horses for courses really.

 

[croquet hoop]

I use One Spots with no problems, but most of my pedals are analog. Analog pedals, especially OD/distorion/fuzz pedals draw almost nothing. Digital pedals typically draw ten times as much or more.

True, but there is power draw, and then there is ripple. Sometimes you can be fine with powering several daisy-chained pedals at once with the same power supply, but sometimes one pedal will intruduce ripple and mess with the sound of other pedals; this is where you need a PSU with isolated outputs, with which the ripple produced by a fussy pedal won't be carried on to others plugged on the same unit (but on a different outlet).