power supply question

[Petros-J]

Hi everyone!

So, I have a 8 pedals (all of them 9V) on a PedalTrain. First pedal on 1st line is Boss TU-2 and on 2nd line is Boss LS-2. Both can supply other pedals. So I'm using 2 Boss PSA adaptors of 250 mA each for 8 pedals and a friend told me that I might have a problem cause I need more than 250 mA for 4 pedals.
Is he right? And if yes, please reccomend me a power supply that's suitable for Boss, Sansamp, ProCo and EHX(nano) pedals.

Thanx in advance!

[warwick.hoy]

Well,...some BOSS pedals may draw as little as 15mA. What you need to do is find out the current draw of each pedal and add it up. If the sum of the current draw needed by the pedals exceeds the output rating of the powersupply then you won't have enough juice to power the pedals. Seeing as you are using 2 power supplies,...you will likely have some room to work.

The courtesy outlets on the LS-2 and the TU-2 is essentially a daisy chains (like a 1spot; just implemented differently). Running up to four pedals off of one PSA adapter will require you to daisy chain anyway.

You might also look into the newer BOSS PSA 120s which will supply up to 500 mA. I'm not sure if that is available in 220v Europlug or whatever the standard is for Greece.

Now,...if that EHX Nano pedal that you are using is positive ground (AKA Center Positive,...which is not the BOSS Standard) then you will have to run it either on a battery,...or an isolated power supply,...either with one of the high dollar powersupplies (IE Voodoo Labs PPII+ et al) or on it's own wall wart (did it come with one?)

If you are having difficulty discovering them; Check here for Current Draws:

The Power List [source: Stinkfoot]

[warwick.hoy]

To clarify the courtesy outlets on the LS-2 and the TU-2. What I would do; provided that your current draws jive and that Nano isn't positive ground,...is power the LS-2 and the TU-2 off of the separate powersupplies,...then run two separate daisy chains off of each of the courtesy outlets on the two Boss Pedals.

Keep in mind to factor in the current needed to run the LS-2 and the TU-2 into your equations.

The daisy chain cables can be sourced from BOSS, Godlyke, Visual Sound (1spot),...and I'm sure a bunch of others (maybe Diago)

This is a Daisy Chain (just in case you didn't know,...you know):

[Petros-J]

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

To clarify the courtesy outlets on the LS-2 and the TU-2. What I would do; provided that your current draws jive and that Nano isn't positive ground,...is power the LS-2 and the TU-2 off of the separate powersupplies,...then run two separate daisy chains off of each of the courtesy outlets on the two Boss Pedals.

Keep in mind to factor in the current needed to run the LS-2 and the TU-2 into your equations.

The daisy chain cables can be sourced from BOSS, Godlyke, Visual Sound (1spot),...and I'm sure a bunch of others (maybe Diago)

This is a Daisy Chain (just in case you didn't know,...you know):

thanks mate!
thats the daisy chain I curently use.
i tried to see the mA of my boss pedals on the back but couldnt find much. I think i have their boxes somewhere I have to find them.
Now for the EHX nano. Its a LPB-1 booster. where can I see if it is Center Positive and what is that?
what about the VT Bass? is it ok to work with my PSAs?

thanx again

[warwick.hoy]

The stinkfoot article: "Power List" link in my first post is a good resource to find out current draws on most pedals on the market.

The LBP-1 Nano appears to be the BOSS standard (9v Center Negative or Negative Ground).

I'm not sure why EHX went with center positive on some of their nano pedals. But if you try to power something like the Nano Clone of the Bass Blogger on a daisy chain with other pedals in it,...the whole chain will die and you may be at risk of damaging pedals in the chain. I think because there is one pedal that is reverse polarity (Center Positive) from the rest of the pedals; it shorts the chain,...albeit that is with a limited understanding of polarity and electricity on my end (I'm still learning).

I could only power info on the VT Bass Deluxe and it would appear to be the boss standard so provided that your PSA has enough juice (mA) it should be fine. I ran a Programmable Bass Driver DI (the 3 channel one) off a PSA knock off (Danelctro) and it worked just fine. By all accounts the PBDDI draws 5 mA (according to Stinkfoot).

[warwick.hoy]

One thing I realized while on my way to work (and away from my computer). To determine a pedal's polarity,...look for either one of these symbols on your pedal.



This symbol should also appear on the wall wart/powersupply.

The one thing I've noticed is that EHX is usually pretty good about disclosing that a pedal that can't be used in a daisy chain. The Nano Clone I owned was clearly marked.

This photo of the top edge of a Nano Clone I found just by doing a google image search:

[Steveaux]

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

To clarify the courtesy outlets on the LS-2 and the TU-2. What I would do; provided that your current draws jive and that Nano isn't positive ground,...is power the LS-2 and the TU-2 off of the separate powersupplies,...then run two separate daisy chains off of each of the courtesy outlets on the two Boss Pedals.

Keep in mind to factor in the current needed to run the LS-2 and the TU-2 into your equations.

The daisy chain cables can be sourced from BOSS, Godlyke, Visual Sound (1spot),...and I'm sure a bunch of others (maybe Diago)

This is a Daisy Chain (just in case you didn't know,...you know):

You have to use the BOSS daisy chain cable with the LS-2 & TU-2.

The BOSS cable has all Female ends. The Godlyke, Visual (1spot), etc. start the daisy chain with a Male end.

[warwick.hoy]

Originally Posted by Steveaux

You have to use the BOSS daisy chain cable with the LS-2 & TU-2.

The BOSS cable has all Female ends. The Godlyke, Visual (1spot), etc. start the daisy chain with a Male end.

My Bad, but that make sense.

[Steveaux]

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

My Bad, but that make sense.

Well, come to think on it, you could use the female ends on the Godlyke/Visual and leave the male end loose.

[warwick.hoy]

Originally Posted by Steveaux

Well, come to think on it, you could use the female ends on the Godlyke/Visual and leave the male end loose.

Pffft,...that's for amateurs.

[BassMonstrum]

If you have the option of mounting a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 plus or a BBE Supa-Charger under your Pedaltrain I would rather do that. I don't know if you have any noise problems due to ground hum, but if so an isolated powersupply would help.