Powering my effects???

[ScottyQBass86]

So I'm looking to power all my effect pedals with one of those power supplies that can power like ten pedals. I'm checking musiciansfriend, and I found the Visual Sound 1 Spot, and I'm realizing that this would all work great if I actually knew if my pedals were negative barrel or not. Not really knowing what to do, I turn to talkbass (as always). Here's the 1 Spot:
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.c...ack?sku=150373

my effects:
black russian big muff (needs to be fixed, something's going really wrong with the bypass)
GGG green russian clone
3xFX Fatman V1
Catalinbread sft
tech 21 VT bass
3 Leaf Audio GR
EHX q-tron (I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to run this with it's own power supply)

so yeah, based on what more educated minds think, would the 1 spot work for all my pedals except the q-tron?

[SurferJoe46]

The 1-Spot I own is Positive barrel. There aren't very many Negative barrel stomps of which I am aware.

I have one old stomp that takes the small mono-audio jack-type connex, but that's about the only oddball I have.

If you get the 1-Spot you'll get a lot of adapters to go with it if you get the full-on version and it'll have the 9VDC battery connex that will go on the battery snap connector in the stomp, so if you have an oddball or two, you're covered there too.

Other than that - there's usually a small drawing near the stomp jack that shows the polarity.

I've run four stomps and my MXR di+ on my 1-Spot with no troubles.

[gjbassist]

There is a compatibility chart on the Visual Sound site:

http://www.visualsound.net/PDF/1SPOT...ilityChart.pdf

[xed]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but the 1spot is just a single power source that provides power through one long "chain". There's nothing wrong with that but you run the risk of having your pedals "dirty" up the power for the next pedals down the line. So if you have pedals hooked up A, B, C, D and E and pedal C dirties it up then pedal D and E will be effected even though there's nothing wrong with D and E.

That's the reason why the more expensive power units have multiple isolated outputs. You can run "isolated" power to each pedal without having to worry about the design of one pedal effecting the power going to the other pedals.

I know that many people run a 1spot with no issue at all. Just make sure that the total 1spot provides enough power for everything you're trying to run. This may or may not be an issue for you but I thought I would mention it.

[buglen]

Generally speaking, the inexpensive 1-Spot and GodLyke solutions should work fine for most newer boxes that use 9V DC.

Here's a few other things to consider about a daisy-chain solution beyond the negative barrel aspect:

• Power Draw - Each pedal will draw a certain amount of power (milliamps) from the available pool and some pedals are much more power hungry than others.
• Cross Chatter - This is a term I use to describe the condition where a particular pedal is dumping noise on to the ground of the daisy-chain power line.
• Power Conditioning - While the less expensive solutions offer decent power conditioning, there may be locations where the old wiring causes noise in your audio path.

If any of these things are of concern to you, you might want to go with a more robust and isolated power option.

Edit: Just saw that xed covered the same points as I did. That's what I get for not refreshing the topic before I post.

[slyjoe]

Originally Posted by xed

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but the 1spot is just a single power source that provides power through one long "chain".

OK

This part is true.

There's nothing wrong with that but you run the risk of having your pedals "dirty" up the power for the next pedals down the line. So if you have pedals hooked up A, B, C, D and E and pedal C dirties it up then pedal D and E will be effected even though there's nothing wrong with D and E.

Close. Although chained, the power is actually being fed to each pedal in parallel. A pedal can affect any pedal in the chain. Not just the "downstream" ones.

That's the reason why the more expensive power units have multiple isolated outputs. You can run "isolated" power to each pedal without having to worry about the design of one pedal effecting the power going to the other pedals.

I know that many people run a 1spot with no issue at all. Just make sure that the total 1spot provides enough power for everything you're trying to run. This may or may not be an issue for you but I thought I would mention it.

All true.

[JimmyM]

i've run as many as 9 pedals off a 1 spot. now i run 6. never had a problem. if you have a problem, get something else.

[bassbrad]

I am running 12 units of a 1 spot w/o any issues, all different makes and a couple that are notoriously demanding w/o any sag.

[ScottyQBass86]

alright alright this all helps. a couple more questions:
1 do we know what the tech 21 vt bass power is like? should i just get a tech 21 adapter or will the 1 spot work?
2 if a pedal isn't marked (the GGG kit, the 3xfx fatman), how do i find out what polarity it is? I looked inside the fatman, and it actually looks like it's made with DIY parts, which is pretty cool, and the GGG and fatman both look like they're using the same power adapter. how do i find out what it is?

[slyjoe]

1. The one spot will be fine.
2. When dealing with unknowns, I would suggest getting a cheap multimeter and measure the output of the power adapter that does work.

[MK1]

If you do need something different than the typical negative center barrel then you can get adapters for the one spot here.

[Jake of Bass]

Originally Posted by ScottyQBass86

alright alright this all helps. a couple more questions:
1 do we know what the tech 21 vt bass power is like? should i just get a tech 21 adapter or will the 1 spot work?
2 if a pedal isn't marked (the GGG kit, the 3xfx fatman), how do i find out what polarity it is? I looked inside the fatman, and it actually looks like it's made with DIY parts, which is pretty cool, and the GGG and fatman both look like they're using the same power adapter. how do i find out what it is?

1) I own a BDDI and PBD, they both don't use as much power as you might think. I can't remember the figure but I remember it wasn't a great deal for how powerfully it affects your tone. I'd imagine it would be the same for most of their pedals, including the VT.

2) Kinda relates to Q1. Might have to do a bit of digging but most manufacturers list their products' draw in their user manuals, which you can find online. Once you get all the mA rating on all your pedals, add them up and compare it with the mA rating of the power supply (I was looking at the 1 Spot myself a few hours ago, it supplies 1700 mA apparently, but it doesn't appear to come with an Australian pins to connect it to a power supply). They'll all need to be running at 9 volts, and if their mA draw is lower than the rating on the power supply you *should* be fine.

If I'm incorrect someone please correct me, but I think that's about right.

[derrico1]

The VT works just fine with a one spot. There's nothing magical about the Tech 21 power supply for the VT; the pedal will work with a standard Boss-style adapter.

[cheapbasslovin]

The black russian will need a 3.5 mm adapter for the one spot, the Qtron will need a 24v center positive supply.

I don't know anything about the fatman but the rest should be good. The usual caveats about isolated power apply.

[xed]

Originally Posted by slyjoe

Close. Although chained, the power is actually being fed to each pedal in parallel. A pedal can affect any pedal in the chain. Not just the "downstream" ones.

Ahh... I learned something new today. Cool.

[RobEmpire]

you should get a dc brick theyre much more reliable

[MR PC]

I've got a 1 Spot. Works well, I use it ***without*** the supplied daisy chain into a Pitchblack, and daisy the power thru that into a Demeter Comp. This is for my Bass VI.

The problems I've had with the 1 Spot are the daisy chain....you need to make sure the all of your connectors are locked down to the board (and of course your pedals too), otherwise they can flop around vibrate loose when you stomp 'em.

The 1 Spot is really just a single power supply with a detachable daisy chain. It's good qaulity. Just be sure to make solid connections. I like the price too.

But I prefer the Voodoo supply. Been using that for several years now. I like having a three prong AC power plug at the beginning of my signal chain. Much more expensive, though.

[JimmyM]

vt deluxe works with a 1 spot too.