TU-2 power?

[chatpiece13]

so how does it work?
do u plug a power supply into it and run a daisy chain out of another input?

cheers lads

[Foamy]

Yes.
BOSS sells a daisy chain of power plugs, and so does One Spot (cheaper, and as good). One note on a typo - the daisy chain would come out of an "output" - but I think they are in parallel anyhow so this is just a technicality.

[niftydog]

If I understand your question, yes. It is for all intents and purposes just two DC sockets wired in parallel - which is a glorified daisy chain.

I never understood why they bothered to include this almost useless "feature" and I've NEVER seen the appropriate daisy chain cable ANYWHERE, EVER! (ie; it's gotta be all male plugs, unlike a normal daisy chain that has one female socket.)

[niftydog]

I take it back, the cable (PCS-20A) is shown on the Boss website. Wow... AUS$20 is the going rate on eBay! That's twice the generic daisy chain price!

So, revision of statement; Never seen one in person, never seen a Boss brand daisy chain of any variety.

[Jazz Ad]

I think all pedals should have 2 plugs like this.
It's not like it takes much room on the circuit.

[Gambisk]

I paid £5 for my daisy chain and have powered all my pedals form it scince then, I even modifed my stovek big muff to take a boss style power socket. Just plug the power into the middle socket on the TU-2 then plug the daisy chain into the other one and power up the entire board for under £40 and you get a handy tuner all much cheaper than a DC brick or similar multi power suply

[smo]

So - just cos I'm curious here - (I've got one of these too)

If we have a germanium transistor fuzz/OD etc, like a MI Audio NEO Fuzz for example, that has a reverse polarity issue could it be a way of getting around this problem?
I.E. Other boss-type pedals shut down if connected in a chain with it - but on it's own it's just fine on a normal power supply

[speak_onion]

I used to use my TU2 as a power supply, but once I got serioius about effects and had so many that it warranted a board, I found that the Boss Daisy chain has only enough space for Boss sized effects squeezed right up against each other. If you have a non-Boss or if you (like me) keep your effects far enough away from each other to avoid your giant feet pressing them all at once and to allow unplugging without board removal, the Boss daisy chain is too short.

Check out the One Spot or Godlyke Power-All.

[fishtx]

Also, I found that it doesn't work well with all pedal manufacturers gear. It works OK if you are stringing Boss pedals together, but with some others I started having noise problems. Just keep that in mind when you start hooking other pedals to it...

[Liko]

Originally Posted by speak_onion

I used to use my TU2 as a power supply, but once I got serioius about effects and had so many that it warranted a board, I found that the Boss Daisy chain has only enough space for Boss sized effects squeezed right up against each other. If you have a non-Boss or if you (like me) keep your effects far enough away from each other to avoid your giant feet pressing them all at once and to allow unplugging without board removal, the Boss daisy chain is too short.

Check out the One Spot or Godlyke Power-All.

Guess I'm not serious about effects I set my board up as a single row of 5 pedals (tuner, limiter, compressor, OD, chorus), all BOSS, with right-angle plugs and the pedals set as closely as possible, and run a daisy-chain from the TU-2 to all the other pedals. Works just fine for me, except I'm considering adding a Line6 reverb to the chain, but to do so would require a longer board or ditching another effect.

[fishtx]

If you add a Line 6 pedal, it will require a separate power supply as well...Line 6 is one of the other brands I was referring to.

[speak_onion]

Originally Posted by Liko

Guess I'm not serious about effects

Come on, that's not what I meant. I meant when I had 3 pedals (one was a tuner) it worked ok, and then I got more effects because I was really into it and TU2 power didn't work FOR ME anymore. Maybe I shouldn't have used the word serious.

I don't mean you have to have lots of pedals or a board or a One Spot to be serious. I'm just talking about me (which, incidentally, is my favorite thing to talk about).

I know you put a smiley, but I just want to be clear.

[JanusZarate]

Here's my two cents on the Boss approach to a daisy chain, after using it myself back when I first picked up a bass:

• It's really impractical for those using more than Boss pedals. The daisy chain plug spacing is so short, it is essentially only good for a chain of Boss pedals, and nothing else.
• It's limited to the power you're getting out of the adapter plugged into the TU-2 or NS-2... and most people make the "mistake" of buying the Boss PSA-120 (only 300mA). If you're only using a few Boss pedals, it's not an issue, but the more pedals you own, the more likely you'll be short on power.
• The daisy chain allows no room for expansion; if you get more pedals than the chain has plugs for, you'll need another pedal with a DC-out jack.
• The plugs are straight on the Boss daisy chain; right-angle plugs are far more practical and space-saving.
• Something like the Visual Sound 1 Spot provides up to 1700mA of regulated power - that's 1400mA more than is available with a PSA-120.
• The 1 Spot daisy chain is long and features right-angle plugs, allowing for a variety of possible pedal arrangements.
• The 1 Spot daisy chain has a female jack, to allow you to hook it up directly into the 1 Spot, or even into another daisy chain to power more pedals.
• The 1 Spot system offers a variety of adapter plugs to work with pedals not using the typical Boss jack.

The Godlyke Powerall is pretty much the same thing as the 1 Spot; the differences between 1 Spot and Powerall are moot points (except for the surprising price difference). Personally, I find the Powerall more cumbersome because the plugs are usually straight unless you buy their right-angle adapter plugs separately.

And that's not even considering the power supply bricks out there like the Dunlop DC Brick, Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus, etc. - those are a different scenario altogether, and worth reading about if you haven't heard of them.

IMHO, forget about using the TU-2/Boss daisy chain setup unless all you own is a handful of Boss pedals.

[fishtx]

Well said Boo...

[niftydog]

Originally Posted by smo

...has a reverse polarity issue... could it be a way of getting around this problem?

The dual power socket is nothing more than a two-way daisy chain. If a problem exists when using a daisy chain, then the dual socket will NOT rectify it.

[smo]

Okay - cheers mate, just thought I'd ask.

[SteveC]

I use the TU-2 and power my BBE Opto Stomp with it as well. I can also power my Boss Chorus and MXR Phase 90 if needed. Never had any power issues. Yeah, the things are tightly spaced for Boss pedals, but it is a Boss thing. I just skip one plug if I need lore space. No big deal. I don't use a pedal board, just take what I need for the gig so it's never really been an issue.

If I were going to do a really advanced pedal board, I may use a different power source, but for simple rigs, it works fine.

[syciprider]

The TU2 does not provide power. It can serve as an expensive daisy chain though.