Daisy Chain from a Power Supply?

[kesslari]

Let's say I have a six port power supply and 7 pedals.
Do I need an additional (or larger) power supply or can I run a daisy chain off one of the ports?

 

[mmbongo]

Should be able to daisy chain.

What power supply specifically?

 

[bassbrad]

Sure lots of us still use daisy chains all the time with no issues at all.

 

[HalfManHalfBass]

Yes, the only problem is if you exceed the power output rating for that particular socket or if one or both of the 2 pedals to share power require very high power (for example a digital pedal). This can result in a whining noise / background noise.

The best way is to read online the two pedals' power requirements, make sure when added together they don't exceed the output rating for the socket you're using and then just try it. Some pedals when chained play nicely together, (even certain digital ones) and many don't.

There's no way of knowing until you try a particular combination but a general rule of thumb is to only chain analogue pedals like overdrives and compression. Good luck!

 

[gfen]

Voltage is constant, if the supply gives 9v, it's always 9v. Milliamperes are how much you can pull out. If the port on your supply puts out 9v/100mA and you have three pedal that need 9v/45mA, 9v/25mA, and 9v/15mA then you can split the output across three, as the total consumption is 9v/85mA for all three.

If, however, your pedals are 9v/45mA, 9v/45mA, and 9v/15mA then you cannot. Your total draw is 9v/105mA and your supply only puts out 100mA max, you're over drawing.

Often times those power numbers are peak, at idle they're drawing less. Maybe in that second scenario all three work jsut fine when plugged in and not engaged, but when you press 'em all one suddenly you're askign too much and things will stop functioning.

 

[lfmn16]

Not exactly the same thing but I looked into this not too long ago. I checked how much power my wall wart provided and tried to check how much power my pedals consumed. Finding out how much they consumed was a little hard. I was surprised that some of the boutique pedal makers were not very forthcoming. Even one I had bought 6 or 7 pedals from. I guess once they get your money you're no longer of use to them. Although I have an isolated power supply now, in all the years I used pedals with a wall wart I have never had a problem, however, I rarely have more than 2 or 3 pedals on at once.

 

[chadhargis]

Besides making sure the combined load won't exceed the mA output of the plug, you also want to make sure that the pedals "play" well together. Some pedals will send noise down the power cable. It will manifest itself in your signal. That's why isolated power supplies are so desirable.

 

[kesslari]

This is all extremely helpful. Thanks all!

 

[Spidey2112]

Pretty good article...

Guitar Pedal Power Demystified | Sweetwater

 

[gfen]

Besides making sure the combined load won't exceed the mA output of the plug, you also want to make sure that the pedals "play" well together. Some pedals will send noise down the power cable. It will manifest itself in your signal. That's why isolated power supplies are so desirable.

From what I understand, you see this most often with digital pedals and drive pedals in general, and then there's something about ground loops that may, or may not, be the issue with drive pedals (or maybe all).

I have a Voodoo Labs ISO5. The 4 9v ports are usualyl split across ~7 pedals, IIRC.

 

[PJFlatts]

Cioks DC10 Link has a really cool feature allowing you to measure current draw by a pedal. Awesome power supplies. (No affiliation with Cioks or vendor, but appreciation for both.)

Invalid Link Removed

 

[chadhargis]

I run a Cioks DC5 (mounted under the board) and have each pedal on a dedicated plug. My preamp also has a 9v output, so I have run pedal running off of it.

 

[TheLowDown33]

The problem with linking digital pedals with analog is usually associated with clock noise, specifically for modulation and delays/reverbs. Simple trial and error will tell you if it works or not, assuming the power requirements are met

 

[Spent]

I run my entire board with one power supply, my pedals don’t draw much current. Makes set up easy, less messy and less noisy.

 

[Slevage]

Not exactly the same thing but I looked into this not too long ago. I checked how much power my wall wart provided and tried to check how much power my pedals consumed. Finding out how much they consumed was a little hard. I was surprised that some of the boutique pedal makers were not very forthcoming. Even one I had bought 6 or 7 pedals from. I guess once they get your money you're no longer of use to them. Although I have an isolated power supply now, in all the years I used pedals with a wall wart I have never had a problem, however, I rarely have more than 2 or 3 pedals on at once.

What’s the current rating of the wall wart supplied with the pedal? It’s likely not more than 75% of that rating.
Want to be safe, use 100%.
More available current than needed is money in the bank.

 

[Nev375]

I'm running all this off of a single OneSpot without noise issues..
... Well, except the Amplite of course.

All analog except the Nimbus.