Looking to expand pedal power supply

[Ronky]

I currently have 10 pedals on my board plugged into a Truetone 1 SPOT PRO CS6. I have 2 separate daisy-chains to plug in 4 of the 10 pedals I'm getting noise from one of the pedals, and I think the easiest solution would be to expand my power by adding another pedal power supply (smaller 4 or 5 output unit).

I'm looking for any suggestions on which to power supply to add, currently looking at the CIOKS 4 ($118). Or is expanding a bad idea and I should just replace the power supply with a larger unit?

 

[Adagietto]

My bass board has a CIOKS DC7. Should I outgrow that, it has a 24V bus to chain expansion units. Both CIOKS and Strymon have these buses, and I understand that one can mix and match brands.

 

[Smurf-o-Deth]

One thing to keep in mind is that Cioks uses different cables than the Truetone. I do prefer the Cioks power supplies (the Truetone supplies don’t always play nice with some pedals, like Darkglass, but the Cioks supplies don’t have these issues), and as mentioned above, the future power generation series of supplies have a whole ecosystem that is well designed. The DC7 can link to power the expanders to add either four or eight more fully isolated, variable voltage slots. Also, Sweetwater is running a 15% off sale on all things a Cioks right now, so it’s a good time to purchase if you are so inclined.

 

[Ronky]

One thing to keep in mind is that Cioks uses different cables than the Truetone. I do prefer the Cioks power supplies (the Truetone supplies don’t always play nice with some pedals, like Darkglass, but the Cioks supplies don’t have these issues), and as mentioned above, the future power generation series of supplies have a whole ecosystem that is well designed. The DC7 can link to power the expanders to add either four or eight more fully isolated, variable voltage slots. Also, Sweetwater is running a 15% off sale on all things a Cioks right now, so it’s a good time to purchase if you are so inclined.

I didn't notice you had to plug in the CIOKS 4 into another CIOKS power supply .

Maybe I should just get another Trutone CS6? Thoughts?

 

[Smurf-o-Deth]

I didn't notice you had to plug in the CIOKS 4 into another CIOKS power supply .

That’s not true. It can be powered by just about anything, including a 5v USB C wall wart (or battery pack). It is very flexible. I use a one spot to power mine most of the time.

Here’s the chart from the manual:

 

[Adagietto]

Maybe I should just get another Trutone CS6? Thoughts?

Several years ago I made a clean break from the past and bought a Zuma for my guitar board. When I go over the limit, I can add an extension unit without a second power cable.

When I started on bass, I took what I learned from the Zuma, what I liked and what I thought could be improved, and went with a DC7. One thing that is consistent is that both support extension units.

Between the CS6, the Zuma, and the DC7, the DC7 includes 15V, and all voltages are available on all taps. If one swaps pedals and voltages around much,it's the most flexible and easy to use.

Another solution might be to keep the CS6 and re-think the daisy-chaining. IME virtually all low-current analog pedals can go on a single chain. I may have about seven pedals chained on one tap of my Zuma. There's no interference or noise, and turning them all on at once might use about 1/3 of the available current. Also, one can daisy-chain more complex pedals, but some testing may be in order, trial and error.

 

[mouthmw]

(the Truetone supplies don’t always play nice with some pedals, like Darkglass, but the Cioks supplies don’t have these issues)

I've been using Truetone CS7 for over 5 years. During that time I've had VMT, B3K v2, B7K v2, Alpha Omega and now finally Vintage Deluxe v3 on my board. Never a single issue. I've had 3 of them on my board at the same time for testing purposes, zero issues. What kind of issues do you mean anyways? I run my Vintage Deluxe isolated from one of the CS7 taps, but I've had VMT daisy chained before and never had any issues and zero unwanted noise. CS7 is still going strong.

 

[Smurf-o-Deth]

I've been using Truetone CS7 for over 5 years. During that time I've had VMT, B3K v2, B7K v2, Alpha Omega and now finally Vintage Deluxe v3 on my board. Never a single issue. I've had 3 of them on my board at the same time for testing purposes, zero issues. What kind of issues do you mean anyways? I run my Vintage Deluxe isolated from one of the CS7 taps, but I've had VMT daisy chained before and never had any issues and zero unwanted noise. CS7 is still going strong.

Any of the Darkglass pedals with digital elements that I tried with my CS6 had glitchy performance that I did not experience with Cioks power supplies: on power-up, they would freak out and be non-functioning, requiring a second, individual power cycling (by unplugging them from the CS6, then plugging them back in) to rectify.

 

[mouthmw]

Any of the Darkglass pedals with digital elements that I tried with my CS6 had glitchy performance that I did not experience with Cioks power supplies: on power-up, they would freak out and be non-functioning, requiring a second, individual power cycling (by unplugging them from the CS6, then plugging them back in) to rectify.

I see, I haven’t tried any of their digital offerings, nor the Ultra series. I’ve heard the Ultra series can have a noisy cab sim too. Their analog pedals don’t have any issues though.

 

[Grahams Groove]

Any of the Darkglass pedals with digital elements that I tried with my CS6 had glitchy performance that I did not experience with Cioks power supplies: on power-up, they would freak out and be non-functioning, requiring a second, individual power cycling (by unplugging them from the CS6, then plugging them back in) to rectify.

Same exact issue with my CS6 on my small board. Only 6 pedals on the board, so I am not daisy-chaining anything. When I plug in the power supply, the unit powers up and the power light on my RB flashes. I have to unplug and re-connect the power cable going to the RB, and then everything functions perfectly. Still, it's every time you plug it in. So I'm used to it, but it's inconvenient. My big/main board has a Strymon Zuma, and I have no such issues with the pedals on there, including the Rusty Box.