Power Conditioner

[casonwood]

So I just bought this fantastic MXR Bass Fuzz Deluxe pedal which didn't come with a power conditioner. I searched the house to see what I could find and found one that is 9v DC and 500 mA. The pedal came with a note saying that it needs a 9v DC adapter with a minimum current rating of 20 mA. Normally since 500 mA is more than 20 mA I'd plug and play . My significant other pointed out that 500 is quite a bit more than 20 so I thought I'd play it on the safe side and ask the wonderful resource of TB (after having no luck on google/internal searches).
I have no idea whether the adapter can pull a max of 500 mA or whether it pulls 500 mA all the time since I'm not well versed in electronics. Any help is appreciated.

 

[trevcda]

It's a power supply, not a conditioner. Two different items. Should be fine. The pedal should only pull what it needs. Make sure the polarity on the plug is correct before trying to use it.

 

[bongomania]

The pedal only draws the current it needs. The current rating on the supply is just the maximum it can provide if "asked to".

Just for clarity, the phrase "power conditioner" is usually used for a bank of AC outlets with a surge suppressor and maybe some noise filtering. What you have is more commonly called a DC power supply, a wall wart, or an AC adapter (all meaning the same thing in this case).

Also, be aware that even if you have the right wattage and amperage, you still need to make sure the barrel plug is the correct polarity, and that the supply is regulated. An unregulated supply (often sold with small appliances like old answering machines) can put out much more than the rated amount of voltage, sometimes causing damage. Most AC adapters don't have the word "regulated" written on them though, so you can test with a volt meter; or stay on the safe side by not using any supplies that came with non-music devices like clock radios or whatever.

 

[ggunn]

The pedal only draws the current it needs. The current rating on the supply is just the maximum it can provide if "asked to".

Just for clarity, the phrase "power conditioner" is usually used for a bank of AC outlets with a surge suppressor and maybe some noise filtering. What you have is more commonly called a DC power supply, a wall wart, or an AC adapter (all meaning the same thing in this case).

Also, be aware that even if you have the right wattage and amperage, you still need to make sure the barrel plug is the correct polarity, and that the supply is regulated. An unregulated supply (often sold with small appliances like old answering machines) can put out much more than the rated amount of voltage, sometimes causing damage. Most AC adapters don't have the word "regulated" written on them though, so you can test with a volt meter; or stay on the safe side by not using any supplies that came with non-music devices like clock radios or whatever.

All true, although a 20mA draw is pretty near an open circuit to a 500mA supply, so the voltage may be a bit more than 9V at that load. It shouldn't make any difference, though; most electronics will operate just fine over a fairly wide range of voltages. Correct polarity is very important, though; reverse polarity will burn up many chips.

 

[LongHairFreak]

Heed those warnings about knowing the polarity. Because of my head being in the clouds one day while hooking things up, I've got two units in the shop right now--One being my beloved [SFX] preamp.

 

[big_z_in_miami]

I just got my Fuzz Deluxe and found with two different adaptors I have used with my other equipment it is a bit noisy. With battery, clean, clean, clean.

The "other" equipment are my combo pedal and a drum machine, so I am guessing they have some internal filtering in them.

I just picked up a One-Spot, which others seem to like......should that work well with the pedal, or should I consider getting a conditioner for my (soon to be reality) pedal board?

All AC lines have some noise in them, so it couldn't hurt, right?

Any recommendations?