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Thinking about going the power supply block route again. Suggestions?

Discussion in 'Effects [BG]' started by rustynuts, Jul 1, 2008.

  1. Jul 1, 2008 #1
    rustynuts

    rustynuts

    Jan 20, 2008
    My Old Kentucky Home....
    Years ago I had a power supply block go bad on me during a show and took my whole pedalboard with it. Needless to say, I was not happy....And now years later I've continued to avoid power supplies because of it.

    But I may need to change my mind in the interest of space on my new board, as much as I really don't want to. So, here's my question: I'm going to be powering upwards of 30 pedals, mostly 9V, a couple 12V and a few 18 & 24V. I'm thinking that a couple of the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2s along with a handful of mounted outlets and a couple of daisy chains for some of the lower current draw pedals would probably do the trick.

    Any suggestions for something a bit less cluttered/more efficient?
     
  2. Jul 1, 2008 #2
    Nyarlathotep

    Nyarlathotep Inactive

    Feb 5, 2006
    West Coast of Canada
    Well, the VLPP2 can do 9 and 12, and with a Y connector it can do 18 (2x9) and 24 (2x12) as well. Isolated power FTW.

    Just my 2 cents

    Quick edit: Oh, and 2 of the outs are rated for higher mA draw. It was originally intended to power line 6 stuff, but I don't see why you can't daisy chain out of those.
     
  3. Jul 1, 2008 #3
    rustynuts

    rustynuts

    Jan 20, 2008
    My Old Kentucky Home....
    That's one reason I like the VL....Though I might keep the 18V on outlets since I have the adapters already. Just trying to work things through before I finalize the layout of the board.
     
  4. Jul 1, 2008 #4
    ga_edwards

    ga_edwards

    Sep 8, 2000
    UK, Essex
    You're obvioulsy a man that's loves his pedals! I don't know you or what stuff you play, but I would get giddy at the prospect of using 30+ pedals on a gig.

    I would suggest splitting these up into 2 or even 3 more manageable pedal boards, each with their own dedicated PSU. Have one for the essentials, the ones you must have for every gig and rehearsal, and cannot possibly perform without. Then have another board for the more exotic ones that aren't as essential, and could possibly gig without. Keep a couple of patch cable handy to link them together and it should work ok. This should help keep it more manageable.

    This has the added advantage of keeping all pedals within easy reach as you can angle the boards around you and don't have to stretch to reach them.
     
  5. Jul 1, 2008 #5
    scotch

    scotch It's not rocket science!

    Nov 12, 2006
    Albany, NY USA
    Please see Profile for Endorsement disclosures
    If I remember right, you have the 3-tiered mega-board with the multiple ac quad boxes?

    That being the case, weight doesn't appear to be an issue for you! However, you will probably get better results by using good power supplies like the Voodoo Labs you mentioned. Having a power strip instead of all of those quad boxes may save on bulkiness.

    Take a look at this link (if you haven't already): http://www.stinkfoot.se/andreas/diy/power/psu.htm
    It should give you a good idea of all the options available for multi-power supplies. Looks like you'll need a healthy combination!

    One question, do you plan on gigging/travelling with that board? It seems pretty unwieldy (not that I'm opposed to such a challenge).
     
  6. Jul 1, 2008 #6
    rustynuts

    rustynuts

    Jan 20, 2008
    My Old Kentucky Home....
    I've got one "smallish" board now and did a mockup of a second one but just wasn't too comfortable with the combination. I played around with mockups a little more and came up with my current build....

    That would be me, yes. Here's the one I'm working on replacing:

    board_05.12.08-2.gif

    I'd really outgrown it before it was even finished. It is 24 x 17 and was pretty much a test bed for ideas.

    The one I'm building now will be 32 x 20, with a fourth tier added. The height won't change but a 1/2 inch because I wasn't really sure how I wanted it on the first one and have worked out the bugs on this one. The volume and wah will be moved to the center of the board too.

    The new board, while larger, will be lighter because I'm building it with a sort of latticework design. Rather than solid 1" base and shelves, they'll be 1/4" oak crisscrossed with aluminum extrusions along the edges.

    The outlets are bulky but really light in weight. I'm thinking of taking apart a Furman and using it instead though. Basically chop it in half and mount it on the back of the board backwards.

    Yeah....Just trying to determine the best combination so I don't have to do this again.

    Really, it's not bad. I mean, the pedals weigh a lot but as soon as I'm done with the board itself I'm going to build a padded ATA case for it with a tray in the bottom for cables, strings, etc., and a handle and wheels on it. Roll up the cables, put the miscellaneous BS in, set the pedalboard in and latch the top down and roll it away. Shouldn't be too bad....Nowhere near as bad as a 4x10 cab.
     
  7. Jul 1, 2008 #7
    rustynuts

    rustynuts

    Jan 20, 2008
    My Old Kentucky Home....
    Man, the old board looks tiny in that pic....
     
  8. Jul 1, 2008 #8
    Toasted

    Toasted

    May 26, 2003
    Leeds, UK
    I'd really recommend the PP2+. It took so much background noise out of my setup.
     
  9. Jul 1, 2008 #9
    rustynuts

    rustynuts

    Jan 20, 2008
    My Old Kentucky Home....
    What's the difference between the 2 and the 2+? I was going to get them from AMS but seems they only have the 2.
     
  10. Jul 1, 2008 #10
    4StringsEnough

    4StringsEnough

    Mar 9, 2008
    If you want a small and neat solution, you really need to check out this Distributor:

    http://www.effectpowersupplies.com/gigrig-distributor-122-p.asp

    I've just found it and it looks awesome. The size and weight of a matchbox. You plug in a standard 9V power supply into it and then the power leads are solderless and you cut them to the length you want - a bit like George L's patch cables. It'll only 'distribute' at the voltage you input into it. So, you could have one at 9V and you can chain them together if you need more than 6 outputs.

    You can use the Virtual Battery on the same site to power 18V pedals as well as to get isolated outputs (I'm going to post separately about this as I think this is amazing).

    Well worth checking out if you main aim is to get a neat and tidy board.
     
  11. Jul 1, 2008 #11
    rustynuts

    rustynuts

    Jan 20, 2008
    My Old Kentucky Home....
    I'd seen that before 4StringsEnough....It would probably help quite a bit keeping things tidy.
     
  12. Jul 1, 2008 #12
    ga_edwards

    ga_edwards

    Sep 8, 2000
    UK, Essex
    If you wanted to spend some serious dough, may a whole gig rig setup would be to anwers. You could power all your pedal and the gigrig itself from one psu. You would only need to reach the switches on the gigrig and expression pedals, so it would be easier to reach them without stretching, and it keeps tap dancing to a minimum by allowing you to save patched.

    I was at the London Guitar Show a couple of weeks ago and saw their stand. Apparently all the pedals on one wall totaling around 50 were powered from one psu! That should more than meet your requirements.
     
  13. Jul 1, 2008 #13
    Toasted

    Toasted

    May 26, 2003
    Leeds, UK
  14. Jul 1, 2008 #14
    rustynuts

    rustynuts

    Jan 20, 2008
    My Old Kentucky Home....
    Thanks, saw that but it doesn't really say what changed between the 2 and the 2+ (unless my tired eyes missed it). That's good enough, I'll go shopping for a couple VLPP2+s.

    Thanks all.
     
  15. Jul 1, 2008 #15
    rustynuts

    rustynuts

    Jan 20, 2008
    My Old Kentucky Home....
    I looked at the GigRig (several times) but just can't justify the cost to the performance I'd get from it. Yet. Maybe one day.

    Tap dancing will still be kept to a minimum though as my loops will be mounted on the front row of the board and everything else behind them.