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Tone Hammer DI appreciation thread

#121
eric_kiser said:
I have been hoping that, since Korg bought Aguilar, they would update the Tone Hammer pedal to be just like the Tone Hammer amp. A toggle switch that flips between a clean preamp and the sound of the Tone Hammer amp would be a great idea. I'll add to this, change the second footswitch to a clean boost with a toggle that lets you choose whether that clean boost hits the signal before or after the preamp.

When I got the Tone Hammer pedal, I was working under the assumption I would be able to get the sound I heard from the Tone Hammer amp. Between reading posts by @Eublet, trying all the settings I could find, and emailing with Aguilar customer service, I finally figured out that I'm not going to get what I was looking for. Specifically, I wanted the TH sound with the HP/LP filter effect the AGS gives but at much lower gain than the AGS is capable of.

It is a great piece of gear, just not designed for what I was looking for. Having said that, I wouldn't have been able to figure all this out if I hadn't started with the THDI. Also, I got mine used for $150 and it's still a great clean preamp.
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One of the things about this whole series is that each iteration has done something different than the one before - it’s been an evolution. The Tone Hammer pedal was conceived as an outboard version of the OBP-3 onboard preamp, but added the AGS channel. The TH amps were conceived as being the TH outboard preamp mated with a power section, but made the AGS a variable control rather than an on/off switch. From a product differentiation perspective I can see the advantage in retaining slightly different functionality in each, even though the design has advanced with each iteration. I can’t say that I’d be opposed to a TH pedal with variable drive (I own both a TH pedal and TH350 amp), but I can (slightly grudgingly) understand why it might not work economically for Aguilar to make one. I think a genuinely switchable AGS channel on the TH pedal would be the most sellable ‘TH version 2’ though, and I do wonder at the logic of not making this happen in all this time.
 
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#123
grocker said:
Guys what adapter works good for the tone hammer pre/di?
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As in power adaptor? I seem to recall the max draw of the TH being quoted as around 300mA, so anything that can provide at least that much current at 18V should be fine. Phantom power works too, if you’re using it as a DI. I use a Cioks DC5 but that’s for my whole board, I’m sure there are wall wart supplies out there with the necessary specs if that’s all you need.
 
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#126
In an effort to tidy up my board, is there an Isolated Power Supply that can supply the required voltage to the Tone Hammer Pre/DI? None of my various ISO power supplies have the required 18v at 300ma. I have one ISO that has 18v at 200ma, but I didn't want to try it. When I play direct to the board at church, I can have them enable phantom power, but I use the same pedalboard other places where I don't have that option and have to use batteries or the Aguliar wall wart.
 
#128
… I don‘t think 300mA is correct:

upload_2023-2-10_10-15-17.jpeg
 
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#129
tieftonmusiker said:
… I don‘t think 300mA is correct:

View attachment 4964349
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Pretty sure the tone hammer wall wart says 18 vDC 300mA. Maybe not. I don’t have it here with me it’s at church. I looked on eBay for replacements and there’s some generic ones that list .7 A. And I found a $36 A replacement wallwart on Newegg that didn’t give me an amp listing but says 20 V.
 
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#132
kirkdickinson said:
Pretty sure the tone hammer wall wart says 18 vDC 300mA. Maybe not. I don’t have it here with me it’s at church. I looked on eBay for replacements and there’s some generic ones that list .7 A. And I found a $36 A replacement wallwart on Newegg that didn’t give me an amp listing but says 20 V.
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The rating on the wall wart is the maximum current that it can supply. How much it actually puts out depends on how much is drawn by any connected devices. The maximum rating on the power supply is not the same as what the TH actually draws.

As mentioned by another person, .7A is 700 mA, and would work fine as the max power draw is much higher than necessary (which the TH will be just fine with).
 
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#134
I just pulled out my Aguilar branded power supplies for the TLC and THDI that I bought from Aguilar. The output specs are 10V 300mA and 20V 300mA respectively. They both appear to SMPS based...provided for info and not intended to be a value judgment. They work great.

These ratings on voltage represent close to what one could expect from a high quality fresh battery (batteries)...9V and 18V rated power supplies that are 300mA or higher would be fine IMO.
 
#135
johnk_10 said:
for those interested, i just tested my Tone Hammer's current draw on my benchtop power supply at exactly 18V and it draws 5ma.
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Is that an accurate load rating under real world conditions? I have had 2 tone hammers for over a decade and when I use batteries, they don’t last for months and months that a 5mA draw would indicate. When using at church for a 2 hour practice on Wednesday and 45 minutes on Sunday, batteries had to be replaced about every 6 weeks.

Why ship a 300mA power supply if the pedal only required 5mA?

When you tested, were you running it playing bass, using the di to a soundboard and with the AGS circuit engaged?
 
#137
kirkdickinson said:
Is that an accurate load rating under real world conditions? I have had 2 tone hammers for over a decade and when I use batteries, they don’t last for months and months that a 5mA draw would indicate. When using at church for a 2 hour practice on Wednesday and 45 minutes on Sunday, batteries had to be replaced about every 6 weeks.

Why ship a 300mA power supply if the pedal only required 5mA?

When you tested, were you running it playing bass, using the di to a soundboard and with the AGS circuit engaged?
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i measured it while playing bass thru it. switching the AGS in or out made no difference and neither did bypassing it completely.
 
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#138
johnk_10 said:
i measured it while playing bass thru it. switching the AGS in or out made no difference and neither did bypassing it completely.
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Surprising. If Aguilar recommends a 300mA wall wart for it, then you would think that it would use at least 50% of that rating. My One Spot has an 18V 100mA output. If your measurement is accurate, and it appears that you did a serious test, so it probably is, then should I try to run the Tone Hammer on that output??

I wonder what other pedals that claim high power requirements actually pull? Like Strymon, et. al.
 
#139
kirkdickinson said:
Surprising. If Aguilar recommends a 300mA wall wart for it, then you would think that it would use at least 50% of that rating. My One Spot has an 18V 100mA output. If your measurement is accurate, and it appears that you did a serious test, so it probably is, then should I try to run the Tone Hammer on that output??

I wonder what other pedals that claim high power requirements actually pull? Like Strymon, et. al.
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IMO, Aguilar probably chose their power supply for reliability rather than its current capability. besides it would be hard to find one with anything less and 100ma, but even a 50ma one would still work fine with it.
 
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