You may have taken on a new pedal or five after checking out all the reviews in the October 2016 issue, but when was the last time you assessed your power needs? We’ve rounded up 10 power supply units this month—big to small and loaded to simple—that are poised to serve as the heart of your pedalboard.
Pigtronix Power
Able to power up to eight pedals, the fully isolated power outlets on this supply (four of which are switchable between 9V, 12V, 15V, and 18V) ensure stable power and ultra-low noise.
Powerbox Mk2
This unit houses five galvanically isolated output groups and can power up to 10 pedals. The output voltage of three of the five groups can be changed via the DIP switches located topside.
Ojai
This pint-sized powerhouse is part of an expandable and modular system, and has five high-current, individually isolated, ultra-low-noise outputs to help pedals achieve their highest dynamic range.
PB-107/Power Box Lithium
Via the included 8-plug daisy chain cable, this rechargeable power supply takes care of pedal-powering needs while displaying battery status, current draw, and time remaining.
1 Spot Pro CS12
This power brick features 12 isolated outputs, five voltage options to power just about any pedal, switchable input voltage, and includes brackets to mount under Pedaltrain pedalboards.
Provolt9
This unit employs star grounding—rather than parallel connections—to suppress unwanted hum, and provides a consistent, ideal 9.6V to each of its six outputs.
Kerosene
Housed in a rugged aluminum alloy chassis, this micro-sized power supply can help clean up power-cord and pedalboard clutter with its tiny footprint, while still offering eight 9V DC outputs.
Adam
Small and flat enough to tuck under the tiniest of pedalboards, this power supply offers a pair of fixed 9V outlets and a second pair that are both configurable to 9V or 12V.
Phoenix
So you have a lot of pedals. Not a problem for this 15-output power supply that uses two internal custom-wound toroidal transformers to deliver ultra-clean power and superior noise filtering.
Pedal Power 2 Plus
All eight outputs on this handmade power supply are completely isolated to eliminate tone robbing, prevent hum, and allow combining of outputs to create different voltages.
- DIY: How to Make a 9V Power Supply Out of a Drill Battery - Premier Guitar | The best guitar and bass reviews, videos, and interviews on the web. ›
- Got Noise Issues? It Could Be Your Pedalboard's Power Supply - Premier Guitar ›
- Got Noise Issues? It Could Be Your Pedalboard's Power Supply - Premier Guitar ›
- Powering Your Board - Premier Guitar ›
- DIY: How to Make a 9V Power Supply Out of a Drill Battery - Premier Guitar ›
- Outlaw Effects Launches NOMAD Pedal Boards - Premier Guitar ›
Huge shocker incoming: Zach Broyles made a Tube Screamer. The Mythos Envy Pro Overdrive is Zach’s take on the green apple of his eye, with some special tweaks including increased output, more drive sounds, and a low-end boost option. Does this mean he can clear out his collection of TS-9s? Of course not.
This time on Dipped in Tone, Rhett and Zach welcome Tyler Bryant, the Texas-bred and Nashville-based rocker who has made waves with his band the Shakedown, who Rhett credits as one of his favorite groups. Bryant, it turns out, is a TS-head himself, having learned to love the pedal thanks to its being found everywhere in Texas guitar circles.Bryant shares how he scraped together a band after dropping out of high school and moving to Nashville, including the rigors of 15-hour drives for 30-minute sets in a trusty Ford Expedition. He’s lived the dream (or nightmare, depending on the day) and has the wisdom to show it.
Throughout the chat, the gang covers modeling amps and why modern rock bands still need amps on stage; the ins and outs of recording-gear rabbit holes and getting great sounds; and the differences between American and European audiences. Tune in to hear it all.
Get 10% off your order at stewmac.com/dippedintone
Hats off to Carmen Vandenberg of Bones UK, our celebrity Question of the Month respondent.
Guest Picker - Carmen Vandenberg, Bones UK
The cover of Soft, Bones UK’s new album, due in mid-September.
A: My favorite method these days (and to be honest, from when I started playing) is to put on my favorite blues records, listen with my eyes closed, and, at the end, see what my brain compartmentalizes and keeps stored away. Then, I try and play back what I heard and what my fingers or brain decided they liked!
Bone UK’s labelmade, Des Rocks.
Obsession: Right now, I am into anyone trying to create sounds that haven’t been made before—bands like Queens of the Stone Age, Jack White, and our labelmate, Des Rocs! There’s a Colombian band called Diamanté Electrico who I’ve been really into recently. Really anyone who’s trying to create innovative and inspiring sounds.
Reader of the Month - Sam C. Schiff.
Sam spent endless hours trying to learn the solo Leslie West played on “Long Red,” off of The Road Goes Ever On.
A: The best way to learn guitar is to listen to some good guitar playing! Put on a record, hear something tasty, and play on repeat until it comes out of your fingers. For me, it was Leslie West playing “Long Red” on the Mountain album, The Road Goes Ever On. I stayed up all night listening to that track until I could match Leslie’s phrasing. I still can’t, no one can, but I learned a lot!
Smith’s own low-wattage amp build.
Obsession: My latest musical obsession is low-wattage tube amps like the 5-watt Fender Champ heard on the Laylaalbum. Crank it up all the way for great tube distortion and sustain, and it’s still not loud enough to wake up the neighbors!
Gear Editor - Charles Saufley
Charles Saufley takes to gear like a duck to water!
A: Learning by ear and feel is most fun for me. I write and free-form jam more than I learn other people’s licks. When I do want to learn something specific, I’ll poke around on YouTube for a demo or a lesson or watch films of a player I like, and then typically mangle that in my own “special” way that yields something else. But I rarely have patience for tabs or notation.
The Grateful Dead’s 1967 debut album.
Obsession: Distorted and overdriven sounds with very little sustain—Keith Richards’ Between the Buttons tones, for example. Jerry Garcia’s plonky tones on the first Grateful Dead LP are another cool, less-fuzzy version of that texture.
Publisher - Jon Levy
A: I’m a primitive beast: The only way I can learn new music is by ear, so it’s a good thing I find that method enjoyable. I’m entirely illiterate with staff notation. Put sheet music in front of me and I’ll stare at it with twitchy, fearful incomprehension like an ape gaping at the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey. I’m almost as clueless with tab, but I can follow along with chord charts if I’m under duress.
The two-hit wonders behind the early ’70s soft-rock hits, “Fallin’ in Love” and “Don't Pull Your Love.”
Obsession: Revisiting and learning AM-radio pop hits circa 1966–1972. The Grass Roots, Edison Lighthouse, the Association, the Archies, and Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds—nothing is too cheesy for me to dissect and savor. Yes, I admit I have a serious problem.
