GFS 9v 400ma adapter ok to use with pedal labeled 9v 100ma?

[Grateful_Ted]

Hello all. This is my first post here. Yesterday I bought a Deltalab TO-1 Tube Overdrive pedal at Guitar Center (on sale for $29.99!) and want to buy a multi adapter for it. GFS has one that will handle up to 5 pedals at once and for only $10.95. I notice that it is 9v 400ma but my pedal says 9v 100 ma. I would like to use the GFS adapter to power my Boss BD-1 and my new TO-1. Does the miniamp rating matter? Should one 9v power adapter power all brands of pedals? Thanks in advance. By the way, the Deltalab TO-1 is great -- just the sound I was looking for and at a fraction of the cost that I was willing to spend. Check out your local GC and see if they are still on sale.
-Grateful Ted

[t_ross33]

The power supply is rated for at 9V for a maximum of 400 mA. The mA rating is very important - if you put too much draw on the power supply it can overheat and fail, or worse become a potential fire hazard. As long as the total mA rating of all the pedals you are connecting to it DO NOT exceed 400 mA, you should be OK.

Another thing to watch for - most pedals are "center negative", but some are "center positive". The polarity of the connection matters. Make sure that the polarity of the power supply and the pedal match.

[DeanEVO_Dude]

Hello all. This is my first post here. Yesterday I bought a Deltalab TO-1 Tube Overdrive pedal at Guitar Center (on sale for $29.99!) and want to buy a multi adapter for it. GFS has one that will handle up to 5 pedals at once and for only $10.95. I notice that it is 9v 400ma but my pedal says 9v 100 ma. I would like to use the GFS adapter to power my Boss BD-1 and my new TO-1. Does the miniamp rating matter? Should one 9v power adapter power all brands of pedals? Thanks in advance. By the way, the Deltalab TO-1 is great -- just the sound I was looking for and at a fraction of the cost that I was willing to spend. Check out your local GC and see if they are still on sale.
-Grateful Ted

Congrats on your new pedal. First, with power supplies/adaptors, resist, with all of your might, the temptation to go cheap!! I went cheap, bought a Behringer off eBay for about half what the 1Spot costs. Very, very noisy with the analog pedals particullarly. I got tired of the high-pitched squeal (I know it's not the pedals, no squeal on batteries) and picked up a 1Spot Combo Pack from GC the other day. Quiet. A quality power supply goes a long way towards keeping the noise down. At any rate, you may also want to power more pedals, or a modern digital pedal, which will draw more power than the 400ma will allow. The key is, the more "ma" the power supply can provide, the better. The 1Spot is rated for 1700ma, more than 4 times the available current of the one from GFS, for little more than 2 times the price. The 1Spot unit comes with an 8 position (standard) cable, 2 cables for the old DOD pedals, 2 9v battery adaptors, and 1 Line 6 adaptor. So, as the old saying goes, "You get what you pay for." I reccomend that you spend a little of that money you saved buying the pedal to get a better quality power supply.

Just my $.02 worth.

[Grateful_Ted]

Congrats on your new pedal. First, with power supplies/adaptors, resist, with all of your might, the temptation to go cheap!! I went cheap, bought a Behringer off eBay for about half what the 1Spot costs. Very, very noisy with the analog pedals particullarly. I got tired of the high-pitched squeal (I know it's not the pedals, no squeal on batteries) and picked up a 1Spot Combo Pack from GC the other day. Quiet. A quality power supply goes a long way towards keeping the noise down. At any rate, you may also want to power more pedals, or a modern digital pedal, which will draw more power than the 400ma will allow. The key is, the more "ma" the power supply can provide, the better. The 1Spot is rated for 1700ma, more than 4 times the available current of the one from GFS, for little more than 2 times the price. The 1Spot unit comes with an 8 position (standard) cable, 2 cables for the old DOD pedals, 2 9v battery adaptors, and 1 Line 6 adaptor. So, as the old saying goes, "You get what you pay for." I reccomend that you spend a little of that money you saved buying the pedal to get a better quality power supply.

Just my $.02 worth.

Thanks for the input. I will consider it.

[t_ross33]

I also have a 1Spot. Love it. Great little device, and not all that expensive all things considered.

[deeaa]

+1 for OneSpot, truly a great device! Small, light, handles a lot of pedals with ease, and is affordable. Really glad I got one, with two extensions to boot for ten pedals.

[ET335]

here is another one to consider also. http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Godlyke-PowerAll-PA9B-9V-Digital-Power-Supply-Basic-Kit?sku=150470 this one has been on my pedal board for 4 years and have never had a problem with it.

it also has a rating of 2000ma.
the one spot is a great choice to as others have mentioned...can't go wrong with either one...enjoy your new pedal.

[Grateful_Ted]

+1 for OneSpot, truly a great device! Small, light, handles a lot of pedals with ease, and is affordable. Really glad I got one, with two extensions to boot for ten pedals.

Thanks to all. I just ordered the One Spont Combo Pack from Amazon. Sounds like it will last and has less of a chance of hurting my equipment.

[Commodore 64]

I have the Behringer 1-SPot type deal. It works fine but I want one of these: http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Voodoo-Lab-Pedal-Power-2-Power-Supply?sku=153509

[Eric]

Why does everybody love those Voodoo Labs PP2 things? Is it just that it's supposed to be quieter than the 1Spot-type of PS?

[Commodore 64]

Dude, it has a toroidal transformer and costs $160. It has to be good. But seriously, I think the idea is that it is quieter than the 1Spot types. And it'll do 18v which some people crave. It'll also do sag so you can pretend you are Eric Johnson and have dead batteries.

[Ch0jin]

Dude, it has a toroidal transformer and costs $160. It has to be good. But seriously, I think the idea is that it is quieter than the 1Spot types. And it'll do 18v which some people crave. It'll also do sag so you can pretend you are Eric Johnson and have dead batteries.

I don't have a Voodoo Labs unit, but I do know a little about power supplies. I believe the VL unit uses a true multi tapped secondary transformer and runs truly isolated outputs, that's why. It breaks down like this. You can filter a single power supply like a one spot or any other type of single power supply as heavily as you like, but you cannot prevent small earth loops occurring once you start daisy chaining pedals. Those small earth loops show up as hum. Using a power supply where every output is isolated basically eliminates the problem. It also allows you to mix and match positive and negative ground pedals as well as 9V 12V 18C pedals. If you have a large pedal board and just cant get rid of the last bit of hum, then an isolated output power supply (they are dead easy to make by the way) is probably what you need. I can assure you this is good science, not "mojo" crap.

Also re Eric Johnson and batteries. I think I know what you are trying to say, however. I'm aware of all the BS surrounding EJ's supposedly golden ears with rubber bands and numbers of screws in pedals and all that, and I wrote him off as a crackpot years ago. That said, lowering the voltage in a Ge Fuzz Face absolutely makes an audible difference. Using cheap batteries in a fuzz face is a widely accepted practice because of the fact that they "sag" quicker than a good battery, and that effects the sound of the fuzz. So enabling a "sag" function in a power supply for your fuzz pedals is not only scientifically legit, but definitely a saleable feature for fuzz lovers.

For what it's worth though, I'm not really in the "turn down the fuzz knob for a hint of dirt" camp. I like my fuzz sounds cranked, and as such, the supply voltage thing is likely more obvious to me.

Anyway, just thought I'd try to answer Eric's question and respond to Commodore 64's post in one. If anyone wants further detail on what I'm talking about regarding isolated power supplies of voltage sag, post away.

[Eric]

That makes sense...kind of. Any questions I have don't really have much to do with power supplies, so I'll refrain from asking them.

[Commodore 64]

Man, now Ch0jin has sealed the deal. I'm going to order one today. I need a Fret CLickthru ad STAT!

[Ch0jin]

Man, now Ch0jin has sealed the deal. I'm going to order one today. I need a Fret CLickthru ad STAT!

Haha nice, I assume you mean the voodoo? Lets us know how it works out. Hey if gearmanndude uses them they must be good ;)