AC adapter - pedal problem

[tjcurtin1]

I have a Danelectro Cool Cat CO1 transparent overdrive that I got recently that works great on battery power, but I cannot find an adapter that works with it without a hum or squeal when I use it. I've tried several adapters that work fine with other pedals, but not this one. Could there be something wrong with the pedal circuitry itself?

[duhvoodooman]

Could indeed be an issue with the pedal itself. If this was a very high gain pedal, I could understand some tendency to self-oscillate, but even then, a well designed & constructed pedal should be able to avoid squealing problems when powered with a good quality adapter. What kinds of adapters have you tried powering it with?

[tjcurtin1]

Thanks, Vood - I haven't used anything special; an Xact class 2 300mA, a multi-voltage version, and one from Ebay that is supposedly a replacement for the original Danelectro adapter, that's 1A output. All of these adapters have worked fine with other pedals, but none have worked with the Cool Cat.

[Jimi75]

It's most definitely the pedal I assume. I have a similar issue with one of my wah pedals, so I run it on battery, because I am not able to fix it myself and bringing it to a tech would be to expensive considering the cost against the pedals value.

[Tig]

The only time I had extra noise in a few pedals was when they were plugged into a power strip with other AC adapters. Power strips can create additional noise so that's something to eliminate if in use.

[duhvoodooman]

Just want to point out something:

If the pedal is quiet when run off a battery but noisy with an adapter power source, then the noise has to be coming from the adapter. That's not to say that the pedal might not have a problem that's making it very sensitive to external noise sources, but it can't be amplifying noise that isn't there. Many less expensive power supplies tend to have some high frequency noise that can be picked up and amplified in a "gain pedal" like an overdrive, fuzz or distortion. So if the pedals that have worked well with a given P/S are of the "unity-gain" variety (modulation effects, envelope filters, delays, etc.), it's not surprising that the P/S might generate some noticeable noise when used with a gain circuit that amplifies incoming noise sources. But if you've used the P/S with other gain circuits and not had a problem, then I'd suspect that the pedal itself is excessively sensitive to noise for some reason, and should be replaced.

[Jimi75]

Found this by pure coincidence in another forum - have you heard about that adaptor before???
Quote:
One of the sweetest light overdrive pedals also happens to be one of the cheapest. How cool is that? It's the Cool Cat Transparent Overdrive version 1. The are currently producing v2 but it shouldn't be too hard to find a v1. These v1 pedals are spectacular but there's a hitch. You also have to buy the Zero Hum adaptor made by Danelectro to use with them because these little pedals absolutely stink with a battery. Go figure but who cares about an extra $10 when your buying a $34 pedal right? They really are sweet and really bring out the guitars natural sound. They kind of make the sound of your guitar sound just like more of itself. Don't take my word for it head out to your local guitar shop and try one out. Be sure to use the adaptor and you will be awestruck at the light overdrive tone. Also a bonus is the steel casing and true bypass.

[tjcurtin1]

Yeah, Jimi - I've seen reference to these tho seems Danelectro doesn't make/sell them anymore - tho from looking at the label, looks like a standard class 2 adapter. On the other hand, this little item (link below) is still around (tho maybe disappearing, too - only found it still available on Amazon). Apparently does cool things with your pedals by staving them for voltage, but can also be used as a reg 9v adapter, too.

http://www.danelectrode.com/hear.html
http://www.amazon.com/Danelectro-9-Volt-Pedal-Power-Supply/dp/B004UNL1P6

[duhvoodooman]

BTW, I should mention that I owned a Cool Cat CO1 Transparent Overdrive for a couple of years, powered it at different times with a 1 Spot adapter and a Gator G-Bus-8 power supply, and never ran into any noise issues whatsoever.

[Robert]

That's one of my favourite pedals. ;)

[marnold]

BTW, I should mention that I owned a Cool Cat CO1 Transparent Overdrive for a couple of years, powered it at different times with a 1 Spot adapter and a Gator G-Bus-8 power supply, and never ran into any noise issues whatsoever.

I don't have the CO1, but I do have their CF-1 Fuzz. It has always worked well with my 1-Spot. I played around with it again tonight because of this thread. I hadn't used it in a while. I forgot how much I like it. Great pedal, built like a tank.

[tjcurtin1]

That's one of my favourite pedals. ;)

Mine, too, thanks to you Robert. I had tried several OD pedals but didn't like the way they changed the tone; I wanted something that kept the same tone but just gave a little dirt. Saw Robert's demo (I have the V.2) and it sounded like just what I was looking for, and it is. Nice warmth and boost, and a nice range of OD, from just a touch to pretty crunchy. The v.2 has four internal switches that you can play with to vary the amount and character of clipping, so it's pretty amazingly versatile for such an inexpensive pedal.

[tjcurtin1]

Problem solved! I found a used danelectro "No Hum"adapter on ebay, plugged it in and voila! Noiseless! I wonder why that is? With a daisy chain cable it is also powering my crybaby wah pedal (which worked with any adapter I gave it...).