Will I be able to power my rig with the following...

[Ty Gerhardt]

I have the following power supplies...

Pedal Power 2+
Pedal Power AC
(2) Pedal Power ISO-5s

Can I power the following rig without using the courtesy outlets...

Keeley Comp (9v DC)
Blackout Effectors Twosome Fuzz (9v DC)
TC Electronic Nova Drive (12v DC, 380-400ma)
Keeley Katana Clean Boost (9v DC)
Xotic AC Booster (modded to run at 18v DC)
Electro Harmonix Worm (24v DC, 100ma, pos center pin)
Eventide Time Factor (9v DC, 1300ma)
Line 6 M9 (9v AC, 1000ma)
RJM Micro Mixer (9v DC, 150-200ma)
Musicom Lab (9v AC, 600ma)

I know most of my needs are met with the Voodoo Lab power supplies I have, but the only question I have is will I be able to power the Time Factor, the Nova Drive and the RJM Micro Mixer?

It's looking like I'd need 3 Pedal Power 2+'s using taps 5 & 6 with parallel jacks on two of the PP2+'s to properly power the Time Factor and Nova Drive and tap 5 on the third to provide enough current to my RJM Mini Mixer.

Or will the 12v taps on my pair of ISO 5's really adequately power the Time Factor and the Nova Drive (freeing up my high current 9v DC tap on my PP2+ for the RJM Mini Mixer)?

I'm worried about under-powering the Nova Drive and the Time Factor...I don't want to lose any headroom or have them shutting down on me in a live situation should the house power fluctuate or something.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Ty Gerhardt

[JohnClark]

The High Current 12V output on the ISO-5 will power a Time Factor or the Nova with no problems. With those two pedals covered by the two ISO-5s, output 5 or 6 on the Pedal Power 2+ can then be used to power the Micro Mixer. The AC booster can be powered directly from an ISO-5 18V output. The Worm can be powered using our EH24 cable connected to any two of outputs 1-4 on the Pedal Power 2+ with the DIP switches set away from Normal. Everything else should be fine using any 9V on the ISO-5s or any outputs switched to Normal on the Pedal Power 2+.

[Ty Gerhardt]

The High Current 12V output on the ISO-5 will power a Time Factor or the Nova with no problems. With those two pedals covered by the two ISO-5s, output 5 or 6 on the Pedal Power 2+ can then be used to power the Micro Mixer. The AC booster can be powered directly from an ISO-5 18V output. The Worm can be powered using our EH24 cable connected to any two of outputs 1-4 on the Pedal Power 2+ with the DIP switches set away from Normal. Everything else should be fine using any 9V on the ISO-5s or any outputs switched to Normal on the Pedal Power 2+.

Thanks for your help John. I just ordered the EH24 cable this morning. I also ordered a parallel cable so I can used taps 5 and 6 on my pedal power 2 to deliver 12v 400ma to my Nova Drive and I'm going to use the 9v 300ma tap on one of the ISO-5's to power the RJM mixer.

So you're saying I can power the Nova Drive using the 12v 300ma tap on the ISO-5 without any problems? Will I lose any headroom or run the risk of the unit powering down should the voltage in the room fluctuate? Sorry if this is a dumb question...I just want to make sure everything works as expected. Thanks again for your help.

[JohnClark]

It's not a dumb question... its just the same question again.

I, JohnClark, am saying that the Nova Drive can be powered from the High Current 12V output on an ISO-5.

Since I believe you have these things in hand at the moment go ahead and try it out and report back here with your findings. I am confidant that you will have no issues, however your alternate method will also work with no issues. Either way you will be rockin' in no time.

[Ty Gerhardt]

It's not a dumb question... its just the same question again.

I, JohnClark, am saying that the Nova Drive can be powered from the High Current 12V output on an ISO-5.

Since I believe you have these things in hand at the moment go ahead and try it out and report back here with your findings. I am confidant that you will have no issues, however your alternate method will also work with no issues. Either way you will be rockin' in no time.

Thanks John. I'll definitely report my findings.

Ty

[Ty Gerhardt]

OK...here's what I've found.

TC Electronics Nova Drive w/ISO-5 12v/300ma tap
Compared to the 400ma adapter that comes with the unit, there is a noticeable loss in headroom. Not enough for it to sound horrible by any means, but you lose some of the bite when you lean into single notes and some of the clarity when chording.

Personally that doesn't work so well for me as those are characteristics I look for in my overdrives and distortions (I tend to run my regular OD's at 18 volts when the design specs allow it). However, some folks who have issues with the Nova Drive being "too stiff" or "sterile" sounding may actually prefer to run theirs at 12v/300ma as it seems to warm it up a bit due to the reduced headroom.

So my solution seems to be to use the Pedal Power 2+ with the parallel/current doubling cable on taps 5&6 in the "not normal" position when using the TC Electronics Nova Drive.

Eventide Time Factor w/ISO-5 12v/300ma tap
Pretty much the same deal here. Sounds OK. You get a loss in headroom but it works and sounds decent. It basically goes from sounding like the Eventide to a Line 6 delay setup.

[Josh Fiden]

OK...here's what I've found.

TC Electronics Nova Drive w/ISO-5 12v/300ma tap
Compared to the 400ma adapter that comes with the unit, there is a noticeable loss in headroom. Not enough for it to sound horrible by any means, but you lose some of the bite when you lean into single notes and some of the clarity when chording.

Personally that doesn't work so well for me as those are characteristics I look for in my overdrives and distortions (I tend to run my regular OD's at 18 volts when the design specs allow it). However, some folks who have issues with the Nova Drive being "too stiff" or "sterile" sounding may actually prefer to run theirs at 12v/300ma as it seems to warm it up a bit due to the reduced headroom.

So my solution seems to be to use the Pedal Power 2+ with the parallel/current doubling cable on taps 5&6 in the "not normal" position when using the TC Electronics Nova Drive.

Eventide Time Factor w/ISO-5 12v/300ma tap
Pretty much the same deal here. Sounds OK. You get a loss in headroom but it works and sounds decent. It basically goes from sounding like the Eventide to a Line 6 delay setup.

Interesting result. I would suggest that you try again doing a blind test with someone else switching the power source. The PP ISO-5 was specifically designed to power TC & Eventide pedals. We have a large number of users doing this, and none with the result that you claim. This includes engineers at Eventide who were particularly impressed with the performance during low power line conditions.

It certainly sounds as if you are making judgments about what you think it should sound like from a 300mA power source vs a 400mA power source. Perhaps you should find a 1,000mA adapter and see what happens. I'd be interested to know!

Regards,

Josh Fiden
Founder / CEO

[Ty Gerhardt]

OK...here's what I've found.

TC Electronics Nova Drive w/ISO-5 12v/300ma tap
Compared to the 400ma adapter that comes with the unit, there is a noticeable loss in headroom. Not enough for it to sound horrible by any means, but you lose some of the bite when you lean into single notes and some of the clarity when chording.

Personally that doesn't work so well for me as those are characteristics I look for in my overdrives and distortions (I tend to run my regular OD's at 18 volts when the design specs allow it). However, some folks who have issues with the Nova Drive being "too stiff" or "sterile" sounding may actually prefer to run theirs at 12v/300ma as it seems to warm it up a bit due to the reduced headroom.

So my solution seems to be to use the Pedal Power 2+ with the parallel/current doubling cable on taps 5&6 in the "not normal" position when using the TC Electronics Nova Drive.

Eventide Time Factor w/ISO-5 12v/300ma tap
Pretty much the same deal here. Sounds OK. You get a loss in headroom but it works and sounds decent. It basically goes from sounding like the Eventide to a Line 6 delay setup.

Interesting result. I would suggest that you try again doing a blind test with someone else switching the power source. The PP ISO-5 was specifically designed to power TC & Eventide pedals. We have a large number of users doing this, and none with the result that you claim. This includes engineers at Eventide who were particularly impressed with the performance during low power line conditions.

It certainly sounds as if you are making judgments about what you think it should sound like from a 300mA power source vs a 400mA power source. Perhaps you should find a 1,000mA adapter and see what happens. I'd be interested to know!

Regards,

Josh Fiden
Founder / CEO

Well, the tests were blind as I had a friend helping me out with them. I used to work for Monster Cable and we did a lot of blind listening tests there, so out of habit, all my listening tests are blind. I've got pretty good ears and have been playing long enough to know when my tone changes even slightly.

I stand by my claims.

I'm sure people use the 300ma tap and it works just fine for them. I can hear a distinct difference in the dynamic range (particularly in the top end). Basically I lost a level of subtlety with these particular units that I wish to maintain. It's not something that I suspect most people will notice, but I do.

My solution was to return one of the ISO-5's, buy a second Pedal Power 2+ and order the appropriate current doubling cables.

[Josh Fiden]

...My solution was to return one of the ISO-5's, buy a second Pedal Power 2+ and order the appropriate current doubling cables.

If you're happy, I'm happy! Thanks for supporting Voodoo Lab.

Regards,

Josh Fiden
Founder / CEO

[Ty Gerhardt]

...My solution was to return one of the ISO-5's, buy a second Pedal Power 2+ and order the appropriate current doubling cables.

If you're happy, I'm happy! Thanks for supporting Voodoo Lab.

Regards,

Josh Fiden
Founder / CEO

I am. You guys make great products. I've been a dedicated user for years from pedals, to power supplies to switching systems.