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A brand new member

Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 1:27 pm
by Bartoli
Hi everyone,

I did not find the topic to introduce myself so I'll do it here. Sorry if I'm wrong.

I'm a new member, from France (so please forgive my potential english mistakes). I've been playing the guitar for 7 years and developing my pedalboard which now needs some quality pedal power. Which is why I'm here :)

My main question would simply be : which pedal power should I choose ?

I've been doing research about each of my pedals and each of the Voodoolab Pedal Power models and I still do not know which one I should take. This is because I'm not sure I fully understand what kind of power I should use for the perfect well being of my pedals. That is to say : many of my pedals are said to be working with 9V AC adapter but can work also with 9V DC batteries according to the official user manuals. What does it mean ? My pedals currently work perfectly with 9V DC power supply plugged-in. Should I use only AC power ? Some like the Satchurator do not work with an 9V AC adapter so I'm confused with this... This is why I need your experienced advise ;)

Here is my rig :

Digitech Polytune 9V DC / 50mA
Vox Big Bad Wah 9V AC adapter or 9V DC batteries / 4mA
Digitech Whammy DT 9V DC / 288mA
Boss ML-2 9V AC (only works with AC adapter which looks weird to me) / 200mA
Vox Satchurator 9V DC batteries or 9V AC power supply (here I don't understand either) / 20mA
Boss CE-20 9V DC batteries or 9V AC power supply / 160mA
Vox Time Machine 9V DC batteries or 9V AC power supply / 60mA
ISP Decimator G 9V DC 35mA
and I'm thinking about buying the Eventide Space (9V DC / 1200mA)

Total : 9V DC, 9V AC and 2020 mA needed.

So here are my questions :

Which Voodoolab should I choose and why ?
Why would the kind of power (AC or DC) change depending on the source for some pedals ?
What do the 9V DC batteries and 9V AC power supply have in common so that both work for my Vox pedals ?


Forgive my lack of experience and knowledge about electronics and power but I don't want to damage my pedals.


Have a nice day and thank you for your advice !

Re: A brand new member

Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 9:18 pm
by chrisross
Regular 9V (less than 100 mA):
Polytune
Wah
boss ML2
Satchurator
Time Machine
Decimator

Other 9V
Whammy (288mA)
CE20 (160)
Space (500, but I think it's only actually 400)

You're gonna need the Pedal Power 4x4:
There are four high current taps, plug the Whammy, CE20, and Space into those. The fourth high current tap split the output between any 2 of the Regular 9V pedals. Then plug the rest of the regular pedals into the regular 100mA taps.

If you don't want to do any splitting, you can get the Mondo and each pedal will have it's own tap, but I think this is overkill. Two pedals sharing a tap is no big deal.

Re: A brand new member

Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 3:08 am
by sagaci
I'd get the 4x4. Daisy chain the tuner with a dirt pedal. The Eventide only uses <400mA.

Re: A brand new member

Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 4:00 am
by Bartoli
Wow thanks a lot for being that quick in answering :)

Using a single tap for two pedals is definitely no big deal because I currently use one tap for five pedals.

I've read on the official eventide website that the Space needed 1200mA but given the fact that VL PP are made to power these pedals too, I guess you know what you're talking about ;)

Yet there is a little problem here if I'm not mistaken : the Boss ML2 requires 9V AC current. Can I switch the 4*4 DC current for an AC for one tap ?

Thanks a lot for proposing the 4*4 because I was already thinking of the Mondo just to be sure not purchasing a too small model. :)

Re: A brand new member

Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 1:34 pm
by chrisross
The ML2 doesn't run on AC power, it uses an AC adapter to convert AC power into DC. You power it just like you would any other effect.

Re: A brand new member

Posted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 2:26 pm
by Bartoli
Oh ok thanks ! So I finally understand the meaning of "adapter" which is not a converter. That was my mistake. Thanks again for the help ! Have a nice day :)