So you have purchased your
first guitar effect pedal and inevitably you are now looking to expand your
collection? Or perhaps you already have a horde of sound tweaking beasts.
Either way, unless you are rich or enjoy wasting money you are probably looking
at alternatives to expensive 9v batteries to power your pedals.
You may already have 9v AC
adapters for each of your effect pedals. Sure you can pull out a long power
board and connect each of 9V power supplies to each individual pedal, though
you are going to be left with an ugly looking set up and power cables running
every which way.
A better option is to use
just one 9V AC adapter, and connect it to a daisy chain power cable:
The beauty of a daisy chain
power cable is that it allows you to power multiple pedals to the single power
supply / AC adapter.
A guitar effect pedal daisy
chain cable features a single female socket that attaches to the barrel end of
the 9V power supply. From the socket connector the cable branches out into
multiple barrel end connectors that can be connected to individual guitar
pedals. Standard daisy chains will feature 1 socket + 5 barrel plugs, some up
to 10 barrel plugs.
How many guitar pedals can you
power from a single 9v AC adapter?
The answer lies in the total
current draw (mA) or current consumption of every pedal in the chain, and the
current made available by the AC adapter.
Different types and brands of pedals will draw different amounts of
current to operate. The current draw figure can usually be found on the bottom
of the pedal or in the manual.
Say if your 9v power supply
outputs 500mA (9v, 500mA) of current, and each of your pedals draw 40mA. You
can therefore power up to 8 pedals using the 500mA adapter; (500 / 40 = 8).
As a typical guide
Overdrive, Distortion, Fuzz and Analog Wah Wah pedals draw very little current,
typically between 1 – 10mA. Analog modulation effects like Chorus or Phaser
pedals draw somewhere between 15 – 30mA. Digital delay pedals draw more current, most
between 45mA and 65mA.
When using a daisy chain to
power multiple guitar effect pedals, it is important to use a “regulated” AC
adapter / power supply. An “un-regulated” power supply will have a fluctuating
voltage output (centering near 9v). Ok for most pedals individually, but when
connected to a daisy chain, issues can occur as the voltage has an effect on
the current output.
MOEN offer a great value
regulated 9v AC adapter with 500mA of current output, enough to power most
guitar pedal boards. Featuring the industry standard 2.1mm sized barrel plug
found on many brands of effect pedals. The MOEN power supply is usable for all
guitar pedals accepting the popular Boss PSA series AC adapters.
We are also pleased to
announce that MOEN has developed a new model of 5 plug daisy chain cable that
features “ferrite beads” on each leg of the cable. Ferrite beads are used to suppress
high frequency noise in electronic circuits, and will assist
in creating a noiseless pedal board.>
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