mniel8195
Active member
Are they any good? Do any of you guys use one? I rebuilding my pedal board and dont feel like buying a dc brick unless i have to
threadkiller
New member
The One Spot generates a bunch of noise.
mboogman
Active member
They can be more trouble than they're worth.
$.02
$.02
sixstringking713
New member
I honestly never had an issue with the 1-spot power supply with a daisy chain. But then again, I'm only powering these:
*MXR Micro Amp
*MXR Phase 90
*BOSS TU-15? tuner
*BOSS DD-6
after about 2 years of gigging nearly every weekend, my first 1-spot finally broke. I got another one, and its still working since (>2 years). So it may be dependent upon what brand of pedals you are using it for, and you have to obviously stay within the rated mA that it can provide. I'm considering buying a jim dunlop DC Brick and redoing my pedalboard so I dont have to keep plugging in the 1-spot, and then a separate 18V wall wart daisy chained for the MXR 10 Band EQ and MXR M-117. So, if you have any 18V pedals, or may buy some in the future, the 1-spot is not capable of powering 18V pedals..
*MXR Micro Amp
*MXR Phase 90
*BOSS TU-15? tuner
*BOSS DD-6
after about 2 years of gigging nearly every weekend, my first 1-spot finally broke. I got another one, and its still working since (>2 years). So it may be dependent upon what brand of pedals you are using it for, and you have to obviously stay within the rated mA that it can provide. I'm considering buying a jim dunlop DC Brick and redoing my pedalboard so I dont have to keep plugging in the 1-spot, and then a separate 18V wall wart daisy chained for the MXR 10 Band EQ and MXR M-117. So, if you have any 18V pedals, or may buy some in the future, the 1-spot is not capable of powering 18V pedals..
BeZo
Well-known member
It may work for a few pedals, but if you have a bunch, it's not a good idea. Having more than half a dozen pedals on a common ground is just asking for a ground loop somewhere. It's best to get a power supply with isolated outputs. My PP2+ works great.
How many pedals are you running?
How many pedals are you running?
Marshall Law
Well-known member
I use a daisy chain with a boss power supply, powering 5 pedals. never an issue. been doing it for about 15 years 
D
Drew
Active member
I did have a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 on my board--but my board is only 4 (or sometime 5) Boss or MXR pedals. When I was having to travel and carry the board in a bag on my shoulder a lot, I was looking for a way to make it lighter. Losing the extra 5 to 6 lbs of the Pedal Power seemed like an option. So for the last 5 years I've been using a Godlyke Power-All with no added noise, no hiss and no problems at all. However, I recently realized, even with just a Boss daisy chain cable and a Boss AC adapter I can power my simple board just fine.
Enjolras56
New member
mniel8195":3527y1oc said:
To my knowledge, the DC Brick isn't an isolated power supply like a PP2. It functions like a daisy chain, just housed in a box.
I own a 1 Spot, but only use it for quick trials at home or rehearsal. I have about a dozen pedals on my board, some with different power needs including a Whammy so it wouldn't work for my needs. Plus I want to minimize even the risk of ground loops or additional noise at a gig.
I use the MXR/CAE MC-403 on my board. Big, but fits my needs perfectly.
NiJ
New member
Enjolras56":8lrpp7gr said:
they should have manufactured this ages ago..... might as well go for it as your pedals tend to grow over time....
D-Rock
Well-known member
I run 2-4 pedals with a daisy chain. The power is supplied by my Polytuner and set through it's AC out. No abnormal noise with this setup.
If a player was using more than 4 pedals, I would look at something with isolated outs...
If a player was using more than 4 pedals, I would look at something with isolated outs...
fluff191
Active member
blackba
Well-known member
I have a number of godlyke power-alls, only had one go out on me. I seem to read about more noise and reliability issues with the one-spot compared to the power all.
Isolated power supplys like the voodoo labs pedal power are really the best way to go. The only reason I have not gone with them is money, I have 2 pedalboards with about a dozen pedals, so to have all them isolated I would need 4 Pedalpower+. I could of course daisy chain a few and get by with 2, but I have found the power-alls have been quiet for me except on one instance. I do think that regardless of what supply you go with, you have a backup at a gig.
Here are some guidelines if you want to go with a one-spot or power-all.
1. If you run an effects loop, you might have ground loop hum. Easiest way to remedy this is to get one powerall for the loop and one for out front, then you have a backup supply too.
2. Don't assume you can power all your pedals from one powerall. Some Germanium fuzz's you should not daisy chain. Be prepaired to run a few pedals off of separate power supplies. For example my akai headrush, does not work daisy chained. I find most of these pedals come with their own power supply and I just use that. Here are some examples: TC nova repeater delay, Retroman Ubervibe, Diamond Bass Comp, Hermida Reverb
3. The poweralls at least have changed design over the years, hopefully they have improved. My early poweralls are in a small plastic case and don't have a ferrite bead on the line.
4. One of the risks of these onespot and powerall supplies is that they continue to supply current until their max power is reached and then they fold back (shut off and try to restart). This can be a concern if you have one pedal fail and thus all the pedals are connected. I did have a blackout effectors musket go out and the supply would keep resetting. All my pedals were fine and the issue was just a bad 3pDT footswitch. But just advising of what can happen.
I hope that helps, in the end you will have to make the decision. If you have the money available, I would just go with a pedalpower and get a power-all as a backup. Then you can try both for yourself. I see many posts about the pedalpower how the users notice their noise decrease compared to the one-spot.
Isolated power supplys like the voodoo labs pedal power are really the best way to go. The only reason I have not gone with them is money, I have 2 pedalboards with about a dozen pedals, so to have all them isolated I would need 4 Pedalpower+. I could of course daisy chain a few and get by with 2, but I have found the power-alls have been quiet for me except on one instance. I do think that regardless of what supply you go with, you have a backup at a gig.
Here are some guidelines if you want to go with a one-spot or power-all.
1. If you run an effects loop, you might have ground loop hum. Easiest way to remedy this is to get one powerall for the loop and one for out front, then you have a backup supply too.
2. Don't assume you can power all your pedals from one powerall. Some Germanium fuzz's you should not daisy chain. Be prepaired to run a few pedals off of separate power supplies. For example my akai headrush, does not work daisy chained. I find most of these pedals come with their own power supply and I just use that. Here are some examples: TC nova repeater delay, Retroman Ubervibe, Diamond Bass Comp, Hermida Reverb
3. The poweralls at least have changed design over the years, hopefully they have improved. My early poweralls are in a small plastic case and don't have a ferrite bead on the line.
4. One of the risks of these onespot and powerall supplies is that they continue to supply current until their max power is reached and then they fold back (shut off and try to restart). This can be a concern if you have one pedal fail and thus all the pedals are connected. I did have a blackout effectors musket go out and the supply would keep resetting. All my pedals were fine and the issue was just a bad 3pDT footswitch. But just advising of what can happen.
I hope that helps, in the end you will have to make the decision. If you have the money available, I would just go with a pedalpower and get a power-all as a backup. Then you can try both for yourself. I see many posts about the pedalpower how the users notice their noise decrease compared to the one-spot.
blackba
Well-known member
Enjolras56":2jxjaclb said:
Correct the DC brick is not isolated. I believe it is the traditional linear power supply with a large transformer, compared to a one spot or powerall which is the newer style switch mode power supply.
university81
Active member
depends on what you need to power really, nothing wrong with them, got a one spot setup at home for a couple of pedals with no problems
as some have said most of the cheaper power supplies are non isolated/common grounds but usually have some filtering too, just housed in a box with separated outputs,
when buying a power supply it's probably a good idea to put a bit more money into it, something like the BBE supa charger (8 isolated outs) is great value for money
great list here:
http://stinkfoot.se/archives/808
delays /reverbs or pedals with higher power consumption on daisy chains or common ground/non isolated power have usually been the cause of hum/noise/ground loops in my experience, but depends on the pedals really,
as some have said most of the cheaper power supplies are non isolated/common grounds but usually have some filtering too, just housed in a box with separated outputs,
when buying a power supply it's probably a good idea to put a bit more money into it, something like the BBE supa charger (8 isolated outs) is great value for money
great list here:
http://stinkfoot.se/archives/808
delays /reverbs or pedals with higher power consumption on daisy chains or common ground/non isolated power have usually been the cause of hum/noise/ground loops in my experience, but depends on the pedals really,