Isolating your effect pedals (DO IT)

Author
Mosvalve
Max Output Level: -67 dBFS
  • Total Posts : 1194
  • Joined: 2009/11/20 20:49:33
  • Location: New Jersey
  • Status: offline
2017/08/13 02:46:51 (permalink)

Isolating your effect pedals (DO IT)

I watched a video by That Pedal Show
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=846&v=6moy_pAW3jU 
about seting up a wet/dry amp system. It's pretty cool how it works and sounds great. In that video they pointed out that it is a must to isolate each pedal's power and they demostrated how with regular power supplies you can get ground loops, hum, buzz etc. Isolating each pedal applies to any pedal setup by the way. When they isolated the pedals the amps were dead quiet. I use an older Dunlop DC Brick and I always have some kind of hum and just try to manage it.

I checked out some of these isolation power supplies and they aren't cheap. Today I decided to take a ride to Guitar Center and pick one up. I got the Voodoo Power Pedal 2 plus. I bought this power supply with the hope it will actually do what it claims to do. (By the way I setup the wet/dry amps yesterday using my DC Brick) and the hum/buzz was  there like always. I'm using my Bugera V22 for the dry and my Fender HotRod Deluxe for the wet and I'm using the Radial Twin City ABY.  Today I connected the Power Pedal 2 and wouldn't you know it the amps were dead silent. Man am I a happy camper. I think the pedals even sound better IDK. I love it when a product does what it claims to do.

Give it a try it's worth the expense.
 
This is the video I learned about isolating pedals
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XRCjHxaYkc
 
post edited by Mosvalve - 2017/08/13 03:28:18

BobV 
 
 
 
ASUS Prime Z370-P - Intel Core i7+ 8700K 3.7GHZ 16GB Memory, Intel HD Graphics 630 GPU,  Windows 10 Pro 64bit,  , Sonar Platinum 64bit, Motu 828MK3 Hybrid, Warm Audio TB12 Pre, Warm Audio WA273 Pre, AEA RPQ 500 Pre, Warm Audio WA76 Compressor, Presonus D8 Pre, Tonelux EQ5P 500 Eq, Kush Electra 500 Eq, Lindell PEX 500 Eq, Yamaha 80M monitors with HS10W Sub,  and a bunch of other good stuff. I have a Roland Juno-106 that's looking for a new home. PM me.
#1

6 Replies Related Threads

    wst3
    Max Output Level: -55.5 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 1979
    • Joined: 2003/11/04 10:28:11
    • Location: Pottstown, PA 19464
    • Status: offline
    Re: Isolating your effect pedals (DO IT) 2017/08/13 23:35:45 (permalink)
    I've been a big fan of isolated power supplies for large pedal boards forever. I have three PedalPower2s, a PedalPowerAC, and Pigtronix Isolated Power Supply powering my stuff, and I don't have to deal hum an buzz. If you have pedals that use higher voltages you might want to check out the Pigtronix, it covers all the bases, although for a very long time I just built my own series or parallel cables to get more current or higher voltages.

    Like the OP says, they just work!

    -- Bill
    Audio Enterprise
    KB3KJF
    #2
    tlw
    Max Output Level: -49.5 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 2567
    • Joined: 2008/10/11 22:06:32
    • Location: West Midlands, UK
    • Status: offline
    Re: Isolating your effect pedals (DO IT) 2017/08/15 03:43:27 (permalink)
    I've had a Pedal Power and a T-Rex mini fuel tank for years. They can be life savers with some stuff. Generally I only worry about isolating pedals that object to being daisy-chained, many are quite happy sharing power (and power ground) with others, and some just aren't.

    The other big noise inducer in pedals that I've come across more and more over the last few years are the switching supplies almost always built into modern wall warts. Some pedals really hate those things and emit all kinds of whines and buzzes when connected to them. Not just old pedals either :-( The switching supplies can also push out quite a bit of RFI and even be acoustically noisy. Not only cheap, no name Chinese ones either, I've a couple of noisy ones supplied by very reputable European synth makers.

    Sonar Platinum 64bit, Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit, I7 3770K Ivybridge, 16GB Ram, Gigabyte Z77-D3H m/board,
    ATI 7750 graphics+ 1GB RAM, 2xIntel 520 series 220GB SSDs, 1 TB Samsung F3 + 1 TB WD HDDs, Seasonic fanless 460W psu, RME Fireface UFX, Focusrite Octopre.
    Assorted real synths, guitars, mandolins, diatonic accordions, percussion, fx and other stuff.
    #3
    Pragi
    Max Output Level: -67 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 1173
    • Joined: 2010/09/19 11:46:59
    • Location: Village of the sun
    • Status: offline
    Re: Isolating your effect pedals (DO IT) 2017/08/15 07:45:58 (permalink)
    Good info about isolating.
    I´m using a simple but good DI box with ground lift in front of my pedal
    board - nearly no noises.
    Don´t know if I will spend 300 bucks or more for an isolated power supply
    to remove the rest of the noises ?
    Anyhow, thanks for the tip,Bob.
     
    #4
    batsbrew
    Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 10037
    • Joined: 2007/06/07 16:02:32
    • Location: SL,UT
    • Status: offline
    Re: Isolating your effect pedals (DO IT) 2017/08/17 14:42:03 (permalink)

    Bats Brew music Streaming
    Bats Brew albums:
    "Trouble"
    "Stay"
    "The Time is Magic"
    --
    Sonar 6 PE>Bandlab Cakewalk>Studio One 3.5>RME BFP>i7-7700 3.6GHz>MSI B250M>G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB>Samsung 960 EVO m.2ssd>W 10 Pro
     
    #5
    batsbrew
    Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 10037
    • Joined: 2007/06/07 16:02:32
    • Location: SL,UT
    • Status: offline
    Re: Isolating your effect pedals (DO IT) 2017/08/17 14:42:51 (permalink)

    Bats Brew music Streaming
    Bats Brew albums:
    "Trouble"
    "Stay"
    "The Time is Magic"
    --
    Sonar 6 PE>Bandlab Cakewalk>Studio One 3.5>RME BFP>i7-7700 3.6GHz>MSI B250M>G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB>Samsung 960 EVO m.2ssd>W 10 Pro
     
    #6
    Pragi
    Max Output Level: -67 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 1173
    • Joined: 2010/09/19 11:46:59
    • Location: Village of the sun
    • Status: offline
    Re: Isolating your effect pedals (DO IT) 2017/08/18 08:37:19 (permalink)
    Looks nice , your pedal board .
    Good to know  that the mxr iso brick is
    accurattely working .
    Will go for one to elimate the "rest "-noises of my board.
     
    regards
    #7
    Jump to:
    © 2024 APG vNext Commercial Version 5.1