Not all pedal power is created equal. Simply put, the power you put into your effect pedals will impact the experience you get out. Put even more simply, there is some strict science at play here which can make or (literally) break your pedalboard. Though powering your pedalboard may seem like a one-size-fits-all afterthought, the straight rules are not as universal as we’d like them to be – but fear not, we have you covered. With a couple fast points and even faster science, the mystery and ambiguity of powering your pedalboard can hopefully be remedied.
TL; DRThere are some hard-and-fast rules to powering your pedals in relation to their power requirements. In shopping for a power supply, it is important to pay attention to those requirements as they can directly affect the operation of your pedals. Different options for pedalboard power supplies can offer greater flexibility for pedalboard design and function.
Pedal Power: Voltage, Amperage, and Polarity
If you’re just getting into pedals, or even if you’ve been in on them for a while, there’s a chance you’ve heard these terms out and about. You might be tempted to fall into the habit of “Ah, I’m sure it’s fine, I’ll learn them later,” but you know, no day like today, right? Voltage, amperage, and polarity are actually incredibly important when it comes to powering your pedals correctly and learning the ropes doesn’t take as long as you might think. With that all in mind, let’s talk about these three tantalizing concepts.
Voltage
Voltage, as denoted commonly by a “V”, as in, “9V power supply”, is the most basic thing to learn about your pedals as you go to power them. The voltage requirement of your pedal must always match the voltage output of your power supply.
The most common voltage requirement for pedals is nine volts, with twelve and eighteen volts being the next most frequently seen. Your average pedal (think a basic Boss stompbox for example) will intake nine volts of power to operate. If you get into more fancy pedals, you might find 9-18V requirements, meaning the pedal will operate on either nine- or eighteen-volt power supplies.
If a pedal advertises that it works with a 9-18V power requirement, you can use up to an eighteen-volt power supply to work it, but not over. Pedals that can operate past nine volts and into the eighteen-volt range commonly come with additional functions due to the increased power input.
Higher VoltagesSome pedals that are advertised to operate up to eighteen volts usually have something extra built into their circuitry like added headroom or a different gain structure (for an overdrive, for example) from powering the pedal with a nine-volt supply. It is important to note that if it is the case, that a pedal can operate on a higher voltage level, it will be advertised with the pedal. It is not wise to assume any pedal can work with higher voltage levels, so be sure to stay smart and know what voltage the power supply you’re hooking up to your pedal provides and what your pedal will accept!
Amperage
This rule is a little simpler. Amperage is denoted with a pedal by the mA number associated with the pedal (“mA” meaning “milliamps”), and refers to a threshold, similar to voltage, that a power supply must hit before a pedal is operational. Different from voltage, however, is that a supply’s amperage can exceed a pedal’s mA requirement.
Here’s an example. Say your pedal has a power requirement of nine volts and 100mA. If you look at your power supply and it notes that it only provides 50mA of power, then your pedal will not work. Your power supply will have to have a mA level of at least 100mA to power the pedal on – any more than that will not do anything more, the supply just has to hit that base level.
Polarity
Here we get into the more physical attributes of power supplies. Polarity refers to the tips of your power supply cables (the things you literally plug into the pedal) and the physical design of said tips. If you’ve ever hit a snag with powering a pedal where the plug of your power supply is giving some resistance, or is too loose, you’ve experienced a problem of unmatched polarities.
When a pedal is referred to as having a “center negative” requirement, that refers to the barrel of your power supply’s plug needing to be a certain design as to deliver negative center power. If this sounds like a lot to keep track of, don’t worry! The industry standard for polarity is center negative, so your most common power supplies will have a center negative tip, with really only the most boutique and demanding pedals requiring anything much different.
If you’re stuck with a plug that either won’t easily fit in (or won’t stay in) your pedal, you’ve got a different polarity tip than what the pedal requires. Don’t get frustrated and don’t try to force it, all you might need is a different cable!
Batteries
Some of the most popular pedal brands today, namely Boss and Electro-Harmonix, will advertise that their pedals accept battery power. While this can be a great quick fix or backup in some situations, we generally do not recommend using batteries as your primary mode of powering your pedals – and why’s that? Well, batteries die, my friends.
While you might be familiar with batteries these days working until they don’t, your nine-volt batteries that connect to pedals aren’t so lively. With battery connections, you will hear and see your batteries die in real time. This might not be immediate, but you’ll see the death of your battery affect your pedal’s performance with spotty connections, signals dropping in and out, a change in the tonal character of the effect, or all of the above.
Because of all of these things related to reliability and performance, we’d advise against relying on nine-volt batteries to power your pedals.
"Industry Standard"
Pedal companies are not blind to the general trends and needs of their players. Because of this, industry standards for pedal power among effect pedal companies have formed to make their products as accessible for players as possible. The industry standard for pedal requirements is 9 Volt DC center negative, meaning your average pedal needs a supply outputting nine volts of power with a negative center barrel tip. Most power supplies you find on the market will start from this standard and expand from there. As you get into fancier and more involved pedals, you’ll likely have to branch out into different supplies, but for starters, look for supplies advertised as “industry standard” or simply “9 Volt DC Center Negative” and you’ll be just fine.
What is an effect pedal power supply?
Now, we’re going to be talking about “dedicated power supplies” or “central power supplies” for a while here, so let’s lay out some vocabulary.
- Central/dedicated power supply: A type of power supply with separate power and plug components. These qualities, found in supplies like the Walrus Canvas Power or Fender Engine Room series, make for a more flexible experience with common traits being several isolated power outputs, switchable voltage outputs, and detachable power connector cables and wall outlet connections.
- Wall wart/daisy chain power supply: A type of power supply that combines wall outlet connection and power connector cables. One of the most common types of supply found with this design is the 1Spot Combo power supply .
One thing to note is you may find these kinds of lone wall wart power sources included with higher-end pedals with more specific power requirements (Strymon, Surfy Industries). If you’re picking up a higher-end pedal secondhand, make sure to find out what power requirements that pedal might need and if your secondhand seller includes its certain supply.
Why is a dedicated effect pedal power supply worth it?
This is, in fact, a great and relevant question. In a world of batteries and daisy chains, why would you need a dedicated power supply? Well, there are a few reasons and wouldn’t you know it, we’re here to run ‘em down. Here are a couple examples of why a dedicated power supply is worth it:
Reliability
As we mentioned in our section about batteries, a dedicated power supply will output consistent power to all the pedals it is connected to. A unified and central power source removes a lot of the headaches associated with a mix-and-match power setup – as well as a lot of the guesswork and troubleshooting. If you’re having trouble figuring out what might be wrong in your signal chain, a central power supply can eliminate the question of power when trying to find a solution.
In addition to a central supply making for an easy thing to check for power problems, a central supply will help alleviate the risk of power fluctuations. Power fluctuations, brought on by the flow of electricity through the supply and into the pedals, can cause changes in tone produced by pedals or create ground hum audible through your amp. You might hear people here and there talk about “clean” pedal power produced by dedicated power supplies – essentially, not coloring your effects’ tonal output through your power supply. Dedicated power supplies do just this, so getting one is sure to help preserve your pedals’ performance.
Durability
Most dedicated power supplies are also designed to protect pedals from power surges. This is a key advantage over other wall wart daisy chain power supplies or batteries. Since pedals require certain power specifications to not only work well but work at all, it is important to make sure your power supply is capable of protecting from surges that could damage the internal workings of your pedals.
In addition to this, dedicated power supplies are designed to withstand a couple dings, bumps, and drops from the outside as well. Since we’re working with some pretty delicate functions and connections, it’s important to make sure nothing on the outside is primed to outright break from a waist-height fall – which is something most dedicated power supplies will have no problem with.
Flexibility
If you’ve got a central power supply, we’re not going out on too much of a limb here in saying that you like pedals – so much so in fact that you’re probably going to want to change and rearrange your setup before long. Dedicated power supplies enable a revolving door policy of pedalboard building as pedals can be changed position both in the chain and on the board pretty easily.
What’s more, dedicated power supplies can have their connecting wires removed altogether, as opposed to your garden-variety daisy chain. What that means is that using four pedals with a five-connection power supply doesn’t mean you have an extra wire left over dangling. Take that wire out and change your setup as you need!
Organization
So, this somewhat goes hand-in-hand with our last point. As we said, a central power supply enables you to mix and match your pedals as you see fit. What this means is that you can put in the work ahead of time to organize your pedals in the way you want while allowing the freedom to change them all easily later. Most power supplies are physically designed with this mindset of organization as a priority, so helping all your cables and wires stay straight and clean should be no problem. In the end, these tools are meant to inspire creativity, not get in the way of it. With a well-manicured board, more time can be spent exploring than setting up.
Choosing an Effect Pedal Power Supply
There are a lot of options when it comes to picking a power supply. From the single wall wart that comes with some pedals to custom built units capable of powering dozens, you have a wide selection. Before making any decisions, let’s take a quick look at your setup and answer the following questions:
How many pedals do you have?
There may come a point where your board evolves beyond a single wall wart or daisy chain. Worry not! There are plenty of power supplies that can work with a smaller number of pedals.
Should you have a larger assortment of pedals that you’ve meticulously sorted out to play its best, there are power supplies for those boards as well. If you’re an experienced connoisseur of effect pedals, you've probably come down this road already. Reaching higher numbers in pedals calls for larger power sources, luckily, there are many power supplies available to meet those needs.
What power specs do you need?
The power each pedal needs plays an enormous role when picking out a power supply. If you’ve reached a point where different voltages and amperages have mixed and mingled in your chain, you will have to take those points into consideration to make sure every pedal connects together and plays its best.
Do you expect to add to your board?
It’s exciting when you see a new pedal come on your radar that will be a must-have, but it can be a bummer when your current board may not have the space or power to fit it. This is a point to consider if you’re happy with the space and power you’ve allotted to your pedals, or if you’re still in the market for more. There are many choices in power supplies that are a solid step up from the last when you’re on the lookout for more entries to your pedal lineup.
Many power supplies conveniently are designed for additional connectable add-on units that expand power sources and capabilities. In many cases, one power supply may not be the end of the line when it comes to finalizing a board, so keep a look out for the add-on units for a couple of popular power supplies so your board can grow along with your pedal collection.
Power Supply Recommendations
For someone with a handful of individual 9V pedals who isn't ready to build a board, these daisy chain and single unit supplies are economical and simple.
Shop Standalone and Daisy Chain Power Supplies
If you have a smaller or minimalist board that has consistent power needs and composition, these units will give you all of the pluses above without breaking the bank.
Shop Small/Mid-Sized Power Supplies
For those with a thirst for exploration, large boards or bigger aspirations, these power supplies have multiple voltage options and some are expandable, a great feature to future proof your board.
Shop Large-Sized Power Supplies
Any Questions?
With some quick rules and careful planning, finding the perfect power supply to match your board can be a breeze. Keeping your pedals safe, your tone preserved, and your board organized has never been easier with the variety of options available today. Find the perfect supply and believe us, your pedals will thank you.
If you have any questions, we’re here to help, so feel free to reach out anytime.
