Pedal Power

DelaneRouse

DelaneRouse

Blues Newbie
Quick question about your pedals...when you're using wall (AC) power, do you still unplug the guitar cable from the pedal when you're done playing?

Do I need to unplug the AC power from the pedal? Do I need to unplug the patch cables between the pedals too?

What about when I'm using battery/DC power?

I think I'm just looking for "best practices" when using pedals (AC and DC)...

Thanks in advance!
 
Zzzen Dog

Zzzen Dog

Blues Junior
Hey DR,

That's a really good question! I think most of us really don't think about it much because we're using some sort of pedal power solution, everything from using a One Spot to Strymon Zumas or Ojais (what I use).

For me, I have the pedalboard (with two Strymon Ojai's) and the amp running into a power strip. I manually shut down my amp, and then I use the power strip's switch to shut the pedals down.

Assuming that you're running just a couple of pedals with some wall warts, I'd just plug them into a power strip and power down like I do. Once you start building a board, assuming you haven't already, I'd look to that pedal power solution to deal with all the cables and the outlandish size of all the wall warts.
 
snarf

snarf

making guitars wish they were still trees
If you're using batteries, yes. Unplug them. Even if the pedal isn't activated, if the cable is plugged in, it'll drain. It sucks to put a brand new battery in a pedal, forget to unplug it, and come back the next evening to a dead pedal. Ask me how I know this. :D

If you're using AC power, when I'm done playing for the day, I usually unplug it from the wall or unplug the power supply (or just turn it off), but I don't bother unplugging the cables. No sense in that besides it would be a total pain if you're using more than a pedal or two.
 
snarf

snarf

making guitars wish they were still trees
Should also add that, if you're using more than just a pedal or two, double check your pedals to see if they're 9v, center negative (kind of the standard). If they are, pick up a 1 Spot for yourself. They're the handiest thing in the world for pedals
 
MikeS

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
straightblues said:
Most of the pedals with batteries get turned on when the guitar input cable is inserted. You can typcially leave the output cable in and it won't drain the battery.
Click to expand...
I guess the next questions would be if you have them daisy chained, will a pedal think that the patch cable from the pedal before it is a guitar and drain the battery?
 
PapaRaptor

PapaRaptor

Father Vyvian O'Blivion
Staff member
MikeS said:
I guess the next questions would be if you have them daisy chained, will a pedal think that the patch cable from the pedal before it is a guitar and drain the battery?
Click to expand...
Yes. If you have a 1/4" plug in the input jack, that pedal will not differentiate between another pedal and a guitar... another good reason to use a power supply (or unplug all the inputs on a battery operated board when you're not using it).
 
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dvs

dvs

Green Mountain Blues
Most (maybe all) of my battery-powered pedals cut the battery out of the circuit when something is plugged into the 9V power supply jack, even if the power is off, so the batteries don't drain even if there's something plugged into the input jack (guitar or patch cable). I don't know how common that is, but it is true for all my Boss pedals, a couple of Joyo's, Tech21 Sansamp, Xotic EP Boost, and others. Somebody (@PapaBear?) might have an idea how common that is. Apparently (from the discussion above) it's not universal.
 
PapaBear

PapaBear

Guit Fiddlier
All pedals that I've ever worked on have a switched jack for the 9V supply that opens the battery connection, I'm no Tree hugger by any stretch but to me Batteries should rarely ever be used, they truly are environmental disasters and if left and forgotten extremely corrosive and very dangerous, can't tell you how many thermostats I've seen with scorched wall behind them!

PS: when I build pedals I don't put battery connections in, unless it's requested
 
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david moon

david moon

Attempting the Blues
Just a couple of thoughts

If you have some kind of power supply feeding all the pedals, just disconnect it or turn off the power strip if it's in one.If there's no power source it won't matter if the input jacks are plugged in
If the pedal is running off battery, unplug the input jack. Even if the pedal is "off/bypass" for the signal it may be drawing power.
Most pedals I have seen disconnect the internal battery if an external power supply is connected. So you can leave a battery if you want to take it off the board, but still check for leackage and corrosion.
Some older pedals don't have an external power connector, just battery (and need a screwdriver to change it!) Be sure to unplug those and check for battery leakage and corrosion from time to time.
 
david moon

david moon

Attempting the Blues
PapaBear said:
All pedals that I've ever worked on have a switched jack for the 9V supply that opens the battery connection, I'm no Tree hugger by any stretch but to me Batteries should rarely ever be used, they truly are environmental disasters and if left and forgotten extremely corrosive and very dangerous, can't tell you how many thermostats I've seen with scorched wall behind them!

PS: when I build pedals I don't put battery connections in, unless it's requested
Click to expand...

what's the connection between batteries, thermostats, and scorched walls?

a battery for all the smartness in the thermostat?
 
david moon

david moon

Attempting the Blues
dvs said:
Most (maybe all) of my battery-powered pedals cut the battery out of the circuit when something is plugged into the 9V power supply jack, even if the power is off, so the batteries don't drain even if there's something plugged into the input jack (guitar or patch cable). I don't know how common that is, but it is true for all my Boss pedals, a couple of Joyo's, Tech21 Sansamp, Xotic EP Boost, and others. Somebody (@PapaBear?) might have an idea how common that is. Apparently (from the discussion above) it's not universal.
Click to expand...
As an EE design engineer that is how I would do it. Otherwise you could be connecting a 9V power supply ( of unknown capacity) to a 9V battery of unknown condition (leaky or flammable).
 
PapaRaptor

PapaRaptor

Father Vyvian O'Blivion
Staff member
Al Holloway said:
Even if the battery isn't drained if you have 9v power plugged in, I would suggest taking the battery out anyway. Otherwise you will forget it and in 2 or 3 years time the battery will leak and ruin your pedal with acid all over it.
cheers
Al.
Click to expand...
Excellent advice.
My Flying V has EMG active pickups and when I bought it with a broken headstock, it had been in the case for several years, with 9v battery in the battery box. The battery box had to be replaced. The battery had leaked, corroded the connector beyond repair and pretty much cemented itself inside the battery box.
 
david moon

david moon

Attempting the Blues
Recently bought some old pedals at an estate sale. MXR chorus and Cry Baby wha.. Neither one has a ext power connector. So need to keep an eye on usage, or shelf life it not in use.
 
ronico

ronico

rainyislandblues
Hey Delane! Obviously no quick answer to a quick question here! That's why the forum is loaded with info. learned so much here. My story started with ISpot and started daisy chaining and that didn't last long. Went to a VoodooLabPedal Power 2 Plus and that covered power my size board. Knowing what I know now would have gone to a good power supply and skipped the intermediate stage. ISpot now powering looper, trio plywood board. Long story short think ya should check out a decent power supply, just sayin'. And I think you got GAS trouble coming down the pipes so to speak. Enablers every where:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:btw totally agree on everything running off an on/off power supply, don't cheap out.
 
Rancid Rumpboogie

Rancid Rumpboogie

Blues Mangler
I listened to Shane of In The Blues. He said in a video that he never uses anything but a 1 Spot to power his gigging boards. A 1 Spot puts out 1700 milliamps. Both of my compact boards daily-chained together only draw 429 milliamps with every pedal on, which is ... never the case. So I am good. I have never had a single issue and have zero noise. I was adamant to have a VERY COMPACT pedal board that DID NOT require a wall wart! I just got a light-duty extension cord, plugged it in to the 1 Spot and mounted the 1 Spot in my pedal case on its side, under my HoTone Golden Touch OD pedal ... the extension cord coils up and stores nicely in the case ... and when setting up I don't have to find an outlet that will accommodate an awkward wall wart. There is no way I could have gotten the board anywhere near this compact using a big ol' power brick and the power brick's big ol' wall wart.
COMBINED BOARDS.JPG

MINBOARD CASE.JPG
 
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