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Powering Pedals

Powering Your Pedals

Here is some information on pedal power.  Much of it learned the hard way!  This is a generic article aimed at helping you with pedal power.  All Dragon Pedals products use standard 9V Centre Negative "Boss style" power connectors.

Power Supplies

Almost all effects pedals will become noisy (hiss, squeaks, clicks, hum, whine etc.) if they are not powered by either a battery or a fully isolated power supply that has been designed for use with guitar effects pedals. And it can just get worse the more pedals you have. Noise from one pedal can make noise from your other pedals worse.

Fully isolated power supplies are supplies that are in effect a series of separate power supplies in a box. Each supply isolated with no direct connection to any of the other supplies, so your pedals have no direct connection to one another through their individual power sockets.

Take care when choosing a power supply as the term isolated is often used to mean different things.  Check the manufacturers specifications and if in doubt email them and ask.  There can be a lot of regret associated with a bad power supply choice!

Please do not use daisy chain cables.  You'll get noise if you do! 

Here's a useful article from Premier Guitar

Voltage and Current and Polarity

The majority of pedals use 9V DC, centre negative power, often referred to as Boss type power.  However, some pedals need 12V, 18V or 24V DC power.  Some pedals need AC power - for example some of the Line 6 range; some pedals use centre positive connectors.  You must check your pedal's manual to make sure you supply it with the correct power.

In addition to voltage, a pedal will require a minimum amount of current to operate - often quoted as milliamps (mA). It's okay for this number to be bigger than the pedal's requirement but not okay if it is smaller.  For example:  a pedal requiring 500 mA with a power supply that can only provide 100 mA will not work and could also damage the power supply. However, a pedal requiring 100 mA with a power supply that can provide 500 mA will work fine and will do no damage to the pedal or power supply.

The vast majority of guitar pedals have power connectors described as centre negative - confusingly sometimes called tip negative.  This is also referred to as the polarity of the pedal.  There are exceptions - especially older pedals.  Always check the polarity of your pedals - you will often see symbols like these on the pedal.  

Summary

  • Use an isolated power supply.
  • Unless you're a fan of noise, do not use daisy chain cables.
  • Too much voltage = bad.
  • Too little current = bad.
  • Wrong polarity = bad.