Powering Boss Pedals...??

[Adrian R]

Okay, so like I have just got this Boss delay pedal in the mail. I have always used Fulltone and MXR pedals in the past...so this is my first Boss pedal.

I get it out of the box, and I want to put it on my powered pedal board, and power it with one of the Voodo Labs 9v taps... However, right on the pedal there is a sticker that says to use Boss PSA adapters only. WTF is this? This may be a stupid question, but do their pedals require some kind of fing proprietary power source?

Thank you in advance.

AR

 

[PelliX]

WTF is this?

A feeble attempt to sell you a power supply and deny warranty if you use it with anything else. As it happens, their PSU's are so-so, nothing wrong with them, but nothing superb either. The warranty bit is rubbish, people will invariable say they used a battery.

This may be a stupid question, but do their pedals require some kind of fing proprietary power source?

Nope, bog standard 9V DC mostly. Check your polarity (center pin negative generally) and off you go.

 

[fitz]

However, right on the pedal there is a sticker that says to use Boss PSA adapters only. WTF is this? This may be a stupid question, but do their pedals require some kind of fing proprietary power source?

Nope, just trying to get you to buy the brand.
I've run my Boss pedals off a variety of different 9v adapters.

 

[Adrian R]

Nope, just trying to get you to buy the brand.
I've run my Boss pedals off a variety of different 9v adapters.

Cool, that's what I thought. Thanks dude..

 

[Adrian R]

Nope, just trying to get you to buy the brand.
I've run my Boss pedals off a variety of different 9v adapters.

Thanks!

 

[freefrog]

That said... Boss pedals and their buffers are potentially more sensitive than others to noise due to a daisy chained power supply. In such a case, it can be useful to have several separate transformers (or a good PSU with isolated outputs, of course).
IME. YMMV. HTH.

 

[WillyW]

I have daisy chained a metric butt-load of boss pedals…

this board has a 8 truetone supply with a few (7) daisy chained.. some off the tuna, some off the truetone…

its boss, they ain’t remotely fragile…

 

[freefrog]

I've said that "Boss pedals and their buffers are potentially more sensitive than others to noise" simply because I've personally got mixed results with them (in the half dozen of pedalboards that I've here, all with different power supplies): depending on the exact pedal models, PSU and wires used, a chain can/could be dead silent or produce a buzz. My Anniversary Boss SD1 and DS1, for instance, buzz with a daisy chain that my other pedals don't seem to notice.

Of course, it's not limited to Boss pedals: buffered ones, in general, can be noisy. I've also a mini-HOF reverb which is true bypass but still prone to "contaminate" other pedals with a whinning digital noise once enabled...

That said, a PSU of the same brand than the pedals doesn't always solve the issue. My main band-mate of these last years has a dedicated Boss plastic case with its proper power supply, wiring etc. ... and he periodically complains about his all-Boss pedalboard as being noisier than mines. :-/

My personal solutions against the noise encountered with SOME pedals and chains have been...
-to use several transformers, up to one unit per pedal. For small chains, it avoids the noise and is less expensive than a PSU with isolated outputs;
- to use a PSU with isolated outputs of course, but not that often...
- to mod the wiring in such a way that the grounding is not done through the power supply AND signal path simultaneously: one grounding point per pedal is enough and can drastically diminish the noise in some cases. But putting this solution in practice requires to think twice and to use some tools...

Again: IME. YMMV. HTH.

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

@Adrian R
I had that same question.
I have been using a 1-spot
for my mixture of Boss an MXR
pedals.. as the others before me, no problem’s

 

[mickeydg5]

Okay, so like I have just got this Boss delay pedal in the mail. I have always used Fulltone and MXR pedals in the past...so this is my first Boss pedal.

I get it out of the box, and I want to put it on my powered pedal board, and power it with one of the Voodo Labs 9v taps... However, right on the pedal there is a sticker that says to use Boss PSA adapters only. WTF is this? This may be a stupid question, but do their pedals require some kind of fing proprietary power source?

Thank you in advance.

AR

It is always nice when a poster actually tells us what actual unit.

Dude, I thought of you better but am seeing like the rest of the posters here lately.

 

[Scallywag77]

PSA means it’ll run on 9v. Older Boss pedals are ACA. Meaning you have to either mod them to run on 9v or run them 12v.

 

[SkyMonkey]

The only Boss pedal I had 'Daisy Chain' problems with was an RC-3.
I changed to a Harley Benton PowerPlant ISO-1 Pro and the buzzing went away.

Harley Benton PowerPlant ISO-1 Pro

Multi-power supply for effect pedals 8 Isolated, filtered and short-circuit protected outputs eliminate noise and hum, High capacity for modern digital effects, LED monitoring on each output, Powered via a 12V @ 2A DC power supply (included),...

www.thomann.de

 

[Kutt]

I would argue that your Voodoo Lab Pedal Power is built better than a PSA adapter.

Go forth and rock thy JCM 900 and/or JCM 2000 with chokes.

 

[auburnshred]

I have daisy chained a metric butt-load of boss pedals…

this board has a 8 truetone supply with a few (7) daisy chained.. some off the tuna, some off the truetone…

its boss, they ain’t remotely fragile…

Wow....that is a PB, buffer?

 

[WillyW]

Wow....that is a PB, buffer?

Peanut butter?