Batteries or power supply for stompboxes?

[TRA]

Doing a little market research here. I've been building stompboxes as a hobby for about 12 years now, and I've always used a 1Spot power supply to power all of my stuff. As a result, I don't put battery snaps inside my enclosures.


How do you prefer to power your stompboxes? Batteries or power supply?

 

[Skaldir]

I always had problems with ground or hum noises with power supplies, but i hated to use batteries.
Then I bought the Boss PSA-230 together with a daisy chain through the ns-2 pedal to power all pedals and its dead silent.

 

[Trevoire520]

I've never found much, if any difference. Recorded plenty of stuff using a power supply and I've never once been left thinking "man, those guitars would have sounded so much better if I used batteries"

 

[-Noodles-]

I've never come across a power supply that failed mid-set like a battery.

 

[bryan_kilco]

Been using batteries basically my whole life in pedals.

It does become a pain to have to change them.

ALSO - this reminded me that my little "snap" thingy on my NS-2 is ripping in half. =/

 

[006]

Batteries are technically "better" in the fact that they are consistent and clean power... at least until they start running out of juice anyway.

 

[Skaldir]

Batteries are technically "better" in the fact that they are consistent and clean power... at least until they start running out of juice anyway.

Consistent? They start with something like 9.3V and then lose more and more voltage when in use

 

[Nimvi]

I cannot stand using batteries. Yes they are less noisy, but the feeling that a tap is running while I'm playing annoys the shit out of me. I find it bothersome enough as it is with just an active guitar pickup...and those can go with a single battery for a looong time

 

[Code001]

Isolated power supply is the way to go, unless you have a fuzz pedal and want a specific type of tone that only certain batteries can offer. Given that most people here play metal, I doubt that's the case. The PP2+ is really the best on the market for the price. If you don't need all that versatility, the ISO-5 is the next best choice.

 

[53Crëw]

IMHO - If you're asking because you want to know if people want to option to use batteries in your stomp boxes you're making, I'd say it would be a mistake not to install a battery connector. Sure, not everyone uses batteries and goes with an AC adapter, but it's really nice having the option, and a 9 volt battery clip is cheap.

As far as my pedal setup, if I'm using a pedal board with multiple pedals or a switching system, I like an AC adapter. If I'm just using one or two pedals for recording or wanting a simple live setup then it's batteries. These days, I run a super simple setup which usually consists of just a tube screamer, and occasionally a graphic EQ, so it's nice having the simplicity of just a battery powered box.

 

[amarshism]

change batteries every gig if you care that much

 

[nialldoran]

only problems i've ever had with power supplies, is when they are plugged in at the studio to an outlet that has a lamp with dimmers, other than that i'd use power supplies as much as possible, i find certain pedals sap batteries really quickly, like the verbzilla

 

[if6was9]

I'm a power supply guy. Took me a while to get a power supply that was quiet and powered alot of units though. Went with the Diago Powerstation and very happy with it. I used a few other cheap supplies and daisy chains with noise problems and it was a pain. Some venues would be fine and others would be a disaster.

I've used batteries for a long time in the past and it's hassle and expensive. If you're running 4-5 pedals at rehearsals and gigs and using batteries you will run into problems and changing them often gets expensive. Having to plug all your units out when not in use eats into setup and take down time too.