One Spot vs. Fancy Power Supply?

[Helter]

Alright dudes so I just use a Onespot to power about 9 pedals. I was just wondering how much of a difference using an actual power supply makes (cioks, voodoo labs, you know). I want one but their so pricey and every time I get the cash I look at them, and then end up blowing the cash on whatever else I "need" at the moment. Anyway, I was just hoping I could get a few statements that make me really REALLY want a power supply.
EDIT: if this is a thread somewhere, I couldn't find it

[mathias]

I've got two OneSpots for my board, powering a total of 11. I'm at the point where I want a fancy power supply (probably the Cioks Pussy Power) just so that I can:
a) adjust voltage for the pedals that will sound better at 12v or 18v
b) drive even more pedals
c) have one power cable going to board rather than current power strip setup zip tied to board.

[bigchiefbc]

I used a one-spot for years. The reason I went to a dedicated power supply is that I got a couple pedals that had funky voltage requirements, and my wah required an isolated power. So it ended being that i needed like 3 wall-warts in addition to the 1spot, and then what's the point? But if all your pedals are daisy-chainable 9v, and none of them are making any funky noise, then I don't think there's much of a point to it, unless you're a neat pedalboard freak.

[Helter]

I used a one-spot for years. The reason I went to a dedicated power supply is that I got a couple pedals that had funky voltage requirements, and my wah required an isolated power. So it ended being that i needed like 3 wall-warts in addition to the 1spot, and then what's the point? But if all your pedals are daisy-chainable 9v, and none of them are making any funky noise, then I don't think there's much of a point to it, unless you're a neat pedalboard freak.

Yeah that's why I always thought people needed power supplys but I heard that like it would improve the tone or something like that. The only pedal I even have that could be run at a weird voltage is the elements and I think it sounds flipping awesome at 9 so I don't want to shell out the cash for one pedal.

[bigchiefbc]

I used a one-spot for years. The reason I went to a dedicated power supply is that I got a couple pedals that had funky voltage requirements, and my wah required an isolated power. So it ended being that i needed like 3 wall-warts in addition to the 1spot, and then what's the point? But if all your pedals are daisy-chainable 9v, and none of them are making any funky noise, then I don't think there's much of a point to it, unless you're a neat pedalboard freak.

Yeah that's why I always thought people needed power supplys but I heard that like it would improve the tone or something like that. The only pedal I even have that could be run at a weird voltage is the elements and I think it sounds flipping awesome at 9 so I don't want to shell out the cash for one pedal.

I've never heard that an isolated power supply would improve tone, but I can definitely confirm that it eliminates noise and hiss in SOME pedals, that don't really like being daisy-chained. If you don't have any noise or hiss, then I don't think it will improve much.

[Helter]

Hmmmm now that you say that I've got quite a bit of hiss but I was thinking a noise gate of some sort but when recording I usually take the pedals I need for the song off the board to make a smaller chain... which eliminates the hiss... which makes it seem obvious a power supply is needed... or would a NS-2 solve that for half the cost? Or would a power supply to the trick better?

[bigchiefbc]

An NS-2 will probably do the job, I just don't like noise gates because they fuck with the decay on some of my dirt and fuzz. The question is whether the hiss is from the actual signal path of one of your fx, or whether it's caused by power. If you can find which pedal is giving you the hiss, try putting it on its own wall wart and see if the hiss goes away. If yes, then a power supply is probably a good idea.

[in_sherman]

i saw some test on youtube that supposedly proved that the godlyke powerall should provide "quieter" power than the onespot, but i don't know if what i'm looking at on the screen would really mean that. always suspicious of marketing bitches. could be legitimate research tho. my onespot is great. like posted above, my recent acquisition of an 18v pedal makes me want to get one of the fancier things

[julius_deane]

I recently switched back from a PP2+ to two 1SPOTs. There might be slightly more hiss, but I sometimes run a Tele, so I'd have it anyway. I don't run super loud, so it's not a huge deal. Part of the reason I cashed out on the PP was that it didn't solve the problems I thought it would. For example, a pedal's clock cutting through when fuzz was on.

[stripes]

i just switched from using a one-spot to using a fuel tank jr and a pp2+. honestly, it depends on what pedals you have. for the longest time the one spot powered my 4-5 boss/occasional electro harmonix peds. one time i got an echo park, and that couldn't handle being daisy chained (always made noise through other pedals even when it was off). i got an rrr and that didn't like to be daisy chained either. eventually i got to the point where i was connecting two chains on one one spot and trying to power something like 11 pedals, and it just got messy. having an isolated supply definitally will clean up the pedals that don't play well when they're chained to others, but if you're not having any problems now, stick with the one spot - because no one wants to spend $150+ on a power supply.

if you don't want to spend the money - wait around until a used fuel tank jr comes around (usually around $60), and you can always daisy chain the pedals that can be daisy chained with no problem on one of the outputs, and use the 4 others for the pedals that need isolation. that's what i did for a while... until i got more... and more... and more pedals.

also, for what it's worth... using power supplies are a lot "cleaner" looking than a one spot, if you're into that. i remember running into problems with stretching the one spot cables around my board, having the extras hang off somewhere, etc. they're messy in an unappealing way, i think.

[behndy]

i was getting a bunch of hiss before i left One Spots foreeeeeeever but that was back in the day. dunno if it was just the pedal layout or one pedal not liking being all chainy chained. i use a (ghetto'd) One Spot for demo vids and trying out peds, works fine for just a few pedz.

i'll probably always use an isolated power supply thinger for what everybody's mentioned here. more voltage options, cleaner layout, being able to isolate pedals that don't like chains, one power cord coming out.

and with the Ciokolate doing DC and AC? fuck yeah.

[foomanfat]

I used a one-spot for years. The reason I went to a dedicated power supply is that I got a couple pedals that had funky voltage requirements, and my wah required an isolated power. So it ended being that i needed like 3 wall-warts in addition to the 1spot, and then what's the point? But if all your pedals are daisy-chainable 9v, and none of them are making any funky noise, then I don't think there's much of a point to it, unless you're a neat pedalboard freak.

Pretty much this for me, as well. I used to chain upward of 12 pedals on a single OneSpot, but I got a Whammy recently so I switched to a T-rex Chameleon.

[mathias]

I may just get another daisy chain to add on to one of my OneSpots if it will happily run more than 5 pedals. It's a stopgap, at least, until I can afford the Cioks.

[julius_deane]

Word on Line 6 Tonecores not working with daisy chains. Just another reason to dislike 'em. Damn Verbzilla is sweet though.

[MannequinRaces]

Hmmmm now that you say that I've got quite a bit of hiss but I was thinking a noise gate of some sort but when recording I usually take the pedals I need for the song off the board to make a smaller chain... which eliminates the hiss... which makes it seem obvious a power supply is needed... or would a NS-2 solve that for half the cost? Or would a power supply to the trick better?

I would strongly advise against using a noise gate if possible. I had an NS-2 and it messed with my tone too much. With that said I run a One Spot powering 12 pedals (bought an extension) and then have four or five wall warts.

For larger pedals boards that don't require funky power and if your setup is relatively quiet (shielding your guitar makes a huge difference and so does owning a guitar with better wiring, etc.) I'd stick with the One Spot. If you have a smaller setup, want things nice and tidy, and the added benefits of an isolated power to each pedal then get one. Like most people, I hate spending money on 'utility' items like pedalboards, tuners, and better cables when that money could go towards a new pedal.