Plugs aren’t necessarily the most exciting of purchases. However, if you’ve got a selection of pedals and you want them to run as quietly and efficiently as possible, then you’ll need one of the best pedalboard power supplies.
A good quality power supply will ensure that you don’t get unwanted noise interfering with your precious tone. It will also ensure that your pedals are getting enough power for them to work to their full potential.
With the huge variety of pedals on offer, you’ll find that the best pedalboard power supplies cater for as many different stompboxes as possible. You might have some low current 9v pedals, like a distortion or a boost, alongside a big multi-effects unit or a powerful digital reverb – this might need around 300-400mA or run on 12v. Luckily there are some great pedal power supplies out there that can cater for them all.
Best pedalboard power supplies: Guitar Player’s Choice
There are some really good options on the market at the moment. However, the best overall pedalboard power supply, for us, is the Walrus Audio Phoenix. It’s got 15 isolated outputs covering a range of different voltages and currents, meaning you can power pretty much any pedal out there.
If you’re running a smaller board or you're on a bit of a budget, but you’ve got some fairly serious digital pedals on there that draw a lot of current, then the Strymon Ojai is one of the best power supplies. Whilst it’s only got five 9v outputs, each one of them offers 500mA, plus there’s the option of expanding it via the 24v thru jack.
Best pedalboard power supplies: Product guide
For pedal fanatics, the Walrus Audio Phoenix might well be the best pedalboard power supply out there. It has a whopping 15 isolated outputs, meaning you can power more than a dozen pedals with their own dedicated voltage so that you only hear the noise that you want to hear, and not any unwanted background hum or hiss – ideal for both on stage and in the studio.
The Phoenix has variety of different voltages and currents to cater for all sorts of different pedals. Eight of them are 9v 100mA, with another four 9v 300mA to cater for your more power-hungry effects. Then there are two outputs for either 9 or 12v (100mA), and one for 9/18v (100mA). It’s put together really well – the cast metal casing will see it last for years on the road, and as soon as you pick it up, there’s no question of its premium quality.
The Phoenix is great for pedalboards that house a real mixture of effects. Most of your pedals will require a relatively low current, however you’ve still got plenty of room to cater for more powerful units that draw more current. It’s also nice having the 12v and 18v options on there, for the slightly more unusual pedals.
This more compact offering from Strymon is one of the best pedalboard power supplies for those with only a handful of effects. With five fully isolated 9v outputs each offering a massive 500mA, you’ve got enough juice to cater for the most power-hungry pedals out there.
Its all-analog circuitry means that you get two stages of isolation, so expect this to be an incredibly quiet unit – no ground loop or AC line noise here. Another thing that makes the Ojai one of the best is its automatic power compatibility, so whether you’re running on 240v, 120v, or 100v, you’re still going to get good, clean power to your pedals – this is an absolute must for touring guitarists.
Another nifty feature is the ability to combine more than one of these together. The Ojai has a 24v thru jack to expand your set-up with another unit, so that you can carry on using it even if you add more pedals to your board.
Dave Friedman has built pedals, boards and other bits of gear for a range of professional musicians over the last three decades, so it’s fair to say he knows a thing or two. The Friedman Power Grid 10 was designed by Dave to help eliminate some problems he had encountered over the years with other power supplies.
Firstly, there are 10 isolated 9v outputs, each with a 350mA output. Each output has enough power to cater for most pedals out there, even advanced digital ones. Regardless of what mix you’ve got of digital and analog pedals, the Friedman Power Grid can cater for it all, doing so with no unwanted noise or hum. It also features universal power allowing for usage in various countries. As long as all your pedals require no more than 9v, it’s one of the best pedalboard power supplies there is.
It’s also fairly light, so it doesn’t add much weight to your board. This is because unlike many other power supplies, it doesn’t have a toroidal transformer – this also means that there is no proximity hum so your pedals can be as close as you like to it – even on top of it (it’s actually been designed with being on a riser in mind, in case you don’t have room to mount it under your board).
The Cioks DC10 offers a range of different outputs and voltages, catering for lots of different pedals. In total, there are 10 outputs; eight of which are isolated. The first four supply a perfectly quiet and clean 9v/100mA each – these are great for your low-current pedals. Then you’ve got a pair of 9v or 12v outputs, each with 200mA, though these can also be merged to give 400mA. Lastly, there’s a 400mA output for either a 9v or 12v pedal, and then another 400mA output for a 12v or 15v pedal.
In use, it does exactly what it’s supposed to. It powers your pedals, and it remains quiet. Whilst it requires some thought about which section powers which pedal, once set up, it’s great. If you have a mix of different pedals, from regular overdrives to more advanced digital units, or even larger units requiring high voltages, then the Cioks is absolutely one of the best pedalboard power supplies available to players.
Additionally, the main LED on board that can help you monitor the temperature of the unit. The individual LEDs will also let you know if you’re on the edge of the current limit by dimming a little – clever stuff.
The Voodoo Labs Mondo is essentially the legendary 4x4 and then some. It’s one of the best pedalboard power supplies for those with a hefty mixture of big, power-hungry pedals and regular 9v battery style pedals.
Expect clean, quiet power with the Mondo. The 12 isolated outputs ensure that you’re supplying your pedals with what they need to operate to their full potential, without the annoyance of any unwanted noise. There’s also a built-in silent fan that will help regulate the temperature of the unit; handy when playing in small, hot venues.
There are a number of outputs on the Mondo; from 100mA 9v options for your lower current pedals, to 400mA 9v for things like Eventides and Strymons. You’ve got plenty of 12v options on there too, plus you can choose voltage sag for that dying battery sound that some fuzz pedals thrive on.
Stocky but lightweight, the Iso-Brick from MXR earns its way onto our list of the best pedal power supplies with its 10 isolated outputs covering a range of voltages and currents for seemingly any pedal.
The Iso-Brick runs really quiet, even with the most power hungry of pedals. It has 9v outputs ranging from 100 to 450mA. There are also two 18v outputs and two variable outputs with selectable voltage from 6-15v. With this you can recreate voltage sag, as you’d get with a dying battery – this is where some old school fuzz pedals sound their best so it’s a nice feature to have for some players.
It’s lightweight and the handy LEDs let you know that everything’s okay when you’re on a dark stage – the perfect gigging tool.
This is a relatively no-frills option. It’s one of the best pedalboard power supplies for players that want a solid, quiet and reliable way of powering a small selection of low-current pedals.
Say if your board consists of a tuner, some sort of Klon copy, a nice chorus and a fuzz, then you’re not going to need super high current outputs. The 120mA that each of the five isolated 9v outputs of the Fuel Tank gives you will be more than enough to power your pedals without any unwanted noise. If you do find yourself needing to power an 18v pedal, then you can combine two of the outputs to do so. It’s a reliable, good quality unit that serves its purpose, and doesn’t cost the earth.
While this is one of the more budget offerings on our list of the best pedalboard power supplies, the Truetone CS7 features analog circuitry, plus each one of the seven outputs is isolated to help kill any unwanted background noise.
It’s great for small- to medium-sized pedalboards, and can cater for all manner of voltages and currents. There are four 9/12v outputs, all supplying 200mA, a separate 18v 100mA output and then two more 9v outputs, each supplying a massive 500mA each. This means that alongside your regular 9v battery style pedals, you can also run bigger, more power-hungry pedals and still experience silent operation.
Alongside all the necessary cables, you even get metal brackets that allow you to install this to the bottom of a Pedaltrain board. All of this, combined with the CS7’s power switching feature that means you can run it on the various voltages found around the world, makes makes this truly one of the best pedalboard supplies around.
Best pedalboard power supplies: Buying advice
Choosing The Best Pedal Power Supply For You
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The best pedalboard power supply for you will depend on how many pedals you have, and what pedals they are. Whilst most pedals require a 9v center negative power supply, there are some that differ from this. Check the voltage your various pedals run at and you’ll quickly start to put together a list of what you need.
Different pedals draw different currents too. Analog fuzz and overdrive pedals, for example, tend to be fairly low current; you’ll find many that are under 10-20mA. However, powerful digital pedals, like those by the likes of Strymon, Eventide, Line 6 etc, will draw more current. These can require anything from 300mA upwards. If you have some of these pedals, then make sure your power supply provides enough current for these to run properly.
If you’ve only got a few pedals, you might be drawn to something that will power these and nothing else – for some players, that’s perfect. However, you might want to think about future proofing your pedalboard power supply option. If you know that you’re likely to add more pedals to your board later down the line, then we’d recommend spending that little bit extra on something that will serve your needs in the near future, not just now.
What’s Daisy Chaining, And Can I Do It To Power My Pedalboard?
If you’re reading this then it’s likely that you’ve reached the limitations of a single plug and are looking to move on to one of the best pedalboard power supplies. When you’re powering just one pedal, a lot of the time just using a good quality power supply plug will suffice. As your pedal collection expands, you might have experimented with daisy chaining – that is, using an adapter on the end of your plug to power multiple units from just one plug.
This might work okay, as long as every component is of a high quality – however doing this can often yield fairly noisy results. When you use a single plug to power multiple pedals, you’re essentially splitting the current provided by the plug between the individual pedals. So if your plug provides 100mA, and you’re splitting it five ways then that’s just 20mA each, which isn’t much.
In addition to this, daisy chaining means that just one source is powering all of your pedals, making you more susceptible to ground loop issues. If you’ve got a power supply with isolated outputs, you can chain your analogue pedals together, so long as their combined current doesn’t exceed that of the output you’re running from.
What’s An Isolated Power Supply?
Some the best pedalboard power supplies have a number of isolated outputs. This means that those outputs are separate from one another which can be really useful if you’re running analog and digital pedals. When you start running different types of pedals from the same output, you can experience unwanted hum. Isolated outputs help get rid of this; you can view each one as its own smaller power supply.
Which Brands Make The Best Pedalboard Power Supplies?
When shopping for the best pedalboard power supplies, you’ll likely come across some familiar names. Pedal (and board) manufacturers including Strymon, MXR, Voodoo Labs and Friedman have some really good options on offer. There are also some brands out there which concentrate more on the power side of things, like Cioks.
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