EHX Small Clone/Stone and Boss BCB-60 Pedal Board incompatibility

[julian]

The problem to me is that boards are temporary, so going for boards with built in power isn’t something that I’d recommend. Having a power supply that is convenient for boards is nice

Personally I think I’ve made about 5 boards since I started putting my pedals on boards, which has only been 2 or 3 years. I’ve been playing for 7 and have used pedals for 6 1/2.

[finalplanet]

I’ve actually been playing for 20 years now, which is crazy when I think about it, and this is the first time I’ve tried to assemble a pedal board. I’ve always just played, but delving into all of this new knowledge has breathed so much life and energy into my music, I’ve just been loving it. I’ve really learned something new every step of the way. And now I’ve learned this awesome pedal don’t work with the bcb-60!

[electro-melx]

evil boss only want you to use boss pedals!!

[Lidocain]

Hello everybody !
I’m new on this forum, but a EHX user since many years.

Quote:

evil boss only want you to use boss pedals!!

I agree

Therefore, I encounter the same problem in my pedalboard. It’s not a Boss BCB60, but a Washburn “Bad Dog” pedalboard.
This pedalboard can power up to 6 pedals, 9V tip-negative (as are the majority of FX pedals over the world, with a few exceptions).
Connectors on this pedalboard are barrel-type (boss-style, if you like), but that’s not really a major problem since we could effectly use some kind of adapter to power the Small Stone/Clone from the pedalboard.

My major question (problem) is : if we power a 9V/tip-positive pedal from a 9V/tip-negative source, are there some kinds of risks for the unit (FX pedal) to malfunction ?

PS : it’s quite annoying, and it’s strange since I do have a Big Muff PI that is 9V/negative-tip with a “classic” barrel AC connector. Why not normalize all the pedals to use this 9V/tip-negative barrel AC connector ?

[julian]

As long as you use the proper adapter you should be fine. The 1spot C-35 plugs into a center negative boss connector and outputs center positive 1/8″ through the wiring.

What could cause a problem:

-using an adapter that doesn’t result in the proper polarity (if you plugged negative tip into a pedal that requires positive tip)
-sharing power between a pedal that uses positive ground and negative ground- this is a separate issue from polarity, and a reverse polarity cable will not fix the issue. (Most pedals use negative ground, but some old fuzzes use positive, like Tonebenders.)
-plugging a pedal into a power supply that outputs the wrong kind of power (AC instead of DC or vice versa)
-giving a pedal too much voltage (plugging a 40v frequency analyzer adapter into a pedal that requires 9v)

[Lidocain]

Great ! Exactly what I needed to know

Thanx a lot !

PS : I use a Small Stone (USA, MK IV, I think) unit. I LOVE it. The best phase-shifter, IMHO !

[finalplanet]

Quote:

I can’t recommend the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2+ enough. . . not a pedal board, but a very flexible power supply that you can mount under a pedal board that takes up much less space than a power strip, and can power a lot of different pedals. And for the ones it can’t power, there’s an optional jack.

I’m going to guess that the Microsynth needs it’s own isolated 9v source and that’s why it’s working. The Pedal Power has 8 of them, including two that have extra current for pedals that require more.

I traded in the bcb-60 for the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2+ and it did the trick. My micro synth is all powered up, along with my Wylde wah that wasn’t working with the bcb-60 either.

Now I just need to pick up a case and a couple of patch cables and I’m good to go.

Thanks for the help!

[julian]

yeah, it rocks. It’s the best solution out there right now for powering a pedalboard.

[Lidocain]

Got the Visual Sound C-35 adapter this morning. Works like a charm !

[Author]

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