Members ck3 Posted January 18, 2006 Members Share Posted January 18, 2006 I'm currently contemplating the purchase of a Dunlop DC Brick power supply. The original intent in doing so was to power my Barge Concepts BB-1 at 18v (which has been deemed safe by the builder) ... but I was wondering if my Fender Blender Custom could take the extra juice as well. Though the manual only recommends 9-9.6v, I have already run it with an unregulated Rat Shack 12v supply with no issues aside from a very irritating hum. Will 18v blow any of the internal components of the Blender, or will the volume issue with the non-boost mode be safely corrected? Also, what other fuzzes can be safely powered at 12-18v? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fernmeister Posted January 18, 2006 Members Share Posted January 18, 2006 i would not run any fuzzes with more than 12v. if anything, most fuzzes sound better with less voltage, not more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators AMZ-FX Posted January 18, 2006 Moderators Share Posted January 18, 2006 Originally posted by ck3 Also, what other fuzzes can be safely powered at 12-18v? Capacitors have to be rated at 25v or higher... I usually use 50v caps in the pedals that I build. I had an old Ibanez TS-9 pedal that had a few 16v electrolytic caps in it.... not good for running on 18v. You also have to be aware how much current the pedal draws... if it is using a lot of juice then you have to figure out the load on the R-C power supply filter. The rating of the 1/4w resistor can be exceeded.... that's why I use a 1/2w in the R-C filter in some of my pedals. If the pedal has a voltage doubler in it, then it could very well be damaged by applying a voltage in excess of 9v since the common MAX1044 and related chips that used in the pedals has an absolute maximum rating of 10v. Put 12v or higher into it and it will blow out unless the designer has planned for that... and also, many unregulated adapters will put out 12v or higher when driving a light load and you could blow up the MAX chip with a 9v adapter and wonder what went wrong! Simple, eh? regards, Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FLYING V 83 Posted January 18, 2006 Members Share Posted January 18, 2006 I accidently ran my Tonefactor Omega Fuzz at 18v off my DC Brick for 2 practices before I realized it. No difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ck3 Posted January 18, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 18, 2006 Originally posted by fernmeister i would not run any fuzzes with more than 12v. if anything, most fuzzes sound better with less voltage, not more. I did perceive a slight degredation of "tone" with the Rat Shack adaptor ... but I attribute that more to its manufacturer than the amount of voltage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ck3 Posted January 18, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 18, 2006 Originally posted by AMZ-FX Capacitors have to be rated at 25v or higher... I usually use 50v caps in the pedals that I build. I had an old Ibanez TS-9 pedal that had a few 16v electrolytic caps in it.... not good for running on 18v. You also have to be aware how much current the pedal draws... if it is using a lot of juice then you have to figure out the load on the R-C power supply filter. The rating of the 1/4w resistor can be exceeded.... that's why I use a 1/2w in the R-C filter in some of my pedals. If the pedal has a voltage doubler in it, then it could very well be damaged by applying a voltage in excess of 9v since the common MAX1044 and related chips that used in the pedals has an absolute maximum rating of 10v. Put 12v or higher into it and it will blow out unless the designer has planned for that... and also, many unregulated adapters will put out 12v or higher when driving a light load and you could blow up the MAX chip with a 9v adapter and wonder what went wrong! Simple, eh? regards, Jack This is one of those moments where I wish that I'd studied electronic engineering instead of Social Work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ck3 Posted January 18, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 18, 2006 Originally posted by FLYING V 83 I accidently ran my Tonefactor Omega Fuzz at 18v off my DC Brick for 2 practices before I realized it. No difference. Was it at least a bit louder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FLYING V 83 Posted January 18, 2006 Members Share Posted January 18, 2006 Actually no, it was exactly the same as with 9v. No tone change, no volume change. Weird, huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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