I did a search but did not come up with much. The barrel connector on the original power supply is slightly shorter in length than the standard connector cables you will find on the plugs for pedal board power supplies (I have a Voodoo Labs on my board). I’m talking about the silver portion on the plug that goes into the power socket.
The original fits snugly but any other connector does not. This means the BeatBuddy is prone to having the power cut out if the pedal is jostled on the board – which is fairly easy to do as you have to step on it to start it, etc.
Has anyone found a solution to this issue? Are these OEM connectors available without purchasing a new power supply? My pedal board is very compact but well loaded and it’s not practical for me to try to accommodate the original power supply on there. The Voodoo Labs supply has no difficulty powering the BB but the connection is tenuous at best.
I know you implied you’re short on space but I just use the Pedal Power 2+ convenience outlet for my BB power adaptor.
A couple of options (which make me squeamish and for good reason) is to cut the line on the BB power adaptor about 5" from the plug, strip about a 1/4" from the end, exposing bare wires. Do the same for the Voodoo Labs adaptor wire and carefully—keeping in mind polarity—splice and solder, use heat shrink tubes on each wire and then again for the entire joined section. If you screw up the polarity, you will damage your BeatBuddy pedal and the warranty gets voided :mad:. The other option is to go online and find adaptor barrel plugs that have a jack barrel that’s the right length to securely connect your Voodoo Labs to your BeatBuddy (the issue here is that the adaptor plug will stick out even further behind your BB pedal.
Maybe some of our other users have more practical solutions . . . .
I’m just putting, try to at least, the BB on my board as well and it’s been a bit of a struggle. Between the non standard size of the power connector to the pre installed rubber pads on the base, these things don’t exactly go easily onto a board. Still waiting on a reply from support about the rubber pads. Why the power supply connector is a different size I don’t understand; that strikes me as odd. Every other pedal I have ever owned has one size but the BB, another On mine at least, I didn’t find the connector to be loose with my ps though, quite the opposite. It’s actually a tighter fit than the plug that came with the BB. At least there’s that…
If you find an cable that “fits” please post back here. Barrel length is not a spec I have ever seen listed for those cables, so not sure how I’ll ever find one. As mentioned literally every pedal I have ever owned had the same size plug, why would there be different sized cables available ? They must be out there but I’m guessing won’t be easy to find.
Kind of sounds like both of you got odd-sized connector jacks.
I just compared my BB power adaptor jack to my Strymon and Pigtronix plugs and they all seem to be the same size and interchangeable—they all fit perfectly and snugly. Note that they are not functionally/current interchangeable so don’t mix them up. Best to label the power adaptors according to the pedals they support.
JN99, I must have missed the question about the rubber feet so not sure what the question was but the rubber pad can be removed very gently (using a heat gun helps). Search the forum for “rubber feet” as there are a couple of different questions and solutions. Hope they scratch your itch.
This image shows the BeatBuddy adapter plug on the left, and a Voodoo Labs connector cable on the right. It is a similar difference with a Strymon power adapter plug. As I said, it will power the device but it is prone to shutting off if it is jostled. Using the BB cable the entire end disappears into the device, any other cable there is a gap showing. I measured it to be about a 1.5 mm difference in length.
Below the photo, a quick video that shows even a slight shake of the BeatBuddy will make it shut off briefly. I don’t have to tell you how bad that would be during a performance … or how noisy this thing is through a loud monitor when it’s trying to load a song or drumkit, either. Would love to hear from the support folks on this issue. I have read of other instances where people have noted it, I don’t think it’s unique to these two units.
You beat me to it, I was going to do the same and post a photo. Exactly the same as mine, the BB adapter appears to be non-standard as far as I can tell. Although I couldn’t quite tell from your post, are you saying the Strymon adapters are the same, i.e. shorter as well? I don’t have another cable like it nor do I have another pedal where the adapter doesn’t seat fully into the pedal. This was a completely universal fit across multiple power supplies, cables, and pedals until I got the BB
But, after shooting the photos and the video I took a closer look. It seems unlikely that the length of the barrel would make much difference as the plug can be partially inserted and still power the device. It seems to be a tightness issue.
Took a closer look and it appears that the inside diameter of the “standard” plug is perhaps a little wider than the one on the BB adapter. So I took a tiny thin piece of gaffer’s tape and rolled it into sliver, inserted that into the hole in the connector cable, then put the cable into the BB. It was a lot tighter and hard to get on all the way. But it powered up fine and now I can shake it hard and it won’t cut the power.
Perhaps the technical support people might share the correct specs of the barrel connector? Barrel length, outside diameter, inside diameter?
the Voodoo Labs pedal is made to fit as many pedals as possible
I use a Pedal Power 2+ for several of my pedals and while the barrel fits flush to the power socket on several, there are others where the barrel is too long to fit flush to the power socket
Shouldn’t you be barking up the Voodoo Labs tree for a solution?—after all, it’s their jack that doesn’t fit the BB pedal.
I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect that Voodoo Labs could manufacture a cable to fit every single pedal in existence. However, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for a company manufacturing a pedal for guitarists to expect that it will wind up on a pedal board and to not use an slightly different jack that might cause problems for people trying to power the device without the supplied AC adapter.
My BB adapter barrel is 8mm or so but it is the inner pin diameter that seems to be different. Or, the pin inside the connector of the BeatBuddy is perhaps slightly thinner than most other pedals.
Perhaps since your barrel is of a different length there has been a change made? Or perhaps the technical support people might share the specs or investigate if there is a plug adapter that might connect the two snugly?
The adapters are standard sizes. Most standard guitar pedal adapters (that meet the specs 9 volt, center negative, 300+ mA of course) should work. There are certain exceptions when it comes to the size of the barrel, but in 90+% of the cases it should work. I did happen to see one time where a customer sent me back a unit that didn’t power on, and it was simply a matter of the power adapter (not ours) not fitting in so well.
@rp911 If you are experiencing issues with your BeatBuddy turning off with only slight contact, then your unit may need to be replaced. If the adapter itself is defective, then we will replace your adapter. I will send you a PM now with additional details.
+1 with the OP’s problem. No problems using the BB PSU connector, it’s snug, never moves, fine. But using either a Boss or Stagg connector and I’m experiencing the same ‘slight wobble and BB turns off’ issue. About to buy a VoodooLabs ISO-5 and I’m worried that the connectors will do the same.
So it’s not really a BB issue since what’s been supplied to me works flawlessly. And I see it from both sides, nobody can guarantee a 3rd party’s cables will be fine, nor would I expect them to be but it does appear that the BB connector doesn’t like a lot of cables.
Has anyone found a cable that’s good with a VoodooLabs PSU?
OK so I need to buy a second power supply for a smaller board I have made for more portable gigs. Support told me the same thing that any 9 volt, center negative, 300+ mA would work. So I ordered one on amazon. I received it and the barrel length shaking loose issue disrupting power is now occurring. The barrel is noticeably longer. I can return it but come on support throw us a bone. The barrel length does make a difference. My standard issued adapter that shipped works fine and does not shake loose. I do not expect you to supply or sell it but I am hoping you can at recommend a matching power supply that works and does not shake loose.
I do not think the barrel length is the issue with the voodoo labs cable, but the inside of the barrel (see photo). I have other adaptors and cables that are the same as the adaptor that came with the BB. I assume both types of barrels are standard and assumed to be interchangeable. Voodoo Lab supplied cable is on top, Singular Sound supplied cable is on the bottom.
I bought a one spot pro truetone cs7 power brick for the Beatbuddy mainly,
and all of the connectors are intermittent with a Beatbuddy.
I don’t have the tools to solder my own.
How about a selling a short adaptor please singular sound?
People have to use these things on pedal boards after all
Your suggestion is a good one. In somewhat related threads, users have asked Singular Sound to sell the PSU separately (as does Strymon and other pedal vendors) but SS replied that they don’t sell just the PSU. Therefore it’s a pretty safe assumption that they won’t sell the barrel connector or an adapter separately. A link to the adaptor specs is at Custom Power Cable
Some users have posted finding a switchable adaptor from MyVolts. You can search the forum and contact that vendor to see if they’ll sell just the adaptor. This link has several suggestions such as the Strymon angled adaptor and a link to MyVolts Beat Buddy Power Supply Update - #41 by Blowback
Please share with the forum if you find an adaptor that works for you.
