I have both a Massachusetts and a Muddy Maestro.
Both came with a power supply, but as these are the only two units needing power on my board I want to use one of the power supplies and just daisy chain to the other.
Am I able to do that?
You can probably do so but two things come to mind:
- You will most likely invalidate the warranty on both pedals.
- Some users have reported that daisy chained PSU have a tendency to create white noise, hisses and other unacceptable audio issues.
I would recommend against it…
Best to use a isolated power supply like the Voodoo Lab pedal power x4 or alike - dead quiet & reliable power …
Many people run their pedals with a single daisy chain supply or a power supply with isolated outputs. The BB manual discusses this.
Whether or not you can use one of your existing power supplies depends on the max amps (usually in milliamps or mA) the power supply is rated for (should be printed on the wall wart) and how many amps are used by both pedals at the same time.
Add up the max amps spec’d by each device and make sure your power supply is rated for that max Preferably go for a power supply rated for 25% more that what is expected; it will last much longer than one running at it’s limit. Never heard of a situation where a pedal was damaged because the power supply didn’t have enough amps. Current is pulled based upon need unlike volts which is pushed no matter what.
Both pedals are 9v and center negative; Providing too high voltage or the wrong polarity can damage a pedal.
The MM is spec’d at 250mA, the BB is 300mA. If you have a 550ma or higher (preferably 660mA to be conservative) then you should be fine. You might be able to get away with a smaller power supply as pedals often pull far less than their rated max in practice. But the more you push a power supply to its max, the faster it will fail.
Regarding noise when daisy chaining, it’s possible, but you will never know unless you test it. The BB is noisy but the MM doesn’t process audio, so that’s not a concern for the OP’s setup. The MM might cause noise in the BB, but maybe (probably?) not.
If it were me and I only had a small power supply, I’d quickly test the daisy chain, powering on each pedal separately (sometimes booting takes peak power), turn the headset volume down (assuming that uses less power) and see if there is noise. if that works you could just use it (and perhaps expect the power supply to fail early), or buy a larger, single 9v center negative PSU (like the one-spot).
P.S. While I wouldn’t rule it out, you’re unlikely to void your warranty if you use another power supply or daisy chain it … within limits. The BB manual even talks about calculating the power needs, IANAL
From the manual:
Power
The BeatBuddy uses a 9V 500mA center-negative power supply.
If you use a power supply of more than 9V or plug it directly into AC power you will destroy your BeatBuddy, and your warranty will NOT be valid! This would be painful for everyone - especially your BeatBuddy. Do not do this!
The power supply must have a minimum of 300mA (0.3 Amps) for the BeatBuddy to turn on. More amps won’t harm your BeatBuddy. If you use a center-positive adapter, it won’t harm your BeatBuddy either, but your BeatBuddy won’t turn on.
Using your pedal board’s power supply
If you would like to use your pedal board’s ‘octopus’ power supply (a single power supply that powers all of your pedals), make sure it is 9V and center negative (most are) BEFORE plugging it in! To calculate if your pedal board’s power supply has enough Amps to power the BeatBuddy, add up all of the Amps that your other pedals require (usually written on the bottom of the pedal. Remember: 1000 mA [milliAmps] = 1.0 A [Amps]) and add 0.3 Amps for the BeatBuddy’s requirement. If this total is more Amps than your power supply can produce (for example, the total of all of your pedals plus the BeatBuddy is 2.5 Amps but your power supply can only produce 2.0 Amps), then the BeatBuddy won’t turn on (neither will any of your other pedals), because there isn’t enough power available. PLEASE NOTE: Plugging the BeatBuddy (a digital pedal) into the same power supply as analog pedals (most effect pedals) can cause noise interference in the analog pedal sound. If you experience this, please use a separate power supply for the BeatBuddy.
1 Like