Variable power to effects?

[kingnimrod]

I'm wondering if there is a good, safe, non-detrimental way to vary the power running into an effects pedal in the manner of a dimmer-switch. I've read a lot about people using old batteries in their stompboxes to achieve surprising results, but this seems to be a hassle.

Are there any methods via AC power to vary the supply without harming the pedals?

[mingus2112]

the voodoo labs power supply has voltage sag on 2 of the channels. . .i never bought into this though. . .but if that's what you're going for, that's the unit that does it!

-James

[Mark Alan Miller]

Radio Shack has a switchable AC to CD adapter. While it's not continuously variable, there are several settings below the usual 9V (3V, 4.5V & 6V). Just don't go above 9V as you could cook your pedals (although I don't think 12V would fry every pedal out there, I wouldn't take the chance... ) Catalog #: 273-1680. At $40ish it's not too cheap, but it could do the trick.

[littlebrothersclothes]

Just be aware that this trick only really "works" for fuzz/overdrive/distortion-type pedals, and maybe filter-type pedals; not modulation pedals. And it definitely will NOT work for anything digital. Underpowering a pedal won't hurt it per se, but underpowering a pedal and then giving it an input signal of greater voltage than the under-powered power supply is very likely to destroy any IC's in the signal path.

Doug

[dstroud]

This reminds me of one of those crappy Danelectro chorus pedals I had a few years back. When the batteries began getting low it would start making these bizarre oscillating tones, louder as the juice ran out. I had to put the depth setting all the way down for it to be usable. It was kind of fun to play around with, sending feedback through it.

Chances are that this had more to do with being a cheaply designed pedal really, but it was fun.

-Dan

[Lazy_Q]

I did once undervolt a crappy compressor I got (I think it was a DOD milk box, though I could be wrong, and it might have sounded better on guitar than my bass), and I got some sorta interesting (though not particulary useful) distortion out of it (re: second rate fuzz). I used a multi voltage RadioShak adaptor, and I really didn't care about cooking it. I think I overvolted it a bit as well, (from 9 to 11 or so) but I can't remember if it had any effect - it's been about 7 years.

If you ever buy a pedal you don't like (and no one else you know wants it) then I wholly endore screwing with it.

[Stan Keyhole]

I don't know if it will never work with digital effects... I did this little project - http://www.carrionsound.com/gallery/sch ... _lab_3.htm - which is basically adding I/O jacks and switches to a Radio Shack digital sampling board. The project also has you add a variable resistor in line with the battery power, for the purpose of under-powering the sampler - and it works. The output sound gets slowed down and garbled. Pretty nice stuff, actually. In an SK-1 kind of way.