Big Muff Custom Power Supply

Steoob

hi all,

so ya i have a russian big muff distortion pedal, you know the black one. its been annoying me since i got it ages ago that you cant plug it in as its battery powered only. I've had enough of changing the battery all the time so i was wondering if i bought a 9v adaptor chopped off the head seperated the wires on the adaptor, and take the big muff and chop off the battery reciever to leave 2 wires (although this has already fallen off due to woeful construction) and just connect the two together. would it work? i know there'd probably be a problem with polaritys and all that craic has anyone ever tried it before??

thanks

the magician

if you go into maplins you can buy ac adapters that will put out dc(same as battery voltage) you may even be able to get a connector that plugs into the battery connector on the pedal. just make sure the voltage polarity an milliamps(ma) are the right spec for the pedal

jcoote

or alternatively u could buy lithium battereies that last longer...correct me if i'm wrong might not be litium

feylya

It doesn't matter if the power supply has a higher mA rating btw

And you can get those 9V power supplies in pound shops with attachments that can go straight to a battery clip.

jcoote

yeah u can indeed...try argos too

Steoob

ive never seen adaptors that go straight to battery clips... are they in argos? if they are where are they?

jcoote

just searchd argos site...can't find em i got outta there bout 2 year ago ..universal power adaptors is what they are

Steoob

i know theres universal power adaptors but i need one that will have an attachment on it that will connect to the 9v battery clips yaknow?

feylya

Which is what the Argos power supply has...

david

What you need is one of those universal power supplies with loads of connecters. Electro Harmonix pedals use a mono headphone 1/8" jacks for power.

Steoob

theres no 1/8" connector on my pedal just the battery connector and ive bought on of those universal adaptors from argos before and there was no connection that attached onto the battery clip i have

Eoin Madsen

If you're up for a small bit of drilling (ie 1 hole), you can buy the power input for a 9v adaptor in Maplin. Just wire the battery clip wires to the terminals on the input (figure out your polarity first) and you can plug in to it externally like a normal pedal. Less likely to break.

Just make sure your adaptor has more than the required current, as underpowering the pedal could damage it. It is possible that the pedal will behave slightly differently running on the rectified current as opposed to the battery dc, but I can't imagine it'd be that noticable.

Steoob

ok in terms of polarity can someone give me a crash course onit coz i know that most stuff like a boss pedal i have have a polarity like this: +-<o-- and i have a wireless system from america with a polarity like this: +-o>-- so is it an american european thing? or is it like... i dunno someone help and what can i do about polarity in the big muff situation what polarity is like a batery suppply... me so confused

Steoob

**** it i just went for it cut up an old adaptor took the battery clip off the big muff joined em together and IT WORKS!! yay thanks for the help none the less

jcoote

good stuff man is it tidy lookin

Steoob

yea its dead neat it just a wire that dissappears into the battery compartment

Steoob

hey everyone im back again with a new clamity...

as i ripped up the adaptor for my ds-1 making the big muff adaptor i now have no power for the ds-1 hehe so i just got the end that i took off the adaptor and reattatched it onto the connectopr block that i now have inside my big muff so that there is now a t-junction along the adaptor wire with the t branching off to the big muff... so basically ive powered both pedals with one adaptor....

am i underpowering both the pedals coz they bothj work fine evn when they are both turned on... im worried coz when the ds-1 is stomped off the check light is on very faintly like theres a brown out.. should i take out the t junction???

thanks all

BeardyGit

You're underpowering both pedals and overdriving the transformer in the PSU. Do yourself a favour and get a second PSU for the Muff. Maplins carry a suitable unit - order code is PL63T - 9V regulated plugtop AC/DC adapter. Retail price is €24.99. Put everything back the way it was and then hook up the new adapter for the Muff.

I know you're in Kerry but if you want to send up the 2 pedals I'll sort them out for you to both run of this PSU. This would mean installing a proper DC power jack on the Muff chassis (The battery would then kick in if you're gigging and the power jack disconnects - Or it could need a manual switch - Don't know the circuit), daisy chaining the power out with a couple of other connector points on the line. The AC/DC adapter is rated to 1.7A which would comfortably run 4 or 5 stomp boxes.

All parts to include PSU, connectors, etc plus return postage to Kerry at your cost of course - I'll buy the stuff and can send it back to you. Shouldn't cost more than around 40 bills in total I'd imagine including postage.

BTW, I've built a couple of tube amps & pre's over the past few years so this is a doddle for me. This would be as a favour - Not a chargeable service etc. - You'd pay only for what's needed to get the job done. Hope it's understood that I'm not advertising anything by offering to do this? Your other option would be to get in touch with an electronics tech student in Tralee I.T. if you're not up to doing this properly and safely yourself. I'm sure you'll find someone on the boards if you check.

Cheers,

Gil

Steoob

well thanks a bunch man but i dunno it seems a bit huge of a job i just wanna get the things powered i'll just buy a new adaptor for the ds-1 and keep my homemade muff the way it was thanks anyway tho

BeardyGit

No worries man - Give me a shout out if you get stuck.

Gil