Voodoo Lab Pedal Power ISO-5 noise issue

[JamesJeh]

So I finally got my pedal board all nicely situated and got all the custom length patch cables carefully soldered with Mogami cable and Switchcraft plugs. Everything sounds great with batteries. When I connected my Voodoo Lab Pedal Power ISO-5 I heard a super nasty hum. If I move the Pedal Power far away from the pedals (can only go so far with all those short DC cables) the noise goes away. It's got to be about 8" away from ANY of the pedals to fully remove the noise. But my board, like many, is totally cram-packed and I don't wanna use a huge pedalboard just to add space between the Pedal Power and the nearest pedal.

I'm pretty sure the noise isn't ground loop (obviously they are isolated outputs) but EMI coming off the transformer inside the pedal power. It gets worse when I bring the Pedal Power near to the pedals, so...Kind of a bummer since it wasn't cheap and the whole reason I got it was to keep things quiet.

So next I tried a 10-spot daisy chain (Pig Hog brand, nice thick cables) and chained all the pedals together with the daisy chain cable. I then tried connecting it to 2 different power adaptors with sufficient current. HUGE buzz with both adaptors, more of a ground hum type sound. So next I tried connecting the daisy chain to the 400ma output on the Pedal Power, keeping it far away from the pedals (all pedals chained together and connected to ONE output on the Pedal Power). This actually seemed QUIETER than using the isolated outputs for each separate pedal. Probably because I was able to keep the Pedal Power far far away from the pedalboard. This tells me I don;t have to worry about ground loop noise if the power supply is clean and far away from any pedal.

This will kind of work for now, But I'm nervous having the pedal power floating around on stage with only the thin daisy chain connected to it with the pedal board 1 or 2 feet away from it. Seems like it would easily be kicked loose. Duct taping it seems a little janky but for now I can get through a gig.

I'm considering buying a different isolated power supply where the transformer is inside a wall-wart, with a long single cable that connects it to the distribution "brick" mounted on the pedalboard. (but not the MXR one since I had that die on tour once, taking the MXR noise gate with it.) This would keep the transformer and it's magnetic field away from the pedals, but allow isolated outputs for each pedal on the board.

Alternately I'm wondering if there is a higher current wall-wart that is known to be very quiet. One where I could have it really close to my pedals, attached to the board, and then connect a nice thick AC cord to that. Is the 1Spot Quiet? And suggestions on an isolated supply with the transformer located within a wall-wart?

Thanks all.

 

[Ventura]

Contact VoodooLabs or the vendor of the unit. Something's not right - the unit should be quiet regardless of your proximity to EMI/EMF/EMD sources.

How's the electrical in your house? I know that's a silly question, but having moved around from house to house and yes, jam to jam and gig to gig, things change with every receptacle it seems. I've outfitted my 10U caster cube with a APC UPS unit 1500VA, for power conditioning and surge protection; this is my main (as in "mains"). This main then has my ART power conditioner attached to it top of the rack with control lights. The ART keeps things clean; the APC keeps the voltage regulated between whatever I program it to keep it at (105V to 120V is fine; household voltages drop to 88V and peak regularly without surge to 160V easily. Voltage isn't the problem, current is - but alas, I digress.

So I've got my ART power conditioner plugged into an APC UPS that has voltage regulation and spike protection. The APC takes care of feeding the ART constant power; the ART keeps the power isolated and clean. From the back of the ART, I plug my Clarett 8Pre, my VoodooLabs MONDO, 2 Eventide wall warts, 1 Creation Audio Labs wall wart for their 48V Mk.4:23 Pro. Everything gets powered by my rolling cube - and that includes the amps too.

No hum, no noise, to hiss, no crackle, no problems.
Complete isolation. Complete protection.

Just some thoughts.
http://artproaudio.com/power_solutions/product/sp4x4/
http://www.apc.com/shop/ca/en/products/ ... UA1000RM1U (mine's an older model)

 

[JamesJeh]

Thanks for the reply!

Contact VoodooLabs or the vendor of the unit. Something's not right - the unit should be quiet regardless of your proximity to EMI/EMF/EMD sources.

Really? I just figured it was normal. I will contact VoodooLabs.

How's the electrical in your house? I know that's a silly question, but having moved around from house to house and yes, jam to jam and gig to gig, things change with every receptacle it seems.

Well, I'm not sure how it is, but I had this exact issue at rehearsals at a different house. Could be bad power in both houses, though when I move the Pedal Power away from the pedals, it's pretty quiet.

Just some thoughts.
http://artproaudio.com/power_solutions/product/sp4x4/
http://www.apc.com/shop/ca/en/products/ ... UA1000RM1U (mine's an older model)

Checked those out! Can't afford at the moment. But seems like the ultimate way to get everything quiet.

 

[Snave]

Yeah, the ISO5 shouldn't be introducing any noise, even when right next to pedals. Get Voodoo to fix it.

 

[JamesJeh]

Yeah, the ISO5 shouldn't be introducing any noise, even when right next to pedals. Get Voodoo to fix it.

I'm actually relieved to hear this, since it seems fixable. Thanks for the corroboration. I just figured that was normal.

 

[baron55]

Do you have a wah on the pedal board?

 

[Riggins1966]

I use a ISO-5 on one of my boards and it's dead quiet.

I agree with the others, you should have Voodoo Labs check it out.

 

[Ventura]

Voodoo Labs are solid - they'll likely ask if you want it replaced - it's just how they are.

Good luck, keep us posted.

Mo

 

[errrrrl]

I just recently got nuts trying to reduce pedal board hum. I never really cared or noticed too much before cause I always had an ISP GII making it silent overall. But when recording recently I noticed between slow palm muting chugs some annoying hum right before the guitar would come in which started to irritate the shit out of me.

What really helped for me was keeping the power wires as separated as possible from pedal/instrument cables. Like a dumbass I zip-tied all the power + instrument cables all nice and neat and tucked away together not thinking anything of it. So last weekend I undid all that cabling, separated them as best I could and researched other super quiet power supplies. I had a Truetone 1 SPOT PRO CS12 which honestly pretty much rocked and was quiet. What added to my problem (besides running 16 pedals + a buffer patch bay) was adding a daisy chain (5 plugs) to my CS12 for pedals I didn't use as much.

As for new power supply candidates it came down to the Stymon Zuma which has a external powersupply like a laptop and is expandable or the Friedman powergrid 10. Watched a few vids on youtube and decided to go for the Friedman power supplies. Did it help? Yes, quite a bit, my hum is very minimal now when my gain is cranked on my amp. With a clean channel its almost completely silent... too bad I don't use my clean channel also keeping the power supply's power cable away from any instruments cables helped out tons. Best of luck brother!

Pic of my latest setup