If you’re a developing guitarist like me, getting something new for the pedalboard is always exciting. However, there might be a point where you’re satisfied with all your effects, and the next thing on your list might be a guitar effects power supply.

I was at that point with my pedalboard — although I could use more overdrives — and decided I should get a power supply. Here are some of my reasons.

1. Batteries are a waste of time

Let’s be honest, if you have a pedalboard with 5 pedals, you won’t be using 9V batteries for each pedal. The only time I use batteries are to power a tuner while on acoustic guitar. This is why I got the TC Electronic Polytune 2.

Batteries are also expensive, unreliable because you wouldn’t know when they will run out, and a pain to maintain if you have 3-5 pedals.

2. One Guitar Effects Power Supply to Power it All

My pedalboard includes the Line 6 M9, and a bunch of other “standard” 9V powered pedals. Before I got the TrueTone 1 Spot Pro CS7, I had to carry around the old 1 Spot, and a secondary power for the Line 6 M9.

The 1 Spot Pro CS7 powers all my pedals, and most importantly the M9 now. You probably won’t have the same setup as me, but some research could save you the hassle of bringing around more than one guitar effects power supply for a dedicated pedal.

The 1 Spot Pro CS7 also uses a standard power cable. That cable is easy to find, and easily replaceable if it dies. I got a 30ft one that allows me to plug it directly to the wall without the use of any extension cords, making stage setup very quick.

3. Flexibility – 9V, 12V, 18V

I was partly sceptical about overdrives running at 18V instead of 9V. However, there is a difference in sound! Although very subtle, the gain is smoother (for lack of a better word). The same amount of gain on 18V sounds less crunchy as compared to 9V, but it’s overall smoother and “transparent” – but that’s another story.

Anyway, a power supply gives you all these voltage options for different pedals. Most pedals run 9V, but a power supply gives you that flexibility to get more out of your effects.

4. Quiet Performance

Saved the most obvious for last. If you have connected many pedals through one power source using a daisy chain, you would have encountered a noisy output when a few effects are switched on. I don’t want to touch on technical details, but it has something to do with the grounding of a power supply.

A good guitar effects power supply has isolated outputs, essentially allowing for each pedal to be as if being powered individually. The power is coming to the pedal ‘clean’, ensuring less noise when the effect is switched on.

The TrueTone 1 Spot Pro CS7 is the guitar effects power supply that satisfied all the needs of my pedalboard. It powers all my pedals together with the Line 6 M9, while keeping everything quiet when most of the effects are turned on. No regrets getting it, other than my wallet being a little lighter. That’s all, thanks for reading this far!