
If the DC voltage is too low the sound quality will suffer or the pedal may not switch on.

If we use an adaptor that supplies AC voltage into our pedal instead of DC, or DC of the wrong polarity, or too high a voltage, the pedal won’t work and there is a chance we could destroy the pedal. Polarity (which way the DC voltage is presented to the pedal) is denoted by a little symbol that looks like two connected balls that tells us which part of the plug is + (positive) or – (negative), like this… Most guitar effects pedals don’t use AC power.ĭC voltages are labelled V DC, or with DC symbol of a broken line under a solid line, like this: 9 V ⎓. AC voltage is denoted by “AC V”, or “V AC”, or a squiggle, e.g. It will be clearly marked on the device what the output voltage will be.
Using an adaptor on serial cloner tv#
from the outlet from the wall that powers our TV or guitar amplifier) and ‘adapt’ it to produce something else (in our case a smaller DC voltage). They are sometimes called AC power adaptors because they take an AC voltage (e.g. “Why do some people call it an ‘AC power adaptor’? Don’t pedals use DC? How do I know what to use?” The amount of current required depends on the individual pedals but that rarely causes us trouble either. While this might sound complicated, we don’t need to worry because the vast majority of guitar effects pedals on the market today require 9 V DC supplied through a centre negative plug (and those few that don’t usually make it very clear). AC or DC), the maximum current the adaptor can supply, and when the output is a DC voltage the polarity of the voltage at the output plug. Their electrical output is described by four things – the voltage they provide, the type of voltage (i.e. Power adapters are known by many names: AC adaptor, AC/DC adaptor, AC/DC converter, or, a PSU or power supply unit.

Let’s clear up the confusion and answer the common questions. But with a little care we have nothing to fear. Pedals manufacturers’ specifications can be confusing and people are naturally afraid of damaging their pedals by using the wrong device. People often ask me about powering their effects pedals.
