I had this posted on TGP, but it could apply, here:
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I used a PP2 plus for years, but eventually replaced (which had been combined with a Walrus Phoenix) with a pair of Zumas and an Ojai expansion kit to power my first (and largest) board. This gave me 23 high-current isolated feeds.
But, when I bought those, I hadn't yet heard of the CIOKS stuff. I'll get to that later.
The 9 feeds on each of the Zumas was nice, and two of those could be configured for 9, 12, or 18 volts, which I thought would be perfect.
To date, I've never run anything on 12 or 18 volts on the Zuma. But, I imagine that will change soon enough, and I like the flexibility to do that with the flick of a switch, on any output I choose (with the CIOKS DC7). There are not very many pedal power supplies that can do this.
Some people have complained about the Zumas powering down when trying to initialize some digital units that seem to require a quicker jump in full mA output than the Zumas are capable of providing.
I've never personally experienced this issue (and I run a lot of digital pedals), but some have. So, bear that in mind.
It didn't take long after I bought the Zumas before Voodoo Lab upped their game and released the Pedal Power 3 Plus, which offered up 12 high-current outputs and the ability to use expansion units (just like the Zumas), if you needed more outputs.
Also, every one of those taps is rated at 500mA, as opposed to the PP2 Plus, which only had 100 mA for 6 of the 8 outputs, and only 250 mA max on each of the other two. If you're running more than just a few digital high-current pedals, the PP2 Plus just won't get the job done - and it's prone to noise (like an adjacent wah).
These PP3s are amazing and also run extremely quiet, since they're actually switching power supplies, rather than the old-school toroidal transformer-based supplies that had preceded them (like the PP2 Plus, for instance). This one is mounted under a Classic Jr board.
"This is not your father's Voodoo power supply LMAO!
If you need a lot of primarily 9-volt high-current taps, this may be a good option for you. Twelve high-current outs is nice, and it weights about half of what the PP2 Plus used to, while being barely larger than the PP2 Plus was.
I eventually heard you guys raving about the CIOKS DC-7 units and I ended up picking up one of those, paired up with an 8-port expansion kit for my pedaltrain Classic 2 board, which gave me 15 high-current, isolated outlets.
There's another stand-alone DC-7 mounted on my Nano MAX board.
I have a fifth board (another Classic 2) but am waffling over what power supply to use for it. I've considered Walrus' Canvas 15, but I'm really on the fence about that one.
Of the three different power supplies, the DC-7 is, by far, the most powerful (as far as maximum current output per feed), lightest*, most easily configurable and effortlessly mount-able unit I've ever owned. If I had to start up another board and I needed or wanted that kind of flexibility, I'd probably just grab another DC-7 (and an expansion kit, if needed) and be done with it.
*seemingly lightest-feeling LOL. Msquared verified that the DC-7 actually weights in at 1.1 pounds, as compared to the .9 pounds of the PP3 Plus. That threw me for a loop!
I love that every one of these outputs is configurable for 9, 12, 15, or 18 volts, and that every one provides up to 660 mA (at 9 volts). As I've mentioned, they're extremely light, incredibly easy to mount, using their GRIP brackets (no need to drill into the board), and run as dead-quiet as the Zumas do.
But the PP3 Plus also runs amazingly quiet.
Again, every one of these units is expandable/modular, so you can add additional high-current outputs, without having to buy a whole new power supply.
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Voodoo Lab are legendary for their long-term reliability and stellar customer service.
The PP3 Looks like a tank, doesn't it? It is! Dimensions are extremely similar to the old PP2, but it weighs in at about half as much.
There's a reason thousands of guitarists still have them mounted under the boards and continue to use them, faithful to the brand.
I used to have the same reservations about the RCA connections on the CIOKs stuff. I used to say to myself, why the hell would I want RCA connections on
any of my power supplies?
Why don't they just use "standard" barrel connections on those, so I can just swap one out from my other cables, if needed (if one failed)?
They're actually a lot more robust than they appear (I don't like how they look, personally), and the connection is very secure, once you hook one up.
Granted, I haven't exactly toured the world with any of these boards (haven't gigged in years), so I can't speak to these having passed the acid test of time. But a lot of guitarists, here,
have gigged with them, and they don't seem to have experienced problems with those connectors - so CIOKS must be doing something right with that design - even if it is "non-standard".
I just wish they looked and felt heavier duty (compared to the Strymon plug, for instance.
CIOKS
Strymon
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I love the GRIP mount (for the DC7 supply). If I wanted to, i could just bounce the supplies around between any spot on outside rail of the board (or any other pedaltrain Classic or Nano board), without ever needing to drill a hole. It allows for extremely flexible power supply placement, without making Swiss cheese out of your pedalboards :).
The CIOKS Grip bracket. Drill-free mounting offers up super flexible power supply placement, but without having to drill a bunch of holes in my boards.
The DD7's low profile also make it a great choice for easy mounting under many flat boards.
This DC7 and 8 port expansion kit weigh about the same as the old PP2 Plus power supply, but offer dead-quiet performance and nearly twice the outputs - all of them, high-current.
Edit - as of yesterday (21 May), I've also just ordered a Walrus Audio Canvas 15 power supply. This will be installed on my second pedaltrain Classic 2 board that I picked up at a decent price, during the closing of a brick and mortar Sam Ash store near me, a while back.
I will report on that once I've installed it and have had a chance to put it through its paces :-).
Thanks!
