Why 18 volts?

[carfish7]

I just re-did my pedalboard and found that my 1 spot is in need of replacement. I also noticed that the 3 remaining dirt-boxes all have the option of 9-18v incoming, so I scratched my rapidly graying chin and pondered the benefits of using the higher voltage to power these boxes of Love.

Who here can school me on the tonal differences and mebbe recommend a good wall-wart to power my OCD (soon to be replaced by a Cmat Sigma), Fulldrive 2 and Cmat Brownie?

More is better, right?

Thanks.

[velorush]

It was actually Chad (CMATMODS) that got me to purchase an 18v adapter. I bought a Super Signa Drive from him and didn't care for how it sounded. He recommended I try it at 18v recommended the Dunlop ECB004 as an inexpensive adapter.

In the end, I didn't care for the sound at 18v, either, so I sold the SSD. What I did notice under 18v vs. 9v was that the pedal seemed livelier, more responsive to pick attack and had a better, more open overall sound.

Now, I qualify my answer with this: I've only tried it with one pedal, one I didn't particularly care for and for a very limited amount of time. Somebody with more experience will I'm sure pipe in and have a more nuanced review of 18v operation.

BTW: what I did care for greatly was the boost function on the SSD. It was tempting to hold on to the pedal just for that feature. It made everything sound better. Alas, the SSD took up too much real estate for a simple boost.

[cynic]

What I did notice under 18v vs. 9v was that the pedal seemed livelier, more responsive to pick attack and had a better, more open overall sound.

I tried a Lovepedal Kalamazoo and experienced the same as above going from 9 to 18v. It added a hint of hi-fi like punch to the gain. I remember thinking at the time it was like turning the amp up without the added volume.

[carfish7]

Sounds promising...........

[django49]

Rick Turner uses 18 in his built-in EQ/Boost/Active circuit in his Model 1 (Buckingham) signature model. It was selected because it does do a better job of getting the tone he was after. Chicken and egg.......Is the circuit designed FOR 18V as his? Or to be flexible to accept either?

I think the 18v works beyond great in his guitar. Given the choice, I would at least give it a serious test.

[tobereeno]

I run EMG pickups at 18 volts. Not sure I can really explain the difference, but it's there.

[Ethan]

The Aguilar Tone Hammer I have in my bass setup works at 18 volts, when you have more power like that it gives you more headroom, which is a good thing in a bass preamp pedal like that. I have an OCD which I've noticed you can run at 18 volts also, I've tried it before and couldn't really tell much difference-never tried on guitar though. I guess the logic would be the same-more headroom and clarity. If you want a power box that'll give you the 18v option, the Voodoo Lab Iso5 has an 18v outlet-I run a Pedal Power 2+ with these little cables that take up two spots to make 18v. I think also the Dunlop Brick has some too.

[Bloozguy]

I just re-did my pedalboard and found that my 1 spot is in need of replacement. I also noticed that the 3 remaining dirt-boxes all have the option of 9-18v incoming, so I scratched my rapidly graying chin and pondered the benefits of using the higher voltage to power these boxes of Love.

Who here can school me on the tonal differences and mebbe recommend a good wall-wart to power my OCD (soon to be replaced by a Cmat Sigma), Fulldrive 2 and Cmat Brownie?

More is better, right?

Thanks.

I got curious about the 18V business a couple years ago so I made up a little cable with 2 9V battery snaps wired in series that delivers 18V at the connector which allowed me to easily A/B a pedal with 9V versus 18V.

I tried it with an OCD, Xotic EP Booster, and a Suhr Riot. The OCD and Riot both seem to be clearer and more articulate with 18V than with 9V and the EP Booster seems to have a little more headroom and "oomph".

The bottom line for me was: 1) the difference is noticeable but not huge; 2) my pedalboard power supply does not have 18V outputs and does not have enough open outputs to use the 2-into-1 cables to get 18V power; and 3) I don't want to haul around a couple more wall warts, so I'm not powering anything with 18V.

I am pretty sure I still have that cable lying around somewhere and you are welcome to try it out if you want. Let me know.

[murkat]

answer:

Headroom

[seeker]

Prolly like increasing the plate voltage in a tube amp.

[FrankieIII]

"It's like going from 10 to 12"...

[RCM78]

I run a Koko boost at 18 volts and a Rothwell Lovesqueeze at 12 volts. The Koko sounds cleaner, less compressed, and has more headroom. I like it alot better at 18volts.

The compressor also sounds cleaner, a bit brighter, more transparent, and the usable range of compression is wider... If I had another 18 volt tap on my board I would run this one at 18 also...