Here is one of the most common questions we are asked at Wampler Pedals – “Can I run this pedal at 18v”?
As you may already know, I’m not one of the engineers in the company, I’m more on the marketing side so this post is not going to be full of nerd stuff, just the basics – I hope it will be everything you need to answer your questions about the amount of power you stick into your favourite Wampler to make it sound the best it can for you.
During the design stage of every Wampler, it is all done via a power adapter that is giving out a steady 9v. So, if you want to hear what Brian hears – take a telecaster, take a pedal, power it via a 9v supply and plug it into a Fender style amp (obviously, he uses other guitars and amps in the testing stage but these are the main reference point for him). To be honest, whenever I receive a new Wampler, that’s what I always do. I try to hear it as he does, then I carry on to make it work for me with my preferred gear.
So, what is the actual benefit of running your pedal at a higher voltage? Firstly, you’ll get an increase of overall volume – the output goes up (great when you are using your pedals to slam into the preamp of your amp to get more power and balls). Secondly, you’ll get an increase of clean headroom. So, if you favourite dirt pedal is breaking up a little too quickly for you and you need the sweep to be a little more gradual, try putting the voltage up. As a reference point, when Tom Quayle is recording, he tends to run his Dual Fusion at 18v so he can have more control over the amount of gain.
There are certain types of pedal that don’t like the voltage being increased from 9v. For example, the fuzz circuits in the Wampler range. So, the Velvet Fuzz and the Triple Wreck should be run at 9v (you can run the Triple Wreck at 18v but the boost control will sound absolutely awful). The Tumnus will be extremely unhappy if you try to put 18v into it as well. Part of that famous circuit is a thing called a charge pump that increases the voltage to 18v internally, it’s one of the reasons the pedal has such a responsive sweep across the gain control. So, if you put 18v into the Tumnus, it will literally melt down!
- a quick note on Tumnus and other circuits like it, although you should always separate and isolate your analogue pedals from your digital when using a power supply, this is all the more relevant with pedals like the Tumnus. If you put a pedal like the TimeLine daisy chained to the Tumnus you get some really interesting, and not in a good way, noises come from it. There have been countless forum posts about this over the years! As a reference point, when Max wires up the boards for trade shows, he uses the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2. Over here in the UK, I use the Carl Martin Pro Power 2. Each one performs perfectly and gives us consistent isolated power for the entire board.
Obviously, the benefits of running 18v is pointless on some pedals, for example, those with a digital element. Although most of our Faux range and the Latitudes have protections built in within them, you shouldn’t run them any higher than the standard 9v. From the conversations I’ve had with Brian and Justin over the years, the actual circuits of these pedals run somewhere between 3.5v and 5v – the 9v input is brought down to the level they need to perform consistently. A lot of power supplies claim to be 9v but there is a small amount of difference in each one, so we bring them down to the level that will be perfect and completely regulated.
So, the list is this: The following are safe to run between 9v and 18v for an increase in clean headroom and increased output:
- Paisley Drive, Hot Wired, Dual Fusion, Black ’65, Tweed ’57, Plexi Drive (including the Deluxe), Thirty Something, Euphoria, Low Blow, Sovereign, cataPulp, Pinnacle(s), SLOstortion, Clarksdale, Triple Wreck (although the boost will sound terrible if you do) – Also included in here are some discontinued models: Plextortion, Cranked AC and OD, SuperPlex etc.
Can run at 18v, but all your get is an increase in volume:
- Ego Compressor and dB+
Please don’t do it, nothing good will become of you doing it. Remember, 9v only unless you want to literally destroy the circuit within:
- Velvet Fuzz and Tumnus
You can do it, but it’s pointless because Brian and Justin are waaaay too clever:
- Faux Tape Echo, Faux Spring Reverb, Faux Analog Echo, Latitude(s).
So, enjoy your pedals, enjoy tweaking them and enjoy seeing what the difference in power makes to them, but please, only do it to the ones that can take it!
*addition – if your pedal states “9-18v” on the casing (or manual), as a general rule this means that the pedal is OK to run between 9 and 18 volts, not either 9 or 18. You can count on every Wampler Pedals to follow this rule, but you should check with other manufacturers before doing so on their pedals.
I bought a Pantheon can I plug it into 18 volt?
You sure can!
I use 18v on the EGO compressor, and I get more headroom and volume , and a little more push .. love it!! I used a 9v on it the other day, sounded like it lost its mojo.. so back to 18v I went 🙂
I found the exact same result. Seems like more sustain on 18v, too. I tried to volume match going between 9v and 18v, and even set the volume a little lower on 18v than the 9v so I wasn’t being fooled y the volume difference and I swear I was still getting more sustain on 18v.
Seemed to cut through a bit more, also. Might all be my imagination, too.
I have a Faux Tape Echo v2, can I run it into an 18v spot on my Truetone CS12?
Should be fine 🙂
My pinnacle deluxe v2 sounds gainless and garbly thru my gigrig g2 loop switcher. Will it help to run it at 18volts instead of 9volts?
I have a Dracarys and wonder if can take 18v. Thanks
Yes it can – as long as the power input label says 9-18v it is fine up to 18v
Ethereal is good to go on 18V?
Thanks guys, great info!!!
Can the Dual Fusion “V1”run on 18v?
I have V1 too. The Tom Quayle V2 video suggests the new version is the same circuit as the V1 with a different box layout. There is a page on Wampler’s website stating the Dual Fusion can run on 18 volts. I just submitted comment in this thread asking what the ideal voltage is for the Dual Fusion.
Can the Pinnacle run on 12v? I see the comment about Wampler pedals running between 9v-18v, but I want to make 100% sure 12v is safe. I’m running out of 9v outlets on my power supply, but have two unused 12v outlets.
I have a Wampler Terraform coming in and want to power it with my ISO-5 on the 18v channel. Will that be safe for the pedal? Thanks
Thank you Brian, great product!
finally there is a use for the 18v ports on my MSX ISO brick
When i power up my board, my Sovereign always turns on. Not the end of the world, but no other pedal does this. Is it normal? Why does it happen? Anything I can do to change this? Thanks!
Has it got a battery in it still or did you remove that ?
Wampler Terraform should be running at 9V or at 9-18V? (“as a general rule this means that the pedal is OK to run between 9 and 18 volts, not either 9 or 18)
‘Cause some websites say that the pedal is runnig 9-18V.
Either are fine
I see that the Faux Spring Reverb is cool to run at 18V, but by “pointless” do you just mean it won’t affect how the pedal functions, or that there could be some negative change?
I tried running my mini (marked “9-18V” as mentioned at the end of the article) at 18V (ran out of 9V slots on my power supply) and I can’t discern any difference but just want to make sure this isn’t a questionable decision for any reason.
Thanks and the pedal sounds awesome!
Just got my Wampler Ego today. Using an isolated DC power supply and have a 12v 300ma connection available. Go or no go? Ok… I confess trying to squeeze 1 more pedal on my board
As long as its center pin negative 12v should be fine
Trying to run my ego w a 18v output on my True Tone. Will this effect the life of the pedal?
This is more out of necessity than preference.
No as long as the pedal has 9-18v printed on the top it will make no difference
Hi, great stuff, thanks. What about the Reflection reverb?
Will work on 18v but we recommend 9v
What about reflection reverb, would I get anything more than volume increase?
I have an early square-box “Ego Squasher.” Trust this too can be safely supplied with 18V?
can I operate a Wampler Pantheon deluxe using a 9v battery clip converter connector?
What is the best voltage (in the 9-18v range) for ideal headroom for the Dual Fusion (original version)? In choosing a voltage higher than 9v do I have to worry about current?
The pedal will only draw the current it requires, so if you power it with a higher current than is required (Between 16mA (9v) and 24 mA (18v)), it wont draw that. There isn’t really a “Best Voltage” per se, we would normally recommend the lower voltage but some users like the “headroom” of 18v but it is very much dependent on your rig, amp, signal chain etc etc 🙂
I have a pinnacle deluxe v2, so it is safe to run voltages in-between 9 to 18 ? For example I can run 12 volts which is in-between ?
Yes, If a pedal says 9-18v (as the Pinnacle deluxe v2 does) you can run at any voltage between 9-18v without issue.
Thank you
Hello,
I have a Tweed 57 Wampler Pedal (Very good pedal).
Can I run it with 18V power supply ?
It’s the first version of the Tweed 57 Pedal.
Thank’s in advance for the answers ;-))
JB
Can the Metaverse be run at 18v?
No – 9v only
Can the Ego Mini run at 18V?..
Yes
Great explanation, thanks.
I like my Belle at 9v but just wondering if I decide to try it at 18v again would leaving it there affect the longevity of the pedal? In your opinion would it die quicker by using 18v instead of 9v? It’s fun to mess around with this stuff but I don’t want to kill my pedals faster because I ran them at 18v.
Thanks
Ran a terraform at 18v and cooked it. Wampler gladly fixed free of charge but recommended I just keep it at 9v so I have and it’s a great pedal!
Any benefit or downside to running the EQuator at 18v rather than 9v? I’m using it for an acoustic pedal board.
I’m also using the EGO Compressor (@ 18v) and Reflection (@ 9v) pedals. Love ’em!
Thanks
It will give you a bit more headroom at 18v
I have the Triumph overdrive. I love it but haven’t fooled with the dip switches yet and I’m curious what would the difference be if I ran it at 18v vs 9v.
Can I run the Dual Fusion v1 at 18v? This text suggest that yes, but the v1 manual says “do not exceed 9v”
Thanks!