The good people at Sanyo recently asked if I’d like to check out a Pedal Juice, their new rechargeable 9V power source for effects pedals (check back on Friday when I launch a giveaway including the review sample).
So what’s the Pedal Juice all about? Taking a cue from the product’s Apple-inspired look, the Pedal Juice could not be simpler to use. Unbox the Pedal Juice; charge it for a few hours; plug it into your pedals. That’s it!
Depending on the number of pedals in your set-up the Pedal Juice can go up to 50 hours before a recharge is needed. You might be looking at the photo and thinking that you can only power two pedals at once (the third jack is used to charge the Pedal Juice). This is where that perfectly simple design comes in. If you have a large pedal board, position the Pedal Juice in the middle and daisy chain jumper cables to power the individual pedals (Godlylke’s Power-All cables would be perfect).
We now know the Pedal Juice is convenient, but is it better than just using the 9V power adapters that came with your pedals? In many cases, yes.
These days I do more remote recording that playing, where ground loop noise can be a big problem, so I was really excited at the notion of powering my digital recorders with the Pedal Juice. A few times a year I’ll record at conferences where audio lines from many rooms are pulled into a central location. In some of the older convention centers, ground loops can be huge obstacles for recording a clean, quiet signal. In fact, last year I recorded an event where the buzz was so bad, I had to run a dozen recorders on batteries for three days. Even with the Pedal Juice’s $150 price tag, this would have been a steal considering the small fortune I spent on AA batteries!
This brings me to my one small beef with the Pedal Juice. Although it is promoted as a power source for “portable recording devices,” the included cables don’t fit my recorders’ smaller-than-a-pedal’s 9V jacks. A bummer! I record on an Edirol R-09 and Tascam D-07, which are industry standard. However, I’m assuming this problem could be solved by hunting down the right 9V jumper cables.
Sanyo Pedal Juice with Fender Blender Custom & Fender PT100 Tuner
Without the chance to try the Pedal Juice on a recording session, I plugged in a few pedals. It works exactly as expected! The whisper-quiet performance provided a nice change from the sometimes noisy AC in my 80-year-old apartment. I left the pedals on all day and the LED indicator never even turned from green to red, noting 30-60% power left.
In all, I think the Pedal Juice is a great product for any musician to keep in his or her toolbox!
Interested in purchasing a Sanyo Pedal Juice?
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It really is super quiet.
I bought mine a few weeks ago and have been using it to both gig and record. Now, all my gear sound new 9volt battery perfect all the time.
And the power lasts though gigs and sessions without needing a recharge.
Very, very cool.
Glad to hear it! I’m going to be announcing a giveaway including the review unit tomorrow, so if you know anyone else who needs one, tell ‘em to drop by!
I have one and use it all the time now.
Outdoors, at a bar where the plug is in a bad place, there’s just so many places where having it comes in handy.
And when it warms up, I’m taking it to the park…it powers my travel amp too!
That will be so sweet.
My set up is very gear-intensive so need brand new batteries all the time…but with my Pedal Juice? I’m free of all that. Sound is perfect all the time; I never need to plug in and deal with the consequences of that. And all is good in the universe.
First, let me start with full disclosure: I work for Sanyo. Now that that’s out of the way, I just want to offer a thought on the price.
The cost of 9Volts adds up. I always ask musicians to think about how many batteries they will buy over the next few years and then compare the price.
Keep in mind:
– you can recharge Pedal Juice about 500 times
– each charge could provide up to 50 hours of quiet, continuous power
Quick math: If you hook up 5 analogue pedals to the Pedal Juice and play TEN 1 hour gigs each week, you wouldn’t have to buy 9Volts for maybe 10 years!
Im a gigging guitarist in a band and my Sanyo Pedal Juice has been awesome and a pleasure to use. Ive had it about 6 months and i love it, but all the sudden it’s been shutting itself off. It is fully charged and just turns itself off in the middle of me playing. Im running 5 effects pedals a boss tuner, wah pedal, boss dist pedal, boss eq pedal and a boss noise suppressor pedal. Everything is daisy chained from the pedal juice . Any advice or help anyone can offer would be appreciated. TY
I use mine for studio work. It works just like you say in the review PLUS I never have to worry that the sound in a pedal with a regular 9volt is starting to get a little dirt in it, and lose a great take because of that and waste time taking the pedal apart to change the battery – Man I used to hate that. With PJ I just turn it on, play, and then turn it off til next time.
Im a gigging guitarist in a band and my Sanyo Pedal Juice has been awesome and a pleasure to use. Ive had it about 6 months and i love it, but all the sudden it’s been shutting itself off. It is fully charged and just turns itself off in the middle of me playing. Im running 5 effects pedals a boss tuner, wah pedal, boss dist pedal, boss eq pedal and a boss noise suppressor pedal. Everything is daisy chained from the pedal juice . Any advice or help anyone can offer would be appreciated. TY