BBE Supa-Charger

This is the Supa Charger by BBE Sound Inc. it is basically a no bull power supply that up to 8 different pedals.

Voltage is good for any 8 12 and 16 volt pedal. The goal is hum free power and it does a good job.

I was building a pedalboard for a tour and wanted it to be as simple as possible. The BBE Supa Charger definitely makes life easier. Any plug or jack on your pedal will work. Boss style, 9-volt battery plug, 1/8' cable, 2.5mm barrel with reverse polarity, all of it.

It does its job, powers everything with no additional outside noise.

At $150 it is a little pricey, but it does what it should and you are paying for a quality power supply.

It is somewhat bulky. The footprint will take up a good chunk think about 2 Boss sized pedals. I was able to mount it under my board.

Well built and noise free. The cables are thick and not the junk you get with some cheaper sets. I'd imagine this will last me a good couple of years.

If you are sick of fussing with homemade plugs, wall warts, or a spaghetti looking pedalboard check this out. Great quality and no noise.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Features:
- 8 outputs total
- Switchable 9, 12v
- Outputs 5 and 6 switchable 9, 16v
- Adjustable input voltage
- 2.1 mm cables. Also comes with 2 2.5mm cables.
- 100 mA per output, outputs 5, 6 pushing 200mA
- Filtered and isolated
- Bright LED

Usability:
This is one of the only power supplies on the market that can be switched between 120-240 volts, making it perfect for anyone that does international travelling. The option to switch between 9, 12, and 16 v is another major plus. I just wish it could also go up to 18v. 100mA is USUALLY enough. On dirt, wah, compressor pedals it is more than adequate. But for high current pedals like delay, you are limited to outputs 5 and 6, which can be a pain. It doesn’t have the sag pots that the supplies like the PP2+ feature.
The LED is a very bright blue and can light up most of your board depending on where the power supply is placed. I’ve had no reliability issues with it, just be sure to remember what voltage region you’re in, I’ve already blown a few fuses.

Sound:
A good power supply contributes a pretty huge amount to the silent/quiet operation of your rig. Before investing in the Supa Charger I used standard, non isolated, supplies, and ended up with quite a bit of noise at higher playing volumes. Picking up the isolated power supply made all the difference, ensuring that my board was once again usable. Even with multiple noisy gain pedals stacked, this unit keeps things pretty quiet. No complaints.

Overall:
Probably the most affordable reliable power supply on the market. Don’t be fooled by power bricks and the like, they are overpriced daisy chains disguised in fancy boxes. A proper isolated, regulated supply will deliver safe and noise free power to your pedals. When these originally came out they were an incredible deal, I think I picked mine up for $80 new. They’ve raised in price as they have in popularity, I believe they are now $150 on musicians friend, but still pretty affordable new. Highly recommended.

The BBE Supa Charger is a straight-up copy of the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power II Plus, except that the Supa Charger can deal with either 115 or 230 Volts for input power. Normally I don't like buying Chinese stuff when I can buy American-made, but the Pedal Power II Plus is $170 new. I got the Supa Charger brand-new off of Ebay for $110 shipped. It powers all of my pedals great without any problems, and since it is isolated it obviously killed off the problems I was having with ground loops, so noise free operation all around.

I like that it is switchable to 12 Volts on most of it's outlets (16 Volts unregulated on the two that don't switch to 12 Volt), but I don't like that it can't switch to 18V, because frankly 18V is more common than 12V. Now, this is something I didn't like about the VDL Pedal Power II Plus, but honestly, couldn't BBE changed it so that it could do 18V? At least that way it wouldn't be such a rip off of the PP2+, heh.

It's built very well, metal chassis, rubber feet, vents on the side. I bet if you were short on pedalboard space you could stick a pedal or two on top of this without any issues. It also runs fairly cool, which is nice as well. The switchable power is probably nice for those who travel a lot, it's not a must have for me, but it is nice having the option I guess. Oh yeah, the entire unit looks pretty killer as well, props to BBE for that!

Would I recommend it to others? Only if you can get it for around the price I did ($110). Otherwise, I suggest you shell out the $20 extra to get the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power II Plus. Overall, it does it what it does well without any problems, and has enough outlets to power a decent sized board. Here's a tip: If you need more outlets, you can daisy chain pedals as long as you don't exceed the mA rating per outlet. Just make sure you keep the noisy pedals by themselves, and the pedals in the loop and pedals in front of the amp separate and you should be good.

This is an isolated, 8 output power supply. It's reliable, can switch between 120 and 240 volts, and is noiseless. Outputs 5 and 6 are switchable to 16 volts, and the rest are switchable between 9 and 12 volts. It uses a standard Kettle lead for it's power cable, and comes with 8 black 2.1 millimeter, 2' cables, and 2 2.5 millimeter 2' red cables. All 8 outputs are regulated, filtered, and isolated, ensuring noiseless power with no ground loops. Outputs 1-4, 7, and 8 can power up to 100mA, and outputs 5 and 6 can handle 200mA. You can daisy chain from one output to power more pedals as long as you keep within the milliamps it can supply. The 9V outputs can be doubled using a voltage doubler cable to give 18 volts.This is a great option for those pedals that either require, or sound better at 18 volts. Since it can switch between 120 and 240 volts, you can use it anywhere in the world without a step-down transformer.This is a great option for those who tour the world, and don't wanna buy another Power supply or a step down transformer. The number of jacks is great for those (like me) with a large pedalboard. The ability to daisy chain off of each output is great, letting you power even MORE pedals. Since each output (excluding the two 200mA) can handle up to 100mA, you can daisy chain quite a few pedals as long as they're not too noisy together. This thing can easily hold it's own against the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power II, and, in some ways (including price), outshines it. The number of outputs, the ability to switch between 9, 12, and even 16 volts on some jacks, and the ability to daisy chain off of each output make this one heck of a great power supply unit for a great price.