MusicRadar Verdict
Perfect power supply for the travelling musician, or those beachside jams/busking slots with a battery-powered amp.
Pros
- +
Works! Compact, discreet and easily mountable.
Cons
- -
Not much.
MusicRadar's got your back
Pedaltrain seems to have the market sewn up when it comes to its pedalboards, so producing power supplies for the pedals you put on 'em is pretty sensible. Alongside the existing and hefty Powertrain 1250 supply comes the new Volto, and it's not your usual power supply.
It's USB rechargeable, which means, once charged, your pedalboard will be mains-free: ideal for the travelling/busking musician or indeed any of us who need an ultra-quick set-up time; at an open-mic slot, for example.
In Use
Slightly wider than an original iPod, it takes six hours to charge from zero to full capacity via the supplied USA cable and mains plug with USA, European, Australian and UK adaptors included.
There are two (non- isolated) 9-volt outlets - it's only designed to power 9-volt pedals - and included are two single-use right-angle plug pedal leads, and two three-connector daisy-chain right- angle plug cables.
With a total of 2000mA, Volta could in theory power a lot of 9-volt centre-negative Boss-style pedals (it will work with centre- positive pedals, although you'll need an adaptor lead, not supplied) but bear in mind the more you power, the less time you have per charge.
According to Pedaltrain, one to five pedals will give you about 36 hours use; while six to 10 pedals will provide 18 hours use. Plenty for long rehearsals and gigs.
Compact, discreet and easily mountable on your Pedaltrain or other pedalboards (Velcro strips supplied) or simply a compact power supply for those who need to get mains-free power to any pedals.
Dave Burrluck is one of the world’s most experienced guitar journalists, who started writing back in the '80s for International Musician and Recording World, co-founded The Guitar Magazine and has been the Gear Reviews Editor of Guitarist magazine for the past two decades. Along the way, Dave has been the sole author of The PRS Guitar Book and The Player's Guide to Guitar Maintenance as well as contributing to numerous other books on the electric guitar. Dave is an active gigging and recording musician and still finds time to make, repair and mod guitars, not least for Guitarist’s The Mod Squad.
“With the room calibration and support software, it's the most flexible mini monitor we’ve tried”: IK Multimedia iLoud Micro Monitor Pro review
“Maybe I’m writing a song and it doesn’t follow the exact rules of songwriting. Or maybe this word doesn’t make sense next to this one, but that’s how I speak”: Beabadoobee says that “missteps” are more important than perfection in songwriting
“It’s been road-tested, dropped on its head, kicked around, x-rayed, strummed, chicken-picked, and arpeggio swept!” Fender and Chris Shiflett team up for signature Cleaver Telecaster Deluxe