I have to admit, I saw this.. and got pretty excited. I think a few of you will be really interested in this unit. This is the VOLTO Rechargeable power supply by PedalTrain. I’m a big fan of PedalTrain boards (I have a couple of PedalTrain PT-2s myself). Rechargeable power supplies are pretty handy. I talked about the Sanyo Pedal Juice in the past that was rechargeable but the biggest problem I had with that, is that you could not charge and use at the same time. I can see that being a pretty big deal. VOLTO put some thought in their unit, and I think it’s pretty great.
The VOLTO uses lithium-ion battery technology, similar to iPads, your phone, etc. These are generally low profile batteries with a long charge life. So far so good. The unit offers 2000 mA of 9V power, weighs only a few ounces and uses a USB charger input to standard wall adapter (again, similar to your phone). The VOLTO can power pedals WHILE charging which is great. The unit also has 2 9v outputs that can be used at the same time or individually. Don’t worry, you can connect a daisy chain out of that to power multiple pedals.
So let’s get to the big questions. How long can it go on a charge? Everything is dependent on the milliamps you’re pulling from it. Remember, just because the pedal is 9v, doesn’t mean they’re all the same. They may draw more from the 9v than other pedals… and obviously how many pedals you have in line matters. They stated with 5 ‘normal’ style 9v pedals, it can go for 36 hours! Impressive! And like I mentioned earlier, you can charge while in use. If you’re having large pedals that require higher voltage or suck a tone of mA, this may not be the best solution for you.
So why would one want a rechargeable power supply for their board? I HATE trying to get power to my board in the front of the stage. Nice stages.. no problem, but often you play a venue where the power is on the back wall. I always have to be sure be ready for this. Packing extension cords. Packing power strips to tie into that power. Now, wouldn’t it be nice to never worry about that?
The other nice thing about the VOLTO.. the price point. It’s only $99 at Amazon.com right now.
