Tuner the first in the chain?

skunkwerx · July 2017

Ello guys. Im not hugely up to speed with effects etc.

I have a boss tu-3 on the way, and presume it will go first in my chain?

I currently have my guitar, into a boss oc-3 octave, into a marshall regenerator, into the front of a katana 50.

Also regarding power supply.

In hindsight it would have been cheaper to get an isolated brick, but you know...

Anyway, these 3 pedals will be all powered by their own boss psa adapters which are plugged into a 6 way mains extension. The katana 50 is also plugged into the same extension.

Is that kind of the same as having an isolated power supply?

I always get anxious about waiting for new things to turn up... lol.. always think theres gonna be some form of problem

Alnico · July 2017

The TU-3 is also a world class buffer so having it first will help on that score.

Yes, using all separate BOSS power supplies is just the same as isolated.

"Isolated" is referring to the earth, so isolated power supplies don't share a common earth and that's how they can be used with a mixture of digital and analogue effects.

I don't *think* there's a problem with running all that off one plug bar extension lead but I'm not an expert.

@ICBM (other amazing techs are available) will know TONS more about why this is than I do but doing it the way you're doing won't harm anything and putting the TU-3 first will act as a mute when activated (Handy) and a buffer so that's a good idea too.
I've always put my TU-3 first in the chain when I used one.

John_A · July 2017

Yes 3 PSA = isolated power for all your pedals. It's normal to put the tuner 1st in the chain but not essential

EricTheWeary · July 2017

I'm no electrician but I'm sure that completely separate supplies is isolated.

People tend to have tuners at the start of the effects chain in order for it to see an unaffected signal although I think only modulations would really trouble the tuning. The other choice can be at the end so if you have pedal hiss the tuner will cut that all off. It also acts as a fault finder at the end of the chain - if you lose signal but the tuner can still read your guitar then the problem isn't on your board ( and vice versa). However, as you only have two other pedals I suspect those are none issues for you.

Lestratcaster · July 2017

I usually nearly always put it first in my signal chain. Any later (i.e after overdrives or modulations) and the signal path won't be as clear as mentioned above. Before I used to use a wah pedal and that'd be before but that's about it.

As for power supply personally I would use an isolated brick e.g The T-Rex, or use the TU-3 to daisy chain the power to your other pedals.

skunkwerx · July 2017

Cheers all so far! The non dedicated effect power supply is more out of ease at the moment, as I had the 3 psa adaptors already, and the monster mains extension/surge protector so it made sense.

None of this ever needs to be taken out of the house so its no real problemo not having everything compact and easy to remove..

Figured I needed a tuner and the boss one gets a popular press.. I've been using an old line 6 amp with built in tuner as my tuner haha.. but that means plugging it in, and generally getting off my ass.

Did have a freebie clip on tuner from andertons, but free for a reason.. it doesnt like some strings and can be a pain to get to pick up certain high notes.

Lestratcaster · July 2017

Boss tuners are defo worth the investment, solid and reliable, have had my TU-2 for almost 10 years and never once had an issue with it, and its been toured with for years. Mind you it is in a hard pedal board case but its been known to be stamped on by over-enthusiastic singers. It is called a stomp box for a reason haha.

The Polytune is also awesome, I have one of those too but its not velcro'd on my board, so if the board is in storage somewhere else I have access to another one.

Alnico · July 2017

Before I switched to a GT100 I used a TU-3 in everything I did.
As a buffer and a tuner they're amazing and I've always thought they're a bargain for what they cost.
If I didn't use the GT I'd insist on using one even if I was playing straight to the amp. The buffer is just brilliant especially when you're dealing with stage length cables.
To be able to use it to daisy chain power is just another reason why they're amazing.

MrMusic · July 2017

Boss tuners also double
up as a power supply which is awesome and not
too many people know or use this feature but super handy! They can power 4/5 other pedals if you have a daisy chain lead

John_A · July 2017

They don't really double up as a power supply, they just have a thru jack on them to take power from whatever PSU you are using

Col_Decker · July 2017

Re signal chain. Me, I always put mine after the OD / gain pedals so that when the tuner is on my rig is muted. Placed before ODs in the signal chain you'll still get pedal hiss going into the amp. Don't worry about a overdriven sound going into your tuner pedal it'll work just fine.

thermionic · July 2017

Why use 3 PSAs? Just use one and daisy-chain out of the tuner. Neater, less wasteful (heat from 3 transformers) and less potential problems. Carry one of the others as a spare.

"Isolated" is the new "true bypass" imho. You don't need an isolated 9V supply for every pedal.

Cookiemonster · July 2017

I have to say I tried gettin away daisy chain style and there is noise for sure.

Also first in chain is good, I use the zoom cdr70 as my tuner and it's last and recently I came a cropper when it just didn't want to work properly and I couldn't seem to tune to pitch.
It was because like a fool I had left my pitchfork on tuned to a different pitch.....doh.

gubble · July 2017

I run my TU2 after my soul food and big muff but before my Boss Blues Driver.

Quite simply because I've five boss pedals and I like them all lined up in a row on the board - it looks all neat and tidy.

DesVegas · July 2017

i have my tuner after my dirt pedals and first delay but before my reverb and second delay and use it as a kill switch.

if i want to tune up i just turn the dirt pedals off

aord43 · July 2017

Genuine question, how is daisy-chaining out of the tuner better than daisy chaining from the PSU plug into multiple things including the tuner?Or is it just that you get one more available plug?

aord43 · July 2017

At the other end of the scale (no pun intended) does anyone have an opinion on the Donner DT-1 tuner? It's cheap but gets good reviews on Amazon.

Jalapeno · July 2017

skunkwerx said:

Cheers all so far! The non dedicated effect power supply is more out of ease at the moment, as I had the 3 psa adaptors already, and the monster mains extension/surge protector so it made sense.

None of this ever needs to be taken out of the house so its no real problemo not having everything compact and easy to remove..

Figured I needed a tuner and the boss one gets a popular press.. I've been using an old line 6 amp with built in tuner as my tuner haha.. but that means plugging it in, and generally getting off my ass.

Did have a freebie clip on tuner from andertons, but free for a reason.. it doesnt like some strings and can be a pain to get to pick up certain high notes.

If they're all on the same extension lead then they're all sharing the same earth anyway .... TU3 and daisy chain them of a single supply.

re:Clip ons - they rely on neck vibration - top tip if you're have trouble, play octave harmonics at 12th fret, works a treat

EricTheWeary · July 2017

aord43 said:

Genuine question, how is daisy-chaining out of the tuner better than daisy chaining from the PSU plug into multiple things including the tuner?Or is it just that you get one more available plug?

Just one more available plug.

You might get more noise daisy chaining, you might not. It wouldn't be too surprising if the Regenerator didn't play well. Daisy chains are pretty cheap so you could experiment if you wanted to.

John_A · July 2017

A Boss PSA isn't earthed so they are all isolated

Wazmeister · July 2017

Never daisy chain. Imho.

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