Just wanted to make this thread to share this little project, because I think it might be of use to some of you, and also because I learn so much from this forum I want to give back 
Mandatory pics (forgive the raw look and imprecise drillings, it's the first enclosure project I ever made, with very few tools):
Broughton HPF for scale
I started to think about this when I realized how silly it is to have to purchase disposable sources of power for my bass to work, while already having a quality PSU that I paid for, right there, underneath the pedalboard. After some research I found that this kind of unit has already been made by some, with success; some companies even sell something similar, for an prohibitively (to me) high price (100+ €/$). So I decided I'd try and make my own.
This is basically an external power source for the onboard preamp, using one of the pedalboard PSU's outlets and routing power to the bass through the ring contact of the bass's input jack (similar to phantom power really).
It cost me ~17$/€. You can find the diagram I made a few weeks ago in my other thread over at the Pickups & Electronics sub to gather feedback (these guys are great!!) : https://www.talkbass.com/threads/powering-onboard-preamp-from-pedalboard-psu.1620776/
Obviously this should mostly appeal to people already using a pedalboard, which is the main reason why I'm making this thread here. I think that when we have a board with a PSU, we are already 90% of the way to battery-free operation.
To me this has very few drawbacks compared to batteries (no wireless?), and lots of benefits (sustainable, fixed cost, constant voltage, no modification required to the bass, free upgrade to 18V, etc).
I find this even more relevant after seeing this recent thread: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/what-do-you-think-about-an-onboard-compressor.1624094/ where battery life of onboard electronics is discussed, and how tradeoffs have to be made to reduce power consumption at the expense of signal-to-noise ratio.
What do you think? Useful or overkill?
Mandatory pics (forgive the raw look and imprecise drillings, it's the first enclosure project I ever made, with very few tools):
Broughton HPF for scale
I started to think about this when I realized how silly it is to have to purchase disposable sources of power for my bass to work, while already having a quality PSU that I paid for, right there, underneath the pedalboard. After some research I found that this kind of unit has already been made by some, with success; some companies even sell something similar, for an prohibitively (to me) high price (100+ €/$). So I decided I'd try and make my own.
This is basically an external power source for the onboard preamp, using one of the pedalboard PSU's outlets and routing power to the bass through the ring contact of the bass's input jack (similar to phantom power really).
It cost me ~17$/€. You can find the diagram I made a few weeks ago in my other thread over at the Pickups & Electronics sub to gather feedback (these guys are great!!) : https://www.talkbass.com/threads/powering-onboard-preamp-from-pedalboard-psu.1620776/
Obviously this should mostly appeal to people already using a pedalboard, which is the main reason why I'm making this thread here. I think that when we have a board with a PSU, we are already 90% of the way to battery-free operation.
To me this has very few drawbacks compared to batteries (no wireless?), and lots of benefits (sustainable, fixed cost, constant voltage, no modification required to the bass, free upgrade to 18V, etc).
I find this even more relevant after seeing this recent thread: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/what-do-you-think-about-an-onboard-compressor.1624094/ where battery life of onboard electronics is discussed, and how tradeoffs have to be made to reduce power consumption at the expense of signal-to-noise ratio.
What do you think? Useful or overkill?
