Pedaltrain Volto review

USB pedal power supply

  • £89
  • €104
  • $199
The Volto charges via a USB connection and can power plenty of pedals

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 Our team of expert musicians and producers spends hours testing products to help you choose the best music-making gear for you. Find out more about how we test.

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 ideal for the travelling/busking musician or indeed any of us who need an ultra-quick set-up time"

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

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.