Hello, I’ve recently accquired a quad cortex, and I am using it in conjunction with a Digitech DT whammy and a BOSS WL-60 wireless unit and have been powering them with the factory power supplies.
I wanted to clean my setup and add a dedicated power supply, and I was looking at the Walrus Audio Canvas power 8, which showed me there was no 3A toggle for the quad cortex. Are there any recommendations that you would suggest, or should I just continue using the factory power supply. Any help is greatly appreciated!
QC needs 12V DC supplying minimum 1.8A*, center-pin-negative with a 2.1mm barrel plug (Boss-style).
Walrus Audio Canvas Power 8 has two outputs which can be switched to 12V DC. Individually or paralleled together, they don’t provide enough current to supply the QC properly. The Canvas Power 8 can power the other two pedals just fine, but it has a high price tag if you would only use it to power just those two devices.
*The QC does not actually use 3A of current for most uses. Others in the forum have tested it extensively and found that it averages around 1.8A, with maybe a short spike during boot-up.
I gave a lengthy discussion on external power supplies just yesterday in another thread. Powering the QC with a third-party supply can be done for cheap:
I posted something pertinent to your needs in another thread. I suggested 3 power supplies that can power the QC and also power other pedals. Take a look and see what you think.
I wouldn’t recommend those Walrus power supplies to anyone. Really weird they don’t use an IEC cable and instead have a separate weird power supply to attach to it. Bad design on their part tbh
Yeah I forgot to mention that in my pros and cons. You really need an IEC plug for a nice solid reliable connection to the power source (like the Pedal Power and DC7). The Canvas unit was the lowest value in my list and that power cable just adds to the negatives.
The Quad Cortex has fairly high current requirements, so most standard pedalboard power supplies will not handle it properly. It is usually best to keep using the factory power supply for that unit to avoid stability issues. You can still use a dedicated supply like the Canvas Power 8 for your other pedals to keep things organized.
True for most but not true for VooDoo Lab Pedal Power 3 and 3 Plus, and CIOKS DC7 + CRUX. Both provide an isolated 12v 2A current that will power the QC without issue and still allow other pedals plugged into the regular isolated pedal outlets. I’ve run my my QC from the Pedal Power 3+ for over a year and it’s been flawless. Max current draw has been 1.76A.
