The Quest for Good Guitar Tone

This post I would like to share a cool product that might be indispensable for the working musician. The Pedal Jeanie, by Grid 1 represents the next stage in evolution toward smarter ways to power your pedalboard.

Previously reviewed in the Quest for Good Guitar Tone blog, is a pedal-sized rechargeable power supply, the  Sanyo KBC-9V3U Pedal Juice. The Pedal Jeanie takes this concept of having a smart rechargeable power supply to the next level of having an entire pedalboard with its built in permanent rechargeable power supply.

The Pedal Jeanie Jr is the perfect size. At 23″ x 11″ x 3.5″ it easily accommodates the typical wah-wah pedal (e.g. Cry Baby) and still leaves room for another 6-10 pedals depending on size.

Grid 1 surely did their homework on this product. The fully enclosed batteries are rechargeable with the provided smart charger. An indicator light on the charger tells you when a full charge has been reached. During operation of the board, there is an indicator light in the top middle that shows you the status. Green means 60%-100%, Orange/Yellow means 40%-60% and Red 30%-40%. Less than 30% triggers the auto shut-off that protects the batteries. A sturdy push-switch on the front of the board beside the handle allows you to switch the entire board on or off as needed.

Eight 9v connections and two 12v connections are provided under the pedalboard for a total of 10 pedals. A green LED indicator lets you know when a stable connection has been made.

The top of the pedalboard is riddled with conveniently spaced holes about a pedal’s width apart. The holes are the perfect size for your pedal power cable plugs to reach your pedal. You simply choose the closest hole to the power input on your pedal and feed the cable through! Ties are provided for you to organize your cables and pedals. I found it more convenient to stripe the top of the board with velcro (in between the holes) for fastening the pedals. I also striped the underside of the board with velcro, allowing me to neatly organize my power cables under the board. For this, I used velcro tape (single side, hook, non-adhesive back). If you wish, you can also easily connect your pedals through the holes, under the board using custom George L connectors and cabling. I used under-the-board cabling for the longer lengths and over-the-board for connecting adjacent pedals. This makes for a very very neat, organized board. In addition you can route the signal path any way you wish under the board, regardless of the order in which the pedals are physically placed on top of the board.

Now I know many of you are wondering how long this board will power up your pedals before requiring a charge. The Grid 1 websites says that the board will charge up to 10 standard 9v pedals for up to 50 hours. My test run was done with the pictured fully loaded pedalboard. I would hardly call my pedalboard selection standard since some of those pictured like the EH Freeze draw quite a bit more power than standard pedals. Still I ran the pedalboard non-stop for at least 9 hours with no battery shut off in sight! So I feel quite confident taking this board out for a night of gigs with no risk of running out of juice. Of note is the fact that you can recharge the board while it is in full use, so in a pinch, you can plug it in and use it in the way that you might for a typical board with a non-rechargeable supply such as a voodoo lab pedal power plus.

Construction is solid steel and altho I did not try it, it seems like you can stand on this thing with no consequence!:) A sturdy handle at the top allows you to pick it up and carry it as you would an attache case. Very nicely designed and thought out product from Grid ! AAAA+

Here are some specs below from the Grid 1 website: Check it out for more info on the product

Features

• 10 built-in DC barrel connections
• 8 individual 9v connections (750mA ea.)
• 2 dedicated 12v connection (1500mA ea.)
• DC Cables, battery charger and tie wraps included
• 16 gauge steel chassis
• Master stomp switch for easy on/off operation
• LED fault indicator light for each pedal connection
• Battery level LED (Green, Orange, Red)
• Dual rechargeable batteries (4.5 Amp Hr.)
• Universal smart charger
• Stainless steel carrying handle
• Ultra quiet operation
• Powers 10 standard 9v pedals for up to 50 hrs

Optional

• 15v/18v/24v in-line cable modules
• Tip adapters (All barrel sizes and polarities)
• Case Xtreme hard case
• Padded carrying bag
• Car Charger