1 SPOT PRO CS12 Power Supply 1 Spot

For many years, Truetone has made musicians’ lives easier with the 1 SPOT, the original compact pedalboard power supply. It works so well that a lot of musicians never felt the need to get one of those brick-style power supplies, and we here at Truetone didn’t see the need for those either, even though they were quite popular. Bob Weil, founder of Truetone, explains:

“A lot of people over the years had told us that we should make a power brick. Even some of my own staff urged me to do it, but I didn’t want to for two reasons. First, I knew the 1 SPOT could power just about every pedal out there, so I didn’t see the need. Second, I didn’t want to make just another knock-off of someone else’s power brick. If we were going to make one, we were going to do it our way and have features that nobody else could offer. As pedal designs changed and it became more common for digital pedals to require isolation and for others to need something other than 9Vdc, I finally saw a reason for us to design a power brick.”

“It took 3 years and lots of experimentation, but we were finally able to design a 1 SPOT Pro, using our own proprietary technology to give musicians all the features they need for today’s pedalboards. The original 1 SPOT still works great for most musicians, but for those who need more power and versatility, the 1 SPOT Pro fills the need perfectly.”

1 SPOT Technology… what does that mean and why should I care? Technically, it’s switching power supply technology, which is very different than what anyone has ever put inside a power brick. Normally, you would find just a big transformer and a handful of small electronic components inside a power brick… old tech that hasn’t changed in decades and has a lot of limitations. We took the same switching power supply technology found in our famous 1 SPOT and scaled it up to make the 1 SPOT Pro models. With much more space to work with, we were able to completely eliminate noise, provide total electrical isolation between outputs, create multiple voltages, and still give you the ability to use it anywhere in the world.

A major benefit of using a switching power supply is that it can handle far more current (power being pulled out of it) than any transformer-based power supply. Although we had to put power rating labels on each output to satisfy certification agencies (yes, we actually certified these, unlike most companies), the outputs can generally handle far more than the label shows. For example, you can connect a 300mA pedal to a 200mA output, without causing any problems. With a transformer-based power supply, you can’t get away with that. The important thing is to not exceed the total of all the labels. With a CS7, the output labels add up to 1900mA total. That means the total current draw of all your pedals should be less than 1900mA. That total current rating is roughly double the current load of the most common power brick, for a lot less money.

We recognize that not all guitar pedals run off 9V. That’s why all 1 SPOT Pro models have outputs that can put out 9Vdc, 12Vdc or 18Vdc. The CS12 even has a variable voltage output for old-style fuzz pedals, and a 9Vac output for certain Line6 and Digitech pedals. And if you need to change the voltage of an output, Truetone also makes inexpensive converter cables to help you. There’s the Voltage Doubler, which does exactly what its name says, and the 18V to 9V Converter… which also does what its name says. They don’t have the most clever names, but they get the job done!

Just like with the original 1 SPOT, and your laptop power supply and phone charger, the 1 SPOT Pro uses switching power supply technology which allows you to use it anywhere in the world. The CS12 has an input voltage switch on the back, which switches voltage only for the 9VAC output, since that output does use a toroidal transformer. The rest of the outputs on the CS12, and all of them on the CS6 and CS7, don’t care what the input voltage is.

8.12” x 3.37” x 2” (206 x 86 x 50mm); 2.35 lbs. (1.06 Kg.) – weight and dimensions of power supply only, not including cables or packaging.

Power cables (all are center pin negative polarity):
(2) DC26 (5.5×2.1mm barrel plugs; 26” (660mm) – Purple
(2) DC22 (5.5×2.1mm barrel plugs; 22” (559mm) – Blue
(4) DC18 (5.5×2.1mm barrel plugs; 18” (457mm) – White
(3) DC12 (5.5×2.1mm barrel plugs; 12” (305mm) – Yellow
(1) AC21 (5.5×2.5mm barrel plugs; 21” (533mm) – Red

Converter Plugs:
(1) CL6 – (5.5×2.1mm barrel input, 5.5×2.5 barrel output; reverse polarity)
Green – for Line 6 DL4/M9/etc. and some Eventide pedals.
(1) CYR – (5.5×2.1mm barrel input, 5.5×2.1 barrel output; reverse polarity)
Red – reverse polarity converter
(2) C35 – (5.5×2.1mm barrel input, 3.5mm male output; tip positive)
Black – 3.5mm (1/8”) plug converter
(1) CBAT – (5.5×2.1mm barrel input, Black battery clip output) Connects to battery clip wires inside pedals that do not have DC jacks. Do NOT connect to a battery!

Another 1 SPOT Pro first. In the past, if you had a Line 6 or Digitech pedal that required 9VAC (not DC), you had to use their power supply and an extension cord or maybe a courtesy outlet on your power brick, if you could get to it. We put a 9VAC output right on the front panel of the CS12, so you can ditch the big wall-wart and keep things neat and simple. We did have to use a small toroidal transformer for this, as it’s not really feasible to create AC voltage with a switching power supply, but that small toroid is dedicated to just that one output… completely isolated.
If you need a courtesy outlet for some other use, like your phone or laptop charger, or one of the very few units a 1 SPOT Pro cannot power, check out Truetone’s Courtesy Plug Cable!

Outputs 1-2: 18VDC (100mA)
Outputs 3-6: 9VDC or 12VDC (100mA)
Output 7: 9VDC or variable 4-9VDC (100mA)
Outputs 8-9: 9VDC (250mA)
Outputs 10-11: 9VDC (500mA)
Output 12: 9VAC (800mA) – Be careful with this one! It is only for pedals that can handle AC voltage. If your pedal can use a battery, do NOT use this output!

The only power brick to include easy-to-install mounting brackets for Pedaltrain pedalboards. We even duplicated the output labels under the unit, so you can easily see which output is which, when working on your board. Yes, we thought of that too!