Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Truetone Stage And Studio Equipment Case (CS12USJ)

Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2021

I have only great things to say about the TrueTone CS12.

First off, I came from using their OneSpot daisy chain (still perfectly working since 2004), which actually wasn't that noisy. Why the upgrade then? Because we simply shouldn't underestimate the impact of clean power distribution. I know we've all heard this millions of times, but I guess one fully realizes this once the swap is made. Oh, and I also wanted to get rid of all pesky power cables and wallwarts.

I'm not powering any current-thirsty effects, or higher voltage pedals....but as soon as I fired up the CS12, I noticed a change in the consistency and robustness in sound. It seems now like every pedal is happy, drawing what it needs without sharing or splitting. I press on pedals now and there are no hiccups, just solid, continuous sound. I am so happy now with my revamped board...instead of tracing noise, wasting time troubleshooting, running cables, carrying 3 wall warts all around....I can just plug in and concentrate on playing.

This brick comes with everything: owner's manual, several cables of different lengths, a variety of adapters (including 1/8" converters for your RAT or Muff, and battery connector), IEC power cable, and mounting brackets. It does not include instrument interconnects, but at this price you simply can't beat the quality of what you get.

GHOSTFIRE USERS: I started looking for isolated power distribution options, keeping in mind that I wanted to install whatever brick I ended up with under my 19.8" long Ghostfire aluminum pedalboard. I did my research, compared with how the CS12 seamlessly fits the Pedaltrains out there, and started to conceive how I could possibly fit the native mounting brackets with the Ghostfire. I thought I had to make the trip to the hardware store and try to get some brackets for adapting. But alas, thanks to another Amazon reviewer who mentioned one could flip the native brackets and mount flush, I started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I ended up with two tabs lining up with the GF board, and the remaining two seemed useless now. But after some thought I force-bent the two remaining tabs 180 degrees with some pliers, and managed to make them face upwards, lining up with the front of the GF aluminum rail. Everything perfect, now the CS12 (a hefty load) is firmly mounted with its own brackets, and it's not going anywhere. Forget about velcro-taping this brick, or using zip ties....the native brackets are the way to go. The paint will peel of the bracket's tabs due to the bending of the metal but hey, I much way prefer to have my CS12 solidly anchored to my board than keeping the looks spick-and-span. See the pics and judge for yourself. Also, the CS12's top panel (where the brand name reads) towards you, and the dip switches facing the floor. With this new orientation this is inverted: dip switches will face you, and brand's name will face the floor. No biggie, I actually put some low-adhesion tape over the dip switches just to cover them from collecting dust.
Bottom-line: GF users, YES! It CAN be done! Even smoother if you drill small pilot holes before fully screwing the included self-tapping screws. There is enough clearance from the floor if you extend the GF feet. It also fits the supplied GF bag, only drawback is that it will be bulky since the CS12 pops out once the pedalboard's feet are retracted.

Thanks for reading. I apologize for the lengthy review, I just feel I can help all of the potential CS12 (and Ghostfire) buyers. Pull the trigger on this power supply....you won't regret it.

10 people found this helpful

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GSL95

Best Bang For Your Buck

Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2024

Style: CaseVerified Purchase

The 1Spot CS12 gives the Best Bang For Your Buck. Compared to its competitor it's cheaper than the Pedal Power 3.

The unit has 11 DC outputs and 1 AC output, making it very useful especially if you have a pedal that needs AC as its power source.

Here are my findings:

My current residence has a noise problem on its electrical wiring thus a low electrical noise can be heard. On gigs and electricity-heavy venues, the unit produces no noise.

The outputs can be daisy-chained if more pedals are being used (stated in the manual). Provided that there is enough current.
The output amperes are higher than stated in the enclosure (stated by the customer service).
The unit can survive (not advisable) being plugged in the INCORRECT voltage.
My current residence's electrical voltage is 220v. Upon receiving the unit and out of excitement I tested the unit immediately without checking the voltage switch. I've used the unit for 10mins. Upon reading the manual (out of curiosity) I realized that the voltage switch was at 110v. I've switched the voltage switch upon realizing my mistake. I've checked all the outputs, especially the AC. All were working accordingly. I have advised customer service of the incident and they have suggested that the unit is to be checked. I have inspected the internals and had a second opinion from my guitar/amp tech and electrical engineer. Nothing was broken, thus sending the unit back to Truetone was unnecessary.

I've also checked my pedals and all were working accordingly. No damages.

I'm currently residing in a tropical country. Sometimes night gigs would still be hot. The unit would feel warm to the touch, but the unit never overheated or shut down. As a precaution, I would put a fan for temperature control. When the gig is air-conditioned, a fan would not be needed.

I've been using the unit for a good 2 months in practices and live gigs; so far I've encountered no problem.

One person found this helpful

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Matt

Does it all and is super versatile. Includes cables and has brackets for pedaltrain 2 big board

Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2022

Style: CaseVerified Purchase

First off I was looking for awhile, and ended up on this. I’m a big fan of TrueTone already, and have some VisualSound pedals. You can see me Jekyl and Hyde V1 in picture!

One thing you should know is volts matter most here, with not hurting your pedals! The Ma is not as big a deal outside digital pedals. Most analog pedals can be 5ma to 40ma lots of times. So with the base 9v 100ma slots if you wanted, you could daisy chain 2-4 pedals of that or same on the 9v 250ma. So 9v 200ma effects pedal, is fine on the 9v 250ma+. There you won’t want to daisy chain at all. Mostly you’ll have a little MA left over and that’s a good thing! The pedal will take only what’s needed, and having a little overhead does not hurt!

The two 18v are 100ma, but I’m finding a lot of my 18v pedals are running 5-7ma pretty much anyways. So I was able to hook all my pedals up, and still have room for a few more. I did not use the red cable supplied with pack….some kept saying it’s for the DC output…but I’m not sure as it looks like length to me and fit before I powered it on to my 18v. I only wanted to use it on my 18v to show red for my eyes. But better safe than sorry, so I used one of the others.

Mostly with the cables the color coding is length here, and then you have a bunch of adaptors. The DOD type adapters you know what to do. But the rest of the “adaptor” cables, I wouldn’t use unless you read up about what each one is for. Most are for the Whammy or odd ball drop effects. They are not just extender cables. The Blue and Purple are long enough for pedals up front or in the way back I found. White and Yellow length great for all middle pedals.

So the basic white, yellow, purple and blue are just length. Just look to see if you have a normal 9v analog pedal, and most 99% will work on the 9v 100ma and it’s more MA than you need anyway. So you could daisy chain i mentioned if need be. As most analog are under 100ma and 250ma.

I found my digital reverb and delays were mostly 200-500 ma 9v, so this is where you need to look at your pedals more closely. Digital usually need more MA to operate…so just get it in the proper range…you’ll most likely have a small amount of overhead.

As far as the 9v sag one..I just use it normal. But I’m sure this would be good for a Germanium Fuzz pedal, to simulate an old battery! I usually just run a battery in my fuzz anyway, because I like the sound. But it is cool you have this feature. The knob isn’t loose that’ll go down or anything. I’m powering a germanium treble boosters at 9v…but may put my Foxxy Tone here for optional Sag. If you feel weird about the sag knob you can always put tape over it.

So it’s pretty straight forward and easy to use! Cable colors are length, red colors stay away unless you have a device that needs this…..most won’t.

Use the DOD adapters if you have some of those pedals. And remember most 9v analog are way under 100ma, and digital like Strymon and Source Audio will be your 9v 250-500 ma area. The pedals will only pull what they need on the MA side. The 18v are mostly on amp in a box type pedals, and some JHS ones I ran into. Don’t run 18v unless marked…but if it can it gives more headroom and sounds bigger. Like a amp in a box from 50w to 100w sound.

Follow these basic rules, and you’ll be setup in a few minutes! Just make sure to trace your cables, or mark them…especially 18v or DC! If only using 9v just tape down the sag if you want.

3 people found this helpful

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Virendra Mohite

Clean power and awesome quality. dont be fooled by lack of 500mA ports

Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2024

Style: CaseVerified Purchase

Clean power with no noise (from pedals). Ample amount of ports and even though they are marked at 100mA - you can still use them with pedals with higher current draw. The only thing you need to watch out is to not exceed the 3000mA spec for the CS12 unit. So dont be fooled by the fewer number of dedicated 500mA ports.

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christopher reis

The CS12 offers lots of power and is built like a tank

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2015

Style: CaseVerified Purchase

Looking for a power supply that provides true isolated outputs, while also being able to power 8 or more 9v pedals options are limited. This was recently introduced as a sort of competitor for the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2. What I like about this over the Pedal Power 2 is:

1. Can power a lot more pedals at roughly the same price
2. Has more voltage options
3. Includes PedalTrain mounting brackets
4. Includes the ability to change the input voltage so it will work in the US and Europe out of the box

The unit does what it's supposed to (powers pedals with no additional noise) and it's built like a tank. It's actually a little bigger and heavier than I expected, which is good or bad depending on your needs. I know some folks run two of the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2's, but the additional power slots here may be able to save you from doing so if you're running in the neighborhood of 9-12 pedals. I'm powering 8 pedals with plenty of room to expand in the future which is nice.

The 1 Spot Pro CS12 was fairly new when I bought it, with only one other Amazon review, and not much else on the web, so I took a gamble and it paid off. There's way cheaper Chinese pedal powersupplies available on Amazon, but 1) they don't offer truly isolated outs, 2) they use a flimsy AC cord, and 3) they're all essentially the same device/design being sold under different brands. If you don't care about noise and are looking to spend less money, you can definitely pick one of those up for $40, but you may find yourself looking to upgrade later.

I'd rate this at 4.5 stars if I could, so I'll round up. Why would I have knocked off half a star? I would have liked to have seen an on/off switch, which would have been more practical than plugging it in and unplugging it before and after playing each time. It would also have been nice to included a more universal mounting bracket similar to the T-Rex Tonetrunk Mount, for use with other pedalboards besides the Pedaltrain. Other than that, I'm happy with my purchase.

15 people found this helpful

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Nicholas Benson

... saying that this power supply was and is absolutely perfect for my pedal board's needs

Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2017

Style: CaseVerified Purchase

Let me start off by saying that this power supply was and is absolutely perfect for my pedal board's needs, which is why I ultimately decided on it. Why the four stars instead of five? Because people don't read five star reviews for the most part, and one should do their research before buying this power source.

Yes this offers 12 real isolated outputs unlike a lot of the 30-50 dollar "daisy chain in a box" offerings out there that falsely make the claim. There is a lot of false advertising out there, folks! Be careful!

This is what you need to know. First and foremost there aren't 'really' 12 outputs so you need to be confident in what you are trying to power. 2 of the outputs ALWAYS output at 18v. This is important to know because that can blow some pedals (OCD and Xotic USA users can rejoice, however). 4 of them are adjustable via dip switches to run at 12v or 9v. 1 of them, also via dip switch, will run anywhere between 4v - 9v. There is a small little dial you can use (once the dip switch is activated) to fine tune this, and it is absolutely awesome for analogue fuzz pedals (Big Muff Pi, for example, sounds best when a little starved of voltage). The final and 12th output is a 9v AC output. Almost no pedal can utilize this except for some older vintage models.

That said you're really only left with nine 9v outputs. That is still a lot! Dollar for dollar this is a better value than Voodoo Lab's offerings (also awesome, BTW).

It comes with all of the wires and adapters you would ever need, but if I were to make one criticism it doesn't give you enough 'long' wires and they could pretty much be longer in general. It comes with mounting brackets as well that'll work with a lot of different pedal board brands. All in all I highly recommend this power source.

22 people found this helpful

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Cthulhu_Cult

The CS12 mounts easily underneath the angled front with the included brackets

Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2017

Style: CaseVerified Purchase

I am currently running 10 pedals (including an EarthQuaker Devices Talons @ 18v) on a Pedaltrain Classic 1. The CS12 mounts easily underneath the angled front with the included brackets. The power cables are long enough with more length to spare.

I used Lava Cable Tightrope to custom cut my patch cables. I was concerned that I had spent so much time and money on this board and there would be noise issues when the build was done. Thankfully there were no problems whatsoever - hiss-free joy! I'm extremely happy with the end result of my pedal board build and attribute much of that to the 1 SPOT PRO CS12.

Like is generally asked of other musical tools (amps, guitars, pedals) - can you do it for less money? Of course you can if you are content with compromise somewhere in your purchase (remember the old saying - cheap, dependable, high-performance : PICK TWO).

The fact that I get to spend time playing and not chasing down noise in my rig makes the CS12 worth the asking price to me.

2 people found this helpful

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luis camilo Gomez

Amazing!

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2024

Style: CaseVerified Purchase

Simply amazing! Great quality!

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Charlie W.

Awesome power supply, more current than I'l ever need.. very quiet and reliable

Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2017

Style: CaseVerified Purchase

Awesome power supply, with more than enough current to feed even the largest pedalboards. Most other power supplies in this price range have either much fewer power outlets, or not enough current. The more popular Voodoo Pedal Power 2+ only has two 250mA outputs, which is not enough power to feed all the new current-hungry digital pedals out there. The CS12 has two 250mA and two 500mA outputs (both 9v DC) which is really great. They also say in the manual, that you can pull more than the stated current from a given output, as long as the total current needed by all your pedals doesn't exceed the maximum output of the CS12 (3000mA). So you could use one of the 100mA outputs to power a 200mA pedal, for example. This is very cool, and I don't think any other supplies are capable of this (or at least they don't advertise it).

This is also a very quiet supply, truly isolated and very reliable. I'm very glad I went with the CS12. I actually have a lot of pedals on my board at the moment, so I have daisy-chained a few of my low-current analog distortion pedals off of one output. Since those pedals usually need less than 20mA, you can run a few of them off one of the 100mA outputs if you get a daisy-chain power cable. Then I have each of my high-power digital pedals on their own output, because those are the ones that make the most noise so you want them to be isolated.

Overall I'm very happy with the CS12, and highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to power more than a few pedals. If you don't need so much power, the smaller CS7 is also a great option.

12 people found this helpful

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Nick S.

Not without its faults, but it’s still the best option in its class.

Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2018

Style: CaseVerified Purchase

The CS12 is a beast of a power supply and works/performs flawlessly. Then, why the low rating? Well, it has some design flaws, but enough positive attributes to be worth the price of admission.

PROS:
Excellent flexibility, with lots of voltage options, plenty of outputs, and plenty of current handling. I’d say this is the most flexible supply in its class. It’s cheaper than some of the other big boys with this kind of current capacity.

It’s a true isolated supply. This is what you want if you are after quiet, safe, reliable power. This is why you pay more than the cheap supply units.

It has threaded holes for mounting brackets, so although it doesn’t come with universal brackets, you can at least mount it. IMO, it’s too heavy for Velcro or dual lock.

It’s overbuilt, and likely more than you need, so there’s peace of mind having it under the hood. It’s quiet.

It comes with every cable and adaptor to power any pedal you’ll ever need to. It’s nice to have a versatile cable set included.

CONS:
There’s no power switch, so whenever you unplug it, you have to decide if you want low level arcing at the wall socket, or the socket in your CS12.

It’s bigger and heavier than you think it is. Read the specs before buying. It’s a monster, and IMO you have to mount it mechanically (no Velcro). It adds a fair amount of weight to your board.

The powder coating is garbage. It was flaking off mine in multiple areas the second I unboxed it. I’d never trust using adhesive to mount it, even if weight wasn’t a factor.

No universal mount brackets are included. So if you don’t have a pedal train board, you’ll be stuck fabricating brackets. Again, this is possible. But at this price point, I shouldn’t have needed a trip to Home Depot and an hour in the basement with a drill and die grinder.

The cables are lower quality than I expected. They fit somewhat loosely into most pedal jacks, and they’re somewhat short and not all that robust or flexible.

OVERALL:
Despite some shortcomings, I still think this is the best power supply to buy if you want bulletproof power and versatility. Its size/weight is the biggest downfall. Also, give me some universal brackets for this kind of money!

48 people found this helpful

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