Why You Can’t Build A Great Pedalboard Without Proper Power Supply – Palmer PWT 12 IEC Review

Palmer’s power supply offers a great array of different outputs, solid construction and sturdy chassis. Let’s put it to the test in extreme studio conditions and find out if it’s good.

SPECIFICATIONS

• 2 Outputs with adjustable voltage from 6 – 18 V
• 12 Individually isolated 9V DC hollow pin outputs with centre negative
• Non-isolated 9V DC hollow pin output with 2000mA
• Short-circuit and overload protection for each individual output
• Max. output power: 36 W
• Max. power consumption 54 W
• Controls: Power switch, output voltage selector and switch
• Includes mains cable, 15 x DC cable (30 / 60 / 90 cm) and 4 x rubber feet
• Dimensions (W x D x H): 168 x 93 x 42 mm

Connections:

• Output 1 – 2: 6 – 18 V (250 mA max)
• Output 3 – 6: 9 V (100 mA max)
• Output 7 – 10: 9 V (250 mA max)
• Output 11 – 12: 9 V (500 mA max)
• Non-isolated DC output 9 V (2000 mA max)
• USB-C and USB-A outputs with a charging power of up to 18 W

Build Quality And First Impressions

I have to admit, it’s a bit difficult to get super excited about a power supply. Yet PWT 12 manages to impress when taking it out of the box: the power supply is surprisingly light, yet it feels well built.

The most impressive feature is the amount of different outputs it has, 12 in total. For my pedalboard needs it almost feels excessive, but it’s always good to have few extra just in case. The two USB outputs (USB-C and USB-A) are great to have especially if something like an iPad or a wireless transmitter is part of your live setup. Running everything with one power supply feels great.

The unit also comes with a plethora of different length power cables to connect your pedals to it, which I appreciate..

The power cable

My unit shipped with an angled power cable, which made me raise my eyebrows at first. Upon further inspection I don’t feel it’s an actual issue and it might actually save a bit of space on your pedalboard for one more pedal.

(I have reached out to Palmer to confirm whether the angled cable is intentional or not. I will update this article if they get back to me.)

Testing the power supply in extreme studio conditions

To put the Palmer PWT 12 to the most extreme test that still relates to my real world situations,  I decided to pair it with bunch of pedals I have in my studio. I have bunch of lights, audio equipment, LED-strips and all kinds of different things plugged in there and some pieces of gear don’t handle those that well.

In short: if this power supply isn’t properly shielded and isolated, we’ll hear that pretty quickly.

The pedalboard test

To make everything even more prone to noise and hum, I decided to use my tele with single coils. I first got a noise reference by plugging my guitar straight into my audio interface (Audient ID44mkii) and fired up the Neural DSP Archetype: Rabea plugin on a clean channel. With guitar’s volume on full there was no audible noise.

Adding the first drive pedal (Caline Pure Sky OD) with gain at noon, it was still very quiet even when I wasn’t touching the strings. Even for its affordable price I’ve always thought this pedals is well built, so no surprises here. So far so good.

Adding REVV G3 to the mix boosted the level a lot and while it brought out some noise, nothing about it felt out of the ordinary.

Next I added a poorly soldered and assembled DIY fuzz I assembled many years ago, cranked the gain and enjoyed the somewhat-controlled chaos that proceeded. The combination of fuzz and G3 is something I should explore more. Things started to get noisy now, which was expected.

Then it was time to add another weird DIY project: a tremolo pedal that I wasn’t sure was even working. Just plugging in this pedal added a bit of noise, but that was expected.

As the last thing I plugged in my good old ZOOM 505ii into the mix and the sonic chaos was complete. Adding this plastic monstrosity did its job of pushing my noisy rig over the edge and for the first time I felt the need to switch the pedals off.

Is the Palmer PWT 12 IEC Good?

Overall I’m really impressed by this power supply. It feels well built, offers plenty of powering options for different kind of pedals and also makes sure your tablets, phones and wireless units all stay charged as well.

After testing it in ‘extreme’ conditions I feel confident saying the Palmer power supply is a very solid choice for all kinds of pedalboards.

If you want to get your own Palmer power supply and support what I do, you can use the link below:

►►Palmer Power Supplies at Thomann: https://thmn.to/thocf/phpa0ny549