Redwitch Rechargeable Pedals.

[Scruffie]

Just saw this posted over at another Forum, Redwitch has come out with an entire line of Rechargeable Pedals with Lithium ion cells.

[rousejeremy]

Finally, I have to unplug ALL my pedals again after the gig.

I've heard stories about the environmental risk of every other battery but Lithium Ion. They last much longer yes, but what kind of toxic chemicals are in those things? Are they a "greener" battery?

[tiges_ tendres]

I saw those!  I like the concept a lot, and the price point.  I'd be keen to see what makes the recharging circuitry tick.  Overnight seems like a long time to charge something though.

[Hides-His-Eyes]

Finally, I have to unplug ALL my pedals again after the gig.

I've heard stories about the environmental risk of every other battery but Lithium Ion. They last much longer yes, but what kind of toxic chemicals are in those things? Are they a "greener" battery?

A green battery is one that isn't thrown away.

Thing is, one rechargable pedal means nothing to me. It's all or nothing.

And damned if I'm going to use a delay pedal with only two knobs. :/

[joegagan]

Green is a scam
IMO, but I like  what these guys are going for from an economic sense for the player.

[Hides-His-Eyes]

Green is a scam

You'll be dead before it matters, but my generation would rather not live in your leftover pollution and landfill, thanks

[Scruffie]

Rather these than those Passive Pedals about... Less of a green thing for me, more of a, just easy to use.
Hopefully they provide replacment cells though, I just like it rather than constantly buying 9Vs.

[Mark Hammer]

They're small, which is a boon for some.  And you don't have to buy any more batteries, which is nice when the house AC is less than clean.

Unfortunately, with only 2 knobs apiece, they better damn well sound unique, because a lot of folks are going to weigh the sonic limitations against the advantages of footprint and power, and decide in favour of sonic options.

[soggybag]

"Green" is stupidly over hyped these days. Everyone wants to call their products green. You can't read a label and buy something that says "green" and be sure you are doing any good, or just paying for the word. That said it should be obvious to anyone that wasting less is good for everyone.

To be honest I can't seem to give up batteries. I don't want to buy them, they cost too much, and I throw too many away. But, they are so damn convenient. Having to bring a power supply everywhere is a hassle. The extra wiring gets in the way and you need to find an extra outlet.

At home i use the power supply. If I go out it's so much easier to just grab a box and put it in my pocket and take it with me.

These rechargeable effects look like a very promising idea. If I didn't prefer to make the things myself, I would want all of my effects to rechargeable.

[ayayay!]

*Yawn*

I don't care if it needs a solar cell or a 12v truck battery:  If it sounds good, I'll use it.  

Seems a wee bit gimmicky to me.  Since when do pedal builders care more about going green than tone?  Simple:  when only caring more about making green.  

If they sound absolutely fantastic, more power to him.  If not...  are you getting the theme I'm after here?  

[Scruffie]

Have Redwitch themselves actually used the word green yet or are we just assuming that was the intention? I don't think of my mobile phone as green just because it has its own battery and I don't to use AAs.

[Hides-His-Eyes]

These rechargeable effects look like a very promising idea. If I didn't prefer to make the things myself, I would want all of my effects to rechargeable.

You can easily do so. Search ebay for RC car batteries; you can get 9.6V 2000mAh for very reasonable money with a charger. Then it's just a case of putting some more convinient connectors on them and there you go!

[electrosonic]

How many companies are represented on your pedalboard (Boss, Ibanez, etc)? Very few users would be willing to use these pedals exclusively. If you mix and match these rechargeable pedals with regular ones, the inconvenience is too great. It is just one more thing to remember before you go to a gig. ( Did I remember to charge my pedals? ) Sure its a bit different, but I can't see it catching on.

Andrew.

[flintstoned]

Sure its a great idea but for the price of one of those pedals you can buy twenty rechargeable 9 volt batteries and a charger.

[caress]

Green is a scam

where are you getting that information from?  if you're referring to the many companies out there exploiting the conservation efforts of others by simply labeling their products "green" as a marketing gimmick, then yes that is a scam.  but in general, no, conserving, recycling and become more sustainable are not scams.  look around you.

Have Redwitch themselves actually used the word green yet or are we just assuming that was the intention? I don't think of my mobile phone as green just because it has its own battery and I don't to use AAs.

good point, i think they're just trying to tap into a market of players who don't want to use power supplies for some weird reason... it doesn't really make sense to me.  if you're plugging in your amp, you might as well just plug in a power supply for your pedals.   

here's a novel idea for a rechargeable-easy-to-use-battery-pack-for-your-pedal-board:
find yourself a 9v battery charger that can charge a bunch of batteries at once - let's say 6?
get 6 rechargeable 9v batteries.
add 6 9v jacks to the side of an enclosure.
secure 6 battery clips to the inside of the enclosure and attach the batteries to the dc jacks via clips.
recharge them once every other gig.
it's not really that difficult or time-consuming to unscrew those 4 screws, take those batteries out and charge them... certainly not more difficult than bringing a power supply with you?

[Scruffie]

Green is a scam

where are you getting that information from?  if you're referring to the many companies out there exploiting the conservation efforts of others by simply labeling their products "green" as a marketing gimmick, then yes that is a scam.  but in general, no, conserving, recycling and become more sustainable are not scams.  look around you.

Have Redwitch themselves actually used the word green yet or are we just assuming that was the intention? I don't think of my mobile phone as green just because it has its own battery and I don't to use AAs.

good point, i think they're just trying to tap into a market of players who don't want to use power supplies for some weird reason... it doesn't really make sense to me.  if you're plugging in your amp, you might as well just plug in a power supply for your pedals.   

here's a novel idea for a rechargeable-easy-to-use-battery-pack-for-your-pedal-board:
find yourself a 9v battery charger that can charge a bunch of batteries at once - let's say 6?
get 6 rechargeable 9v batteries.
add 6 9v jacks to the side of an enclosure.
secure 6 battery clips to the inside of the enclosure and attach the batteries to the dc jacks via clips.
recharge them once every other gig.
it's not really that difficult or time-consuming to unscrew those 4 screws, take those batteries out and charge them... certainly not more difficult than bringing a power supply with you?

Might be a pain for the average player and not a DIYer though... personally i've come up with 2 options for myself, DC jacks connected to Battery snaps & The Big Battery Pack for the whole board option.

However, Sometimes yes I don't wanna use a power supply though and that's why I still put batteries in my pedals in the first place, if I just wanna take a few boxes to a quick jam or just wanna break out some pedals to play for fun on my practice amp for an hour, I don't want a whole pedalboard set up or seperate power supply, or even to have to find a wall socket, plug and play just makes life easier.

Instant gratification, it will always be there and batteries provide it to those who choose it.

At gigs, yeah I mean, without wall power, how can you even play that gig through an amp so i'd use power supplies there but at home, sometimes I just don't want that hassle and even at gigs, less worry about there being enough sockets for my board and I hate excess wire.

They're not extinct in designs for a reason, they're phased out for greener purposes. I do not believe Redwitch are tapping the green market here, they are just offering something a bit simpler, no need for a charger, if you like the pedal enough to buy it, you just saved yourself some hassle and as you need a 9V DC Jack to charge them, they're kinda encouraging people to get one that don't anyway.

[pazuzu]

get a gas generator. 

[Brymus]

My idea for awhile,and something I want to do is =
Build a regulated 9v "tap" into my main amp.
Also build a daisy chain cord for my pedals.
This way when I find an outlet for my amp,I have regulated power for my FX.
Amps that have footswitches could have the tap in the side of the footswitch enclosure.

IDK but for years most combos had an unswitched outlet built into the back of them,perfect fpr powering your pedla power supply.
Why they quit coming with the extra outlet is beyond me.

[Processaurus]

Having a rechargable battery in a pedal that charges when the pedal is plugged in is a great idea, and overdue.  Only guitarists are old fashioned enough to object to not having to change their batteries!

That would be neat if somewhere like Small Bear sold a kit with little charging circuit PCB and Li battery that could drop into pedals.  Normal lithium batteries are 3.7v though, I wonder if red witch has a specialized stacked ~9v cell, or is using a DC-DC converter to step up the voltage from a 3.7v cell?  The latter option being more prone to noise...

[chi_boy]

You can easily do so. Search ebay for RC car batteries; you can get 9.6V 2000mAh for very reasonable money with a charger. Then it's just a case of putting some more convinient connectors on them and there you go!

This is a pretty cool idea.  The 9.6v size isn't as popular, but Tower Hobbies has a few.  http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0095p?FVPROFIL=++&FVSEARCH=%3CB%3E8-cell%3C%2FB%3E+nimh+batteries

You could also roll your own pack any size you wanted.  They have tons of chargers too.

Green is a scam

Anything taken to an uninformed extreme can lead to abuse.  The sad thing is that we are watching history repeat.

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