The usefulness or otherwise of batteries in multiple guitar effects pedals

Question

I have started purchasing effects pedals. The three I have so far allow the use of batteries. They are Boss Loop Station RC3, VD400 Vintage Analog Delay and tc electronic Nether.

Two are switched on by inserting a jack into the input socket of said pedals. The Boss Loop Station is switched on by inserting a jack into the output socket.

This makes perfect sense to me for two pedals that are mounted on a board where the looper is last in the chain. At the end of a gig, the guitar lead would be unplugged from the input of the effect pedal and the amp lead would be unplugged from the output of the looper thus preserving the batteries.

What doesn't make sense to me is if I have a chain of such effects that are powered by batteries, it means that I would have to unplug all the intermediate effects from one-another in order to switch them off in order to save the batteries. What a chore!

Question

If the pedals have True Bypass, is there a technical reason why they can't just switch off the pedal altogether by using the foot-switch? Why tie this function to the jack socket?

If there is a technical reason and I have a series of effects pedals, each powered by battery, do I have to unplug all the intermediate ones in order to avoid draining the batteries. If so, does it make sense to ever use batteries in the first place?

---

Note

From the manual of my Vintage Delay VD400 pedal

Answer 1

Typically, one or other of the sockets is a physical power switch, as well as a signal connection. Remembering which socket is the switch is probably not a simple task, so the result is that every time you're not using your pedals, you should unplug the whole lot.

The reason that bypass doesn't disconnect the power circuit is that all electronic equipment takes a non-zero time to come into active service from power-on. Even if that only takes 2ms, that's a big audible thump into your amp.

If you have all your pedals mounted to a board, preventing easy disconnect between sessions, then remove all batteries* & swap to an external mains power supply.

*This is a safety precaution so that you don't one day find acid oozing out of the pedal into your nice carpet ;)

Answer 2

Batteries can sometimes prevent mains-borne noise, and I used battery operation till I added a digital delay, which lasted half a gig. Before that, I plugged bare DC plugs in after use - they disconnected the batteries.

But eventually, PSU took over as the weapon of the day, making life so much easier - till a pedal using different voltage came along. Ended up with a four pin XLR lead back to the amp, and a double socket in the amp, with two PSUs feeding its cable.

Answer to question: having a separate switch means extra work inside the pedal, which could then be accidentally switched off mid solo, so fitting a switched jack socket makes sense. That apart, most players with multiple pedals end up using mains power, which is what most amps use anyway.

Answer 3

If each box is self-contained for powering purposes, it's difficult to see how you could avoid each having its own power switch!

They use a bypass switch rather than a power switch because electronic circuits don't generally sound good when starting up or shutting down. At best you can expect some sort of 'ramping up' effect, at worst a nasty click or thump.

Take the batteries out and add a mains-driven power supply. Or, yes, plugging a dummy power connector into each box might work. But that still means doing something to each box. Why not have that 'something' be pulling out the jack?

Either way, one day you WILL forget to do it. So always carry spare batteries. Or get an psu.