18Watt.com

okay. this might sound stupid, but is it possible at all if i tap off some power from the attenuator, and use it to power a simple effect pedal like rangemaster work-a-like.

if i would to use a transformer, place a bridge rectifier, and filter caps, would it be good enough to power a booster?
or one step further, how about using the unfiltered supply here to power the booster? it might end up having some interesting interactions. (i think it might behave like a NFB, higher voltage = more head room = less distortion?)

this idea just came up recently, i would like to know if this is possible at all before i crack my brain to figure out a circuit. thank you.

Not quite sure what you are trying to achieve, but in general yes, there is lots of power in the output from an amp - and it will power things. However you have a bootstrap problem. If your aren't playing there is no power, so your pedal has no power. Difficult to get some sound to get things going then.

The Marshall Powerbrake and THD Hotplate both use some of the amp output power to drive fans that help keep things cool. But here you only need the fan when there is plenty of power about.

You would need some level of filtering on the power supply no matter what. Otherwise you guarantee to build a massive oscillator. In order to get some sort of output signal level derived effect like compression or similar you might try a CRC filter with smallish capacitors. However the bootstrap problem remains.

thank you for the reply. what i am trying to do here is to make use of something that is "wasted", at the same time use one less wall warts.

regarding the bootstrap problem, will it sound like the effect "ramping up" or there will be no sound at all? i think for most pedals, one can still get (unprocessed) sound out of it even if there is no power right?

or..maybe i can use that power to charge an rechargable battery... but that is not fun..

what kind of voltage should i be looking for at speaker out? say.. a 5w into 8 ohm, power=voltage^2/resistance, so the voltage is roughly 6.3V?