Harley Benton PowerPlant Junior

I have used this for 5-7 years. Never had any problems, never buzzing, never hissing. The size is quite nice.

The build-quality is really good. The power-chord does not feel cheap. The metal-casing makes it really durable and strong. Nice rubber-feet at the bottom. Enough wires included: 5 x 60 cm / 5x 30 cm / 1 x Y / 1x daisy chain. Really sturdy and a quality product.

If you want this product with the same quality, reliability and features, but a different brand: it is not possible under 80-90 euro. (Don't buy Mooer or palmer... )

The only downside is the Power input cable that is not detachable. If for some reason the cable breaks, then its not replaceable during a gig. Also, the cable lenght is fixed.. The same applies for the Powerplants that have the 12v wall adapters.

If you want 100% reliablity, buy the AC versions of the Powerplant, those have the "C14" detachable cables.

As a passionate musician and gear enthusiast, I recently had the opportunity to incorporate the Harley Benton PowerPlant Junior into my setup, and I must say, it's a game changer. This compact, robust power supply is an absolute must-have for any guitarist looking to streamline their pedalboard with efficiency and reliability.

Firstly, the build quality of the PowerPlant Junior is exceptional. Its sturdy, metal chassis feels durable enough to withstand the rigors of gigging, and its compact size is a perfect fit for any pedalboard, large or small. This thoughtful design ensures that it doesn't eat up valuable real estate, which is crucial for pedal enthusiasts like me.

The noiseless operation of this unit is where it truly shines. The isolated outputs eliminate ground loop issues and any unwanted hum or buzz, ensuring that the true tone of my pedals comes through without interference. This feature is particularly beneficial for recording sessions, where clarity and purity of sound are paramount.

With five 9V DC outputs, each offering 120 mA, the PowerPlant Junior effortlessly powers a wide array of pedals. Whether it's analog or digital pedals, this unit handles them with ease, providing stable and consistent power. This flexibility is a boon, especially for those who love to experiment with different pedal combinations.

Another aspect worth mentioning is the ease of setup. The PowerPlant Junior comes with all necessary cables, making it a plug-and-play solution right out of the box. For someone who wants to spend more time playing and less time fiddling with gear, this is a huge plus.

In terms of value, the PowerPlant Junior is a standout. It offers features and performance that rival more expensive units, making it an accessible option for musicians at all levels. This affordability does not come at the cost of quality, making it an excellent investment for any serious guitarist.

In conclusion, the Harley Benton PowerPlant Junior is a stellar power supply unit that combines durability, noise-free operation, versatility, and great value. It's a piece of gear that I can confidently recommend to any musician looking to ensure their pedals are powered reliably and efficiently. It's a small investment that can significantly enhance the performance and reliability of your pedalboard.

This is supplied in a neat cardboard box. Inside lurks the Powerplant Junior, a bag of cables and manuals in English and German. The unit is a robust pedal-sized folded steel box held together with screws. It comes with a captive 135cm mains cable terminated in a Schuko mains plug. As I'm in the UK, Thomann supplied a Schuko to UK adapter with it free of charge. This adapter is robust and works very well. On plugging in, an LED shows the power is on. The unit hums very slightly acoustically, but this is not audible from a few feet away. The black foam feet on the base help with this aspect.

The five 9V DC ouputs are all tip negative, as most pedals require, and are ideal for powering a reasonable sized selection of pedals. Each output is isolated from each other, so this stops ground loops forming, which usually result in obnoxious hum.

A good selection of power cables are provided. There are two sets of standard DC cables (5 short and 5 long), terminated with barrel connectors (right angle at one end and straight at the other). Having both lengths make for neater wiring on a pedal board, without excess cable needing to be coiled up. A "Y" cable is supplied, for powering pedals that need more than 120mA of current. Lastly, a daisy chain cable is included so you can power more than 5 pedals. Some pedals suffer less with ground loops, and the daisy chain will work for those.

In use, my pedals are super clean and quiet with the PowerPlant Junior. It's a huge improvement over batteries, a daisy chain cable, or using multiple power supplies. 120mA per output seems fine for my pedals. It might struggle on some power hungry pedals but the current doubler cable is there for those situations. The standard 120mA output powered a digital delay of mine with no problems.

In conclusion, this is a great product at a bargain price. I should have bought one of these ages ago.

- it's a compact, rugged unit for compact setups
- works well & reliably
- good bang for the buck.
- not noisy (but see below)

I wanted to add my experience regarding noise issues that others have commented on. A few weeks ago I noticed a 50 or 100Hz hum coming out of my board. I isolated it to one pedal - a digital delay. So I disconnected the supply and powered the pedal from an external 9v monoblock battery.

Did the noise go away? heck no! The pedal went crazy booting on and off and giving out truly awful and loud digital sounds. So one might assume that the pedal was broken (some reviews of the pedal that I read afterwards indicated similar problems). The battery was putting out 9.03 volts unloaded. Not sure what it was when the pedal loaded it (assumed pedal consumption is 200 mA). However I changed the battery for a fresh one (9.3 volts?), and hey presto - all working fine again; no noises and no hum. So the pedal's not broken but it does seem to be very sensitive to supply voltage.

So I repower the pedal from the Power Plant Junior - there's that hum again. Now I change the output port that I'm using on the supply. There's one port where there's no hum, for 10 seconds. Repeatedly. So not all the outputs are created equal? And then I find one where there is no hum at all. Ever. Bingo - the pedal's not broken and nor is the supply. By the way all other pedals that I'm powering from the supply exhibit NO noise problems at all, hum or otherwise.

- So what are the take aways from all this?
I think that before accusing the Power Plant Junior of being noisy do some checks with port swapping. It may just be the combination of one output port and a voltage sensitive pedal (that also draws a fair bit of current) that is the problem. It may be that I have suffered from some degradation of the supply, or my delay pedal, with time but it also may not be.

So there we have it. Still a fine supply. If I need more ports in the future I'll go with the Gator 8. But until then count me happy.

Many people, especially beginners but also the more advanced ones, often seem to struggle when it comes to powering their effects and pedalboards. The most common problem is noise and hiss appearing in different situations. These effects often appear when people power their pedals with several wall warts, when using analog and digital pedals on a single power supply or when using effects in front of the amp and in the FX-Loop on single power supply. I really think powering your pedals isn't that hard to do. Although I often use a Visual Sound One Spot Power Supply when I need to supply one or two effects with power, I think one should use a regulated power supply like the Harley Benton PowerPlant Junior when you need to supply a bigger pedalboard. The advantage is that you get regulated power which is far less prone to noise and every single output is isolated. The isolation of every output is a very important thing especially when you want to use digital and analog effects at the same time or pedals in front of the amp and in the FX-Loop at the same time, because the isolation avoids ground-loops that can appear if the grounds of every output aren't isolated from each other. With the Harley Benton PowerPlant Junior you get five single isolated outputs. That's enough for a smaller pedalboard but you could use a daisy chain to multiply the outputs. You should consider that the current of every output is limited to about 120mA. That's enough current for most analog pedals but digital pedals often tend to draw more than 120mA. If you need more current you need to put two outputs in parallel. The output could also be used to double the voltage by putting them in series. There are cables from Voodoo Lab etc. for that purpose. All in all it's a great product that you should consider if you are looking out for a new power supply.

UPDATE the second power supply that Thomann sent me also failed after about 5 band practice sessions. This time one of the channels caused massive electrical interference to the pedal connected to it.
I got a refund and bought a more expensive but hopefully reliable alternative.
I am a big fan of Thomann's Harley Benton products but in this case Thomann you need to really review your product quality

ORIGINAL REVIEW The product looks well made and is supplied with an excellent range of connecting cables - all for a very good price.
All my pedals were powered correctly and everything was fine - for about an hour. You could hear a loud buzzing noise from the amp which stopped when you disconnected the power supply. When cool it would work fine for an hour but started buzzing again. There was obviously a problem with something overheating so i contacted Thomann customer service.
then the problems started. I had 3 weeks to solve the issue before leaving for a long term trip to australia. I got no response from thomann, they ignored my follow up emails and then eventually said they'd send me a free replacement. I told them to send it before my departure date - no response again. Follow up emails; still no response. I departed - then 2 days after my departure a new power supply turned up and through an incredible stroke of luck my bass player had come round to my house to pick up something he'd left there and was able to receive the parcel for me;
I'm back from australia in 2 weeks so i can try the replacement.
in the meantime, Thomann, your customer service in this case was terrible

I've only recently found that these things existed for such a low price. My pedalboard is not big, I've only got three pedals so far, but the thought of having 3 different power supplies connected to 3 different sockets was just a nightmare.
That's when this PowerPlant Junior comes in hand. It's small, discrete and feeds all the pedals I need.
Honestly, for this price is more than perfect.

Pros:
- The price
- It works flawlessly
- The number of cable sets included is just mind-blowing. All you need in one box.

Cons:
- None, whatsoever

Harley Benton, just keeps on surprising me