Effects Pedal Power Supplies - An Overview

Assembling the effects pedals themselves is only the first step in developing a professional-level pedalboard system. Once you have gathered all of your pedals and affixed them to your chosen pedalboard, you must then decide how to power your pedals. You basically have three choices: battery operation, individual power supplies, and dedicated effects pedal power supplies. Let's consider all the options.
If you've got unlimited resources (and a trust fund), batteries are not a bad option, nor are they bad if you only use 1-3 pedals. However, batteries don't last long in some effects (a digital delay can run through a 9v in less than an hour). Rechargeable batteries are an option, but you should investigate the sound quality compared to non-rechargeable alkaline batteries. For most people, battery-powered effects pedals are not a realistic option, given the worry about replacing or recharging them.
Another option is to use dedicated units devoted to each pedal. Again, if you're only using 1-3 pedals, this option is feasible; however, since dedicated power supplies run $15-$20 each, you're spending an awful lot of money simply to increase your cable mess. So, this option is not really the best one either.
Your best bet is to buy a power unit specifically designed to power multiple effects pedals. However, you still have to decide which type of supply to use since there are two options.
The first is what is often called a "switching" power supply. These units are generally small (taking up a single outlet) and can power numerous effects pedals from a daisy chain. The downsides to this type of supply are that you can't mix and match voltage types (i.e. regular polarity and reverse polarity) and the possibility of increased noise with certain types of pedals. However, this option is inexpensive ($30 or less) and flexible. The Visual Sound 1-Spot is recommended if you choose this option.
The second choice amongst dedicated effects pedal power solution is the individually-isolated output type, the most common choice being the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2. While more expensive than the switching supply (a new PP2 generally runs for around $170), this option is very flexible regarding the types of pedals it can power since you can mix reverse polarity, 18V, and regular polarity pedals using the same power supply. The sound quality is typically very high as well since the outputs are isolated.