Off Topic Power Conditioners

[Purple ASS]

Does anybody have any experience using power conditioners to stabilsize fluctuating voltages when driving your amps ? At this time of year we do a lot of weddings , often in marquees and outdoor gigs, usually run off generators or poor powers supplies. In doing so I seem to experience problems with my amps . " Brown- outs" I believe. This may be hums, loss of tone or serious noises when switching between channels. I have done a bit of reading up on the Furman conditioners, and there seem to be one or two units that I presume will solve the problem, ie that regulate the voltage rather than just monitor and provide surge protection. Any views would be appreciated, bearing in mind that our voltage in the UK is 240v and not 110v. Many thanks

 

[dstockden]

Hi Kev, in my recording set up i use an ETA power conditioner, i run everything through it and it really cleans up the mains , its model umber is PD11LIEC . I do run my amp through it too and can recommend it. I live in a house with fairly old wiring (no MCB box etc) and it used to pick up a bit of fridge hum but not since i got this.
I think it cost about £60

 

[Sigmunds Couch]

Try a computer UPS.

 

[mr.b]

hey.

i use a behringer power conditioner/rack light unit. behringer aren't the best units but this does its job well. cheap too. only about £40. i haven't tried running my amp through it yet though, just my rack gear.

maybes i should ...

 

[Mikey]

Be careful! If you are talking about the PL2000 you should know that this is just a racklight with a built i distributor and a fuse. No power conditioning at all!

 

[INMT]

I would suggest a power "regulator", that's what will keep your power where your amp wants it (as well as all your other gear).

 

[mr.b]

Be careful! If you are talking about the PL2000 you should know that this is just a racklight with a built i distributor and a fuse. No power conditioning at all!

thanks for the heads up dude ...

 

[koogie2k]

I use a Furman. Wonderful piece of gear.

 

[candid_x]

At home I run through a massive ONEAC power conditioner, about the size and weight of a car battery. Too heavy to lug around, though. A Furman is probably your best bet.

 

[NorM]

When I lived in Tennessee (Tennessee Valley Athority TVA) clean power was never an issue. Then when I moved to the dessert I started experiencing the power supplies in my amp and computer monitors starting to go south. The addition of an ETA power conditioner really helped.

I know my friend Darrell in phoenix has 119 volts on one side of his house and 104 on the other. I heard a horror story how a bar's crappy power ruined a bunch of stuff of one band in one night.

For high dollar things like amps, computers and TVs I think it's necessary to run power conditioners. If the power in your area is in question this is money well spent.

I have never heard anything bad about the Furman or ETA brands.

 

[Nemesys]

For your needs, look for a voltage regulator, not just a power conditioner.

It's funny, I played at a place once that had absolutely terrible power; it fluctuated between about 105V and 135V, was full of all kinds of ugly harmonics, and wasn't even a pure sine wave, more like a fuzzy staircase sort of wave. My amp's power transformer vibrated enough that I could feel it if I put my hand on top of the cabinet. But, it sounded better than it ever has before or since, it was like a blanket had been lifted off of it.

 

[Purple ASS]

Thanks for the replies everybody. I have been trying to find out about the ETA unit, but am having no luck getting a price out of the distributor here.

It is definately a voltage regulator that I need, the Behringer units if I'm mistaken only seem to provide surge protection and voltage 'monitoring'. Not solving the sag problem that I am faced with week after week.

Koogie...which Furman are you using ? there seem to be many.

Much appreciated

 

[candid_x]

When I lived in Tennessee (Tennessee Valley Athority TVA) clean power was never an issue. Then when I moved to the dessert I started experiencing the power supplies in my amp and computer monitors starting to go south. The addition of an ETA power conditioner really helped.

I know my friend Darrell in phoenix has 119 volts on one side of his house and 104 on the other. I heard a horror story how a bar's crappy power ruined a bunch of stuff of one band in one night.

For high dollar things like amps, computers and TVs I think it's necessary to run power conditioners. If the power in your area is in question this is money well spent.

I have never heard anything bad about the Furman or ETA brands.

I hear you, bro. I'm also in the AZ desert, and especially this time of year the power is spiking and dropping all the time, when it's not knocked out entirely by thunderstorms. After I lost a harddrive to it, I run everything important through either a UPS or power conditioner. I think the big boy is as Nemesys mentioned, a voltage regulator, but not sure of it.

 

[dstockden]

Thanks for the replies everybody. I have been trying to find out about the ETA unit, but am having no luck getting a price out of the distributor here.

It is definately a voltage regulator that I need, the Behringer units if I'm mistaken only seem to provide surge protection and voltage 'monitoring'. Not solving the sag problem that I am faced with week after week.

Koogie...which Furman are you using ? there seem to be many.

Much appreciated

Kev they are distributed through Scv
SCV LONDON
40 Chigwell Lane
Loughton, Essex, 1G10 3NY
United Kingdom
Tel# +44 208 415 1470
Fax# +44 208 418 0624
Contact: Andrew Stirling
[email protected]

 

[Purple ASS]

Kev they are distributed through Scv
SCV LONDON
40 Chigwell Lane
Loughton, Essex, 1G10 3NY
United Kingdom
Tel# +44 208 415 1470
Fax# +44 208 418 0624
Contact: Andrew Stirling
[email protected]

Thanks David. I will drop Andrew a line.

 

[edrod]

Hey guys I don't mean to highjack the thread but I have some questions. First off I'm a noob when it comes to gear

I use a Line 6 POD X3 and just purchased an Atomic amp.

Do I need a power conditioner?

Also, what other gear would you guys recommend?

Thanks in advance

 

[Astrofreq]

I used to own a Furman Line Regulator back when I had a big rack of gear. To be honest, in Texas, I never found the power to fluctuate enough for it to do its job. It was quieter than your regular strip, but at $425, it might be worth it to see if you need regulating before coughing up the lootcakes.

 

[morsecode]

I have a Monster Power 2000 for my main pedalboard and it works great, and it has several outlets. I highly recommend Monster products but they're not cheap.

Furman makes an excellent product as well...I have one built into my other smaller board which is a SP8 model.

 

[Purple ASS]

I used to own a Furman Line Regulator back when I had a big rack of gear. To be honest, in Texas, I never found the power to fluctuate enough for it to do its job. It was quieter than your regular strip, but at $425, it might be worth it to see if you need regulating before coughing up the lootcakes.

Not so much a problem when plugging into a regular mains supply. As band we also run everything from one central distribution point. The problem arises when doing outdoor and marquee type gigs when we are running off temporary power supplies ie generators or off some 13amp socket in a kitchen 200 metres away. One we did last week was not only affecting my amp, but also rack effects unit at the mixing desk for the outfront pa.

 

[koogie2k]

Thanks for the replies everybody. I have been trying to find out about the ETA unit, but am having no luck getting a price out of the distributor here.

It is definately a voltage regulator that I need, the Behringer units if I'm mistaken only seem to provide surge protection and voltage 'monitoring'. Not solving the sag problem that I am faced with week after week.

Koogie...which Furman are you using ? there seem to be many.

Much appreciated

This one here is very close to the one I have. It is a newer version I believe. It is pricey....but....well worth the money. I paid a tad bit less for mine....but that was almost 5 years ago.

Furman AR15 Series II Voltage Regulator from zZounds.com!