Power Conditioner/Distributors? Who has em?

[tbonesullivan]

So, I have had a power conditioner for a while, and I almost take for granted that people have them, but it seems that so many do NOT have them. I have a friend in a gigging band... no power conditioner. At PSP IV I saw a lot of amps, and surge protectors/splitters, but not many, if any, power conditioners. So, I'd like to take this chance to i guess plug how useful they are.

 

First off, a power conditioner is basically a glorified surge protector. But, they also offer a lot of functionality that helps protect your gear and your sound that a standard surge protector just doesn't do. For one thing, most good ones feature an EMI noise trap and/or linear filter that helps kill off mains hum before it even starts. They also typically can handle 15-20A current levels, so you can plug a bunch of amps into them. I had my bass amp, my guitar amp, and NoNameBand's amps plugged into mine, and it was still reading 116Volts.

 

The readout is another thing that is very helpful, especially if the wiring in the place you are is sketchy. My Power conditioner has a voltage read out as well as a ground detector. If it's got a good ground, it's bright green. If it's not so good, it's kinda weak green. If it's no ground, it's out. At PSP, when I was plugging in I first plugged into a splitter that was on the ground, attached to a long extension cord. my power conditioner read a weak ground, with 114V. I figured the wiring in the barn looked nice a new, so I got my one extension cord and plugged my power conditioner into it and directly into a socket. Now I had a bright green ground light, and 118V running into my power conditioner. It would most likely have been fine before, but what if the voltage had been way out of spec, or the ground dead? these are things that it's really nice to know for protecting both your gear, and yourself.

 

So, who else has power conditioners? I've noticed lately that monster and furman are making power strip style conditioners that have the lift or EMI filtering abilities.

[Genericmusic]

I have an inline EMI noise trap I use before my amp and recording gear. I am not very familiar with a power conditioner but you have sold me on them. I will have to look into them. Good idea!

[t0aj15]

I actually use two different types of power conditioners in-line for my rig. From the wall the first unit in the chain is a Furman Power Factor Pro which stabilizes the current as well as filtering for EMI & RF interference. It also stores current for the peak power demands amps sometimes make on the power source. Shortly after I got the PF Pro (on a hot summer day like today) I realized the power from the wall socket was only 100v so I bought the Furman AR-1215 Voltage Regulator which plugs into the PF Pro with all the gear plugging into the AR-1215. The AR-1215 also has EMI & RF filters further cleaning & stabilizing the power my gear uses.

 

Before getting these two units I had a lot of trouble with noise bleeding into my gear and nearly went nuts trying to get rid of it. I knew what the source was, it was a 400 ft tall FM antenna 1-1/2 blocks from my house beaming in 150,000 watts of moldie oldies 24/7 and it was driving me nuts. These two units eliminated ALL the noise not just the radio but the sound of AC units, saws, drills etc. Basically anything with a motor my rig picked it up. Now it is dead silent and even on a day like today with a heat index of 105 degrees and a reading of 102v at the input I've got a dead steady 120v at the output and it's dead quiet.

[tbonesullivan]

nice! I've never had under 116V in my house even during peak times, so I haven't gone through the expense of getting any voltage regulating power conditioners. They are necessary though especially if you are playing in a lot of places with out of spec power, like places using generators to provide the AC current. I've heard horror stories of damage caused by generators putting out dirty power at close to extreme voltages.

[DetroitBlues]

I know they are a great thing to have, but they are also expensive too.

[Steiner]

The Furman AR-Pro keeps the rack young and supple. One in the guitar room satisfies all the amps there. I've been playing multiple amps for a few years. I used to chase noises, these units (and a few new cables) cleared it up. Highly recommended.

[tbonesullivan]

I know they are a great thing to have, but they are also expensive too.

that depends on how you define expensive. they cost far less than the amplifiers and gear they protect. they range anywhere from $60 to $500 depending on the features you want. My carvin AC120L cost me around $120, and it's been worth every penny to not have to worry about line contamination and voltage/ground issues. Also there's power spike protection and the like.

[bobmeyrick]

Interesting thread - I've always thought of power conditioners as being something for the audiophile community.

[t0aj15]

Interesting thread - I've always thought of power conditioners as being something for the audiophile community.

My rig costs in excess of $5000.00, I'd call that audiophile territory when you consider the fact that all it's doing is amplifying a single guitar at any one time.

[tbonesullivan]

Interesting thread - I've always thought of power conditioners as being something for the audiophile community.

possibly true, but considering the money people shell out for noise suppressors and shielding for their guitars, I'd think many guitar players are part audiophile. Especially those that have "gone rack", or have boutique and vintage amps that they could sell for thousands of dollars.

[bolero]

that's a good summary & now I think I may pick one up, thanks!

 

I was jamming in a friends space & my amp started to sound like crap, like the power tubes were WAY out of bias..got the amp home & it sounded fine

 

I suspect the wall voltage was dropping as he's in a large shared warehouse that was built ~100 years ago...I think a power conditioner would resolve any issues like that

 

of course if you're playing live anywhere you never know about the wiring...I always carry one of the $3 ground/safety detection plugs...but a power conditioner would be much better

[t0aj15]

...I always carry one of the $3 ground/safety detection plugs...but a power conditioner would be much better

Whatever you do don't expect a power conditioner to be a be-all/end-all answer to bad wiring. You still need to check to see if the wall plugs are wired correctly WITH a proper ground. A power conditioner can correct several problems but they can't correct old or incorrectly wired power.

[bobmeyrick]

I don't think I've ever seen a power conditioner being used here in the UK and was wondering why, so a bit of Googling led me to this article by Ben Duncan (http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul03/articles/mainsproblems.asp). The first sentence caught my eye - "The mains (AC electrical) supply in the UK is one of the most stable, generally pure and reliable across the world." So perhaps it's not so much of an issue for guitarists on this side of the pond.

[Genericmusic]

I don't think I've ever seen a power conditioner being used here in the UK and was wondering why, so a bit of Googling led me to this article by Ben Duncan (http://www.soundonso...insproblems.asp). The first sentence caught my eye - "The mains (AC electrical) supply in the UK is one of the most stable, generally pure and reliable across the world." So perhaps it's not so much of an issue for guitarists on this side of the pond.

 

[TalismanRich]

I've put battery backups on my recorders, but not the amps. I have a APC conditioner that I could use. When my company closed the plant I was in they left a bunch of that kind so stuff.

 

Generally, our area doesn't get the hash on the lines that a lot of areas get, especially in the northeast.

[DetroitBlues]

My rig costs in excess of $5000.00, I'd call that audiophile territory when you consider the fact that all it's doing is amplifying a single guitar at any one time.

 

There is no way I'll ever have a rig that expensive unless I start getting paid to play. Guitar is just a hobby to me and I have to make do with what I have.

[NoNameBand]

I use a pair of Furman power conditioners for my stuff, amps and PA. I play a lot of outdoor gigs and at least once or twice a year, we run in to some dirty electric. The Furmans are good at cleaning things up.

[DrWiddly]

Being another UK resident, I've never thought these were necessary but, a while back I acquired a Gemini power conditioner as part of a deal I did on e-Bay. I had a spare rack space and thought I'd use it to tidy up my cables (it has 6 AC outlets) and for the built in rack lights.

 

One of the regular gigs we do has problems with their voltage and I've noticed my rig sounding slightly 'scratchy' in there and our keyboard player has had loads of problems with his rig. The last time we played there I had a much better sound which I can only put down to the power conditioner ironing out some mains spikes.

 

I haven't used this rig for an outdoor gig with generators yet but, considering the problems I've had in the past (tube amps hate generators!!) I'm hoping the power conditioner will help.