Tell Me About Power Conditioning

[thelordconqueror]

Are power conditioners used exclusively for rack quipment, or can/do people use them to keep the power levels of their amplifiers up also?

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: Tell Me About Power Conditioning

You talking about $100 rack power strips that say "conditioning" or actual battery based voltage conditioners?

Technically, either are a good idea in general. The latter being VERY comforting to have for pricey equipment.

[jgcable]

Re: Tell Me About Power Conditioning

A power conditioner will not keep your voltage up. A UPS will. A power conditioner will prevent spikes and filter out noise but it won't boost sagging current.

[YetAnotherOne]

Re: Tell Me About Power Conditioning

The function of a UPS is to provide power for a short period of time after the power to your wall socket is cut off. A UPS does NOT necessarily provide a voltage clamping function nor is a UPS/battery required before a device can provide voltage clamping functionality.

The cheapest stuff is no better than an unprotected power strip. As you move up in price you add features such as: spike/surge suppression, noise reduction, voltage clamping, etc. If you need all the bells & whistles be prepared to shell out a few hundred bucks as you're pretty much going to get what you pay for.

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: Tell Me About Power Conditioning

A real pro music voltage protection unit is a bit more than a couple hundred.

The Furman AR-15 / AR-20 series is pretty much "the" guitar rack regulator. Keeps a solid 120 volts from 97 to 140 volt ins. No batteries that I know of, so it's not really a UPS but these things are starting around 500 bucks

http://www.furmansound.com/products/...eg6.php?req=pc

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: Tell Me About Power Conditioning

Here is a post from my other board that states this stuff pretty well...

____________________________

First of all........a "Power Conditioner" is actually a Voltage Regulator. A Voltage regulator keeps the power supply to your rack in a constant steady range(110 to 117 v AC)thus the name "conditioner"applys to ONLY a Regulator like the Furman AC1215 (15 amps) or the AC1220(20 amps).For most Home or small gigging venues a 15 Volt Regulator is adequate. 20 amps require a different receptacle(a sideways 3rd leg on the plug as well).... anyway,a Regulator or Power Conditioner is also expensive.They start at like $400.00 for the AC1215-and $600 for the AC1220.Power Conditioners & Regulaters keep the constant "groomed" Voltage at the proper operating range and protect your digitalprocessors from Brown outs(a sudden lowering of AC Voltage which can erase digital processor presets and cause damage)and also Voltage "spikes"(dangerous sudden High Voltage surges that can destroy and ruin amps and processors).

The Voltage Regulator or Power Conditioner is Extra protection and Insurance when used ***IN CONJUNCTION*** With a decent power supply (called a Power Coonditioner)Like the Furman Pro.

Ok your confused now right...?

Let me clarify........

The Power Conditioner like a Furman PL Pro Or a Rack Rider with all those( outlets on the rear is commonly referred to as a "Power Conditioner". It's just 8 outlets that are Surge protected by a Common Circuit Breaker and have an RFI(Radio Frequency Interference) protection built in.

They are great units to provide neat well arranged power outlets to your rack AND some circuit breaker protection & interference filtering(NO Mexican radio stations or Gospel /bible thumping speeches will bleed into your speaker cabinet at the strangest times:RFI)

A Furman or Rack Rider Power unit DOES offer some basic protection and a convenient access to power outlets for nice neat cable arrangement to your racks components and amplifiers.It is a "glorified power strip"that you see on the floor of most homes(and you have your computer plugged in to as well I'll bet).

There ARE power supply outlet rack units like the Furman Professional Touring Series(PTR)that provide the outlets like the Conditioner you are asking about..AND the Power Regulation and Voltage Protection of the AC series Voltage regulators I mentioned above.They are (as you might guess)EXPENSIVE.Like a good $400 plus..... But they are cheap insurance if you Own an expensive amp and rack gear.

I have 3 Furman Power/Voltage AC1220 Regulators and 4 Of the PTS Furman Power Conditioners.Thats a bit overkill for your smaller needs(alot of overkill for protection) but I have 3 Racks and they are essential for the power grooming needs that I have. I also have seperate 20 amp circuits and receptacles here in my studio so the AC1220 units are a necessity formy needs.

I would suggest a good Furman PL-Pro Plus Rack Power condtioner for your amps and rack(s).it will be plugged directly Into the wall..and If you need more than the 8 outlets,you can plug a good Power strip IN TO the plug on the Furman for additional receptacles-in case your rack gets crowded or you expand your gear needs in the future.
A Good Power Conditioner like the Furman PL Pro Plus(or the AC series regulators) is a piece of gear you will NEVER sell.

You will have piece of mind if you are gigging at a small club,Bar or venue with a crummy electrical system and neon lights and stage lights. If some Bitch @ the Bar orders a "Pink Squirrel" or some girly drink that needs a blender to be used and the Bars electrical circuits are "loaded" and the bartender trips a circuit breaker(and your stage power is on the SAME Circuit-which it usually always is) Your gear will NOT bear the brunt of a brown out or serious voltage drop that could cause damage.The Power Conditioner /Regulator will be there to do it's Job.The Breaker in the power conditioner will sense the lower voltage drain and *gradually* shut down and trip Its OWN Breaker-therefore saving your gear from dangerous spikes or erasing those presets on your multi FX Processor that you slaved for hours to refine and get just right.

Believe me..the More $ you spend on a good Power conditioner /Regulator the more Protection you will have.While it IS a big investment and you might NOT Need it for the clubs and rehearsal area you are in NOW-look down the road and buy what you think will fill your needs now and maybe a bit later.You'll sleep better and perform without that nagging thought in the back of your head: man I hope this joint has good power.

[thelordconqueror]

Re: Tell Me About Power Conditioning

hmm, sounds like i've been lead astray. i was lead to believe that a power conditioner would have quite the effect on your tone, but that doesn't seem like the case at all. thanks for the feedback!

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: Tell Me About Power Conditioning

They have no effect on tone. Unless it removes a major buzzing or something haha...

[YetAnotherOne]

Re: Tell Me About Power Conditioning

It can help with noise if there's noise bleeding in through your ground (e.g., when you have noisy things like rheostats on the same circuit breaker as your gear) but otherwise shouldn't make any difference.