Venue Power VS Amps!

[squirrel211]

Venue Power won the battle last night! I had BUZZZZZZ, and my amps were screechy.

It was awesome.

Now I have dig up all of Les' eloquent waxing on power supplies/conditioning/etc.... More money to spend.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

kinda sucks, doesn't it? We spend all this coin on good stuff and get there and it sounds bad.

A friend of mine was a regular (monthly) band at a bar that got all remodeled a couple years ago and they put in "all these cool neon lights." He said everyone in the bands amps buzzed like crazy and he kept telling the owner why, but the guy said "people love the new look and we have to draw in people or there's no bar." He finally gave up, left his tube amps at home and bought a digital modeling amp. LOL

 

[vchizzle]

Yeah, stage lighting should be on a separate circuit. MOST of the time, power conditioning doesn't seem to help much then either

 

[squirrel211]

I'm actually fortunate that we don't run into the issue much!

Ironically, this issue is how I wound up buying my first PRS.

 

[Boogie]

Yeah, stage lighting should be on a separate circuit. MOST of the time, power conditioning doesn't seem to help much then either

That's because the emitted RFI from a neon ballast isn't back fed into the power source as it is into the air. Your cables and other unshielded equipment soak that interference up like an antenna. It's a mini radio station of noise.

Even with my mondo Furman pedalboard, having to share an outlet with a neon light *sigh* is too much for it. I just rode my volume pedal all night. Thought of maybe getting a Decimator to try for those tough places.

Get a noise gate for those venues or just suck it up...not much else you can do.

 

[elvis]

It can help to put isolation transformers like Ebtech/Morley HE-2 in between your line-powered devices. At home you won't notice the difference, but on the gig it can alleviate ground loops from lousy power systems.

 

[László]

It can help to put isolation transformers like Ebtech/Morley HE-2 in between your line-powered devices. At home you won't notice the difference, but on the gig it can alleviate ground loops from lousy power systems.

I'll add to the ground loop info...since most ground loops come from the way we connect our gear more than power problems. It can be a real headache and these devices can be good solutions.

I use the Lehle P-Split, that is a good splitter, but also a great isolation transformer to eliminate ground loops when I find them. The reason I mention it is that I've noticed no tone suck with it, but have noticed some tone suck with other devices that do similar things.

 

[Boogie]

Isolation transformers work well for conducted electromagnetic interference but nothing but shielding works for radiated. Equipment that spews RFI needs to stay away from the stage.

 

[dmatthews]

Isolation transformers work well for conducted electromagnetic interference but nothing but shielding works for radiated. Equipment that spews RFI needs to stay away from the stage.

See ^^^THIS^^^ is why I wear a tin foil hat whilst gigging. No wonder I can't remember all the lyrics... yeesh...

 

[Boogie]

See ^^^THIS^^^ is why I wear a tin foil hat whilst gigging. No wonder I can't remember all the lyrics... yeesh...

Government mind control!

 

[László]

See ^^^THIS^^^ is why I wear a tin foil hat whilst gigging. No wonder I can't remember all the lyrics... yeesh...

I created a viking helmet out of tin foil, complete with horns, and wear it 24/7.

Of course, I wear it just for looks, not to prevent mind control. Because my wife already controls my mind.

 

[bodia]

Because my wife already controls my mind.

I like to think I've still got total control of my twig and berries, but after all these years I've faced facts: she owns them and lets me think I do just so I can feel good about myself

 

[dkilpatrick]

I created a viking helmet out of tin foil, complete with horns, and wear it 24/7.

Of course, I wear it just for looks, not to prevent mind control. Because my wife already controls my mind.

It's a required accessory when you play HOTG

 

[dmatthews]

Government mind control!

Oh noes!
It's the NSA!!! (Nutty Stage Antics)

 

[dmatthews]

I created a viking helmet out of tin foil, complete with horns, and wear it 24/7.

Of course, I wear it just for looks, not to prevent mind control. Because my wife already controls my mind.

Pics or it's a red fedora!

 

[László]

I like to think I've still got total control of my twig and berries, but after all these years I've faced facts: she owns them and lets me think I do just so I can feel good about myself

Oh, I said my mind, not the twig/berries.

At my age, though, the twig/berries thing is irrelevant BECAUSE THERE ARE NO LONGER ANY VOLUNTEERS.

 

[László]

Pics or it's a red fedora!

OK, it's a fedora.

 

[dmatthews]

OK, it's a fedora.

With tin foil lining... best of both worlds.

 

[squirrel211]

A new venue brought a new chapter to this on Friday night.

I plugged in my 40 watt Tone King Comet, for a show in a room that can hold 50 people. The room was a little bigger than my living room and kitchen combined, so not much power needed, right?

From the onset of volume, the amp was distorted! It's usually clean with my PRS CU24 up until 3.5 on the volume knob, which is pretty freaking loud.

The next day, I plugged in at a regular venue, and the amp was perfect. Loud and clean.

I've played in the same building as the Friday night show several times before, but on their main stage, and that amp is always dirty-ish in that building.

 

[Boogie]

That's the perfect case study. I'd have brought a UPS. The smaller the venue, the worse the power. Usually.