Power issues during live performance

fishtx · #1 05-14-2008, 11:58 AM

I did a quick search but really didn't see a lot on this topic.

I'm curious about how many of you experience "power" problems in the clubs and venues you play, and what types of symptoms do you experience.

Last week we played a small club, and when we got there, found out that all the power outlets available were on the same circuit...so the entire band (ie, bass gear, two guitar amps, keys, effects, PA, monitors, lights, etc...EVERYTHING) was plugged into the same circuit.

My amp was farting and just sounded horrible all night, the guitar players were having problems all over the place, monitors were feeding back out of control, keys were causing problems...just everything.

One of the guitar players and I each have a Furman Voltage Regulator at home (the AR-15 I think it is), but didn't have it at this gig. Next time we play at this place, we will bring them along to see if they help.

I am interested in your experiences and solutions (quick fixes in a pinch...if there are some) for these kind of problems.

Thanks...

F-Clef-Jef · #2 05-14-2008, 12:05 PM

I remember a club we used to play at back a bunch of years, my bass amp ( I think it was a Peavey MarkIV?) wouldn't even power on there! It was a bar out in the country a bit, but oddly enough, about 3 miles from the nuclear power plant...
Power issues are always such a pain, we have now switched to LED lighting (awesome!), which really helps, but still run into the occassional bad ground or voltage problem.

fishtx · #3 05-19-2008, 02:49 PM

JKT · #4 05-19-2008, 03:10 PM

On the rare occasion we get into a brownout situation I experience a reduction in headroom in my amp and an overall degradation of sound quality. There were a couple places we found this to happen and since investing in an A/C line voltage regulator, we have not had it occur again.

JKT

landwomble · #5 05-31-2008, 05:09 PM

never had this happen in the UK: is this something to do with us having an earth pin? am i just lucky?

OtterOnBass · #6 05-31-2008, 09:52 PM

Recently I had an outdoor gig where my amp was leaned back as my monitor and in the middle of the third song it turned off, then came back on, going off and on for the rest of the song (mostly off). My sound was still going through the direct out to the board, I just lost my monitor. I had asked for some bass in the actual monitor, but I couldn't hear any. I tried to get the soundguy's attention, but he was talking to some friends. By getting attention I mean playing attention-getting fills while staring wide-eyed at the booth. After the song I ran up to him, filled him in and he ran an extension cord from another outlet for my amp. Didn't have anymore problems, my mix was fixed, the recording is actually pretty good, we all lived happily ever after.

Myth_103 · #7 06-05-2008, 02:20 PM

I purchased an SVT-VR a few months ago and came to find out that when plugged in at our shed practice space, it wouldn't switch out of standby. That was actually the first time I even plugged it in or turned it on. I was freaking out thinking I got screwed. But I ended up bringing it home and plugging it in a number of different sockets and it always booted up just fine. Power issues suck.

5andFretless · #8 06-05-2008, 02:48 PM

We carry four 12 gage 50 foot extension cords. When this happens we just go looking for power somewhere else.

bass349 · #9 06-06-2008, 12:08 PM

I honestly haven't run into too many over here to be honest. i played a wedding recently (they're the worst.. the venues are NEVER built to accomodate a band) where there was a horrible hisss that appeared out of nowhere coming through all the amps.. and we were all plugged into different sockets (they may have been the same circuit though).

I would be interested in one of those furman power conditioner things would have remedied this situation? Hiss seems to be the biggest problem i've run accross, but still far from common.

toobalicious · #10 06-07-2008, 09:28 AM

you have to be careful though. at least on the same circuit you dont have to worry about any sort of voltage differential. ever gotten bit on the lips by a mic while holding your bass? that **** hurts, at best, and they say it can kill you. the last show i played (last saturday night) had weird power. at first, stage was on one circuit, and FOH on the other (our own PA). we had just horrendous humming and buzzing. turns out, the FOH circuit wasnt wired properly!

the manager said that the stage circuit was 20A, so we pulled everything off of that. no problems all night, and we have a fair amount of hungry gear, including a couple of power amps, a pair of mackie monitors, and my 700RB, though we did leave the lights behind (thank dog). noise was at a minimum, and no one got bit. a lot more common than most of us would like to believe.

use one of these--- i keep it in my "briefcase", a bag for cables set lists, etc etc.:

it might save your DI, your lips, or your life.

bass349 · #11 06-08-2008, 07:29 AM

sorry for my ignorance.. but what is that ↑, and what does it do?

cheers,
andy

modulusman · #12 06-08-2008, 10:32 AM

It is an outlet tester. It lets you know if the outlets are wired properly.

Deacon_Blues · #13 06-08-2008, 12:33 PM

Power issues? Well, I haven't blown a fuse ever or had other big similar problems, but I've felt electricity charges in my microphone grill, which is always really annoying. There was a thread recently about approx the same issue. Only the power was significantly stronger in his case... I guess it's a grounding problem.

Another problem that is way more common is that you get some loud humming noise in the speakers and you can't find the source for the humming. The solution is always the electricity net - Always connect all music equipment to the same electricity phase to avoid this problem. Also if there are some lighting and light mixer, put that in another phase than the music. Otherwise you must have the lamps either fully on or off to avoid it.

toobalicious · #14 06-08-2008, 01:02 PM

well, since you put it *that* way, lol....

deacon brings up a good point about lights.

not only can dimmers and controllers can be very noisy, they suck power (and continuously--- not dynamically like an audio amp). and considering that 20A at 117 volts is a little less than 2400 watts, you can see how fast 150 or 200 watt cans add up--- thats (12) 200 watt lamps.

Deacon_Blues · #15 06-08-2008, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toobalicious

well, since you put it *that* way, lol....

?... I edited my post above to be a bit clearer, but I just wonder what you lol'd to. Keep in mind I'm not a native English speaker so please explain... (No offense taken, btw)

()smoke() · #16 06-08-2008, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by landwomble

never had this happen in the UK: is this something to do with us having an earth pin? am i just lucky?

aside from the voltage difference, your circuits are quite similar, as the u.s. also has ground (earth) pins...problem lies in the reality that some 3-prong receptacles aren't properly grounded or even grounded at all--especially older structures with outdated wiring

Pilgrim · #17 06-09-2008, 03:33 PM

We try to scout each venue before each gig - if in doubt, we bring at least 50 ft. of AC extension so we can run to at least ONE other circuit and tape down the extension.

Purple Haze · #18 06-12-2008, 06:18 AM

I played a gig in a bar once and while we were sound checking the power blew in the whole place. Nothing worked, amps, PA, even the lights in the bar!

Anyway we packed up and went home, never got playing the gig. We were then back in the same place a few months later and this time the power didnt cut out completly but we kept getting dropouts.

We approached the guy who owned the place and said it wasn't acceptable, and he told us that no other band had any problems like this, we told him we never have any problems like this either (we gig every weekend using the same pa).

In the end we just stopped playing in the place, I thought it was kind of dangerous, and we were using very expensive equipment that was going to end up gettin damaged.

Ive also played in places where there is a lot hum comes through the PA, again this doesnt happen at every gig, so im assuming it must be something to do with the electrical supply in the building. You would think places that run live entertainment would check things like this out, and get them fixed!