Monster power or Furman?

[KJung]

I have used a Monster Power HTS3500 before and it was great...a little big for a typical rig though.

I currently use a Furman (the one with the pull out lights) and I like it....1 rack space...you get the idea. It does what it is supposed to do....provides lots of plugs and makes your rack a bit cleaner and most importantly makes your rack look cooler than it would normally.

Do you need one? Probably not. Do you need 5 basses? Do you need Ampeg? Do you need a Wal? Do you need better cables? Probably not.

There are always going to be people that say a $5 power strip from Wal Mart is just as good as a $500 Monster Power or a Furman......well....break out the signal testers and prove it. I am not for or against a $5 power strip nor a Furman...I just PREFER the latter.

+1 to this post. Those are all good reasons to get one of these. 'Protecting' gear that doesn't need it is not a good reason IMO.

I use Mooradian bags for my small amps and Kart-a-bag carts to haul my gear. Much more expensive than other things that would get the job done, but they look better, they are 'breakdown/tear/dent proof, and they are worth the extra money to me.

 

[Vic Winters]

No, it actually proves my point that the brand doesn't matter to the top guys. The argument that Metallica even *cares* what brand of power conditioner they use is what's bunk. They use whatever endorsement deal their manager signed, or whatever the sound reinforcement company they hired to do their tour uses (which is the even more likely case). Kirk Hammett probably cares about the brand of power conditioner as much as he cares about what brand of truck the road crew uses to haul the gear around.

As long as they work as intended, they don't care. But I'd guarantee if they introduced a ton of noise into the signal or caused other components (amp, signal processors, etc.) to fail or catch fire, they sure as heck wouldn't use them anymore.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

There's a big difference between buying stuff that actually does something (i.e., basses, amps, etc.) and buying stuff that doesn't (i.e., power "conditioners").

Buy anything you like, but be informed about it.

 

[swankfrank6]

I have used a Monster Power HTS3500 before and it was great...a little big for a typical rig though.

I currently use a Furman (the one with the pull out lights) and I like it....1 rack space...you get the idea. It does what it is supposed to do....provides lots of plugs and makes your rack a bit cleaner and most importantly makes your rack look cooler than it would normally.

Do you need one? Probably not. Do you need 5 basses? Do you need Ampeg? Do you need a Wal? Do you need better cables? Probably not.

There are always going to be people that say a $5 power strip from Wal Mart is just as good as a $500 Monster Power or a Furman......well....break out the signal testers and prove it. I am not for or against a $5 power strip nor a Furman...I just PREFER the latter.

totally agree... couldn't have said it better myself.

i've been leaning towards monster as of lately.. just because of the "clean power"
as far as money goes... i dont know about you guys but bass is quite important in my life, so i dont mind spending the money to get quality and exactly what i want.

 

[Jehos]

totally agree... couldn't have said it better myself.

i've been leaning towards monster as of lately.. just because of the "clean power"
as far as money goes... i dont know about you guys but bass is quite important in my life, so i dont mind spending the money to get quality and exactly what i want.

Do you know enough about electrical engineering to know what "clean power" really is?

Do you even know enough to know whether it's quality or not?

If the answer is no, why are you wanting to spend extra money on it?

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

swankfrank6: You should buy the Monster thing.

 

[JustDavid]

i wouldn't mind a power regulator.. but i dont think my rig is near big enough for one.. plus you're talking about big $$$



a hundred bucks to protect against several thousand dollars worth of gear sounds good to me regardless if it's a power strip or on my rack where it would be convenient...

If $100 bought protection, I'd agree with you. But it doesn't.



I don't get this; under the banner of 'protection' it's worth spending $90 ($100 - $10 for the power bar that gives the same thing) for nothing protection-wise but it's not worth spending $250 to actually protect it & protect it well. I just don't get this.

 

[JustDavid]

Your welcome.

And sorry if I was misheard or if I misexpressed. I like them for a few reasons. I've several.

I just don't want you misunderstanding the level of 'power conditioning' they actually have, & having a false sense of security.

 

[JustDavid]

ROFLMAO!!!

Now Bob . . .

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

ROFLMAO!!!

Now Bob . . .

Hey, he's certain it will make him happy. So he should buy it.

 

[bassguppy]

now for just for a little more educational value.

Some power strips and conditioners eliminate or claim to eliminate RFI/EMI interference. Is most modern gear already shielded for that or is this another "industry" ploy for my money.

 

[modulusman]

now for just for a little more educational value.

Some power strips and conditioners eliminate or claim to eliminate RFI/EMI interference. Is most modern gear already shielded for that or is this another "industry" ploy for my money.

I believe that they are already shielded. Maybe Bob could chime back in here since I Imagine he knows.

 

[fishtx]

Gonna just bite my lip....

 

[BlackElan]

Now remember I suggested to the OP to get a 20amp Furman on the second hand market because to buy a brand new one is a bit pricey and you can find one that does the job just as well used.

Like I said it is important if you are using old and new amps to protect your investment as most old amps dont have built in shielding and protection.

Dont take my word for it. The reason I mention Metallica and Tool is because they are two major bands that need reliable gear that will last day after day. In fact look at other major artist's racks and you wont find any that use a power strip from Wal mart. Furman is the benchmark when it comes to this.

I dont know why some people have this beleif that major label artist get all their gear for free. Do you think just because an artist uses something they get paid for it or it is free? Very rarely is this true. Have you seen any Furman Metallica ads recently?
If we are talking about ESP guitars than I would have to agree the Kirk is getting those for free. In fact I know he got the new Ouija and James got the Black Truckster as a gift from ESP of USA in recent years.

If you are running a tiny Crate practice amp you dont really need a rack mount power conditioning Furman a walmart strip will do just fine.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

now for just for a little more educational value.

Some power strips and conditioners eliminate or claim to eliminate RFI/EMI interference. Is most modern gear already shielded for that or is this another "industry" ploy for my money.

The only thing power "conditioners" can eliminate RFI and EMI from is the power line, and not the equipment's inputs and outputs.

Unless the equipment is real low-quality über-crap, their power supplies would already do a great job of rejecting RFI and EMI. It's not difficult or expensive to do the filtering properly right there, but it is apparently expensive to do separately in an add-on accessory piece. Quality gear already has high immunity.

BTW I wouldn't offer Metallica as experts on power "conditioning."

 

[Jim Campbell]

The only thing power "conditioners" can eliminate RFI and EMI from is the power line, and not the equipment's inputs and outputs.

Unless the equipment is real low-quality über-crap, their power supplies would already do a great job of rejecting RFI and EMI. It's not difficult or expensive to do the filtering properly right there, but it is apparently expensive to do separately in an add-on accessory piece. Quality gear already has high immunity.

BTW I wouldn't offer Metallica as experts on power "conditioning."

what exactly is the perceived problem that these gizmo's are designed to solve........is it that some areas have problems with the grid,uneven voltage,frequency variations,surges.....i have seen some of the monster units going for over two grand in the home theater big box stores and for that i would expect it to play my bass for me.....

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Perhaps they're designed to solve imagined problems, not actual ones. It's not the first time there's been a market for unnecessary protection against non-existent threats.

 

[sleepy_monkey]

I have seen Monster demonstrations of the high end voltage regulators/conditioners (I used to sell the gear in another life)....it had 2 silk flames hooked up....1 side was coming out of the wall or a Wal Mart protector or a side of the demo machine that actually lowered voltage....and the other flame was coming out of the Monster power and there was an EXTREME noticeable difference in the flame flicker....

Not the same as a 'conditioner' per say...but it was a cool demo...and proof that their voltage regulators weren't 'unnecessary'

If you ever get a crap socket at a gig and you are running off of 80 volts instead of 120...you will not get the response from your gear that it should. The machine would also crank it up to 140....

Maybe not the same argument but a valid demo on Monster's part.

 

[Jim Campbell]

Perhaps they're designed to solve imagined problems, not actual ones. It's not the first time there's been a market for unnecessary protection against non-existent threats.

fair enough,but i would expect that the pros would have called them on it as soon as they hit the market.in your state where brownouts occur and i assume hydro electric power is not as easily obtained as it is here,what effect,if any, does that have on day to day operation of electronic gear...........if you meter the average duplex receptacle at any given time is it fairly consistent..

...uneven voltage output has been mentioned to me in a sales pitch but it is unclear to me that it would even be possible to rectify that even if it were true

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

I have seen Monster demonstrations of the high end voltage regulators/conditioners (I used to sell the gear in another life)....it had 2 silk flames hooked up....1 side was coming out of the wall or a Wal Mart protector or a side of the demo machine that actually lowered voltage....and the other flame was coming out of the Monster power and there was an EXTREME noticeable difference in the flame flicker....

Not the same as a 'conditioner' per say...but it was a cool demo...and proof that their voltage regulators weren't 'unnecessary'

If you ever get a crap socket at a gig and you are running off of 80 volts instead of 120...you will not get the response from your gear that it should. The machine would also crank it up to 140....

Maybe not the same argument but a valid demo on Monster's part.

LOL

If you're getting 80V from an AC socket, the problems are more severe and dangerous than a power "conditioner" can solve.