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Playing Dive Bars. Recommendations for power situation

albass111

albass111

Feb 13, 2006
1,405
27
Los Angeles, CA
#1
Hey all. I am playing a bar that has an improper power situation. The voltage is fine, but they only give us two outlets to power a PA, Guitar amp, Bass amp, pedals etc. I am a little worried about taxing the power with a Class D amp. In addition, the guitar player uses an expensive all tube amp.

Will this be fine??? Will a power strip suffice for all of these?
 
#3
I think you are rolling the dice here with your equipment. You need a power conditioner. I have a Gemini rack mount, but Furman seems to be the players choice. Monster also makes a power strip floor style conditioner that may be good for you. Mine cost $80. One of our guitarists just got a new amp and he plugs into it too. We usually run the PA through it also. It just helps protect your gear against intermittant power, surges, etc. We played a gig outside using a generator once. The PA seemed to be phasing off of the generator surges. We plugged into the conditioner and it sounded much better, not to mention the peace of mind.
 
#5
Well, if I understand things correctly, a class D amp is much more efficient than other designs; meaning you won't be pulling as much power for the resulting output as compared to an older design amp. A power conditioner is still a very good idea, but you will probably have much better stability with the class D.

Example: I use a QSC RMX 1450 in my bass rig and I love it (still not class D). With my last band though, I also provided a 300 watt powered mixer that is older than dirt. On the very same outlet, my amp would be fine when cranked, but the PA would trip circuits because of the surge of power when the thing was turned on.
 
#6
Power conditioner is a great suggestion. We have run the whole band off of two outlets before. It usually works out just fine unless you are plugging lights into them as well. Then everything gets real quiet and kind of dark. Unscrew half of the lamps before you turn the lights back on and pray for the best if this happens to you.
 
#7
Yeah when dealing with crappy electricity, you need to run the PA and the Bass rig on two different circuits, especially if there are lights plugged in nearby. Trust me on this one, on an outdoor gig my band played our whole set without difficulties, but when the next band came on they breaker kept flipping on us.
 
#8
amos said:
Yeah when dealing with crappy electricity, you need to run the PA and the Bass rig on two different circuits, especially if there are lights plugged in nearby. Trust me on this one, on an outdoor gig my band played our whole set without difficulties, but when the next band came on they breaker kept flipping on us.
Click to expand...

I may be misremembering, but if your amp in on a different circuit than your mic, don't you run the risk of a lethal shock?

I'd say: better to put them on the same circuit, and lights on a different one.
 
#9
Jumbotron said:
I may be misremembering, but if your amp in on a different circuit than your mic, don't you run the risk of a lethal shock?

I'd say: better to put them on the same circuit, and lights on a different one.
Click to expand...

The only reason you run the risk of shock would be if either the bass amp or the PA are not grounded properly. If that is the case, then if there is a problem with the gear that isn't grounded, it will ground through the other system (sometimes through you) i.e. lip touches mic, fingers touching strings, bass plugged into amp, amp not grounded, shock.

NEVER LIFT GROUNDS ON POWER CABLES! Lift the ground on signal cables if there is a problem. (XLR)
 
#10
A Class D amp will, itself, not create as much of a loading issue as a big old lead sled amp might (I've blown circuits by forgetting to turn my gain down before firing up a big lead sled). However, at least IME, I have found SMPS amps (which is not the same thing as a Class D, but it's not uncommon to find Class D amps used in conjunction with a SMPS) tend to be more finicky with regard to 'bad' AC power. They get their reserves from the rails, and if your supply isn't delivering the goods, then your SMPS amp might not, either.

That said, I would definitely use a power conditioner (ideally with a UPS/brownout protection), and if your lights are anything more than four PAR 38's, I'd put the lights on their own circuit. Start everyone's volume out low, and be prepared to not push things as loud as you otherwise might.

Best of luck!

Tom.
 
#12
This won't keep you from blowing breakers, but it will do a quick test for an improperly wired outlet before you plug in.
You can get them at just about any hardware store for about five bucks.
 

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#14
You don't need a power conditioner. And a class D amp is typically much more electrically efficient than other types, so it'll be a lighter load on the AC line. If you can spread out the gear over more than one circuit, so that, say, the PA is on one and the backline on the other, that's even better. Do you happen to know what kind of amp you have?
 
#15
tombowlus said:
They get their reserves from the rails,
Click to expand...

Actually, conventional power supplies have their reservoirs on the supply rails. Switch-mode supplies usually have smaller reservoirs on the rails (because of the higher AC frequency), but a large high-voltage DC reservoir on the primary side before the switching.
 
#16
Jumbotron said:
I may be misremembering, but if your amp in on a different circuit than your mic, don't you run the risk of a lethal shock?

I'd say: better to put them on the same circuit, and lights on a different one.
Click to expand...

No, you don't risk a shock from separate circuits. (The risk exists if the wiring is really screwed up, but that's true regardless of the number of circuits.)

It is good to have lights on a separate circuit, as they're a major current hog and their dimmers can be really bad at emitting noise.
 

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