Turning studio on using only power strips.

[Goblin]

I'm gonna try to keep it brief. This is something I always wanted to know directly coming from the pros who build . I've heard and read all kinds of yay's and nay's with all kinds of reasonings coming from musicians, engineers, mixers, live sound engineers, publications, etc.

Does music gear get jolted, damaged little by little or all at once, if I keep everything turned on and pluged into power strips, and then turn on all the power strips? (monitors, rack processors, audio interface, drum machines, midi modules, computer monitors, etc?) - not a console -

 

[Tubetec]

the short answer is no , things dont become damaged by powering up all at once ,
however its good practice to only power up your speakers and amps once everything else is on and stable , likewise when powering down , amps and monitors off first , otherwise you get a loud thump through the speakers .

 

[Goblin]

the short answer is no , things dont become damaged by powering up all at once ,
however its good practice to only power up your speakers and amps once everything else is on and stable , likewise when powering down , amps and monitors off first , otherwise you get a loud thump through the speakers .

That's kinda what I do, I follow the "chain of signal rule". First power on drum machines and midi modules, then processors, then audio inteface with amp, then monitors, etc. When turning off in the opposite direction.

Maybe gonna brake it down in fewer power strips that follow this rule, or use one final power strip for the monitors. Something of the sort.

But my question is about keeping the switch on all the music gear (minus an audio console that never is to turn off and gear that specifies the same) plugged into a power strip, and using the power strip as an "on switch". I don't know if that part came through clear.

 

[Tubetec]

Amps on last ,off first , the rest doesnt matter so much , then again powering things up and down in a logical sequence wont hurt and allows things boot up and become ready before the next gear in the chain gets powered.

 

[scott2000]

They have those rack mount outlet boxes with switches across the front...I think they're usually marketed for dj lights..
Some power conditioners probably have sequencing functions. The SurgeX SEQ is nice looking...

 

[EmilFrid]

Anectodal evidence, but I've done this (turning all the racks on with the push of one power strip switch) every day for years in the studio we run, and as of November 2022 no unusual wear has been detected.
The monitors are ofc powered separately, and we keep the console and tape machine separated from the rack strips too.

I wouldn't worry!

 

[Goblin]

Amps on last ,off first , the rest doesnt matter so much , then again powering things up and down in a logical sequence wont hurt and allows things boot up and become ready before the next gear in the chain gets powered.

Monitor speaker on first then Amp? I get thumps and nasty crcackle that way on my monitor speakers. The amp is in my audio interface.
I always opted for turning everything on in a logical sequence (following the signal path). It's a habit. But sometimes is tiring. The SurgeX SEQ that scott2000 mentions is a really nice option for this. Forgot about it.

 

[Goblin]

They have those rack mount outlet boxes with switches across the front...I think they're usually marketed for dj lights..
Some power conditioners probably have sequencing functions. The SurgeX SEQ is nice looking...

Oh yeah totally, I had forgotten about the SurgeX SEQ, that can fix up this issue nicely. Thanks Scott.

 

[Goblin]

Anectodal evidence, but I've done this (turning all the racks on with the push of one power strip switch) every day for years in the studio we run, and as of November 2022 no unusual wear has been detected.
The monitors are ofc powered separately, and we keep the console and tape machine separated from the rack strips too.

I wouldn't worry!

Thanks, I power up and down the same way, I am super careful with all my gear no matter the cost or manufacturer, following the "signal path" as some call it. I had forgotten about the SurgeX SEQ that Scott mentions, that can solve this issue without a hiccup.

I don't mean to drag this further, but the technical question, is, is music gear "equipped" to keep the switch on, plugged into a dedicated strip, then be turned on by the switch of that strip without it being damaged?

 

[EmilFrid]

I don't mean to drag this further, but the technical question, is, is music gear "equipped" to keep the switch on, plugged into a dedicated strip, then be turned on by the switch of that strip without it being damaged?

The strip switch basically becomes an extension of the inherent power switch of the gear, so there won't be any damage from a practice like that. Not any I can think of anyway!

 

[Goblin]

The strip switch basically becomes an extension of the inherent power switch of the gear, so there won't be any damage from a practice like that. Not any I can think of anyway!

Thanks Emil, that does help!

 

[JohnRoberts]

I wrote a magazine column about this question back in the 1980s... Coincidentally while I was writing this column, the light bulb on my desk burned out when I switched it on.

JR

 

[EmilFrid]

Thanks Emil, that does help!

Happy to help I'm no expert at this, but I've just never encountered a problem related to this issue. I don't think you need to worry.

 

[Goblin]

I wrote a magazine column about this question back in the 1980s... Coincidentally while I was writing this column, the light bulb on my desk burned out when I switched it on.

JR

lol...the signal path is a rule to be followed I wouldn't worry.

What is your take on this John?

 

[Tubetec]

In a studio I used work we'd just pull the main circuit breaker at the fuse board and cut power to everything at once , main monitors were placed in standby beforehand though . In big PA systems its quite important , thats why good crossovers and system controllers and amps always default to relay mute on power up .
Computers are another exception , they dont want to be powered off by flicking an external switch as it might cause data loss or corruption of the data on the hard disk .

 

[JohnRoberts]

lol...the signal path is a rule to be followed I wouldn't worry.

What is your take on this John?

I haven't thought about this for decades but as I recall from the last time, it wasn't simple... It depends on duty cycle or on time vs off time. Risk of lightning damage. Cumulative heat stress, etc....

Well designed gear should tolerate stress from being turned on/off... incandescent light bulbs not as much.



JR

 

[Goblin]

I haven't thought about this for decades but as I recall from the last time, it wasn't simple... It depends on duty cycle or on time vs off time. Risk of lightning damage. Cumulative heat stress, etc....

Well designed gear should tolerate stress from being turned on/off... incandescent light bulbs not as much.



JR

Yeah, that's what I was thinking, that it's complex and that it varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, the quality of the build plus some more parts placed in the switch/power stage. (It depends on duty cycle or on time vs off time. Risk of lightning damage. Cumulative heat stress, etc).

I like the answer "it wasn't simple".

What Tubetec says it's interesting, that they used to pull the main circuit breaker, if it's cloudy outside I even unplug the power strips with peak protectors of the wall outlets while already the strips being switched off. And next morning do the routine back again, but I'm confident I won't get any surprises that way.

 

[EmilFrid]

Yes exactly, it would rather be a matter of turning gear on and off often, not so much a matter of power strip safety. And what John says is true (I mean, he's the expert) - well designed gear should handle on/off switching transients well. The alternative would be to keep stuff turned on ( ) all the time, but in that case this would apply to the poorly designed gear... And who would want to keep a freakish catastrophe of engineering turned on 24/7 without a babysitter?

(I guess there are some exceptions. I know people who keep their SSL consoles on at all times. I'm not the guy to decide whether this decision is rooted in factuality or superstition.)

Edit:
Another alternative would be to have a smooth on/off switching system.

 

[Khron]

Monitor speaker on first then Amp? I get thumps and nasty crcackle that way on my monitor speakers. The amp is in my audio interface.

I'm quite sure that was more about passive speakers / monitors (that have outboard amps).

I'm quite positive your audio interface does NOT have any (power) "amps" though

 

[Electrobumps]

Do you guys get any work done with these elaborate powers up, or are you on hourly rates?

Joking aside I'm OCD on a lot of things in the studio, but power up and power down I do not consider that much. If you can switch the gear on or off how does it know if the power button or the power bar is turning the volts on and off?

The caveat as other have mentioned is monitors/amps should be powered down first. Monitors always left at zero and cut. Always protect the monitors and your ears.