Guitars amps and voltage (V)

[blackcom]

I suspect my Mesa Rectifier to sound a lot better those hot days or in the middle in the night when the voltage in my outlets are higher and more correct due to lower electricity usage.

It seems the moore "accurate" the voltage from the outlets (230V where I live) the better the amp will sound, and sometimes there is really a huge difference?

Anyone with experience on this matter....?

 

[egan.]

Certainly your amp will react differently with signifcant voltage changes. Honestly tho, the only way to really know would be to say "the amp sounds great" or the "the mp sounds like shit" and stick a volt meter on another outlet on the same circuit with the amp still on (load matters) and see what kind of voltage youv'e got.

 

[~BURNY~]

A kind of reverse variac? It makes sense...

 

[Kazrog]

Get a Furman Power Conditioner and it should solve any power problems with your amp! Works for me anyway...

 

[Frank'nfurter]

Yea, a power conditioner is one solution. A readjustment of the bias voltage in the amp sometimes is allso helpfull.

 

[axeman720]

Get a Furman Power Conditioner and it should solve any power problems with your amp! Works for me anyway...

a power conditioner as we know it does absolutely NOTHING for voltage regulation. most of the models like this ( http://www.furmansound.com/products/pro/pwr_cond_seq/cond/series2.php )are marketed very carefully and people dont realize they are only paying for a glorified powerstrip. all those units are doing is putting a fuse between your power and your gear that blows when the voltage spikes. they have absolutely NO effect on the amount or cleanliness of the voltage coming to your gear. i actually hooked one up to an oscilliscope to see if the power was any cleaner and could not tell any difference whatsoever.

Now if you want to drop a nice chunk of cash and actually get a balanced line transformer or voltage regulator then you probably be much happier in the end as they do what you want. somthing like this http://www.furmansound.com/products/pro/reg/reg6.php?req=pc will store power and regulate voltage so your power is much cleaner and tube electronics will run and sound their best. also juice goose and ebtech make some fantastic line conditioners and balanced transformers. but seriously dont piss away your money on a rackmounted powerstrip unless you really need the lights.

hope that helps.

 

[Kazrog]

axeman720 - I'm aware that the lower end models are glorified power strips. I should have specified that it's best to get one that has line regulation.