Voltage Regulator :-o

[mickrich]

Last week I left the studio to go home for dinner and left a re-amp running.
I have a session with a whole album in 1 session, over an hour long.
When I came back later the level on the re-amped guitar tracks dropped in volume incrementally a few times.
This was very surprising until I did a bit of research.
I started the re-amp running at 5PM and it was about an hour and twenty minutes long so would have finished at about 6.20pm.
What had happened is everyone got home from work and put the oven on and my voltage had dropped a bit.

I got an APC line r 1200VA
http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=le1200i
I am using this for my amps only and it has made a real difference.
It indicates when it is either upping or lowering the voltage and provides me with a steady 230V. It certainly brings the voltage up at peak times such as lunch time, home from school and dinner time, and pretty much most of the time

Tube amps need good voltage to work properly and sound choked if they are running cold.
Here is a test (done at 4pm so not really full peak time).
I used a periphery cover from the practice room thread because it has lots of stop/start dynamics and this requires good voltage to push the cones.
I re-amped through the APC and then with APC bypassed (everything else left exactly the same).
There was a .4 to .5 db difference in level straight away and the non APC tracks sound choked for sure with the APC tracks jumping more on the chugs.
There is a more dramatic difference at real peak times too.
Very very happy with this unit for €60. Made a big difference.
Here is the test with TS808>6505 master 3.5 > Recto cab > 57 > API

APC off:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2133088/APC_OFF.wav

APC on:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2133088/APC_ON.wav

Level difference

 

[drew_drummer]

I don't hear any difference.

 

[mickrich]

I don't hear any difference.

Really?
I can hear it for sure. The sound jumps more on the pick hits.
It's not placebo effect because the level meters are higher on the transients too.
What are you listening on?

 

[Sloan]

i can hear what your talking about...it's a slight difference, but after blindly listening back and forth i could hear the non upc version does sound like it has less transient (punch/attack/whatever).... This is pretty interesting as I've been planning on picking up a upc for my audio gear in the near future, but not for any audio gains, just to keep stuff up when power drops.

thanks for the clips.

 

[mickrich]

i can hear what your talking about...it's a slight difference, but after blindly listening back and forth i could hear the non upc version does sound like it has less transient (punch/attack/whatever).... This is pretty interesting as I've been planning on picking up a upc for my audio gear in the near future, but not for any audio gains, just to keep stuff up when power drops.

thanks for the clips.

I probably should have waited and did the test at a peak time when the voltage is lower.
It makes such a difference that my triple recto in vintage mode screams with it on where before it always sounded choked and a bit lifeless.
It is, of course, possible that I don't have good power going to the studio from the grid in the first place and this is correcting the problem. If your power supply is good you may not benefit as much from this unit.

This isn't a UPS. It's a voltage regulator. It senses incoming voltage (surges and brownouts) and outputs a steady 230V. It has no other function than this and has no backup or batteries or anything. I don't know if a UPS offers this function as a UPS is designed to switch to battery power in the case of a power cut rather than regulate output voltage although some UPS units may offer this function too.

 

[drew_drummer]

Really?
I can hear it for sure. The sound jumps more on the pick hits.
It's not placebo effect because the level meters are higher on the transients too.
What are you listening on?

Tannoy Reveals and Beyerdynamic DT770's. Not saying you're wrong, just saying I couldn't hear a difference!

 

[mickrich]

Tannoy Reveals and Beyerdynamic DT770's. Not saying you're wrong, just saying I couldn't hear a difference!

Just realised i was a bit of a dick in my reply to you.
Sorry about that.
The difference is certainly much more obvious with the guitars solo than in the limited mix. It is also more obvious with other amps than the 6505 which is pretty compressed with high gain.

 

[amarshism]

gonna have to check this out, i get shitty power sometimes

 

[DeclanWhite]

I have the exact same voltage regulator. I also have noticed that my transients are better with it on. dont think i can go without now haha

 

[MetalJonesy]

I have the same APC unit, use it for my rack and PC though, never thought about using it for the amp!

 

[DeclanWhite]

it's a shame they cant handle too much.. i need to pick up another for more of my gear haha

 

[Sloan]

I was under the impression that a UPS would act as a voltage regulator for the most part, someone give me a heads up / link if i'm incorrect.