Anyone use a power conditioner with their Mark amp?

[zebpedersen]

Question is in the title – does anyone use a power conditioner with their vintage Mark series amp? If so, is it worth it?

I'm sick to death of mains interference/radio signals/hum/all that bad stuff, and I'm on a quest to rid myself of it. Thoughts?

 

[gummx97]

I use a voltage regulator (line conditioner) in all my gear. Is it worth it? Well, for my peace of mind, yes. The protection for over voltage or under voltage of a voltage regulator is well worth it so that I could concentrate on playing rather than worrying about electrical issues. I still get interference and noise from venues where we play, so, a line conditioner, in my experience haven't gotten rid of all interference when we play out. My band aid solution was to use a Electro-Harmonix Hum Debugger on the last signal chain prior to the amp or the last pedal in the amp's effects loop. Got rid of 90% of of buzzes while not worrying about electrical issues with a voltage regulator/line conditioner.

 

[jpdennis]

I use a Monster 3500 WITH an APC battery backup AND one of those hum eliminators through my effects loop. My peace of mind is that I have 17 to 20 minutes (I know longer then I need) to power down in case of outages, a constant voltage, and NO hum. Well, that is unless my amp has something wrong with it and I then take it to the tech (they have all been down the "major maintenance" path so no amp problems for at least another few years).

It is like insurance at some level and does remove any circuit and gremlin interference when necessary on another level. :wink:

Dennis

 

[zebpedersen]

The main gremlin I'm contending with is an audible hum that enters the signal whenever someone in another part of the house is using a heavy-ish appliance (washing machine, microwave, lawnmower...anything with >1kW draw, it seems).

If a conditioner will take care of that particular issue, it'd be great – does that sound about right? If so, do you guys have any recommendations for brand/model etc...? I'm not overly fussed about having the APC capability, just a solid stream of clean power to my amps and gear.

(Once this issue is taken care of, I can move on to my other noise-inducing targets! I'll check out the EHX Hum Debugger as well, cheers for the tip!)

 

[SonicProvocateur]

I as well use a Furman voltage regulator/line conditioner which works pretty well but doesn't always cure the problem but does give me peace of mind in alot of high voltage use scenarios like at venues where there are many high wattage amps flowing everywhere in the PA, etc. While you can't always hear the little extra buzz, if it's mic'd right, you can. At home big or even little things like televisions, lamps, or the grounds from nearby washing machines etc can cause some noise and the solution live and at home is the same: ISP Decimator to fix those last few dB of buzz (especially on the lead channel, where 95% of my buzz comes from anyway).

 

[zebpedersen]

Do you have the Decimator rack unit or pedal?

Demos of the pedal on YouTube seem to all be metal bands! Either way, I didn't notice any tone suck.

 

[SonVolt]

I have the pedal, no tone suck what so ever. I use it in front of the amp and the noise gate in my G Major 2 in the loop. My amp is dead silent now whereas I had bad hum/buzz before I bought them. I've got dimmers all through my house.

 

[SonicProvocateur]

I use the regular (not G-string) version in the loop (since my noise is tube related usually). Works wonders live, at home, high volume, and in studio. You can kill buzz, hum, and if you REALLY want, use it for a hard clamp for heavy metal (this setting kills your clean tone sustain lol). Either way, there really is ZERO tone suck. Its a spectacular pedal.

 

[zebpedersen]

Thanks for the advice guys – I want the electrical protection and the silence, so I'm going to look at getting a Furman PL-8 or something plus the Decimator rack mount unit.

 

[JAZZGEAR]

The main gremlin I'm contending with is an audible hum that enters the signal whenever someone in another part of the house is using a heavy-ish appliance (washing machine, microwave, lawnmower...anything with >1kW draw, it seems).

If a conditioner will take care of that particular issue, it'd be great – does that sound about right? If so, do you guys have any recommendations for brand/model etc...? I'm not overly fussed about having the APC capability, just a solid stream of clean power to my amps and gear.

(Once this issue is taken care of, I can move on to my other noise-inducing targets! I'll check out the EHX Hum Debugger as well, cheers for the tip!)

For that type of a problem you need a balanced power conditioner - like they use in top end pro studios; but those are really expensive. Your typical conditioner and regulator will not filter out those types of line disturbances effectively

 

[Neptical]

I've used the Furman rack conditoner for years with all my amps. I don't use it to cut the buzzes,hums,etc but rather to protect the gear. It always stays in my rack. I have an ISP Decimator as well for noise cancellation. I only use it for breaks,pauses,etc which it works well, but it's never on during the time I'm playing because it tends to cut off the signal a bit even at the tightest setting. I don't really have alot bad luck with grounding issues, most places seem to be alright..but when it's bad it's a nightmare.

 

[talltxguy]

I don't have a Mark amp, but I have a Boogie. The more I've gotten into tube amps, the more protective I've become. 8)

Not only do I use a Monster power conditioner, but I use a variac that keeps my voltage around 112 volts.

 

[Calos]

Some venues have dimmer light switches, and they really make some noise even with mains conditioners neon lights too like signs are a swine if your near them. My Boogie is a 110 volt only so I have to run it on an invertor wich doubles as a mains conditioner.

cal