What equipment is in your rack units?

Maybe a patchbay to bring all the KPA connections from the back to the front. This adds convenience especially for live.

This is only half rack, but I had $4000 worth of gear take a hit because of a power surge. Typical UPS units aren't really designed to do much about that, but this particular unit is designed precisely for this purpose.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod…_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The guys that went four paws up on me were a digital mixer, an SSD and a digital rack EQ unit, i.e. all computer oriented stuff. Given the fact that the Kemper fits that description, I now have one of these in front of it as well.

Of course, I'll never know if it works, I'll only know if it doesn't. However, after getting bitten like that taking precautions seemed like a good idea, however belated.

If you go for the SansAmp RBI to cover bass, I would consider to add a compressor/limiter/gate like the affordable yet great dbx 166XL.

Quote from Swatman

My 500 series rack in my 10u has ...

Yeah, I imagined that you don't keep it empty, hehe. And the stuff you have already has its purpose I guess. But if you add a second instrument (bass) to your rack, the bass will be happy to find a compressor as well. That's why I suggested the dbx

I think you can't go wrong with a good overall EQ so you don't have to fiddle with the programs if you have an annoying frequency humming around. Usually they are 1U

Quote from Swatman

I have this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod…_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I looked at those and almost bought one, but my impression was that they spoke more to the continuous quality of the power rather than providing significant protection against spikes, which is what nailed me. Of course, this is just me as a layman reading product descriptions, sinceI have no background as an electrician.

The Furman M-8Lx is a power strip in a rack. That's it.

No conditioning whatsoever.

Yeah, had it confused with another unit.

Power Conditioning has suffered from many misunderstandings or misinterpretations.

Even if the above mentioned Furman device isn't the best "power conditioner", it already does a bit of conditioning and some level of protection.

These rack mount Power Conditioners just filter some degree of RFI and EMI and they provide basic surge protection via a built-in breaker. The downside of the cheap models like the Furman M-8Lx is the fact that it can only dissipate 150 Joules of energy. That's a very low value.

Regarding Furman, the PL series (aka Classic series) is already much better than the cheap M series (aka Merit series). For example their response time of 1 nanosecond. Of course they are a bit more expensive but they definitely provide a higher level of protection.

But (and that's the common misunderstanding) they aren't power regulators. Power Regulators are pretty heavy devices that are capable of generating a constant voltage from a fluctuating electricity source. Typically they transform an AC source to DC and then regenerate a "clean" and constant AC voltage. The benefit is that the power supply on the output is decoupled from the input.

Last but not least … none of the above devices, no matter how big, heavy or expensive they are, will protect your gear from a (relatively) direct lightning strike. The only effective protection of your gear in this case is a good insurance and/or to disconnect your gear during thunderstorms.

Quote from lightbox

The only effective protection of your gear in this case is a good insurance and/or to disconnect your gear during thunderstorms.

Or, you know, good, clean living.

I don't use a rack unit (I have the toaster) and could use some help cleaning up the electricity I'm connecting to.

I might try the Furman AC-215A listed above. I do a lot of orchestra pit work, and some of the theaters I work in have horrible power - often mixed with lighting and other things, and my gear goes wild when the lights are on/off/etc...

I've tried a Monster Pro Power 2500, Hum X, Furman SS-6B 6-outlet Power Strip, and changing ground lifts (and sometimes removing using an adapter). It works ok on a modeling unit like a Roland GR-55 or Boss GP-10 (especially if I use the midi cable) - but the Kemper has better sounds, and I've been trying to use that more often, but get a wicked buzz from theater power.

Any suggestions on getting a good clean signal? I'll admit, I don't know a lot about the electric side... At home, all my profiles are very clean.

Quote from ameristos

I might try the Furman AC-215A listed above.

I bought that unit to get better protection against power spikes. While it has power conditioner in the name, I don't think it really does anything in terms of the quality of the power.

Quote from lightbox

Power Regulators are pretty heavy devices that are capable of generating a constant voltage from a fluctuating electricity source. Typically they transform an AC source to DC and then regenerate a "clean" and constant AC voltage. The benefit is that the power supply on the output is decoupled from the input.

Per lightbox's comments, if it's clean power you want, you're probably looking at regulators. As best I recall, for something that actually does what it says on the tin, this is not at all a cheap solution. I also don't know how portable this sort of thing is.

What if I went something like either of these? Furman P-1800 AR or Furman M-8X AR

A lot of the reviews mention quieting noise. I know reviews are hit or miss, but this one sounds close to what I'm trying to accomplish:

"After years of going gig to gig and having my guitar rig go from being dead quiet at one venue to noisy (hiss, 60 cycle hum, etc.) at the next, I finally bit the bullet and bought the Furman P-1800 AR. Now my rig is dead quiet everywhere I perform."

Quote from ameristos

Furman P-1800 AR

Woah $1180 ? Blimey you'd have to play some "dirty" places to warrant that!

I use a very cheap Samson power condition. Doubt it does much but useful to have multiple connections, so I only need 1 plug!

I run that and my wireless in a 4U rack (wireless is in the back) ...very compact!

I agree. Over $1200 (with tax) is hard to justify. It's crazy that they go up to $3100. I'm considering this one, but that's still $700.

Really, I just can't stand noise in my signal and have tried the $200 and under options and want the Kemper to sound like it does in my home studio when I take it out for live work (I do a lot of orchestra pit work for musical theater productions, so noise isn't something that helps sound design).