The Steel Guitar Forum

I have read the comments on tone problems and one of the problems that I have found is that all places, except studios don't have the same constant voltage. Voltage drops affect the tansistors and they do not perform at their peak and this affects volume and tone.

This one puzzles me. Any power amp will have the DC voltages inside well below any point where they may deregulate due to line fluctuations. It would take at least a 20% drop in AC line voltage at 120VAC to pull the DC voltages out of regulation if the power transistors are operating at 50VDC rail to rail.

How did you come to find out that the line voltage was fluctuating from place to place and what were the variations? Just curious.
-Roger

I've had to check into this kind of thing to troubleshoot problems with analytical (lab)instruments, etc. You can get hold of this thing called a 'Dranitz Meter' that plugs into the wall and monitors voltage in real time. You just leave it there for a week or so and it records fluctuations. You can set it to flag critical highs or lows, and you can print out results over time. It does the trick...

I have a Tripp Light Line Stabilizer / Conditioner that I use for that reason. I used to not only play steel, but also keyboards in a band that played outside a lot. Before I got it, when the band would play a "power" chord, the power would drop low enough to re-boot my synthesizers (of course when they finished booting up, they seldom had the same program/sound that I was using when they went down - bummer). My amps would also start breaking up. This unit would keep the line voltage coming to my stuff fairly stable and I had no more problems. It also helps in clubs.


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Carter D10 9p/10k
Richard Sinkler

You guys must have better ears than me! Interesting idea, though.

I'm moving this topic to the 'Electronics' section of the Forum.

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<small><img align=right src="http://b0b.com/b0b.gif" width="64" height="64">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
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