5 minutes before showtime....
Everything set up, lights on, multi-track recorder running, going into the final pre-show mic checks. Checking Mic 1, 2, [Pop! Complete Blackout]. What the heck?? The whole bar lost all power. Boy, I was wondering how we did that. Emergency lights come on and we wait a few minutes and power is restored. OK. Time to bring up the system again. Start final sound check for the show. Mains are OK, but the monitors are gone!
Spent about 20 minutes running new cables, checking speakers, checking main board, everything we could think of. Nothing. Monitors completely dead. As luck would have it, or prior planning, I have a backup amp in my rack so I start pulling wires and reconfigure the monitors to run through my backup amp. Fortunately we still had a good signal from the main board (I was sweating that loss) and the backup amp pushed out the sound for the monitors for the night. We started the night only about 20 minutes late due to the power outage and loss of our monitor amp. It could have been much worse.
By the way, the owner of the bar showed up about 10 minutes after the power loss. She had been driving in town and the whole downtown had lost power, not just the bar. So she was in checking to see if everything was back up and working fine. Just a side note, when we played at that same bar last year in January, we had another winter storm and got 27\" of snow our first night out. That was a slow weekend, as far as patronage.... Well, you practice everything except the weather.
We play again tomorrow night so I will not have a chance to pull the amp and see what happened. It appears the amp took a hit from the power loss and something fried. Don't know yet. Was wondering if anyone else has experience losing an amp due to a sudden power loss? The only good thing is that it was my cheapest amp, so if it can't be fixed, I'm not out lots of money. Also, we have a gentlemen's agreement that since I bought the PA system that the whole band uses, the band will have to cover losses for repairs or replacement at the shows that we may incur a loss. I might have to call in those chips this time.
Anyway, we had a great night inside the bar as a freezing winter rain was wrecking havoc outside. We play again tomorrow night, but we (northern Minnesota) have a winter snow storm that is supposed to run through Monday. So I don't know how turnout will be tomorrow. Tonight was great and anyone there at the bar pretty much stayed the whole night because it was just too dangerous to go driving around.
It's all Rock n' Roll. It's all memories. Best wishes.
Spent about 20 minutes running new cables, checking speakers, checking main board, everything we could think of. Nothing. Monitors completely dead. As luck would have it, or prior planning, I have a backup amp in my rack so I start pulling wires and reconfigure the monitors to run through my backup amp. Fortunately we still had a good signal from the main board (I was sweating that loss) and the backup amp pushed out the sound for the monitors for the night. We started the night only about 20 minutes late due to the power outage and loss of our monitor amp. It could have been much worse.
By the way, the owner of the bar showed up about 10 minutes after the power loss. She had been driving in town and the whole downtown had lost power, not just the bar. So she was in checking to see if everything was back up and working fine. Just a side note, when we played at that same bar last year in January, we had another winter storm and got 27\" of snow our first night out. That was a slow weekend, as far as patronage.... Well, you practice everything except the weather.
We play again tomorrow night so I will not have a chance to pull the amp and see what happened. It appears the amp took a hit from the power loss and something fried. Don't know yet. Was wondering if anyone else has experience losing an amp due to a sudden power loss? The only good thing is that it was my cheapest amp, so if it can't be fixed, I'm not out lots of money. Also, we have a gentlemen's agreement that since I bought the PA system that the whole band uses, the band will have to cover losses for repairs or replacement at the shows that we may incur a loss. I might have to call in those chips this time.
Anyway, we had a great night inside the bar as a freezing winter rain was wrecking havoc outside. We play again tomorrow night, but we (northern Minnesota) have a winter snow storm that is supposed to run through Monday. So I don't know how turnout will be tomorrow. Tonight was great and anyone there at the bar pretty much stayed the whole night because it was just too dangerous to go driving around.
It's all Rock n' Roll. It's all memories. Best wishes.
Comments
Power surges can be a bear on PA gear because the onrush of current can spike pretty high. Anytime you get a power outage, always make sure gear is OFF before the power is restored. I'd also recommend a power conditioning system in your rig. Not just the cheaper rack type that are merely fancier power strips, but a decent one that regulates and monitors the power. A unit like that would save from pa damage.
If the amp is dead/unrepairable, I'm thinking about upgrading that spot with a QSC GX3 http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/QSC-GX3-Stereo-Power-Amplifier?sku=481804. At 300 watts per side, it should be more than enough to drive our stage monitors. I think my old monitor amp was only 75 watts per side, so the GX3 would be a big step up. I have the GX5 for our mains and that is a great amp. But, if you have any other suggestions, I'm all ears.
The only other option I could think of would be to buy a bigger main amp and use the GX5 for the monitors. However, I have Peavey SP2's with RMS at 500 watts, which is a perfect match with the GX5. So, I don't know if a larger amp would give me anymore than what I already have.
Unless, of course, your mon amp just blew a $3 fuse. Then you're golden... 8)
More bad news tonight. When we hooked everything up and did a sound check, we discovered that we had blown a subwoofer sometime last night. Don't know if it was the power outage or what. But now I've got to take that apart and check out the sub. Fortunately, I have two subs so it was not a critical loss. Again, those subs have been with us since day one and that's alot of showtime on that equipment. Maybe it's starting to feel its age. I know I am.
It's been a long weekend of music, just got home, having a bite to eat, and plan on sleeping most of Sunday. I need it. Best wishes.