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What is the correct procedure for powering up and down a studio?

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dementedchord Wed, 10/18/2006 - 20:21

J-MADD wrote: When disconnecting condensor mics, do you want to unplug the mic before or after disengaging the phantom power?

Justin

while ideally it shouldn't matter.... and you may be fine... some pieces (fw1884's for instance) are very picky and it's not a bad idea to get in the habit of switching the phantom off before disconecting...

J-MADD Wed, 10/18/2006 - 21:43

while ideally it shouldn't matter.... and you may be fine... some pieces (fw1884's for instance) are very picky and it's not a bad idea to get in the habit of switching the phantom off before disconecting...

Thanks for the info. I have been turning off the phantom power, then the preamp, then unpluging the mic. Glad to hear I am doing it right.

Justin

Kev Wed, 10/18/2006 - 23:42

Rosemary wrote: ... , lock studio door and go inside the house to be unappreciated.

:shock:
ooorrrr
:(
I ... :roll: ... we ... appreciate you

8)
smoooth aren't I ??
:D

:!:
:?
how many smilies can we use in the one post ?
:roll: :lol: :? :wink: :o :D :-? :( :twisted: :P 8-) :oops: (y)
:roll: :lol: :? :wink: :o :D :-? :( :twisted: :P 8-) :oops: (y)

33 so far
??
I thought there was a limit ?
run away Kev
you're increasing the noise floor of the forum
run away , run away .......

MadTiger3000 Thu, 10/19/2006 - 12:31

Rosemary wrote: First zero the board. All aux buttons up, all line ins up, all channel preamps up, (up means off or unassigned) all faders down, unassign speaker routing, main fader down, main speaker amp power levels down all the way, speaker amp power switches off, all rack gear power strips off, main console power supply off, electric control room fart detector off, control room lights off, roll up mic cables out in the studio, put mics away or put covers on them, main studio lights off, entry way lights off, lock studio door and go inside the house to be unappreciated. :D

Rosemary

Well, young lady, we can tell you were trained well!

moonbaby Fri, 10/20/2006 - 07:07

We are getting pretty personal here, Rosemary. Have you ever heard of "Australian Mad Clown Disease"? Well, Kev had an uncle that suffered from it several years ago. He still has nightmares from it. It drove him to the brink of insanity, resulting in a lust for bipolar power supplies and discrete transistor designs. He still reads schematics late at night with a flashlight under the bedsheets. But we are all better off because of it...

JoeH Fri, 10/20/2006 - 10:12

I'm in agreement about Phantom power.......always best to turn that off first (or on last) in the mic chain. Ditto for muting things if you're going to be turning things off.

I tend to leave as much on as is safe and sane, though, when I'm not working in the studio, at least for overnight and such. I of course turn off power amps, monitors, lights, and anything that could get really HOT, but otherwise, most rack gear stays on or at "idle". Console stays on, ditto for the computers, etc.

I've just found too many things die during the power-down or power-up process. Some borderline gear just doesn't like the thermal cycling of cold/off and back to warm/operational several times a week. And, the shock of a power surge when turning it on sometimes is the final nail in the coffin for some gear. Best to leave the low-engery drawing stuff on, instead of switching it back and forth over and over again, IMHO.

moonbaby Fri, 10/20/2006 - 10:59

1) Rosemary, I wasn't making fun of you or implicating any kinkiness,
just joking about Kev and an old thread about Kev and clowns....
2) JoeH : Have you been OK leaving gear like the console powered up all the time? I live in the "lightning capitol of the world", and could never leave stuff on all the time when not in use. In fact, I obsessively pull the plugs to my power distro boxes when I know a storm is in the forecast ( which is every day during the summer). All I leave plugged in are a couple of UPS's...

JoeH Fri, 10/20/2006 - 11:30

Moon, you're absolutely correct about safety issues.

I should add that in the summer, my habits change a lot, esp during the T-storm months. (All bets are off at that point!) I even pull network connections, phone lines, etc. if there's trouble brewing. If you've ever had your house or building hit by lighting, you know what I mean. My GF's house got hit last summer, and all kinds of wierd stuff blew out....even the garage door opener - blew the circuit board in the thing, as well as took out her TV (in a completely different room) and one of her wireless phones (in yet another room).

I've been out on remotes recording and made frantic calls back to the studio to get my assistant to power down, etc., just to be safe.

As for the console, yes, I leave it on 90% of the time - the rest of the year, that is.

Davedog Fri, 10/20/2006 - 15:52

8) .......TOUCHE'.....moonster............ 8)

I'm a-feerd our little Rosemary knows exactly whut she's up to. :!: :!: :!:

As for powering up or down....I leave everything ON most of the time....as was mentioned its the powering up inrush that tends to cook things....

And yes, clowns will eat you...clowns are evil...RUNAWAY KEV RUNAWAY!!!!

Kev Fri, 10/20/2006 - 23:29

Rosemary wrote: ... those kinds of storms frighten me. At night the sky will light up with huge spiderwebs of lightning! Really scary!

oh yes
when the wooden door frame starts to conduct you know all the old rules are out the window

turn everything off
and disconnect from the wall

I have a series of power boards that I like to separate from the house wiring when the room is not in use ... just in case one of those storms come our way.
If I'm at home when one hits I disconnect as much as I can.
Just remember to put the freezer back on once the storm has passed.