Originally posted by al carmichael:
I get the summertime blues with my Yamaha ProMix1. In the hot months, it makes bad noises, but is fine the rest of the time. I want to rectify (no pun intended) this problem. Do I want a line conditioner, a voltage regulator, or both? The mixer itself is in a cool room in the summer.

What do big studios use to ensure clean power to their expensive equipment? Any info would be gretyly appreciated.

I am sure big studios do everything possible to condition power, at my gig, we go so far as to adjust the transformers, several of them, for different loads, some require some work on the center taps etc. But, that aside, in my project studio, I had a problem that I could not figure out, in the summer, the same thing. That's when all the AC's are kicking in. I said finally enough! I even went so far as to replace every cap in my boards power supply. But, Hummmmmmm it came back, weird stuff, alternating, all across the low range. Well, I did a load check on every circuit, some had big loads, some had a single freaking light bulb. Well, I mapped it all out and started to balance out the loads on each rail of the incoming AC. Not a single problem since, I don't suggest you do this on your own, if you have experience, then fine, but if you don't, CAUTION! get an electrician. Isolated power sources helps, but if the system isn't balanced, you will still have problems. Now.. some items draw huge loads, like big amps. These should be on isolated circuits, but should also be on the same rail as the rest of your recording gear, (studio included), so the ground is common. Remember to consider this load when you are balancing. Motors should be on there own circuits, like ac units, washing machines, and refrigerators, coke machines etc., if you can't do that then, make sure they get included in the balancing, even if other stuff runs on those, include it in your balancing. Then get a good APC, that has filtering in it, Don't overload it, just a few items at a time, like your CPU, and Mixer. I found a great item at office depot, packaged by Belkin, It is called the isolator model F5C980-TEL. This unit has 4 levels of protection, isolated power filters on each bank, with differential isolating coils. This thing is built like a tank. And it's only 60 US. These can fill in for gear that do not use the APC's. The Belkin extended the noise floor almost 10db.
Sorry for the ramble,
--Rick

Rick--thank you for the reply and info. Since I'm not an electrician, I don't know what you mean by a rail. Is that one circuit attached to one circuit breaker in the breaker box? I believe I have three separate circuits in my studio, but I have to check.

Another question. When you say APC, is that a power conditioner, like a Juice Goose or Furman? Or is it a voltage regulator?

I won't ask you to explain the reasons behind the balancing, as it wouldn't make much sense to me. Like I said, the problem is only with my mixer and no other gear makes any noise. But that mixer sounds like the transformer is going nuts when it starts making noise. All the VU's (16 channels) hit +12db. Its ugly!

Anyway, I just wanted to clarify these things before I dive into finding a correction for the problem. Thanks a million for your help. I do appreciate it!