Topic: Furman Power Conditioners?

Hey all,

I had that problem with my amp last week and blew a mov or vdr chip that's responsible for soaking up power spikes.

Apparently my Lowes heavy duty grade surge protector is not enough here. I've also had problems with radio stations coming through my speakers.

Does anyone have experience with Furman Power Conditioners, enough to recommend one?

I was contemplating getting Best Buy Geek Squad power conditioner with battery backup, but I don't know if it handles enough amps.

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool

Re: Furman Power Conditioners?

I was just told a battery UPS power conditioning system you'd normally buy for a computer would suffice... is this true?

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool

Re: Furman Power Conditioners?

UPS units afford total protection. You can size them by looking at the Watts total of your amplifiers, or if that isn't known, look at the input AC fuse size. If it is, say 5 amps, Watts = Volts x Amps so 120 x 5 = 600 watts. A 750 Watt unit should give enough headroom to work well. I've not heard of the Furman brand so can't say about those. Consumer Reports is a good reference for brands.  Hope that helps Nic.
Rick

Free download from Vienna! http://mbsy.co/bNLR
Lots of unique videos of Joe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwd5vL8fXTw
Buy Joe's merchandise here. http://www.jbonamassa.com/affiliates/id … hp?id=1381

Re: Furman Power Conditioners?

I have one of the Furman M8 Power Conditioners, and it has really made my rig power a lot cleaner. I too had radio signal through my speakers at times. I know rarely ever get it, and when I do, it's usually at my house where the wiring in the walls is around 40 years old in places, or when I use my wah.

Very good investment in my opinion. Between my Furman and my ModTone Pedal Power, I can power my whole rig, only taking up one space on the wall. I never fear that anything is left on, because I simply turn off the Furman and I'm good, although I usually unplug from the wall anyways to save electricity.

Please, call me Austin.
My Gear List

Re: Furman Power Conditioners?

Furman is a long tested and true name in the audio field. Regular UPS conditioners may be sufficient for power OUTAGES, but not likely what you need overall.  Computer , guitar amp, two totally different things, and power supply and power conditioning are two different things....Furmans are designed for your purposes Nic, and Consumer Reports wouldn't have a clue.  You get what you pay for!  wink Make sure it fits your needs.  It's not a Watts thing, it's filtering and other factors too. 

Get what you need and / or can afford.  I recommend Furman if seriously continuously gigging, especially in lightning territory or bar band land, as you are around the Great Lakes in Spring and summer!! You never know what the venue has for power quality..ask Joe about his OK May Day gig....or Jim M, he was there.  Went from electric to acoustic just like ...that! Wasn't lightning or local area power outage either... yikes

Rock ON & Keep the Faith,
Rocket

"He still doesn't charge for mistakes! wink"
http://jbonamassa.com/tour-dates/
"Everybody wants ta get inta the act!"
“Now, this isn’t your ordinary party crowd, here.  I mean, there are professionals in here.”

6 (edited by RickB 2011-04-04 12:58:04)

Re: Furman Power Conditioners?

Rocket wrote:

Furman is a long tested and true name in the audio field. Regular UPS conditioners may be sufficient for power OUTAGES, but not likely what you need overall.  Computer , guitar amp, two totally different things, and power supply and power conditioning are two different things....Furmans are designed for your purposes Nic, and Consumer Reports wouldn't have a clue.  You get what you pay for!  wink Make sure it fits your needs.  It's not a Watts thing, it's filtering and other factors too. 

Get what you need and / or can afford.  I recommend Furman if seriously continuously gigging, especially in lightning territory or bar band land, as you are around the Great Lakes in Spring and summer!! You never know what the venue has for power quality..ask Joe about his OK May Day gig....or Jim M, he was there.  Went from electric to acoustic just like ...that! Wasn't lightning or local area power outage either... yikes

Rock ON & Keep the Faith,
Rocket

I'll have to disagree on UPS units Rocket. I'm talking about true UPS, not standby. They don't care what is on the load end, although they are touted for computer protectio. If you get a good, heavy duty one they offer absolute protection to the load. I specialize in shipboard electronic installations and ships have the WORST power imaginable. Surges, brownouts, spikes and transient noise 24/7. True you get what you pay for and if the Furman does the job, great.

Free download from Vienna! http://mbsy.co/bNLR
Lots of unique videos of Joe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwd5vL8fXTw
Buy Joe's merchandise here. http://www.jbonamassa.com/affiliates/id … hp?id=1381

Re: Furman Power Conditioners?

RickB wrote:
Rocket wrote:

Furman is a long tested and true name in the audio field. Regular UPS conditioners may be sufficient for power OUTAGES, but not likely what you need overall.  Computer , guitar amp, two totally different things, and power supply and power conditioning are two different things....Furmans are designed for your purposes Nic, and Consumer Reports wouldn't have a clue.  You get what you pay for!  wink Make sure it fits your needs.  It's not a Watts thing, it's filtering and other factors too. 

Get what you need and / or can afford.  I recommend Furman if seriously continuously gigging, especially in lightning territory or bar band land, as you are around the Great Lakes in Spring and summer!! You never know what the venue has for power quality..ask Joe about his OK May Day gig....or Jim M, he was there.  Went from electric to acoustic just like ...that! Wasn't lightning or local area power outage either... yikes

Rock ON & Keep the Faith,
Rocket

I'll have to disagree on UPS units Rocket. I'm talking about true UPS, not standby. They don't care what is on the load end, although they are touted for computer protectio. If you get a good, heavy duty one they offer absolute protection to the load. I specialize in shipboard electronic installations and ships have the WORST power imaginable. Surges, brownouts, spikes and transient noise 24/7. True you get what you pay for and if the Furman does the job, great.

So no one plays a Plexi on board the USS Enterprise?  cool

Re: Furman Power Conditioners?

If you are going the distance with this, I would suggest getting a Furman voltage regulator.  It will combine the power conditioning feature of a regular Furman, but it also lets you dial in exactly the amount of juice.  They can be pricey, but cheaper than replacing a transformers on an amp on a regular basis.

Amp: Firebird Musical Amplifiers
Guitars:62 LP SG , 02 FB VII, JB FB I, 76 Electra Omega, 64 Firebird V, 73 LPC, 61 Custom Tele, 59 and 60 Melody Maker
Effects: Mythos Chupacabra, Strymon Deco/Flint

Re: Furman Power Conditioners?

I don't have a Furman Power conditioner but I do have a Furman Surge protector my wife got me least Xmass and I noticed a good bit of difference in the external noise just using that. I would guess a power conditioner would be a whole lot better. I run all my pedals and amp into that.

Re: Furman Power Conditioners?

I was going to buy a furman a couple months ago but decided against it due to it seeming to be nothing more than a glorified power strip.  I went with the Monster pro 2500 which seemed to be a little more advanced.  I had guitar center price match it with some online computer stores price of around 140.00  I thought the same thing with furman since they have been around for so long and a lot of people use them, but it just came down to taste in the end.  Either way, you can't go wrong with one as they are better than nothing.  With mine, I plug in 2 marshall heads, a rack wireless, a rack pedalboard power supply and another from my floor pedalboard and everything is dead quiet.  They are nice in the aspect of convenience too, you only need one outlet now if you previously had trouble finding more than one... -S

Re: Furman Power Conditioners?

helrazr84 wrote:

I was going to buy a furman a couple months ago but decided against it due to it seeming to be nothing more than a glorified power strip.  I went with the Monster pro 2500 which seemed to be a little more advanced.  I had guitar center price match it with some online computer stores price of around 140.00 -S

Interesting! might look into one. They claim they work better with more features than a regular old power conditioner.

http://www.monstercable.com/productdisp … eader-2141

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool

Re: Furman Power Conditioners?

NPB_EST.1979 wrote:
helrazr84 wrote:

I was going to buy a furman a couple months ago but decided against it due to it seeming to be nothing more than a glorified power strip.  I went with the Monster pro 2500 which seemed to be a little more advanced.  I had guitar center price match it with some online computer stores price of around 140.00 -S

Interesting! might look into one. They claim they work better with more features than a regular old power conditioner.

http://www.monstercable.com/productdisp … eader-2141

Like most Monster product, over-hyped. Beware.  If referring to Furman PST's, glorified power strips, ok, but if Furman AC15's or even better PF1800,.... Better than Pro2500.

Rock On & Keep the Faith,
Rocket

"He still doesn't charge for mistakes! wink"
http://jbonamassa.com/tour-dates/
"Everybody wants ta get inta the act!"
“Now, this isn’t your ordinary party crowd, here.  I mean, there are professionals in here.”

Re: Furman Power Conditioners?

Rocket, you're comparing apples to oranges. The Furman PF 1800 is around $400-500

The Monster 2500 is around $140 online $200 at GC
how does the Furman compare to the Monster at similar prices????

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool

14 (edited by helrazr84 2011-04-06 16:56:04)

Re: Furman Power Conditioners?

NPB_EST.1979 wrote:

Rocket, you're comparing apples to oranges. The Furman PF 1800 is around $400-500

The Monster 2500 is around $140 online $200 at GC
how does the Furman compare to the Monster at similar prices????

I think this is where they price matched from.  Just google monster pro 2500 under google shopping.  Furman had a bunch of models, but it seemed if you wanted a good one you had to pay A LOT more, whereas the monster had a well equipped model for just under 200.  I have read some negative reviews, but everyone somewhere along the lines is going to have a bad experience with a product.  At least if you do get it from GC, you will not have a problem returning if you decide you don't like it.  I love mine, it suits my needs and then some.  -Seth

http://www.cmxnotebookparts.com/monster … 38382.html

...And if it's worth anything to you, I think Joe uses an actual Monster voltage regulator in his rack.

Re: Furman Power Conditioners?

OK, guilty as charged! But there also is an apples to oranges difference between might not fail and will never fail.....Franklins to Grants.  Spend forward or spend backwards.

Rock On & Keep the Faith,
Rocket

"He still doesn't charge for mistakes! wink"
http://jbonamassa.com/tour-dates/
"Everybody wants ta get inta the act!"
“Now, this isn’t your ordinary party crowd, here.  I mean, there are professionals in here.”