I've been performing at a certain restaurant as of late, and cannot seem to get rid of the terrible buzz in my PA. I already tried to three-to-two prong adapters, and tried both long and short extension cords (I have good ones, too). Any suggestions? Thanks!

Angelo

Angelo..
The culprit in clubs and restaurants is most often the things being shared on the line you are using.

For instance, fluorescent lighting or lights regulated by dimmer switches can cause a buzz. If the line serves any heating or cooling appliances, even electric coffee pots, a buzz or dip or spike could easily result.

Short of buying some kind of filter, your best bet would be to try find a plug on another circuit. It would be ideal if all outlets around the staging area were clean, but this is seldom the case. Howver, if the owner is bothered by the buzz, he might be inclined to have a clean line installed.
Eddie

Angelo, you can also check if you are using a power strip that it is properly grounded (most aren't).
Terry

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jam on,
Terry http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html

Angelo,
I highly recommend that you pick up a surge protector from cyberguys.com The one I use has a ground indicator, which tells you whether or not the cicuit you're plugged into is grounded. Their part #1120175 is part of my system and provides room for up to three power packs as well. It also has a built-in filter and handles up to 15 amps. You can also call them on the phone at 1-800-892-1010 to place an order.

Good Luck,

Gary

Gary. Thanks for the info. But, would a surge protector really alleviate buzz?

This particular surge protector has a line filter built in, which if I recall from my old electronic days, helps smooth out the 60-hz signal and decrease the associated noise. It will also tell you if the circuit you have your equipment plugged into is grounded. There has been a number of locations where I have performed, especially in older buildings, where the outlets were not grounded. At these locations, 60-hz humm was always a problem. At one, I actually was able to eliminate much of the hum by running a short length of wire to a cold-water pipe and grounding the system. It was a real pain in the butt, however, it saved the day. The price of the surge protector is about $16, but it could help eliminate your problem, and at the very least, it offords some protection to your equipment by preventing power surges.

Good Luck,

Gary

You have probably already check these, I find using speaker cable where a line cable is suppose to be used is a common reason for buzz. Next try to isolate where the buzz is coming from. Unplug everything from your power switch and just have the main power amp on and the speaker cable that goes to the speaker connected, everything else unconnected, switch on the power amp. If there is buzz with only your power amp you know that either it is the power, power amp or speaker cable. Most likely it will not start buzzing at this point. Shut of the power amp and plug one thing in at a time, turning the power amp on after every new piece of gear is cabled and powered up. You should be able to isolate the issue, sometimes it is simple like the wrong cable used, others it is power conditioning such as a dirty ground, sometimes it is low power conditions or high power conditions... Also check if isolating ground of all your gear, I.E. hum frees on your rack gear, so they aren't sharing case ground.

If none of that works, you may want to teach it the words.

Angeloooooo ..... GO ACOUSTIC!!!! ...
Seriously, check out the stuff the guys have mentioned, ... I've often found the culprit to be a dimmer switch on the line I've plugged into ....
t.
How was last week??? .... you there again Thurs? ...
t.

Gary - I just ordered the surge protector. Thanks so much for your help.

Tonyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!

It went well. I ended up singing outside. It was a little humid, but no rain for once! I'll be there again this Friday night. C'mon down if you can. Tell the crew!

A.-

You've got some good advise in the above posts. The only thing I would add is NEVER change a three prong plug into a two prong with an adapter. Only if there is NO other choice should you use the three to two prong adapter.

Tom