Did Changing My Power Strip *Really* Improve My Tone?!

Riff Ranger

Riff Ranger

bass/guitar/vocals in Thunderhorn
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Mar 22, 2018
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#1
I had all kinds of effects and amps plugged into this black power strip thing that has different colored plugs on both sides, and it stretched just far enough across my room until I put my Mesa Buster 200 1x15" combo up on top of another 1x15" cab; I could still just plug it in, but the whole thing was dangling and the cord was raised like a trip wire across the room. Buster had sounded pretty good with this set-up, but if I didn't really watch it with my attack or EQ (with which I had done nothing drastic), that 15" would (for lack of a better term) fart out easily. Blah blah I should be using 10s but I'm not exactly rolling in cab money right now so that's not really a solution at the moment. THE POINT: I went and bought a heavy-duty extension cord and a brand new, perfectly ordinary power strip, and the farting out issue is pretty much gone. Did the change in power strip alone do this? Did the fact that I didn't plug in all the amps and effects power supplies I had been using with the previous power strip thing have any effect? Am I nuts?
 
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#9
Yes it did. If you want even better tone you should immediately purchase the $500 bass cable, $1000 power cord for your amp and $5000 deluxe all gold power strip. Make sure you get the bass one. They’re frequency specific. :smug::laugh:

Seriously, it could have had an effect. If the new power strip has heavier wire from the plug to the strip part it would, theoretically, have less resistance to the power. I don’t know that it would actually result in an audible difference but, if you are happier with your sound, that’s what counts.
 
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#10
Could happen.

A damaged connection in a cable or power strip can drop the voltage. Seen this happen in a power cable to a house which wiped out the ac and refrig motors.
One of the leads was damaged and the current was going through a few strands.

Get a voltmeter and measure the voltage drop across the old and new power supplies.
 
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#11
Might add an interesting case. A "special equipment item" was performing oddly in the former Soviet union. Voltage at wall was normal. At night, i looked up at pole and one of the three terminals off the transformer was arcing. Only happened when certain motors with large starting current kicked on.

Ps. You want correct voltage, esp. to x ray machines.
 
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#14
If your old extension cord was 16 gauge and very long and had corroded, loose fitting prongs/slots (M/F ends), you could have been starving your amp for voltage.

i.e. voltage drop at the device.
 
#15
Pretty sure this is one of those tongue-in-cheek comments the OP is making, but this still reminds me of the arguments conversations I got into with fellow Best Buy employees when I worked there.

If your other stuff was broken or sub-standard, yeah it could have an effect on performance. However anything past your standard $10 power strip is not going to have an effect on tone. Now hum and noise is another thing entirely...my apartment is full of that, no matter how expensive the power strip lol.
 
#16
Yes, it's possible. And before going further please know that I'm of the anti magic wire camp. Electrons are electrons and the laws of physics are called laws for a reason. Something in your A.C. mains chain might have been causing enough of a power drop produce a tangible difference in the performance of the amp. Enjoy the happy accident and rock on.
 
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#17
I use 14 AWG AC cables with higher powered amps. Another thing is to use the shortest possible cable and plug it directly into the wall rather than use a power strip whenever possible. If using a power strip or extension cord make sure it is at least 14 AWG also. Speaker cables are also a consideration and a quality 16 AWG cable is usually adequate.
 
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#19
NickyBass said:
Do you still have the old power strip to A/B?
Click to expand...
Exactly... Record a loop of yourself playing (to eliminate technique variation), then play that loop through your rig with each power strip/cable and record. Then create a thread with a poll and watch the arguments happen.
 
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#20
Maybe if you had a grounding issue. Can cause a pretty crazy hum and even a whompy sort of sound sometimes. Had that happen on a gig Sat night. I added a no ground adapter and it made a huge difference. Course I have a big tube head so that are extra sensitive. At least that’s been my experience.
 
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