Did You Know That…Your Soundboard and Effects Should Be on the Same Circuit?
After you’ve surveyed the venue, the staging is in place, and the stage layout is solidified, find a good power source and set up the AC distribution system. This is a very important part of the setup—it is often overlooked, poorly planned, or performed in random response to immediate needs. In a small setup, the soundboard and effects should ideally receive AC from the same circuit (the same outlet from the wall).
This will help eliminate hums and noises caused by ground loops.
In a large set up in a professional venue, there should be designated circuits for all audio connections. Often, these AC outlets are a different color than generic AC outlets. In North America, if you find a set of orange outlets and a set of white outlets, it’s likely the orange outlets have been specially configured and verified to provide exact phase and conditioned power. They’re often run through power conditioners to help eliminate noise and unacceptable variances in voltage. Ask the venue manager whether there are clean AC outlets specifically for audio connections.
—This post previously published at Voice Council Magazine.
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