Funny, Gary Numan’s Cars was what got me into synths as well. At 54, I now have a studio filled with old and new synths. I credit Cars with what got me interested.
Ha, when I first heard Underworlds Dirty EP, and later 'Dubnobasswithmyheadman' in 1994 it was music I could float away to.. The night I met my wife over ten years later, heading to her place in the car from the club night we had been at she saw the CD case and asked 'You like Underworld too?' In that moment we both knew far more about each other than otherwise would have been possible in normal small talk and both knew it was meant to be.. I was lucky to have seen them several times since and recently again at the Opera House in Sydney, they still bring the house down!
Hello Scott. What an important job you did here ! These questions are so rarely adressed ! There are the specific cases of some Korg synths : Oasys, Kronos, Nautilus. Because there are based on computer motherboards, there are more sensitive to surges. When I've bought my Kronos, I've immediatly bought an UPS too.
Great overview and recommendations on power protection for our synths. Just placed an Amazon order per your recommendation (CyberPower w/pure Sine Wave). Worth protecting. Thanks for sharing.
Being that I grew up in and around CFNY, which was a direct tunnel to British music in the 1980s, I definitely have a great love and affinity for it! What really surprised me when I first started visiting the UK years ago, was that this "outlier" music that we had only on a couple rogue stations like CFNY - Ultravox, Depeche Mode, Blancmange - real "alternative" music heard only on the odd station here - was in fact popular Top of the Pops fare in the UK!
@Scott's Synth Stuff Yep, lived every second of it. We only listen to and play such music in my house. My wife has followed Ultravox and Midge Ure all her life. Me, Roxy Music and Soft Cell, and all those you mention. We had it all in those days...
Such a coincidence but heard underworld today on the radio ( born slippy) for the first time in many years and i appreciate the formula of this tune. I will be checking out drift as i was not aware of it thanks.
That was a fascinating discussion about the power supplies. I've often wondered myself, I knew it was money related but would never have guessed it was all about the certification and so on.
Exquisite video and insightful explanations. I had to stop the video when you flashed the backpanel of your System 8 briefly to know how to tie up the power plug. After watching your videos of the System 8 I went ahead and ordered mine. Thank you so much for the valuable information on synths. My favorite synth channel so far.
What a great communicator and educator you are. Your videos have to be my favorites on all of RUclips. And of course we want to hear all about your musical upbringing and tastes!
All good about the power stuff but the nugget with this video is the last bit. How did I not know of Information society? Now catching up on my listening, thanks Scott! Cheers Ola
nice summary - I have a fried key-contact board due to a severe voltage drop that renders the synth broken and I've been on a futile search for a replacement ever since
Front 242, and most 4AD but DEVO was the most entertaining and Gary Numan was energetic as hell. Joy DIV/New Order was non stop on synth n guitar hooks. Never got to see Oingo Boingo was intense mtv videos
another great video!....the only thing I would of touched on is how equipment walwarts change (degrade) over the years. Nothing like buying an old 90's drum machine only to cook it with its own 12v power supply that now puts out 14.6V or worse 17v. Loved the musical influence part as well!
Less so nowadays. Those older, transformer power supplies depended on linear regulators to set the voltage, which in turn depended on other discrete components. Modern switching power supplies work in a completely different way - they usually just die completely and put out zero volts when they fail, by design. If you watched my Polysix restoration video, this is also the reason I replaced the internal power supply: the design of the old original one would send lethal voltages into circuit boards if it ever failed. The new one is designed so that if it fails, it sends NO voltage.
Das fällt dir aber fast zu spät ein!Nach 40 Jahren Livemusik,wobei ich riesen Pa Entstufen habe Abfälkeln sehen,kamen sofort SourgeProtektoren mit Varistoren her.Dann habe ich eine Relais Selbsthalteschaltung.Falls ein verrückter Veranstalter den Stecker zieht und der Strom wiederkommt,muss erst ein Startknopf gedrückt werden,dann erst zieht das Relais.Kann sich jeder selber basteln👍😯😎🗿🐒🎸💞
What would be good for a 1980s digital synth Ac powered 220 volts 50 w 50hz. I want to make sure it lasts long, just one keyboard kinda like a dx7 im from Massachusetts.
Just about all power supplies built at least within the last 10 to 15 years are universal 100VAC to 240VAC 50 and 60Hz. An over voltage of 140VAC isn’t going to do anything to the power supply, but it would most likely pop a metal oxide varistor in a power strip and release the magic smoke. I run all network and sever racks on 208VAC and you don’t have to do anything to the equipment power supply.
True, modern switching power supplies have a much wider range of inputs. That said, they are also more susceptible to noise and transients than old transformer designs, as they don't have the magnetic isolation of the transformer to protect the delicate supplied circuits. It's really down to the design of the power supply itself. Again, all down to the might buck: if Roland can buy one power supply for use worldwide, and just include the applicable cord and plug end, they save money over sourcing different PSU's for different countries.
For a 1000 watt unit, which is really going to be the starting point for online UPS's, between $600-900. And 1000 watts would be far more than all of your synths would use, combined. Probably safe to run your DAW PC on that as well. amzn.to/3jrUd9n
Hello ! Thanks for this video 😊 I saw in the comments that you said you use a UPS for the PC and another one for the synths, and i would like to know why, since synths don’t use that much power as you also mentionned, and with power strips, one UPS would have enough outlets for all the gear (assuming you got around 10 synths and a computer) Also, could you give me your thoughts about power conditioner ? Because i read on internet that UPS only gave you time to react when the electricity is down, and that power conditioners are the only one protecting against surge or brown out Thanks again, and have a nice day !
I am looking for a multi power supply solution for my 5 Moogs.(Mother 32 + DFAM + Subharmonicon + Spectravox + Labyrinth) I have the 5 Moogs in a 5-tier rack and I can only use one power outlet. Perhaps you know a suitable solution. For example, can I use a multi power supply for effect pedals for this?
Scott, any recommendations on where to get synth covers? I personally wanted to get away from the plastic (Decksavers), thus got several cloth covers from digitaldeckcovers, yet, not 100% satisfied on how they wrap (or lack thereof) around the synths. Thank you!
It depends on how close the lightning is, and what it hit. If it's a direct hit on power lines, or on your structure, or close by, nothing is going to protect you except having everything physically unplugged (and sometimes not even then).
Hi Scott... Can you please tell us how you actually physically power all of your gear?... Do all of your synths get powered from only one power output (one wall socket)? Also, how do you use your UPS units since you have way more synths than there are sockets in the UPS... do you plug your synths into a power strip and then plug that strip into the UPS? ... My house is very old and the gear in my studio is currently powered from three different wall sockets... i think there might be a potential difference between some/all of the sockets as I'm getting a hum with some synths so a major re-wiring is looking likely.
The synths actually draw very little power, even when they're all on at once. With absolutely everything turned on (which rarely happens), it uses only about 600 watts total for everything. So it's all run on a single circuit (across two outlets) which definitely helps with noise and hum. I have two UPS's, one for the computer, one for the synths, and the synth UPS has a very large power strip plugged into it with about 12 outlets (I think it came from a server rack).
@@ScottsSynthStuff Hi Scott. Thx for your reply ... I'm rewiring my studio at the moment and planned on using a UPS for my computer but never thought about using one for my synths... I'll definitely be using a UPS for all of the gear. Thx for your advice 👍👍
Funny, Gary Numan’s Cars was what got me into synths as well. At 54, I now have a studio filled with old and new synths. I credit Cars with what got me interested.
Ha, when I first heard Underworlds Dirty EP, and later 'Dubnobasswithmyheadman' in 1994 it was music I could float away to.. The night I met my wife over ten years later, heading to her place in the car from the club night we had been at she saw the CD case and asked 'You like Underworld too?' In that moment we both knew far more about each other than otherwise would have been possible in normal small talk and both knew it was meant to be.. I was lucky to have seen them several times since and recently again at the Opera House in Sydney, they still bring the house down!
Hello Scott. What an important job you did here ! These questions are so rarely adressed !
There are the specific cases of some Korg synths : Oasys, Kronos, Nautilus. Because there are based on computer motherboards, there are more sensitive to surges. When I've bought my Kronos, I've immediatly bought an UPS too.
Great overview and recommendations on power protection for our synths. Just placed an Amazon order per your recommendation (CyberPower w/pure Sine Wave). Worth protecting. Thanks for sharing.
It's very important to know someone's musical journey. As a Brit, it shows me that you have travelled rather well ;-)
Being that I grew up in and around CFNY, which was a direct tunnel to British music in the 1980s, I definitely have a great love and affinity for it!
What really surprised me when I first started visiting the UK years ago, was that this "outlier" music that we had only on a couple rogue stations like CFNY - Ultravox, Depeche Mode, Blancmange - real "alternative" music heard only on the odd station here - was in fact popular Top of the Pops fare in the UK!
@Scott's Synth Stuff Yep, lived every second of it. We only listen to and play such music in my house. My wife has followed Ultravox and Midge Ure all her life. Me, Roxy Music and Soft Cell, and all those you mention. We had it all in those days...
I investigated Information Society. Love their style very much...Thanks for that too 😀
What an amazing taste in music you have. Love almost everything you mentioned as well.
Your explanations are always so crystal clear. Great video again. I like the part about your musical influences also.
Such a coincidence but heard underworld today on the radio ( born slippy) for the first time in many years and i appreciate the formula of this tune. I will be checking out drift as i was not aware of it thanks.
Very helpful, useful, and informative video. Thank you Scott.
That was a fascinating discussion about the power supplies. I've often wondered myself, I knew it was money related but would never have guessed it was all about the certification and so on.
As always, excellent and clear explanation of a very important topic that gets left out of most of our research and discussions as musicians. Thanks.
I was shocked you mentioned the ups sine wave. Most people don’t know this. Respect for knowing!
I have worked in electronics for decades, but I agree, it's something people need to know about!
Exquisite video and insightful explanations. I had to stop the video when you flashed the backpanel of your System 8 briefly to know how to tie up the power plug. After watching your videos of the System 8 I went ahead and ordered mine. Thank you so much for the valuable information on synths. My favorite synth channel so far.
Great information. Thanks Scott.
What a great communicator and educator you are. Your videos have to be my favorites on all of RUclips. And of course we want to hear all about your musical upbringing and tastes!
Wow, that's a wonderful compliment, thank you so much for your kind words!
good job Scott. ☺
Thanks for the underworld, remember that song now, maybe it was on the Trainspotting soundtrack
Yes, their song "Born Slippy" was the overriding Theme for Trainspotting.
All good about the power stuff but the nugget with this video is the last bit. How did I not know of Information society? Now catching up on my listening, thanks Scott! Cheers Ola
You might want to check out my Information Society video: ruclips.net/video/1Y5D2B2e0Gg/видео.html
nice summary - I have a fried key-contact board due to a severe voltage drop that renders the synth broken and I've been on a futile search for a replacement ever since
Front 242, and most 4AD but DEVO was the most entertaining and Gary Numan was energetic as hell. Joy DIV/New Order was non stop on synth n guitar hooks. Never got to see Oingo Boingo was intense mtv videos
I would have loved to have seen Oingo Boingo!
another great video!....the only thing I would of touched on is how equipment walwarts change (degrade) over the years. Nothing like buying an old 90's drum machine only to cook it with its own 12v power supply that now puts out 14.6V or worse 17v. Loved the musical influence part as well!
Less so nowadays. Those older, transformer power supplies depended on linear regulators to set the voltage, which in turn depended on other discrete components. Modern switching power supplies work in a completely different way - they usually just die completely and put out zero volts when they fail, by design.
If you watched my Polysix restoration video, this is also the reason I replaced the internal power supply: the design of the old original one would send lethal voltages into circuit boards if it ever failed. The new one is designed so that if it fails, it sends NO voltage.
Das fällt dir aber fast zu spät ein!Nach 40 Jahren Livemusik,wobei ich riesen Pa Entstufen habe Abfälkeln sehen,kamen sofort SourgeProtektoren mit Varistoren her.Dann habe ich eine Relais Selbsthalteschaltung.Falls ein verrückter Veranstalter den Stecker zieht und der Strom wiederkommt,muss erst ein Startknopf gedrückt werden,dann erst zieht das Relais.Kann sich jeder selber basteln👍😯😎🗿🐒🎸💞
What would be good for a 1980s digital synth Ac powered 220 volts 50 w 50hz. I want to make sure it lasts long, just one keyboard kinda like a dx7 im from Massachusetts.
Just about all power supplies built at least within the last 10 to 15 years are universal 100VAC to 240VAC 50 and 60Hz. An over voltage of 140VAC isn’t going to do anything to the power supply, but it would most likely pop a metal oxide varistor in a power strip and release the magic smoke. I run all network and sever racks on 208VAC and you don’t have to do anything to the equipment power supply.
True, modern switching power supplies have a much wider range of inputs. That said, they are also more susceptible to noise and transients than old transformer designs, as they don't have the magnetic isolation of the transformer to protect the delicate supplied circuits. It's really down to the design of the power supply itself.
Again, all down to the might buck: if Roland can buy one power supply for use worldwide, and just include the applicable cord and plug end, they save money over sourcing different PSU's for different countries.
Online UPS, WHAT'S feasible budget to juice/protect synths? Recommended?
For a 1000 watt unit, which is really going to be the starting point for online UPS's, between $600-900. And 1000 watts would be far more than all of your synths would use, combined. Probably safe to run your DAW PC on that as well. amzn.to/3jrUd9n
Excellent description of a critical, often overlooked area of synthesis.
Did you end up seeing Pleasure Principal tour at the Gardens?
I did not, that was 1980, and I was a just a bit young to go - and without anyone older into Gary Numan who would take me!
Hello ! Thanks for this video 😊
I saw in the comments that you said you use a UPS for the PC and another one for the synths, and i would like to know why, since synths don’t use that much power as you also mentionned, and with power strips, one UPS would have enough outlets for all the gear (assuming you got around 10 synths and a computer)
Also, could you give me your thoughts about power conditioner ? Because i read on internet that UPS only gave you time to react when the electricity is down, and that power conditioners are the only one protecting against surge or brown out
Thanks again, and have a nice day !
I am looking for a multi power supply solution for my 5 Moogs.(Mother 32 + DFAM + Subharmonicon + Spectravox + Labyrinth)
I have the 5 Moogs in a 5-tier rack and I can only use one power outlet.
Perhaps you know a suitable solution.
For example, can I use a multi power supply for effect pedals for this?
Scott, any recommendations on where to get synth covers? I personally wanted to get away from the plastic (Decksavers), thus got several cloth covers from digitaldeckcovers, yet, not 100% satisfied on how they wrap (or lack thereof) around the synths. Thank you!
The ones you see all over my studio are simple Gator stretchy covers, they come in a variety of sizes: amzn.to/3Y4gAzE
@@ScottsSynthStuff Thank you. Will check them out. Need several of them.
I thought a double-conversion online UPS would isolate you even from lightning. Is that not the case?
It depends on how close the lightning is, and what it hit. If it's a direct hit on power lines, or on your structure, or close by, nothing is going to protect you except having everything physically unplugged (and sometimes not even then).
I guessed it was Gary Numan,Kraftwerk
Roland supplies pretty crappy PSUs with the synthesizers so there is a point to replace them with a better ones.
Hi Scott... Can you please tell us how you actually physically power all of your gear?... Do all of your synths get powered from only one power output (one wall socket)? Also, how do you use your UPS units since you have way more synths than there are sockets in the UPS... do you plug your synths into a power strip and then plug that strip into the UPS? ... My house is very old and the gear in my studio is currently powered from three different wall sockets... i think there might be a potential difference between some/all of the sockets as I'm getting a hum with some synths so a major re-wiring is looking likely.
The synths actually draw very little power, even when they're all on at once. With absolutely everything turned on (which rarely happens), it uses only about 600 watts total for everything. So it's all run on a single circuit (across two outlets) which definitely helps with noise and hum. I have two UPS's, one for the computer, one for the synths, and the synth UPS has a very large power strip plugged into it with about 12 outlets (I think it came from a server rack).
@@ScottsSynthStuff Hi Scott. Thx for your reply ... I'm rewiring my studio at the moment and planned on using a UPS for my computer but never thought about using one for my synths... I'll definitely be using a UPS for all of the gear. Thx for your advice 👍👍