GEAR CLOSE-UP
FURMAN
P-1800 PF R Power Conditioner / Surge Suppressor
BY JOE COFFEY
For those of you who don’t want to be “that
guy”—the guy whose bar gig rig involves
rackmount gear—we suggest you look away.
The studio applications for power conditioning equipment are obvious, but for some reason a lot of players are comfortable rolling the
dice and using office-supply-store power strips
for gigs, only to scramble for that potentially
deadly 99-cent, two-prong adapter when that
inevitable buzz rears its ugly head. The P-1800
PF R’s superb instrument-specific uses should
tempt you to buy a portable rack box to put
next to your amp.
spike and voltage technologies, as well as
their new Clear Tone and Power Factor technologies, designed specifically for high-current
electronic gear like guitar amps and powered
studio monitors. We’re talking 45-plus amps
of instantaneous reserve current and tuned
filtering circuits that allow your amp to perform like it should—regardless of a whether a
venue’s stage outlets are powering five neon
beer signs and the kitchen’s deep freeze.
outlets with securing straps, a BNC connector in the back for your gooseneck lamp, and
even a front panel USB outlet.
Our demo unit handled amp testing in various
circuits with aplomb, providing slightly to dramatically cleaner sound (not to mention peace
of mind) when A/B’d with a Furman Merit X
Series conditioner, a number of strips, and no
conditioner at all.
An update to Furman’s Power Factor Pro R,
the P-1800 PF R features the company’s surge,
A digital voltmeter/ammeter takes the mystery out of current draw, while nine outlets
(one on the front) in isolated banks give you
more than you should need for a single rig.
Extra touches include three wallwart-spaced
Furman Sound
List $599
furmansound.com
HEAROS
High Fidelity Series Earplugs
BY CHRIS BURGESS
John Bohlinger’s “Last Call” column last
month got me thinking more about hearing protection, which I admit I don’t use
very often. The band I’m in is not into
blaring stage volume, and rehearsal is
usually even quieter. And, unless I’m
opening up a big amp to hear what it can
do (or when Brett Petrusek is around), I
don’t find myself dealing frequently with
uncomfortably loud music. But some of
my favorite amps do require high volume
to really sound their best, and I did hear
Bohlinger pretty clearly reminding me
that volume doesn’t have to hurt before
it starts doing damage.
The problem I always have with earplugs is
that even when they’re comfortable enough to
wear for long periods, they leave me hearing
only a “thuddy” low end and muffled mids with
no high end to speak of. And taking the soft
foam plugs out to make EQ adjustments and
then holding them in until they expand into
place again—it’s not an easy way to spend an
afternoon testing amps.
As luck would have it, we had recently received
a few sets of High Fidelity Series earplugs
from Hearos. These are designed to provide
flat attenuation, and are made specifically for
musical application. With average attenuation
across the frequency range falling somewhere
around 20dB, they don’t provide the greatest
amount of noise reduction available. But they
do allow you to hear a more balanced frequency spectrum. After trying several different
kinds of hearing protection while testing amplifiers, I can say that wearing these is much like
wearing a set of studio headphones. Of course,
they don’t weigh as much, but the sound is as
balanced, and they don’t take a lot of time to
install correctly. They’re also washable and reusable, and they’re comfortable enough that they
won’t drive me crazy if I wear them more often.
Hearos High Fidelity Ear Plugs
List $14.99
hearos.com
