Should I turn everything off?

[dainbramage]

I've got two powerstrips w/ switches attached to a rack. One for guitar stuff (pedal board, amps) and one for studio stuff (monitors, interface, computer, HD etc). I usually turn the interface, external HD and monitors off manually, but do I really need to?

Could I just flip the (studio stuff related) switch?

 

[Bobbsy]

You're generally better off using the individual switches...but if you shut down the computer and turn off the monitors first you can probably get away with throwing the "master switch" for the rest. Similarly, at switch on, you're best to turn on all the power (either individually or at the main switch), then boot the computer then turn on the monitors last.

Lest you think I'm being arbitrary, the rule of thumb is to have everything that could cause a "pop" at switch on powered up and stable before turning on amps/speakers in order to avoid loud noises that can, in bad circumstances, damage the speakers. Switch off is the reverse...kill the monitors before switching anything that can cause a pop when IT switches off.

...easy in a home studio but a pain in the butt when you're mix position is at the back of a 2000 seat auditorium and the amp rack is in the basement below the stage!

 

[mjbphotos]

I agree with Bobbsy regarding the 'pop' stuff. I always turn monitor volumes down, then off. Same thing with my stereo set up (and I have a Sony amp and bookshelf speakers in my mixing area too for mix checks, too) - I always turn the volume down first. Guitar amps, too. Something I've just always done.

 

[dainbramage]

Thanks el duderinos. Good stuff. So interface, screens and the external HD can stay on then.

 

[BroKen_H]

Yeah, get the monitors (speakers) off first. I have everything run through a UPS and so I have a power strip for everything but the monitor (screen), interface, computer and monitors (external drives, printer, the non essentials). When the power goes out (if) the strip goes down (it's not in an active UPS outlet) and I start saving. If the power isn't on by the time I'm done saving, I'll turn the monitors (speakers) off, then the interface, then the computer. Good system.

Funny side note, when I first hooked it all together, I had the monitor (screen) plugged into the strip and the first time I had a blackout I wondered how I was supposed to save or turn off when there was no visual Luckily, the power came back on before the UPS went down and I fixed the problem!

 

[miroslav]

Lest you think I'm being arbitrary, the rule of thumb is to have everything that could cause a "pop" at switch on powered up and stable before turning on amps/speakers in order to avoid loud noises that can, in bad circumstances, damage the speakers.

Yeah.....I've been following a power-up/power-down sequence for years. Going back to pre-computer days, when all the gear was hardware...the sequence usually followed typical audio signal flow. So rack gear first, then mixer, then speakers....and for power-down it's in reverse, speakers first and so on.
With the addition of the computer, I tend to do the same thing when the speakers are patched to the DAW instead of the mixer. They go on last and then off first.