Stage power and safety

The lights dim, the bar fridge kicks in, and the whole stage goes dark in the middle of the second set. Electrical problems at gigs are almost never dramatic; they are a tripped breaker, a hum, a lead that got warm. They are also the one area where a mistake can hurt someone, so it is worth knowing the basics.

This is general guidance. Electrical rules, plug types and inspection requirements differ by country; where you are unsure, ask the venue's technician or a qualified electrician, and never modify mains wiring yourself.

How much power a band actually uses

Bands overestimate. Add up the continuous draw rather than the peak figures on the spec sheets:

Item	Typical continuous draw
Powered 12-inch top	150–300 W
Powered sub	300–600 W
Digital mixer and router	50–100 W
Guitar combo, 50 W valve	100–200 W
Bass head, 500 W class D	150–300 W
Keyboard	20–60 W
Pedalboard, in-ear transmitters, laptops	50–150 W
LED lighting bar or 4 LED pars	50–200 W

A 5-piece with a small PA and LED lights sits at 1.5–2.5 kW. In Europe a standard socket circuit gives 16 A at 230 V, about 3.6 kW, so one good socket is enough for the whole stage, provided it is really one dedicated circuit. In North America a standard 15 A at 120 V circuit is about 1.8 kW, so bands there usually need two.

The problems come from what else is on the circuit: fridges, coffee machines, heaters, and older halogen lighting rigs that draw 1 kW per fixture.

The circuit rules

1. Ask for a dedicated audio socket. Say the words: "one circuit for the band, not shared with the bar, the kitchen or the lighting." Venues understand this; many have a stage supply marked as such.
2. Lighting on a different circuit from audio. Dimmers and cheap LED power supplies put noise into the mains; on a separate circuit that noise stays away from your mixer.
3. One point of origin. Bring your own distribution from that one socket: a heavy extension to a 6-way strip at the mixer, then strips to each side of the stage. If the whole band plugs into one supply, you avoid ground loops between sockets on different circuits, which is the usual cause of hum.
4. Find the breaker before you play. Ask where the fuse board is and whether you may reset it. If the answer is "only the manager and he leaves at 22:00", that is a risk you want to know about at 18:00.

Extension leads and strips

• Use leads rated for the full load, 16 A in Europe, with a proper earth. Thin "office" reels are for lamps.
• Unwind cable reels fully. A coiled reel carrying 2 kW heats up and can melt; every reel has a lower rating for coiled use printed on it, often a third of the unwound figure.
• Do not chain cheap strips. One good strip per position, fed from a proper lead.
• Strips with a switch and a neon are worth the extra 5 EUR: you can see at a glance where the power stops.
• Tape leads down along walkways with gaffer tape or use cable ramps (20–60 EUR each) where guests cross. A guest tripping on your cable is your liability; see gear insurance for musicians.
• Keep power and audio cables apart where you can, and cross them at right angles where you cannot.

Earthing and hum

Hum is annoying; a missing earth is dangerous. Two rules:

• Never lift the earth. Adapters that disconnect the earth pin to cure a hum can put mains voltage on a guitar string or a mic grille. Fix hum with a DI box's ground lift switch (which lifts the audio ground, not the mains earth), by running everything from one supply, or with an isolation transformer.
• Carry a plug-in socket tester (10–20 EUR). It tells you in a second whether a venue socket has a working earth and correct wiring. A missing earth is a reason to use a different socket, not to carry on.

A tingle from a mic or a guitar is a fault. Stop, unplug, and find it before anyone plays.

Outdoors, rain and water

• RCD (residual current device) on the stage supply, always. Many outdoor supplies have one; if not, a plug-in RCD adapter (15–40 EUR) goes between the source and your first lead. It cuts the power in milliseconds if current leaks through a person or a puddle.
• Connections off the ground and covered. Plug junctions in an upturned crate or a proper IP-rated box; never lying in grass.
• A covered stage is a condition, not a preference. Rain on powered speakers, mixers and amps is the end of them and a shock risk. The band decides when it is unsafe, and the contract says so; wording is in gig contract essentials.
• Wind moves marquees and gazebos and pulls plugs. Weight the legs and tape the junctions.

The full outdoor picture, curfews and weather planning are in outdoor gigs.

Generators

A generator is the client's or hire company's responsibility, not the band's, but you plug into it, so check:

• It is rated with headroom: at least 5 kVA for a small band rig, more if lights or catering share it.
• It has an inverter or a proper regulated output. Cheap generators produce unstable voltage that switch-mode power supplies dislike; digital mixers reboot, LED lights flicker.
• It is earthed, and there is an RCD between it and you. Ask who set it up.
• It is at least 10–15 m from the stage and downwind: exhaust and noise.
• Fuel for the whole event plus an hour, and someone responsible for refuelling who is not you.

If any answer is a shrug, ask for a different supply or a proper distribution board from a hire company.

Inspection and paperwork

Some countries require portable equipment to be tested and labelled periodically for professional use, and some venues, councils and corporate clients ask for evidence. Where that applies, the test is cheap per item and a technician can do a band's gear in an afternoon. Keep the certificate with the insurance documents. Where it does not apply, a yearly look at every plug, lead and strip for damage is still worth an hour.

Do this today

• Add a socket tester and a plug-in RCD to the spares case, next to the items in cables, spares and redundancy.
• Replace any coiled reel with a proper 16 A lead, and throw away the strips with the wobbly sockets.
• Write "one dedicated circuit for audio, lighting separate, breaker location known" into your advance questions for every venue.
• Add up your rig's continuous draw once, and put the number on your tech rider.

Where expert.band helps

Power gear is exactly the kind of thing that is nobody's until it is missing. In expert.band's inventory the leads, strips, RCD and tester each have a quantity and a home, they sit in every kit, and on each gig they are assigned to a person and ticked off in the van. The venue's answers about circuits and the breaker go in the gig description so the person plugging in at 17:00 has read them.