Just thought I’d check if you recommend turning them off when not used (for example overnight), because usually I don’t really bother to.
Manuals are somehow mum on this.
Generally speaking, leaving electronics on for no reason is bad because all circuits have a certain number of hours that they will work for until they crap out. Nothing is infinite.
That said, I do that when I know I’m gonna play it in the morning so it’s nice and warmed up (AK). For digital I don’t see a point.
I’d be more worried about the battery dying than the components reaching their allotted lifespan.
no point letting electricity flow through the machine if they’re not doing anything. From my experience there isn’t a significant warm up period needed with the Elektron boxes, analog or not.
My minitaur on the other hand… lol
I would be concerned about power surges and other electrical issues that can happen when you’re not around unless you have a proper UPS
Thanks guys, looks like a new habit needs to be developed
There’s no reason to keep them on since they retain everything in memory when you turn them off and return to the exact same state when you turn them back on. Turning them off when not in use means they’ll last longer.
I leave my OT on all the time because saving is such a chore. If anyone has suggestions about doing this more quickly (say you’ve got edited recorder buffers, parts, etc.) I’d be happy to hear 'em so I can shut off more confidently.
Lots of people keep their studios on all the time for a variety of reasons. I always shut mine down over night. Even if I’m not using it I try and still have my gear running through the day (if I’m home) that way it encourages being used and I am more likely to create if I am walking by the RYTM hit a pad for fun and then, its four hours later the kettle has been whistling for hours and the cats need to be fed.
I used to leave my shit on all the time and spent years wondering why the hell my electricity bill was so gigantic. Whether it was my laptop or music hardware I dunno but I switch off when not in use these days!
It used to be bad for electronics to be switched on and off all the time - especially stuff like computers - but if you are using modern gear then that isn’t an issue any longer.
I’m not sure if the screens or internal batteries will have longer life spans (how long do the displays last for?!) but I’d generally be slightly more concerned about tearing through the LCDs lifespan by leaving it on. Saying that, my X-station screen is still going strong from when I bought it new years ago.
[quote=“” natrixgli""]
I leave my OT on all the time because saving is such a chore. If anyone has suggestions about doing this more quickly (say you’ve got edited recorder buffers, parts, etc.) I’d be happy to hear 'em so I can shut off more confidently.
[/quote]
I guess I don’t get why this is a chore. After losing plenty of work with my MD and Mono, I’ve gotten in the habit of saving early and often. Any time I have something cool in the buffer I save it as a new sample/static/flex before I bung it up with a careless keystroke. Likewise with parts and projects. None of it takes more than 8 seconds, and I can sleep soundly knowing I haven’t lost any work.
Personally, I shut everything off when I leave the studio, other than my interface and KP3 (and often my X-Station, but I turn that off more regularly now out of fear that it may have a shorter lifespan if I leave it on constantly). My MBP is always on as well, but is usually in sleep mode-I would shut it off more often but it acts as a media server for Plex, so I keep it running for watching video when I’m decompressing from a session.
Well, the thing is that the internal battery was clearly designed to be easily replaced with a new one while this isn’t necessarily the case for the LCD panel…
Me too. Electricity price was the main reason I stopped doing this. My bills were huge too.
Feel your hardware temp when its in standby or on but not in use. If it is warm then it is using power that will add up to $$$ over a period of time.
But the more important reason has already been said. Component lifetime.
PC motherboard manufacturers like to advertise their use of Japanese long life capacitors which last over 2000 hours.
2000 hours = 83 days!
Personally I have found most motherboards to last way longer but still…
How long has your synth/gear got left?
Me too. Electricity price was the main reason I stopped doing this. My bills were huge too.
Feel your hardware temp when its in standby or on but not in use. If it is warm then it is using power that will add up to $$$ over a period of time.
But the more important reason has already been said. Component lifetime.
PC motherboard manufacturers like to advertise their use of Japanese long life capacitors which last over 2000 hours.
2000 hours = 83 days!
Personally I have found most motherboards to last way longer but still…
How long has your synth/gear got left?
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I screwed up here ^ the caps last 20000 which is a lifespan of 2 and a bit years.
Never mind about enviromental aspects.
Okay, your children may grow up in a totally fucked up world, but who cares. At least we had a good time with the funky leds glowing day and night.
Always off, and often even unplugged, when not in use here. Storms, surges, I’ve had stuff fried before, so I take the cautious road.
I switch everything off & disconnect the feed supplying everything in the studio.
Few years back a studio I had was flooded.
Bcos nothing had power running to it nothing was permanently damaged.
Took all the boards out of everything from the console to the samplers & hung them up for a couple of days. Everything worked perfectly when reassembled.
It was a bit of a chore but nothing like the nightmare it could have been 
I run everything through a single power socket hooked up to a huge power strip with an On/Off switch. When I’m done, I save my stuff on the devices that need saving, then turn it all of with one flick of that switch.
I’m fairly sure your average flat screen TV uses more power in a few hours of use than large racks of gear being left on over night. Many new synths like the Bass Station II can be USB powered (5v @ .5 amps). Charging a cell phone uses more power. PA amps and powered speakers may be a different story but they should also be using relatively low amounts of power when not actively playing sound (I would say no more than a few watts when idle). Class D amps are a big thing now and very low power leakage and low heat dissipation.
I just may throw my Kill-a-Watt on my power strip and fire up my rack and see how much power registers and post it here.
Also I have solar panels on my house so this is a moot argument on my end. Some days I’m even generating enough excess power to off set the gear power requirements of everyone who has posted in this thread.
This. I have a workshop power strip from Lowes strapped to my keyboard stands. I believe it even has a $15,000 attached equipment warranty in case of a surge. Turning the strip off should prevent any surges killing them but strong currents can jump disconnected power rails in extreme cases.
I have been known to leave my gear on over night but I do try to save everything first. Typically if I’m not hot in the middle of something then I will turn them off.
I’m super enviro conscious, but keeping the studio on ain’t gonna make a difference I don’t think. We need to make government legislation that says gas burning cars can no longer be produced or sold new after a certain year. If we get rid of the cars and turn every surface into a solar power grid or something that might make a difference, or even something that drastic might not be enough. Just saying, don’t think we should feel guilty about leaving the studio on. We have the privilege of living in this world before its totally fucked, so let enjoy it a bit but also be responsible and bring down governments and big oil companies.