Power-Up / Power-Down Sequence Checklist

Reference: PWR-SEQ-01. The order gear goes on and off matters — get it wrong and you send a pop or a turn-on transient straight through the power amps into the speakers. It's the same handful of steps every time, in reverse for power-down.

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Key fact: amps are always the last thing on and the first thing off. Everything upstream of them can pop, click, or spike when it powers up — the amps shouldn't be live to pass that transient to the speakers when it happens.

Before You Touch the Power Switch

Neutralize the console: gain trims down, aux/FX sends down, channel EQ flat, pan centered, all faders down (including the master). You want a silent, predictable board before anything downstream goes live. Confirm every piece of outboard gear (EQs, compressors, effects units) is connected and set to a sane default — not mid-adjustment from the last session.

Powering Up

Turn on source gear first — mics (if phantom-powered, expect a thump when 48V engages, which is normal), instruments, playback devices. Power on the console/mixer next, then outboard processing (graphic EQs, compressors, effects) downstream of it. Power amps go on last, once everything upstream is already live and settled — this is the one step not worth rushing. Bring the master fader up first, then bring channel faders up gradually rather than slamming them to their working position.

Powering Down (Reverse Order)

Lower channel faders, then the master fader, before touching any power switches. Power amps off first — same logic as power-up, just reversed: they're the thing actually driving the speakers, so they come off before anything upstream can pop. Power down outboard gear and the console next. Power down source gear last.

Sources: Newman, Brian. Live Sound Basics, "Setting Up"/"Line check" section. Yamaha Corporation, Live Sound Guide, "Simple Steps to Better Sound #2." Both give the same order independently — rewritten in Ryan's own words from the source material.