Electronic keyboard instruments — especially Yamaha Disklaviers, Clavinovas, stage pianos, and organs — represent significant financial investments. Some of these instruments cost well over $50,000. I’ve had a few customers ask be about the best surge protector for their Disklavier or other instrument. My predecessor in keyboard repair here in Maine, Nick Orso, was so enthusiastic about Tripp Lite products he actually was a Tripp Lite dealer! I inherited his stockpile, and became an enthusiast myself.
While the acoustic portion of a piano may survive a power event, the power supplies, control units, MIDI boards, and audio circuits are vulnerable to damage from surges, brownouts, and dirty power. Repairs can be costly or impossible if parts are discontinued.
What’s the issue with cheap surge protectors?
Surge protectors typically offer limited surge absorption (often <500 joules), which means for sudden electrical events such as a nearby lightning strike, they won’t protect your device.
They also typically provide little to no EMI/RFI filtering, which means electrical noise from your house can easily reach your instrument. (I took advantage of this in the Powerline adapter setup, which I no longer recommend.)
They have little or no connected equipment coverage. For high-end instruments, this additional protection is invaluable! Their insurance has no deductible, and it covers power surges from utility companies and other sources not necessarily covered by insurance companies.
The Tripp Lite ISOBAR Series
Tripp Lite ISOBAR surge suppressors are trusted in the pro audio, IT, and music industries for their industrial-grade protection and noise isolation—perfect for Disklaviers, Clavinovas, and digital organs.
Tripp Lite ISOBLOK2-0
This surge protector is perfect for Clavinovas, keyboards, and lower-cost organs. It’s rated for 1410 joules, which is quite high for a surge protector, and includes EMI/RFI Noise Filtering. It has robust metal housing, and includes $10,000 connected equipment insurance. This is more than enough to cover most keyboards and Clavinovas, and so you can consider yourself protected through just about any power event.
The Tripp Lite ISOBLOK2-0 is available on Amazon for ~$45.
Tripp Lite ISOBAR6ULTRA
If you’re looking for more coverage, particularly for Disklaviers, Clavinova grands, and organs, check this out! This unit provides 3330 joules of surge protection and a whopping $50,000 connected equipment insurance. It also has metal housing, and includes EMI/RFI Noise Filtering.
The Tripp Lite ISOBAR6ULTRA is available on Amazon for ~$85.
Honorable Mention
Tripp Lite TLP1208TELTV
This unit does not include EMI/RFI noise filtering, which is a very nice feature. It’s also plastic. However, it does have a whopping quarter million dollars ($250,000) of connected equipment insurance. Its surge rating is 2880 joules, so it still provides a very high degree of protection, and it includes twelve outlets, as well as coaxial and Ethernet protection.
For churches that are plugging in numerous devices, which happen to include an organ or high-end keyboard, this is worth considering. If you’re running an Ethernet cable directly from your router to your piano, this is also worth trying, as it can provide Ethernet protection. If you’re connecting your piano using my guide on connecting to Wi-Fi, this needn’t be a concern!
The Tripp Lite TLP1208TELTV is available on Amazon for ~$50.
