I'm afraid of the answer, but I have to ask: is it bad to plug my MCU and Extenders all into one power strip/surge protector and use the switch on the strip to power the MCU and Extenders on and off all at once? Because it sure is easy!

Also, I do the same thing with my monitors and sub (Rokit 8s and 10sub)...

If it's bad I gotta know, but man, that's a lot of switches on the back of a lot of pieces of equipment to be switching on and off for each session.

It's not that I'm lazy, it's just that... Well, actually it IS that I'm lazy, who am I kidding.

So all you voltologists and ohmpires, tell me: am I ruining my gear/kit?

Something tells me I'm not the only one doing this (that something being that humans are inherently lazy, or at least that's what I tell myself. And occasionally my wife...).

I do.

I also hope it's not a bad thing cuz I do it too. I power down my PC and shut the nearfield monitors and board off but the rest of the rack gear and vid monitors and FW breakout boxes get shutdown with the strip switch. I fact, 2 pieces of rackmount gear do not even have on-off switches so the next best thing for them is to simply unplug them!!!!! ECKkkkkk!!

Yep, I do it as well.

Me too!

I don't think it has ever caused me a problem in 7 years of using power strips to switch on/off all my gear. I did lose a channel on my Pacifica recently--but I had been turning it on/off using the switch on the preamp itself!

For computers or anything with a micro-processor, it is VERY bad, the hint for these is if the device has a "shutdown" process vs a straight rocker-type power switch as the main means of powering off. For everything else, it is a judgement call. Personally, I just use the switches on each device and switch the power bars off last, because it is the safest thing to do and my gear is worth the 30 seconds or so involved to do so. My rationale is that a power-bar can send a micro-spike or other electrical anomally that can damage delicate electronic components.

ORIGINAL: SteveJL

For computers or anything with a micro-processor, it is VERY bad, the hint for these is if the device has a "shutdown" process vs a straight rocker-type power switch as the main means of powering off. For everything else, it is a judgement call. Personally, I just use the switches on each device and switch the power bars off last, because it is the safest thing to do and my gear is worth the 30 seconds or so involved to do so. My rationale is that a power-bar can send a micro-spike or other electrical anomally that can damage delicate electronic components.

Any switch can send a spike no matter where it is if it isn't de-bounced. If you could look at the waveform put out when a switch is closed you would see a number of oscillations decreasing in amplitude. A simple de-bounce circuit (sometimes a cap and resistor, sometimes a purpose-built chip) can remedy that. Most power switches are NOT de-bounced.
For a computer, use the shut-down sequence in either Windows or Mac OS. Both OS's go through a set of processes when shutting down that unless allowed to follow-through to the end MAY mess-up the computer. After the computer has shutdown, then hit the main power switch on your strip(s). There is no need to turn off each piece of equipment by it's own power switch. Then when you go to start a new session, just hit the main switch on the power strip, wait for everything EXCEPT the computer to fully power-up, and THEN start the computer. This process will ensure that your computer will see all of the equipment hooked-up to it. Failure to do this process will more likely than not result in your daw computer not seeing any external drives or interfaces.
Why do I say what I do? I am a reluctantly retired EE formerly employed in the aerospace industry (communications satellites and their control electronics). Would like to go back to that as my day job.

Should not be a problem. I would avoid the ultra-cheap power strips you can get at Wal-Mart for $4, though.

Don't worry about arcing (spikes). It is true that most garden-variety power switches do this. However, it's not a problem with properly-designed power supplies in most equipment. Although it's not be a bad idea to power down your active monitors first if that's convenient, or at least turn the volume down before powering up or down.

I would not, however, plug my computer into the same power strip. Too easy to accidentally shut it down, and there is no particular advantage (e.g. grounding) to doing so. Here, I have everything BUT the computer and audio interface plugged into a rack-mounted power strip. The computer and audio interface are plugged into a UPS. Neither get turned off very often.

I do a combination; I have a couple of power conditioners, each with 11 devices or subsidiary power strips plugged into them; these get powered on first, independently. Any gear plugged into them (including power amp, which has its own time-delay power-on to avoid pops to the speakers) comes online, and any gear plugged into the power strips plugged into the conditioners comes online as well. Next are computer monitors, then a separate power strip for control-room monitor matrix and active monitors. Last is the computer itself. Power-down is the exact reverse order.

This makes sure, as mentioned elsewhere in this thread, that everything gets powered on consistently, and that everything the computer expects to see is already there when it boots up. For a while I actually powered everything up and down individually in an attempt to be conscientious; but with so many synths, MIDI interfaces and other peripherals in the rack and elsewhere it was too easy to inadvertently leave something switched off, requiring a reboot.

EDIT:

I should also note that I have seen similar practices in "medium-large" but quite serious professional studios, like the personal studios of major artists (but run by experienced engineers and technicians); in the "big studios" (like Hit Factory in New York, when it existed, and other studios of that size and caliber) nothing ever powers down completely anyhow, except the room lighting.