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Post subject: Re: Have you been "Electrocuted" By An Amp?
Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2013 2:20 pm
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GilgaFrank wrote:
bluesky636 wrote:
... The probe slipped and shorted the plate to the screen grid


Crocodile clips. Always. Don't be poking probes into an amp, clip test leads on then power the amp up.



Bias probe. Best and safest way to check amp bias. :mrgreen:

http://www.amp-head.com/product_info.ph ... ucts_id=70

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Post subject: Re: Have you been "Electrocuted" By An Amp?
Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2013 5:11 pm
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By definition if you have been "electrocuted" then you were shocked to death. Electrocution victims wouldn't be able to answer this post. Like Leslie Harvey of Stone the Crows who was electrocuted on stage in front of a live audience in England in 1972. Or Yardbirds picker Keith Relf, who was electrocuted by his guitar while playing in his basement in 1976. Or John Rostill, bassist for The Shadows, who was electrocuted in his home studio in 1973. All dead. There have been numerous quite famous stage electrical shocks including one particularly nasty jolt Keith Richards took on stage, later Richards credited his Hush Puppy shoes with their rubber soles for saving his life.

More recently in 2011 while playing an outdoor gig, Moby was shocked into unconsciousness as seen here:

Image

Notice that NOBODY came to help Moby and everyone close seemed more interested in taking good photos of his apparently lifeless body on stage. Moby's shock however was not fatal and he woke up after about 30 seconds and began a full recovery. Therefore it is correct to say Moby was shocked, but it is not correct to say he was electrocuted.

Almost all, if not in fact all, of the electrocutions involved touching a microphone and electric guitar string at the same time. The two were either out of phase, not grounded properly or one or both were malfunctioning. Simple solution, use a foam windscreen on the microphone. Foam doesn't conduct electricity. Also avoid playing on bare concrete which holds moisture to make it a great a good connection to ground with you as the conductor.

In an unrelated incident in 1994 Mexican harp player Ramon Barrero, famed for playing the world’s smallest harmonica, inhaled his tiny harmonica mid-gig and choked to death. I found this ironic since one technique used in harmonica play is called "choking" where you over-blow the reeds for a unique effect.


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Post subject: Re: Have you been "Electrocuted" By An Amp?
Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2013 5:13 pm
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GilgaFrank wrote:
Crocodile clips. Always. Don't be poking probes into an amp, clip test leads on then power the amp up.


Ok that was a dead give away that you are not in NC/SC/GA/AL/LA or FLA where they are for sure called ALLIGATOR clips.


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Post subject: Re: Have you been "Electrocuted" By An Amp?
Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2013 5:29 pm
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brotherdave wrote:
By definition if you have been "electrocuted" then you were shocked to death. Electrocution victims wouldn't be able to answer this post. Like Leslie Harvey of Stone the Crows who was electrocuted on stage in front of a live audience in England in 1972. Or Yardbirds picker Keith Relf, who was electrocuted by his guitar while playing in his basement in 1976. Or John Rostill, bassist for The Shadows, who was electrocuted in his home studio in 1973. All dead. There have been numerous quite famous stage electrical shocks including one particularly nasty jolt Keith Richards took on stage, later Richards credited his Hush Puppy shoes with their rubber soles for saving his life.

More recently in 2011 while playing an outdoor gig, Moby was shocked into unconsciousness as seen here:

Image

Notice that NOBODY came to help Moby and everyone close seemed more interested in taking good photos of his apparently lifeless body on stage. Moby's shock however was not fatal and he woke up after about 30 seconds and began a full recovery. Therefore it is correct to say Moby was shocked, but it is not correct to say he was electrocuted.

Almost all, if not in fact all, of the electrocutions involved touching a microphone and electric guitar string at the same time. The two were either out of phase, not grounded properly or one or both were malfunctioning. Simple solution, use a foam windscreen on the microphone. Foam doesn't conduct electricity. Also avoid playing on bare concrete which holds moisture to make it a great a good connection to ground with you as the conductor.

In an unrelated incident in 1994 Mexican harp player Ramon Barrero, famed for playing the world’s smallest harmonica, inhaled his tiny harmonica mid-gig and choked to death. I found this ironic since one technique used in harmonica play is called "choking" where you over-blow the reeds for a unique effect.


pretty grim. wow.

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Post subject: Re: Have you been "Electrocuted" By An Amp?
Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2013 5:45 pm
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brotherdave wrote:
GilgaFrank wrote:
Crocodile clips. Always. Don't be poking probes into an amp, clip test leads on then power the amp up.


Ok that was a dead give away that you are not in NC/SC/GA/AL/LA or FLA where they are for sure called ALLIGATOR clips.


I'm in Manchester. We call them whippet clips.

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Post subject: Re: Have you been "Electrocuted" By An Amp?
Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2013 5:45 pm
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brotherdave wrote:
By definition if you have been "electrocuted" then you were shocked to death. Electrocution victims wouldn't be able to answer this post.


Lighten up man. I thought this might be a more interesting thread than another "best" whatever thread. :roll:

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Post subject: Re: Have you been "Electrocuted" By An Amp?
Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2013 7:13 am
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I've never tried to repair an amplifier so no stories there.

But in reference to Brotherdave's suggestion of windscreens and don't play on bare cement I do have one funny story to add here.

It was summer '91 maybe, in Stevens Point, WI, there is a state university here so lots of campus life and bars connected to such an institution. Our guitar player had written a song called "Catchin a Buzz", a fast blues riff in which he mentioned all the bars around the campus. It was pretty popular around the area at the time since it talked about students going out and how it gets harder throughout the week to make it to class.

The local brewery in town, Point Beer, gave us some promotional shirts and stuff and a slot at the big July 4th Riverfront Festival. We walked out there all nervous to play this big gig for hundreds of people on a beautiful afternoon, how cool can it get?

We played the first song that our drummer and keyboardist sang and all was well, then we went into the drum into for "Catchin a Buzz" and as the guitarist went up to start singing, his big moment, his lips touched the mic and all we heard was "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH" just a gut wrenching scream. All playing stopped since we thought he was dying. Combination of cowboy boots, old rickety amp, bare concrete bandshell stage, and no windscreen gave him a shock of a lifetime. He said he thought he saw his fillings flying out at one point. So the windscreen was quickly added and a wireless was borrowed and we played on. Funny to look back on now.


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