Eboy87
Well-Known Member
Ok, so if this is bordering on the taboo here, please feel free to delete this mods. Just for reference, I was involved in a discusison today regarding power and amplifiers of the musician kind. I'm not going to mention names, places, or anything that might cause me to burn bridges, but what I heard made my skin crawl.
The point was we were talking about eliminating hum and buzz in the rig. Of course, the inevitable grounding discussion was brought up. This one person basically claimed that there was nothing wrong with lifting the ELECTRICAL ground on an amp other than arbitrary laws. His reasoning was that it eliminated the buzz, and since amps only need ".8-3V to run full tilt", that the voltage wasn't enough to kill someone.
I did not agree with his sentiments.
First off, I'll admit to not knowing exact voltage draws and current figures on amps, but we were taking about tube amps. I know for a fact that the tube bias voltage can run up north of 300V. If something breaks, that voltage can wind up on the amp's ground, and since it can't go to earth through the ground pin, you become the path of least resistance to ground.
Second of all, it's not always the amp that I'm worried about. I've had friends who've worked with engineers like this who've gotten a good zap from completing the circuit between a mic and ground. While he didn't die, it still made his hair stand on end. Thus my policy:
DO NOT LIFT THE MAINS ELECTRICAL GROUND ON ANYTHING!
Eliminating every single buzz, hum, and pop in the system is not worth a person's life.
This same discussion brought up the point of these being illegal in union houses around here. I won't get into the details of his way to get around the inspectors, but it does involve a deceptive (not defective, though it technically is) quad-box.
IMNSHO, these are not the lessons that should be taught to the next generation of us audio guys. So to all you younger guys and girls out there who might be considering doing this, please, I implore you not to. No good can come out of it, and it's not worth the wrongful death lawsuit if, god-forbid, it comes to that.
The point was we were talking about eliminating hum and buzz in the rig. Of course, the inevitable grounding discussion was brought up. This one person basically claimed that there was nothing wrong with lifting the ELECTRICAL ground on an amp other than arbitrary laws. His reasoning was that it eliminated the buzz, and since amps only need ".8-3V to run full tilt", that the voltage wasn't enough to kill someone.
I did not agree with his sentiments.
First off, I'll admit to not knowing exact voltage draws and current figures on amps, but we were taking about tube amps. I know for a fact that the tube bias voltage can run up north of 300V. If something breaks, that voltage can wind up on the amp's ground, and since it can't go to earth through the ground pin, you become the path of least resistance to ground.
Second of all, it's not always the amp that I'm worried about. I've had friends who've worked with engineers like this who've gotten a good zap from completing the circuit between a mic and ground. While he didn't die, it still made his hair stand on end. Thus my policy:
DO NOT LIFT THE MAINS ELECTRICAL GROUND ON ANYTHING!
Eliminating every single buzz, hum, and pop in the system is not worth a person's life.
This same discussion brought up the point of these being illegal in union houses around here. I won't get into the details of his way to get around the inspectors, but it does involve a deceptive (not defective, though it technically is) quad-box.
IMNSHO, these are not the lessons that should be taught to the next generation of us audio guys. So to all you younger guys and girls out there who might be considering doing this, please, I implore you not to. No good can come out of it, and it's not worth the wrongful death lawsuit if, god-forbid, it comes to that.
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