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FX + Beer = Wait X hours?

jondog

jondog

Mar 14, 2002
2,715
20
NYC metro area
#1
I love my Vbass, it honestly has cured my fx GAS. Last night, a full beer vibrated off a shelf and shattered against the top of the pedalboard. At first I thought it looked ok so I finished out 2 more songs then it started randomly switching patches etc. so I unplugged it and went direct for the rest of the gig. Yes, I know I should've turned it off right away, I'm stupid sometimes. I put it in front of a fan last night, and I'm about to vacuum the rest of the broken glass off it now. How long should I wait before plugging it in to see if it still works? I have another gig tomorrow night and need to know if I have to dust off my old fx. I'll cry if it's toasted, but I like it so much I'll pay the big bucks to have it fixed or even buy a new one if I have to.
 
#2
With electronics that get wet you want to leave it off until you have no doubts it is totally dry. One extra concern though since it was beer, even though the water will evaporate, other stuff will be left behind which can cause problems, so a careful cleaning of any sticky areas would be a smart idea. Unfortunately this kind of thing is all luck, it might be totally broke or totally fine..

Beer, The Cause Of And Solution To All Of Life’s Problems
 
#3
OK, I'll wait until tomorrow to try powering up. You're right about the sticky factor -- the tiny bits of glass were so stuck to the top I had to scrape them off w/ the vacuum. I'm afraid to open it up to try and clean the sticky beer gunk off of the innards, but I guess if it doesn't work right tomorrow I won't have much to lose...
 
#4
If it has any issues I would say open it up and give the inside a good spray with contact cleaner, and again let that dry really well before plugging it in. I've had luck with this procedure with beer damage before, not only is a spilled beer alcohol abuse, but on gear it's musician abuse. :)
Good Luck
Dirk
 
#6
OK thanks. By isopropyl do you mean just regular rubbing alcohol or do I have to get denatured or some other kind?

Even though I haven't opened it up yet, I'm fairly certain there is gunk on the pcb (it was a full beer). If it happens to work in the morning, am I taking a big chance assuming it will continue to work without a thorough cleaning?
 
#8
It works! :hyper: All of the switches are sticky, but when I powered it up it went right back to the patch it was on before the beer impact.

This is the second time something like this has happened to me. The first time, a fan got pushed by her friends and she hit the railing, knocking my beer into my old pedal board, which has a tray-like bottom so the pedals were sitting in a pool . . . I unplugged it right away and went direct for the rest of the show. This second time I swear it was vibrations, I really don't think I could've knocked it off the shelf. Anyway, the moral to the story is that beer seems to affect my fx the same way it affects me -- too much and they go crazy for awhile and have to take the next day off to dry out, but eventually they're ok, if a bit sticky :) Drink placement is key - my guitarist bought me a mic stand mounted drink holder awhile back, but I lost it. I guess I'll have to buy another, or stop drinking beer (ha!).
 
#12
Thanks for the well-wishes everyone. It performed flawlessly last night! As for the beer quality, it was a Corona which in comparison is one of the better beers to feed your gear -- I can't imagine the gunk I would've got from a Guiness or something dark like that! :eek: Although maybe the Guiness molecules would be too big and thick to make it past the knobs and buttons to the pc board . . .
 

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