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Getting Shocked

#21
Al Dente said:
The amp has something on back that says polarity (middle position), and you can turn it on by choosing the left or right "on"--is that a polarity switch? Also, it only has a 2 prong plug, is that a problem?
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Eureka.

The right thing to do is have a tech remove that switch and install a 3-prong cord.

Is the 2-prong plug polarized (one blade bigger than the other, so that it can only go into the outlet one way)?

Reid
 
#23
Al Dente said:
The amp has something on back that says polarity (middle position), and you can turn it on by choosing the left or right "on"--is that a polarity switch? Also, it only has a 2 prong plug, is that a problem?
Click to expand...
Hell yes that's a problem! Get it to a shop. Have it replaced with a 3 prong. Do not use it until you do.
You can be killed by this!
Invalid Link Removed
 
#28
/\/\3phist0 said:
Hell yes that's a problem! Get it to a shop. Have it replaced with a 3 prong. Do not use it until you do.
You can be killed by this!
Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...
Listen to this!!! DO NOT USE THIS AGAIN UNTIL EVERYTHING IS CHECKED OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
#29
If the leads at the output jack were reversed, the volume and tone controls wouldn't work right and the bass would likely hum. It would not operate right.

To use the polarity switch and set it right, plug a guitar cord into the amp and turn the amp on. Don't plug the other end of the gutiar cord into anything. Turn the amp up until you hear hum. Flip the polarity switch. The position with the least hum is the right position.

That's how we did it in the days of old. With the polarity of the amp wrong, that shock you feel when holding your strings and touching the mic is the full voltage from the wall...120VAC. It can kill you by putting your heart into fibrulation where the valves just flutter and blood is not pumped. Defib is necessary to put the heart back into pumping normally.

Take shocks seriously. People die. I replaced all my 2 conductor power cords.
 
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#31
Bob-I said:
Yes, from an SS preamp it's not uncommon to have some voltage bleed through to the input.
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I don't know where you heard that, but it's not common at all. If the amp is applying enough voltage and current to the bass be felt as a tingle, regardless of how the bass is wired, you have a problem with either the amp or the house wiring and must address that.

Reid
 
#34
The amp (Kustom Charger combo) is pretty old. It is unplugged and sitting in the corner until I can get the 2 prong changed out for a 3 prong. Will also check the outlets with one of the meters that has been recommended. Thanks for all the responses, as they vary quite a bit, I am weighing them and researching more. Besides the 2 things mentioned above, how else would I "check out" the amp?
 
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#37
Mr. Foxen said:
Surprising how many people do, especially using old US amps. Took a long time for the concept of electrical safety regulation to catch up there.
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That's not true. The first US National Electrical Code was enacted in 1897. The pace at which the laws have been updated can be fairly subjected to some criticism, but the statement that the concept didn't "catch up" is simply a lie and an insult. But that was your intention, wasn't it?

Reid
 
#38
Its the rest of the developed world that had things like grounding, and polarity specific connections required that was the thing that needed catching up on. Can see how European amps had earthed cables and three pin plugs on from times US ones still had polarity switches with death caps that wouldn't be allowable elsewhere.
 
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#39
Mr. Foxen said:
Its the rest of the developed world that had things like grounding, and polarity specific connections required that was the thing that needed catching up on. Can see how European amps had earthed cables and three pin plugs on from times US ones still had polarity switches with death caps that wouldn't be allowable elsewhere.
Click to expand...

That's a much more reasonable statement, and no argument there. Credit where it's due, the BS1363 plug/receptacle design is the best in the world. You're entitled to a bit of snobbery on that one!

A little history: A lot of areas in which the US has seemed to lag the rest of the world are directly traceable to WWII and its aftermath. At a time when Europe and Japan were rebuilding much of their infrastructure, they wisely took the opportunity to rethink a lot of issues and start over. It's no coincidence that the aforementioned BS1363 standard was adopted in 1947. The US had no such aftermath to deal with; on the contrary, our residential structures were intact and our postwar industrial base was immense, with no incentive to change, and so things remained much as they had been since the '30s for quite a while. This inertia lasted into the '70s, which is when our existing infrastructure and technology really started to feel their age, while the more recently rebuilt Europe and Japan were hitting their stride.

Reid
 
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#40
Unless your amp has a serious problem, nothing is sending any current through your bass. When you play, the magnets and strings work together to generate a teensy weentsie teeny tiny little bit of electricity. Not enough to feel.

I'd say your house has an open ground problem. Either that or your carpet and feet are making electricity.

I am not an electrician.
 

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