Ground loops and you!

[sirmyghin]

[youtube]6ZGokkrsO_Y[/youtube]

A cool video put out by taylor a while back.

[SouthpawGuy]

Excellent video, very informative. Thanks for posting.

[sickbutnottired]

Thanks for posting, we had the worst ground loop mess at a gig a couple weeks ago. really old place. I look forward to watching the video. jeremy

[sirmyghin]

The video makes me nervous to go jam at my friends, where there are severe ground issues, pickups buzz to hell.

[sickbutnottired]

The video makes me nervous to go jam at my friends, where there are severe ground issues, pickups buzz to hell.

Don't take your Mesa and be wary of your mic, it'll likely reach out and bite ya!

[darwinohm]

Sirmy, there is a very small fuse in the back of the Taylor SB-2 to prevent a person from getting hurt if this ground fault exists. There was a post on the Taylor forum about this and some were skeptical about this and some didn't believe it would work. Others thought it was a weakness in the guitar because they sell fuses online. Nothing like opening up a new can of worms!-- Darwin

[blargfromouterspace]

When I was in my first band we all chipped in and bought a PA. None of us knew how to use it properly, so it was a gamble as to whether the mic would bite you! It's very unpleasant and can cause spontaneous change to the lyrics of songs... e.g. "I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him (*zap*) SH*T!!!!"

[darwinohm]

This was so common in the old days of two prong plugs. It wasn't right unless you got bit good. Amps and PA's had phase switches on them so you only had a 50/50 chance of getting bit from each device. It should not be an issue today but not all places are wired right. Blarg, just be thankful that it wasn't a mike boom stand that had slipped down below the belt level when you were belting "I shot a man in Reno"-- Darwin

[sirmyghin]

The video makes me nervous to go jam at my friends, where there are severe ground issues, pickups buzz to hell.

Don't take your Mesa and be wary of your mic, it'll likely reach out and bite ya!

Ha, I use his amps while we jam (or mine at mine place). I forget what amp he has, but it is a fender bassman or vibrolux at the step on the footswitch, and has a clean and 'burn' channel. A nice amp, it gave me a taste of how G&Ls give with fender amps too, people aren't kidding when they say that.

Sirmy, there is a very small fuse in the back of the Taylor SB-2 to prevent a person from getting hurt if this ground fault exists. There was a post on the Taylor forum about this and some were skeptical about this and some didn't believe it would work. Others thought it was a weakness in the guitar because they sell fuses online. Nothing like opening up a new can of worms!-- Darwin

I had an old 2 prong tube amp from the 60s, small brand in canada, no name pretty much called 'paul'. It would shock you anywhere damp, just through the strings. My one friend was afraid of it (it liked to shock him).

The fuse fail safe in the taylor is a neat idea. For those whining I am sure they could easily bypass it.

[darwinohm]

I did see a post that many of them do bypass the fuse. If the guitar has a blown fuse it still plays but may have a bit of hum. --Darwin

[Philby]

I've heard you can stop your guitar biting back by installing an extra cap in the wiring harness while doing the 'treble bleed' mod.

Anyone know if this is true?

If so, surely all guitars should have it installed at the factory on potential health and safety grounds? As we all know, you never know when the power supply is going to be dodgy.

[darwinohm]

Philby, a good point but with 3 prong plugs and if electrical wiring has been installed correctly this should never be an issue. The faulty electrical circuits are usually done by owners themselves and not inspected to save money. If the circuits are protected by ground fault outlets or ground fault circuit breakers, they are really safe. I think it is rare for a musician to get electrocuted, in fact I believe that night club fires would be a much higher risk and quite frankly, what do young musicians usually die from. I personally think that the fuse in the Taylor is overkill and so do a lot of others as they are bypassing them with wire which is what I will do if the fuse blows in mine. Sometimes I think that a jolt every half hour would be good for some of us old guys. Anyone out there willing to pay for this wisdom that I am spewing???????? -- Darwin

[Philby]

Sometimes I think that a jolt every half hour would be good for some of us old guys.

[Michael-GnL-Michael]

I've heard you can stop your guitar biting back by installing an extra cap in the wiring harness while doing the 'treble bleed' mod.

Anyone know if this is true?

If so, surely all guitars should have it installed at the factory on potential health and safety grounds? As we all know, you never know when the power supply is going to be dodgy.

I wonder why all single coil equipped guitars are not shielded at the factory.

[DeepSouth]

I was getting a ground loop in a Roland external sound card powered by USB. I admit I modified my PC power supply by removing the earth pin from a double adapter. I knew this was a bit naughty - but it did prove to me that the noise really was a ground loop. So without recommending this to anyone as a permanent fix - it did help me to diagnose the problem. God knows how I'm going to fix the root cause of the problem but I did notice using an extension cord to a socket on an opposing wall helped things a bit - but not as well as ditching the earth pin ...

[magi111]

I have enjoyed reading your articles. It is well written. It looks like you spend a large amount of time and effort in writing the post. I am appreciating your effort. .

Electrical Wiring

[louis cyfer]

I've heard you can stop your guitar biting back by installing an extra cap in the wiring harness while doing the 'treble bleed' mod.

Anyone know if this is true?

If so, surely all guitars should have it installed at the factory on potential health and safety grounds? As we all know, you never know when the power supply is going to be dodgy.

no. if you do star grounding and add a large cap and a small resistor, the resistor will act like a fuse and blow if there is large enough voltage on the ground. it does take quite a bit of work to do the star ground. it will eliminate ground loops in the guitar though. it means all grounds run to a single point, you have to isolate the pots from the shielding etc. using a wireless eliminates any possible shock hazard with guitars and mics.