hum active electronics ?

[FRANK]

Hum I have a bass Guitar and was reading about wire ing a capacitor and a resistor inline with the bridge ground to eliminate noise when I put my finger on the volume pot it goes away when I let go its back ?anyone also notice when I pick up static electricity that I get a little pop through the amp when I touch the potentiometer ?

[Rob Mercure]

Ron,

While what you say is true the assumption is that whoever wired the outlet put the hot and neutral wires on the proper screw terminals - this is not always the case especially for folks who are used to DC - car wiring - who tend to think that black is ground instead of hot. But, "usually." when a three wire circuit is plumbed the person doing the work, of whatever experience, gets the ground right. But every musician should carry an outlet polarity tester - now only a few buck, used to be about $25 - and test the outlets everywhere they set up.

I've never heard of someone killed through their lips but it is certainly possible. I had known of someone killed playing barefoot on a wet stage whose improperly grounded amp/guitar stopped his heart - permanently!!! "You can never make something idiot proof to stop a sufficiently determined idiot."

Rob

[FRANK]

thanks for the advice on testers my father is an electrician I will get a tester and put it in my road case for the future and maby just maby sale them to my customers also

[Ned Knepp]

When I learned Electronics, 25 years ago, we were taught to keep one hand in our pockets if we were messing around in unknown circuitry. All it takes it about 10 milliamps across a heart to stop it and the best path is usually from one hand to another. I've never heard of anyone being killed by touching a mic with their lips but I knew of a pastor that was killed when he grabbed a mic while standing in a baptistery. Weird things can happen when electricity breaks out if it's constraints and static electricity can do a lot of damage that can be very hard to pinpoint.

Ned