HawkeyeKane
1906 posts
Jul 23, 2013
2:25 PM
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This past weekend, my bandleader's dad threw his annual fish fry/pool party/jam fest. To travel light and for easier tear-out for me, I simply used my EV 630 into my ART Tube MP Studio (XLR connection), and ran the output into the small PA board (also via XLR). To get good distorted tone, I cranked the gain way up on the preamp, almost to the max, and then controlled my volume with the output control.
I sang a little bit through the EV. Every time my lips touched the metal, I felt a warm tingle from the mic. I also felt a bit of it in my hand just holding the mic. It wasn't a nasty zap or anything. And no, I wasn't wet from the pool. Never got in it the whole time I was there.
Was this just a result of the gain being cranked? I didn't have the phantom power or the +20db gain boost on. I really liked the tone I got from it. So I wanna try and figure out if I can use that combination as my travel-light rig safely. Please advise.
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Hawkeye Kane
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Harpaholic
303 posts
Jul 23, 2013
3:08 PM
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Goldbrick is right, the fault testers are a necessity for gigging musicians.
Theres many things that could cause that. Did you plug your preamp into the same outlet as the PA? If not the neutral and hot could have been reversed at outlet?
Is the outlet that the PA is plugged into properly grounded and wired correctly? A fault tester will give you the answers.
Does your PA have a polarity or ground switch? Did you try flipping the switch.
Its a process of elimination!
Last Edited by Harpaholic on Jul 23, 2013 3:11 PM
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HawkeyeKane
1907 posts
Jul 23, 2013
6:22 PM
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Ooookay....
What did Goldbrick say? Cause apparently his post has a cloaking device.
EDIT: Okay, now I see Goldbrick's post. That was weird.
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Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by HawkeyeKane on Jul 24, 2013 6:57 AM
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HawkeyeKane
1908 posts
Jul 23, 2013
6:25 PM
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To answer your questions though...
No, the preamp was plugged into the courtesy outlet on a blower fan. No, the PA doesn't have a ground switch, neither does my preamp. And the preamp runs on a 9VAC transformer.
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Hawkeye Kane
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Rick Davis
2154 posts
Jul 23, 2013
8:04 PM
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Plugged into the courtesy outlet of a blower fan? Wow, I dunno about that. It could be noisy. I'd avoid it.
I carry a small power conditioner in my gear bag and plug my power strip into that. It alerts if the ground is bad.
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-Little Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
Tip Jar
Last Edited by Rick Davis on Jul 23, 2013 8:06 PM
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HarpNinja
3384 posts
Jul 24, 2013
12:45 PM
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When that happens to me, I just yell at the roadie until he fixes it. Damn fool!
Seriously, get a power conditioner.
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
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HawkeyeKane
1909 posts
Jul 24, 2013
1:06 PM
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Normally I'm very good about checking grounding when it's an actual gig. This particular instance was not a gig. It was just a kick-back-n-relax day for us to jam and have fun. I'm pretty much in agreement at this point that it WAS the fan outlet that clenched it. I've gotten bitten before at gigs where the grounding sucked or someone had something polarized incorrectly. Usually by my vocal mic, but sometimes by bandmates who were holding or touching items that were differently grounded. THAT sucks. This was more of an odd feeling. My ex used to use this tanning lotion called "Tingle". It has a similar sensation when applied to the skin.
I agree. I'm definitely gonna look into a power conditioner (just cause it's a damn good thing to have), as well as a passive DI with ground lift if grounding is not available at a given location (and also because it too is a damn good thing to have).
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Hawkeye Kane
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HawkeyeKane
1910 posts
Jul 24, 2013
3:51 PM
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Well here's another factor to consider. The Tube MP uses a two prong 9VAC transformer. Would a three prong one be a better idea?
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Hawkeye Kane
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Harpaholic
311 posts
Jul 24, 2013
5:14 PM
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It wouldn't hurt if they make them, but you may or may not accomplish anything depending on the design of your preamp.
If you check your outlets and try to plug your preamp into the same circuit as the PA you can help eliminate some problems.
Its when you start using different circuits, phases, neutrals and grounds in the same system you have problems especially if hot and neutrals are reversed or neutrals and grounds are tied together etc:
Last Edited by Harpaholic on Jul 24, 2013 11:18 PM
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nacoran
6970 posts
Jul 24, 2013
10:26 PM
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So your lips touched and you felt a tingle? What is this a romance novel?
I've got nothing constructive to add to this thread. Electricity and me are polar opposites.
(As to why Goldbrick's thread disappeared, I don't remember if it was something I fixed or not, but it's just about the right length- simple and to the point- that the spam filter likes to block. I restore all the blocked posts once or twice a day. That was probably responsible for the cloaking device effect.
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Nate
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