I have a vintage Gibson amp in the shop. Tech is checking it out and told me he routinely replaces the old 2 prong cords with grounded cords. I have several other vintage amps, in perfect working order. Should I consider replacing those cords in the future? I've never been shocked or noticed any hum, any value loss by replacing an original cord?
Last Edited by rbeetsme on Mar 30, 2013 7:20 AM
You've never been shocked? Do you sing? it often happens when you get up to the vocal mic to sing and you are holding your harp mic plugged into a vintage amp without a grounded power cord. ZAP! It will make you see stars.
Ask your tech to replace them all, but KEEP them all somewhere. You can offer them to future buyers, to whom it may be important.
Doesn't hurt the value and you can revert to a 2 prong plug. But it doesn't make the amp majically safe and you should never let that lull you into a false sense of security. You can still get zapped. Polarity is the key.
i have always changed out those 2 prong plugs on my old amps.
The other night I was gigging and playing thru an amp w/ a 3 prong plug and a PA with a three prong plug and I was still getting shocked. It's an old building, on a concrete floor, what gives?
"The other night I was gigging and playing thru an amp w/ a 3 prong plug and a PA with a three prong plug and I was still getting shocked. It's an old building, on a concrete floor, what gives?"
That old building and the old sockets in that old building,are either not grounded properly,or the ground is corroded from time.
@Shbamac - polarity ceases to be an issue with a 3 prong cord. However, you must be sure that everything, down the chain, that you plug that 3 prong cord into, is wired with a grounded lead, this includes any 4-way AC extensions and as tmf714 says, the actual wall outlet itself.
I am aware of players who have been shocked whilst using a 3 prong cord, these all turned out to be due to a break in the ground line (either physically disconnected to eliminate ground loop hum with a reverb tank, extensions with failed/missing ground wires).
Nevertheless a 3 prong cord is a very good idea indeed. It isn't easy to sing or maintain concentration whilst getting <100v in the face! The audience don't always appreciate the "F" word being screamed down the mic either...;-) ---------- www.myspace.com/markburness
I really support changing the cords out to grounded 3 prong plugs. I have had this done to all my amps. It doesn't hurt the sound of the amp, and can make things safer. However, as noted, if the wiring at the venue isn't right, you can still get shocked.
Last year I played an outdoor gig in a party tent on a farm for a huge barbecue lunch for about 200 people. We had two acoustic guitars, harp, and fiddle. It had been raining off and on that day, but the ground under the tent was dry. We used a modern solid state PA with no other amps. The mic was shocking people. We shut down the PA and talked to the owner about the wiring.
They had run a long extension to the tent that had the ground prong cut off at the house end. They swapped it out, and then the power was OK, with no more shocks.
I have played bars with bad wiring, too. I finally bought one of those outlet testers that shows if the wiring is right for when I play unfamiliar venues.
You can die from electric shock from improperly grounded equipment, especially when standing on the ground or cement. ----------
