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What is the risk to the amp or tubes?


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Well, I was changing pedals and I had my Vjr still powered on and the volume was only about 1/4 or 9 o'clock. I unhooked the cable from the pedal that goes to the amp and accidentally dropped it on my foot. When the plug hit my bare foot the amp went BRRAAAAP. I plugged the guitar back in and everything sounds ok but what is the main risk of doing something like that? Just blowing the speaker if the volume is set too high? Is there risk to the electronics of the amp? Can anyone explain what is happening electrically? I guess when the plug hit my foot did it close the circuit and that is just the tone of my foot? Haha. But seriously, can anyone explain what happened? Thanks.

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No worries. That's the buzz test. If I remember correctly, you're grounding the signal with your foot. It sounds quite alarming, especially to the uninitiated, like if you're playing for an audience, but not to worry. I'm sure someone will post a more technical explanation. I'm just saying, it's normal and not a harm to yourself or amp.

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I suppose the technical explanation is that your body becomes a giant antenna for every bit of ac hum present. When unplugged from the guitar, the input becomes an infinite high impedance with no ground reference and the input stage goes into an uncontrolled gain loop. Normally, the guitar's high impedance pickup is balanced to ground across a resistor and the pickup is part of the signal chain. The normal signal is the varying voltage across the resistor from the transistor base or tube cathode to ground. If the ground lead on the guitar cord isn't referenced to earth ground, then the input bias resistance is open and the system goes nuts.

 

Someone else may be able to elaborate on that. You didn't hurt your amp provided it wasn't turned wide open and your speaker survived. It happens all the time to guitar players.

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I suppose the technical explanation is that your body becomes a giant antenna for every bit of ac hum present. When unplugged from the guitar' date=' the input becomes an infinite high impedance with no ground reference and the input stage goes into an uncontrolled gain loop. Normally, the guitar's high impedance pickup is balanced to ground across a resistor and the pickup is part of the signal chain. The normal signal is the varying voltage across the resistor from the transistor base or tube cathode to ground. If the ground lead on the guitar cord isn't referenced to earth ground, then the input bias resistance is open and the system goes nuts.

 

Someone else may be able to elaborate on that. You didn't hurt your amp provided it wasn't turned wide open and your speaker survived. It happens all the time to guitar players.[/quote'] it gets kind of annoying...

 

sometimes i get a BANG whenever i unplug... (just when it's turned up too high)

 

i think tom morello used that in a solo... (then again, what has tom morello not used in a solo?)

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You tell me .... who the hello is Tom Morello ???!!!??? :-

 

Wikipedia:

Thomas Baptiste Morello (born May 30, 1964) is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist best known for his tenure with the bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, and as the acoustic artist in his alter-ego solo act, The Nightwatchman. He was featured as one of the guitarists in Rolling Stone's "The Top 20 New Guitarists" article. An outspoken political activist, he was also ranked #26 on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

 

I didn't know either. :-$

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Tom Morello is a very good and creative player, I definately credit him as one of the early 90's guys who made it kewl NOT to have be a shredder. Thank Dad, I think between Yngwie, Eddie, Paul Gilbert & Vai they played enough notes for every guitar player not born yet, LOL

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Wikipedia:

Thomas Baptiste Morello (born May 30' date=' 1964) is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist best known for his tenure with the bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, and as the acoustic artist in his alter-ego solo act, The Nightwatchman. He was featured as one of the guitarists in Rolling Stone's "The Top 20 New Guitarists" article. An outspoken political activist, he was also ranked #26 on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

 

I didn't know either. #-o [/quote']

i only knew because my best friend loves rage against the machine and system of a down. i despise both bands, but i have to admit, tom morello has some skill.

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Tom Morello is a very good and creative player' date=' I definately credit him as one of the early 90's guys who made it kewl NOT to have be a shredder. Thank Dad, I think between Yngwie, Eddie, Paul Gilbert & Vai they played enough notes for every guitar player not born yet, LOL

 

 

[/quote']

 

and they still are...

 

well, i hope we've answered your question well enough... it's probably most risky to your ears if you have your amp cranked... (if you have a pedal that makes your signal really quiet, or your pickups are weak, and you increase your volume to compensate, you may want to turn down the volume before unplugging it... i've learned my lesson...)

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