cain Posted June 1, 2008 Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 Hi all, this is my first post so hello everyone. Ok i've bought an emg 81 without wiring loom and have wired it into my ibanez rg170. All i've done is follow the diag on emg site for a one pickup/ one volume setup. Everything else has been unwired and disconected. Im just worried about the earth bridge wire it tells me not to attach???? is this correct. I just want to make sure im not doing it wrong and gonna get a shock or sumthing because i play live at hi volumes and its the first time i've started playing around with my guitar Thanks Cain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted June 1, 2008 Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 Do as it says. You need to remove it for a reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cain Posted June 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 thats cool then....im not going to die because of it then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 1, 2008 Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 Cain, unless your amp has a faulty earth connection (or has been disconnected to stop hum) you are fine, or at least about as safe as anyone who plugs a guitar into any amp will be. Get your amp serviced if you are unsure, although i'm sure your guitar is fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 1, 2008 Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 disconnecting the bridge ground will SAVE you from electrocution... not open you up to it. The way the "electrocution risk" works is that the amp is plugged into a faultily wired outlet-- the current goes through the ground "path", which means up through that wire and over the bridge, into the strings, and into your body. Disconnect the ground wire, and you're not continuous with the amp in any way, right? There's literally no path leading from you to the amp. You're in isolation. Disconnecting that bridge ground is -safer-. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 1, 2008 Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 Oops, my mistake - you're right Greg :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 2, 2008 Report Share Posted June 2, 2008 Didn't see any mistake at all! Your advice was perfectly sound, I just wanted to add to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 2, 2008 Report Share Posted June 2, 2008 "Get it serviced" was more expensive than your advice, however. Or, to requote a hackneyed advert: "Being hit by several hundred volts of DC, priceless." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 2, 2008 Report Share Posted June 2, 2008 If the amp is wired in a well-messed-up way, you surely need it serviced. Usually it's the outlet's "fault", though. My dad's amp for years was this Garnet that had a reverse switch. If it was reversed, you knew about it in a hurry! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 2, 2008 Report Share Posted June 2, 2008 Ouch. A real death switch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 I took a shot from a poorly grounded JB player Telecaster and a Fender Bronco amp back in the day. My advice, never do that on a concrete basement floor with no carpet and no socks on. Seriously hurts alot I know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Two words - wireless system :-D That and promoting your bassist to guitar amp tech if you don't like him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Let the drummer do the amp tech work as he can be replaced with a Linux Laptop and Hydrogen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 I thought the bridge was grounded to prevent the strings from acting like an antenna. I have a bass that I tried to make quieter by removing the connection to ground, and doing that made matters far worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heggis Posted June 6, 2008 Report Share Posted June 6, 2008 (edited) The bridge IS grounded to reduce noise from the antenna (or the strings, if you will ). But this carries the unfortunate side effect of electrocution, if somehow a stray group of electrons (from a dodgy powerpoint or amp) make it into the ground path, which you are part of by touching the (grounded) strings. Some guitar manufacturers -Framus, I think- now put a fuse on the ground lead to the strings, so that instead of frying you, the stray electrons fry the fuse. The guitar keeps working, only with more background noise until you change the fuse. Heggis Edited June 6, 2008 by heggis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted June 6, 2008 Report Share Posted June 6, 2008 Disconnect the ground wire, and you're not continuous with the amp in any way, right? There's literally no path leading from you to the amp. You're in isolation. Disconnecting that bridge ground is -safer-. There's hardware on the guitar that MUST be grounded. The part of the jack that you can touch is on the ground circuit, as is the metal tube that screws down to the plug on your cable (if you have one of those types). Just FYI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted June 9, 2008 Report Share Posted June 9, 2008 The bridge IS grounded to reduce noise from the antenna (or the strings, if you will ). But this carries the unfortunate side effect of electrocution, if somehow a stray group of electrons (from a dodgy powerpoint or amp) make it into the ground path, which you are part of by touching the (grounded) strings. Some guitar manufacturers -Framus, I think- now put a fuse on the ground lead to the strings, so that instead of frying you, the stray electrons fry the fuse. The guitar keeps working, only with more background noise until you change the fuse. Heggis Huh, that's an idea... that fuse in series with the ground connection is a good idea. I wonder what value they use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 9, 2008 Report Share Posted June 9, 2008 Disconnect the ground wire, and you're not continuous with the amp in any way, right? There's literally no path leading from you to the amp. You're in isolation. Disconnecting that bridge ground is -safer-. There's hardware on the guitar that MUST be grounded. The part of the jack that you can touch is on the ground circuit, as is the metal tube that screws down to the plug on your cable (if you have one of those types). Just FYI. A good reminder. If the question is, "will disconnecting the bridge ground as per EMG's instructions open me up to electrocution?" then the answer, as I stated, is no. Further, it's going to be -safer- not more dangerous to do so. On the other hand, if the question is, "what are all the things I need to consider when plugging into high-voltage amp," then in addition to checking the outlet properly with a simple and cheap detector, you should certainly consider all the factors you've mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 9, 2008 Report Share Posted June 9, 2008 A fuse offers protection of a kind, but they still blow hella slow. An RCD in your outlet is a better idea. If there IS a fault or potential for a fault you need to be more proactive rather than reactive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted June 9, 2008 Report Share Posted June 9, 2008 (edited) A fuse offers protection of a kind, but they still blow hella slow. An RCD in your outlet is a better idea. If there IS a fault or potential for a fault you need to be more proactive rather than reactive. Yeah, but you could get a fast blow low current fuse that would blow with very little current. I guess it might still not be fast enough? In any case, it's the amount of current at the voltage being used that we need to be concerned about - it doesn't take much current to freak out the human heart... Edited June 9, 2008 by Paul Marossy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heggis Posted June 11, 2008 Report Share Posted June 11, 2008 The bridge IS grounded to reduce noise from the antenna (or the strings, if you will ). But this carries the unfortunate side effect of electrocution, if somehow a stray group of electrons (from a dodgy powerpoint or amp) make it into the ground path, which you are part of by touching the (grounded) strings. Some guitar manufacturers -Framus, I think- now put a fuse on the ground lead to the strings, so that instead of frying you, the stray electrons fry the fuse. The guitar keeps working, only with more background noise until you change the fuse. Heggis Huh, that's an idea... that fuse in series with the ground connection is a good idea. I wonder what value they use? My bad, that wasn't Framus. It's in the new Taylor Solidbody guitars. They use a 5 milliamp fuse according to Guitar Buyer Magazine. Heggis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted June 11, 2008 Report Share Posted June 11, 2008 Wow, 5mA is a pretty small fuse. Sounds about right, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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