And if my outlet is not grounded?

[dbettspeach]

New Marshall practice amp and Mex Strat. Sounds great in store but I'm getting a 60-cycle deal (I think) at home at higher cleans and it's esp irksome on overdrive. Circuit-tested my outlet and I think it is NOT grounded properly.

1 - What can I do to eliminate noise?
2 - Am I in any danger when playing at low volumes (and the 60-cycle is hardly audible)?

[erikh]

Get one of those small circuit testers from Home Depot or any hardware store. Plug it in and it will tell you if it's wired right or not based on the indicators. If it's not wired right, call an electrician.

[StratLover]

Check out this link:



You will have ALL the info to eliminate the 60cycle hum caused by your guitar and several other things.

If your house is older, the circut box might be located outside or close to an exterior wall. If on a wall, or outside, check the outside wall for an Earth ground. You might find it disconnected or broken because of Weed-Eater use too close to it. Re-connect it if it is not connected and this might solve the grounding problem.

There is a remote possibility that there is some danger, but with newer equipment such as you have described the possibilities are pretty remote.

[dbettspeach]

Thanks dudes.

I doubt I'll do any of the sheilding business on my guitar just yet. Esp since I was satisfied with its sound at the store and at a friend's house (which house has properly grounded outlets).

I'll poke around outside the outlet, but the apt is old and probably frighteningly miswired and involving the landlord always results in a complete disaster. I heard I might have success running a wire from my amp to a water pipe. Does this sound completely insane?

d betts.

[erikh]

Well, since you're in an apartment, check the outlets with a tester. If they are incorrect, the landlord has to get them up to code, depending on your local codes. I know that where I live, it has to be up to code. It's a safety hazard if it's not.

[bam]

This is a simple answer to the question "And if my outlet is not grounded?" if you're in an apartment.

Run a wire from the ground (i.e.the electronics' metal casing of the amp) to a nearby METAL plumbing.

In my home, I connect a screw of the amp directly to Mother Earth.

[StratLover]

Good clean fix "bam" ;D ;D ;D ;D

[jdtogo]

...oh yes always make sure that your amp is grounded and if you need to do the thing that bam said to do . if its a water pipe it will work . the phone co. a catv use the water pipes for ground ... ok one thing to look for is the water meter . make sure your gound line hook up is before the meter ( pipe come in to the house and runs to the meter ) if you hook it up after the meter it may not have a good ground some meter have a jumper wire for that . the cable guy told me that . you can pick up a low cost tester for your outlets . always good to have on hand anytime you move your amp . good luck