Need Help Hooking My 60's Fender amp Directly To My Mac

Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 3:58 pm

No worries. Smile

I'm ranting slightly oddly today.

Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 1:06 am

WARNING!!!

MTPAPA121 wrote:

...and the only one ive really tried is one of the audio technica's But its not the safest one to use cause it was making the grill cloth of the vibrolux spark and i got shocked cause i was holding the stings on my guitar while i moved it..........so im ganna try not to do thoes things again.

THAT is odd! That shouldn't happen! I am going to assume that it only shocked while holding the guitar, and you touched the mic to the grillcloth? Actually, I don't quite understand how that can happen, and not just touching the mic when holding the guitar that's plugged into the amp wouldn't shock you, but... There should be nothing on that grillcloth that can carry current...except that if it's an older 60's Vibrolux, it MAY have some metallic-type grillcloth threads. Even at that, the only way for it to pass is if the grillcloth is touching a chassis that is hot, or leaking.

Something you NEED to do RIGHT NOW, for your safety, and the safety of all your equipment.

If that's a 60's Vibrolux, there's a chance that it doesn't have a grounded, 3-prong AC cord. Does it? Or, does it have a 2-prong cord? If not a grounded cord, get down to a qualified amp tech, and have one installed...immediately. This will involve changing the existing cord, and removing the "death cap" that's attached to the polarity switch.

If it's not a grounded cord, and you don't switch the polarity to the right position, you can fry yourself or things. If that cap fails, even in the right position, (relative to your other equipment), that could cause the entire chassis of that amp to become very high voltage...and kill you.

You SHOULDN'T be shocking yourself, and I wonder if this is happening. Doing that modification will not reduce the value of a vintage amp. Just have them give you back the old parts, and they can be sold along with the amp, in case someone wants to revert it back to dangerous. They shouldn't charge much to do it, and they may even spot any other issues that they can warn you about. These things need maintenance to work well, and SAFELY.

I've buzzed myself a number a times on old Fender amps, and am probably lucky that I ain't dead. Any old amp I buy immediately gets a grounded cord.

CHECK THIS OUT, before you try anything else. I can think of no other reason why you are getting buzzed, although there may be. This is just the most obvious with the info we have.

This could be a serious issue. Just trying to help.

Kapt.Krunch

Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 6:53 am

Kapt.Krunch wrote:

WARNING!!!

MTPAPA121 wrote:

...and the only one ive really tried is one of the audio technica's But its not the safest one to use cause it was making the grill cloth of the vibrolux spark and i got shocked cause i was holding the stings on my guitar while i moved it..........so im ganna try not to do thoes things again.

THAT is odd! That shouldn't happen! I am going to assume that it only shocked while holding the guitar, and you touched the mic to the grillcloth? Actually, I don't quite understand how that can happen, and not just touching the mic when holding the guitar that's plugged into the amp wouldn't shock you, but... There should be nothing on that grillcloth that can carry current...except that if it's an older 60's Vibrolux, it MAY have some metallic-type grillcloth threads. Even at that, the only way for it to pass is if the grillcloth is touching a chassis that is hot, or leaking.

Something you NEED to do RIGHT NOW, for your safety, and the safety of all your equipment.

If that's a 60's Vibrolux, there's a chance that it doesn't have a grounded, 3-prong AC cord. Does it? Or, does it have a 2-prong cord? If not a grounded cord, get down to a qualified amp tech, and have one installed...immediately. This will involve changing the existing cord, and removing the "death cap" that's attached to the polarity switch.

If it's not a grounded cord, and you don't switch the polarity to the right position, you can fry yourself or things. If that cap fails, even in the right position, (relative to your other equipment), that could cause the entire chassis of that amp to become very high voltage...and kill you.

You SHOULDN'T be shocking yourself, and I wonder if this is happening. Doing that modification will not reduce the value of a vintage amp. Just have them give you back the old parts, and they can be sold along with the amp, in case someone wants to revert it back to dangerous. They shouldn't charge much to do it, and they may even spot any other issues that they can warn you about. These things need maintenance to work well, and SAFELY.

I've buzzed myself a number a times on old Fender amps, and am probably lucky that I ain't dead. Any old amp I buy immediately gets a grounded cord.

CHECK THIS OUT, before you try anything else. I can think of no other reason why you are getting buzzed, although there may be. This is just the most obvious with the info we have.

This could be a serious issue. Just trying to help.

Kapt.Krunch

It is a 2 Prong Plug. And i know why i got that shock. Its because i was touching the strings of the guitar and the mic all at the same time while they were plugged in. Ive done this before, i touched my guitar while touching another guitar at the same time. Im not sure the exact science behind why it happens but it does. On old penny arcade games "Electricity Is Life" They had games that would shock you and say that it would cure all you ills. The important thing now is that i know what i have to do so i dont get shocked, and i think i picked the right mic (The optimus one i said before). So right now im going to mess around with some different recordings with the mic placed differently and all that.

Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 7:12 am

OK, but please be careful. And, you really should get that amp converted. This is a standard safety modification, and it's done for a very good reason. That's why all amps less than 30-35 years old have grounded plugs, and anyone who has an older amp converts them. People have died from this kind of thing.

If you had a voltmeter, or even one of those 120V test lights, you should test anything between that amp and any other device to be sure it's not out of phase. If it is, that amp should have a polarity switch on the back. Flip it the other way, and test again. If it's still reading hot...get that amp looked at pronto, and don't mess with it until it's fixed. Amps that old DO have capacitors that get leaky over time, and can leak current to the chassis.

This still is not safe, as there may be other things that you touch that can fry you. If everything is properly grounded, then any faults should go to ground...instead of down one of your arms...through your heart...and out the other arm. An electric shock not only starts a heart beating (like on TV)...it can stop one.

THIS IS DANGEROUS! I'm not trying to be a butthead....but you need to understand that those amps can have hundreds of volts and high currents running through them, and can kill you if you are at a different potential.

Please get a "properly" grounded cord put on that? I'm doing that very thing to an old Vox Berkeley Super Reverb tube amp right now.

Another benefit of doing the modification can be less hum and other noise in the amp. It doesn't make sense NOT to do it.

Anyone care to back me up on this?

Kapt.Krunch

Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 10:51 am

Kapt.Krunch wrote:

OK, but please be careful. And, you really should get that amp converted. This is a standard safety modification, and it's done for a very good reason. That's why all amps less than 30-35 years old have grounded plugs, and anyone who has an older amp converts them. People have died from this kind of thing.

If you had a voltmeter, or even one of those 120V test lights, you should test anything between that amp and any other device to be sure it's not out of phase. If it is, that amp should have a polarity switch on the back. Flip it the other way, and test again. If it's still reading hot...get that amp looked at pronto, and don't mess with it until it's fixed. Amps that old DO have capacitors that get leaky over time, and can leak current to the chassis.

This still is not safe, as there may be other things that you touch that can fry you. If everything is properly grounded, then any faults should go to ground...instead of down one of your arms...through your heart...and out the other arm. An electric shock not only starts a heart beating (like on TV)...it can stop one.

THIS IS DANGEROUS! I'm not trying to be a butthead....but you need to understand that those amps can have hundreds of volts and high currents running through them, and can kill you if you are at a different potential.

Please get a "properly" grounded cord put on that? I'm doing that very thing to an old Vox Berkeley Super Reverb tube amp right now.

Another benefit of doing the modification can be less hum and other noise in the amp. It doesn't make sense NOT to do it.

Anyone care to back me up on this?

Kapt.Krunch

Ya that amp does hum like a banshe. But my dad knows how to do it cause these are all his amps and i think ive seen him do it before.

Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 12:06 pm

Please listen to the good Kapt.

Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 3:33 pm

MTPAPA121 wrote:

Im not sure the exact science behind why it happens but it does.

Here's _why_ it happens...
Because people don't maintain and upgrade unsafe, old electrical equipment.

The _how_ it happens is rather special and involves the relatively free electrons that come with ionised salts. Electricity can't really do much to you in a short impact, I mean the burning and nerve damage is only going to cause never ending discomfort. However, the muscle around your heart, the special stuff that works to control your heartbeat. Well, shocking this stuff at the right frequency and with enough power causes cardiac arrest. NOW! Burning skin, flesh and nerve ends is one thing, one painful experience. But the feeling of your heart stopping is amazing (judging from the looks on the faces of people in cardiac arrest) and short lived.

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