BILL POSTERS

[quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1330267687' post='1554858'] If it happened when playing through his phone then he wasn't connected to or earthed through the mains. [/quote] Mains wiring can sometimes act [u][i][b]a bit like an aerial,[/b][/i][/u] effectively [u][b][i]carrying or transmitting interferece from equipment connected to or earthed through it. [/i][/b][/u] Ever tried using an AM radio near a TV or laptop PSU ?

Mains wiring can sometimes act a bit like an aerial, effectively carrying or transmitting interferece from equipment connected to or earthed through it.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1330260633' post='1554711'] Well, as the OP is getting the same problem using a mates guitar, the scope of where the potential fault resides is getting smaller now and it's going to be a really easy fix or something beyond a DIY solution... [/quote] As I said early on, I'd try it at a different address. Cant see it being the amp itself, , so its either dodgy earthing in the house, or coming from something else. We dont know the whole story, He might live under a 132kV pylon, or next to a Vodafone mast, plus RFi from a cheapo switched mode PSU or mains induced buzz from dimmers could be coming from a few doors away, let alone from the floor below which is probably using the same earth..

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1330253019' post='1554529'] Like most test equipment usage it really depends on interpretation of the results and an understanding of what you are likely to find based on experience. [/quote] Precisely, thats why I suggested that the OP might be better using a continuity tester or a battery and bulb rather than a DMM. a few ohms aint really gonna make much difference, so he should be looking for either a high resistance or an open circuit.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1330197345' post='1554122'] I'm not convinced that a battery and bulb would reveal anything that a DVM wouldn't. [/quote] If youd spent as much time as I have trying to make sense of the wierd readings you sometimes get if you try to take measurements on long, O/C or high resistance or floating cable runs, or where there are strong AC or RF fields using a DVM, then you might. My trusty old 20,000 OPV AVO 8 with its 15V battery gives much more reliable readings under those circumstances than my Fluke, with its test voltage across the probes of less tha 0.5V, which is sometimes less than the induced voltage. Also, using meter with a lower OPV, or a continuity tester, or [i]even[/i] a battery and bulb, will draw a little current through any poor cpnnections, and so will be much more likely to show them up. A bit like when like using the continuity tester on a DVM, if the probes are not pressed together well, you can hear the buzzer 'rattling' , Just speaking from personal experience mind, others might well have, and are welcome to, different ideas..

[quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1330086599' post='1552445'] You wouldn't go and buy a brand new car from the showroom with rust, scratches and dents! [/quote] Actually, I might if the price was right, you should see the state of my 3 year old ex repmobile Vectra. Wouldnt pay MORE for somebody to do it though. I have a P bitsa that the previous owner has tried to relic the body with sandpaper etc, and it just dont look right. But I play it, not look at it so I'm not really that bothered.

Not far short of ten grand..with a fag burn on the headstock, Much as I love Normans playing, its obviously not from a smoke free home so I think I'll have to pass.

Better to use the continuity check I reckon (diode check with some meters) or try an analogue meter, even a battery and bulb would do. Not often you get a 0.00 reading on low ohms, theres always a little resistance in practice. Looking at your O.P it pops buzzes and crackles when you touch earthed parts. So i get the impression that either the 'earthed' parts are not earthed, or your not, and theres a potential difference, which is why I suggested check your mains earthing. Can you measure anything, Volts or ohms - try both - between your radiator and the amp metalwork ? it can get cofusing with a high OPV digital multimeter though, this is wnere analogue wins out, Are you sure theres nothing else electrical in the house running ? TV on standby ? anything with a power supply on, like a laptop charger, try it in another house if you can, not next door though. lights with dimmer switches cause some funny buzzes and crackles,

[quote name='Jungle VIP' timestamp='1329926839' post='1549890'] Oh dear... I just tried the static theory by earthing myself on the radiator whilst touching the bridge, control plate and strings... It's SIGNIFICANTLY reduced. Nothing from anywhere but the bridge which has a small pop... I am Static Man! Wow. Thanks for you help guys and congrats to Bod2 for getting it. Now just to figure out how I can earth myself! [/quote] Well at least you know now that the strings are not live cos of a really serious earth problem with your mains wiring. Otherwise you could well be dead now. Seriously...NEVER NEVER NEVER earth yourself with one hand while touching something faulty with the other. One possibility that struck me was that your mains isnt earthed very well, and something else in the house is faulty. That way the sockets earth could well have been live, through a high resistance path, but still live..

Hope its not too daft a question, but is this just in one building ? If it is, very dodgy mains earthing might be something to do with it.

Gonna be a while before I use mine. I'd just fitted Warwick Reds Nickels to my two favourite Basses, and they seem to be lasting well, Not many gigs coming up till late March either.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1329827710' post='1547938'] 'Wrist Slashing'... is that a genre? [/quote] Yeah, Have you never heard The Smiths ??

I dont play in a straight covers band anymore. But back when I used to, yep, I hated em all usually, and found it hard to hide. I found people who expected me to smile especially irritating. The odd punch up or drunk nutter at least made it interesting, and theyre the ones I remember best. I wouldnt go so far as to say I wouldnt do it again ( probably too old now ) or that I didnt ever enjoy it. But I would only do it if the money was very good, which tbh in my case at least, it never really was after the usual overheads.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1329672186' post='1545636'] How many knobs have you got? [/quote] I used to have two, but one came off in my hand.. Errr been here before I think.

Cant you solder the wires to the tags ?

You couldnt play it standing up, nor could you play it sitting down cos of the knobs. Best thing to do with the thing is use it to beat the asshole who made it over the head.

Orrible. Best offer ? ........Might offer him a fiver. lol

Heating them up is only conclusive if it makes the noise worse, or less often makes it go away. I'd still be inclined to swap the chips if theyre generic numbers and not surface mount anyway.

Not everyones bag I know, but there was some really great Rock n Roll around in the mid - late 70s Dave Edmunds, Graham Parker, Ian Dury, the Feelgoods, Kursall Flyers etc. plus what I thin of as the Rockpile stuff. Like Kirsty McColl, etc that had the same basic lineup of Billy Bremner / Nick Lowe etc driving it. All on TOTP at the time. Although they were already around, if the Punky style of 3 minute singles hadn’t caught on, a lot of these bands would never have got the airplay.

[quote name='hairyhaw' timestamp='1329421934' post='1542353'] Really? [url="http://themusicalbox.net/"]http://themusicalbox.net/[/url] They seem to be doing alright. And a quick cursory look on youtube shows that plenty prog still getting played by other people. I'm glad punk came along, otherwise there'd be no Joy Division or Slaughter & The Dogs and it sharpened a lot of senses in the prog community. Keep praising punk for its own sake. But stop talking kak and talking pot-shots about music you know hee haw about. [/quote] Takes all sorts I s'pose.

[quote name='bengreen49' timestamp='1329402193' post='1541905'] I live along the road from Fish out of Marrilion. Anyone for tenuous? [/quote] Tenous - [i]Tenous.[/i] Spencer Davis was my wifes teacher in primary school, probably..... [i]Thats[/i] tenuous.

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1329404195' post='1541954'] frequent references to Top of the Pops to illustrate how bad music was. People seem to forget Led Zeppelin were still kicking ass, Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple were around, and Motorhead were getting started. Not to mention all the stateside funk involving Larry Graham and Bootsy Collins. [/quote] To be honest, to my mind, the singles from the early 70s have, on the whole outlasted the album tracks which os surprising when you cosider that singles bands like Slade and the Faces were looked down on by the groovy people, myself included, who only bought albums back then. I still have the albums, but cant really get into them, theyre just so dated. There are of course the odd album tracks that still sound good. As evidenced by what covers bands are still playing 30, or sometimes 40 years on. None of em are by Genesis, or Yes, or the Van Fer Graff boring ol fart generators though.

School I went to was approved, Nobody famous went there afaik except Eddie Golga out of Blackfoot Sue, and i only vaguely remember him.

[quote name='Bassmonkey' timestamp='1329390620' post='1541610'] There is a place for all music [i][b](except R&B of course)[/b][/i] [/quote] Thats just a label, a lot of it was R&B really..or was Dr Feelgood - for example - not punky enough for you then ??

[quote name='bassmachine2112' timestamp='1329381698' post='1541402'] [b][i] it seemed you had to be some gifted musician who had insights into the middle earth and knew elfs and goblins personally.[/i][/b] [/quote]