Changing of 2 pin plug to 3 pin plug(Grounding)

[Mirrorboy]

wow thanks for the guide!
been waiting for another guide with pics

 

[ThisIsTheEnd]

Small Question...I cut the plug off only to discover there were 2 wires only. Meaning there was no earth wire. So i continued and changed to the 3 pin but as there was no earth wire, i just put the neutral and live in. Is it safe this way or does this pose a threat?

 

[subversion]

it's as good as not changing...

i have this here, not exactly a step-by-step guide but some reflections, rather: http://theguitaraddict.blogspot.com/2010/02/2-pin-to-3-pin.html

 

[garbagetruckdriver]

Small Question...I cut the plug off only to discover there were 2 wires only. Meaning there was no earth wire. So i continued and changed to the 3 pin but as there was no earth wire, i just put the neutral and live in. Is it safe this way or does this pose a threat?

What is the device this cable belongs to?

In some cases, equipment that is considered "Double Insulated" may not require an earth wire. This is also dependent on the local electricity authority. The lack of an earth wire can also be the result of lax electrical standards in the country of origin of the equipment.

If this were a valve amplifier, I'd be worried. If a tube ever decides to have a catastrophic failure, it is possible for very high voltages to short to the frame/chassis, and that is likely connected at some point to the shield of your guitar cable. Earthing gives it a low resistance path to ground so as to save you from electrocution.

This thread is interesting (sorry to jump in so late). The OP suggests that earthing may reduce hiss - I'd suggest that if earthing reduces hiss, there was probably a very worrisome problem in your signal chain to start with and shunting it to earth is not as good as eliminating the source of that hiss. Earthing equipment is for your safety, not noise reduction.

Also be aware, in some cases, earthing could ADD a ground loop to your setup and then you'd have another problem to isolate. A common, but very bad idea, is to lift the Earth on your power supply. Now, I've done this to temporarily test for the source of the ground loop, but please never run your equipment that way. Get an audio isolation transformer and fix it in the audio path. These can cost a fortune but if you have a soldering iron, you can order the transformers from Jensen and build your own. (Jensen JT-11P is about US$70 and works perfectly well on guitar audio chains).

 

[RicFreak]

What is the device this cable belongs to?

In some cases, equipment that is considered "Double Insulated" may not require an earth wire. This is also dependent on the local electricity authority. The lack of an earth wire can also be the result of lax electrical standards in the country of origin of the equipment.

If this were a valve amplifier, I'd be worried. If a tube ever decides to have a catastrophic failure, it is possible for very high voltages to short to the frame/chassis, and that is likely connected at some point to the shield of your guitar cable. Earthing gives it a low resistance path to ground so as to save you from electrocution.

This thread is interesting (sorry to jump in so late). The OP suggests that earthing may reduce hiss - I'd suggest that if earthing reduces hiss, there was probably a very worrisome problem in your signal chain to start with and shunting it to earth is not as good as eliminating the source of that hiss. Earthing equipment is for your safety, not noise reduction.

Also be aware, in some cases, earthing could ADD a ground loop to your setup and then you'd have another problem to isolate. A common, but very bad idea, is to lift the Earth on your power supply. Now, I've done this to temporarily test for the source of the ground loop, but please never run your equipment that way. Get an audio isolation transformer and fix it in the audio path. These can cost a fortune but if you have a soldering iron, you can order the transformers from Jensen and build your own. (Jensen JT-11P is about US$70 and works perfectly well on guitar audio chains).

Wow Dude ! This is enlightening indeed..
Initilally , from your name I smelled something fishy :mrgreen:
But upon further reading, it does make some sense .
However, I must say earthing does reduce hissing sound like when touching metal parts of the guitars.

 

[garbagetruckdriver]

Wow Dude ! This is enlightening indeed..
Initilally , from your name I smelled something fishy :mrgreen:
But upon further reading, it does make some sense .
However, I must say earthing does reduce hissing sound like when touching metal parts of the guitars.

Garbage Truck Drivers need love too... ;-)

I may have also been an electrical engineer in years gone by - but don't tell anyone ok, that's my secret.

There's a reason why touching your guitar or earthing your amp reduces noise. It would take more time that I want to spend right now to explain it in detail, instead let me point you to:

"Handbook for Sound Engineers" by Glen Ballou. Worth every penny.
"Art Of Electronics" by Horrowitz and Hill is the bible for any DIY electronics enthusiast.
Yeah, they are really big and expensive books, but there is great knowledge to be had within.

 

[hellmurderer]

Is there any shops which provide such service to ground my amp? Though the tutorial is easy to understand, I don't wanna risk destroying my amp for I'm not such a technical person!!

 

[prototype]

can someone put up methods of installing ground for socket outlet.. i hear they use steel rods bury them to the ground with a cable wire attached at one end and the other end to the ground for the house.. but i wanna know the safest method..

 

[backpacker]

Just want to register here that I have finally done this! No regrets and definitely worth my 45 minutes. Now overall noise level is significantly reduced and no more static electricity surprises.

Would highly recommend everyone to try this mod before embarking on more expensive options like changing power supplies, cables, pickups etc. Cheers.

 

[yubsesperat]

wow! those photos are really clear and sharp!