The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Gibson Basses => Topic started by: PhilT on October 15, 2011, 04:08:03 PM
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Not sure what to make of this. Can you really make an SG "active" just by wiring in a battery?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiwA3MLuFQ4&feature=channel_video_title
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I don't think you can make a bass active by adding a battery. Active tone controls boost and cut, and I don't think adding a battery will make an EB do that. As to his claim that the battery makes the electrons have more energy, well, I don't know. I did notice there were no before and after sound bytes.
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I watched the video. The guy is an idiot or a charlatan trying to encourage people to hack up SG basses. Active basses have a preamp. Usually those have active EQ as well, but not always. Sticking 9 volts of DC (in inverted polarity if done as shown in the video- but "correct" polarity would make no difference) is only going to have a battery sitting there as if disconnected because coils do not pass DC and the pickups are inductive coils. The "mod" does nothing other than mar the bass by moving the output jack unnecessarily.
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"The electrons have more vitality" Oh brother :rolleyes:
It's not powering anything. "Active" means that a bass has a powered preamp, usually external unless it's an original EMG with an internal preamp. Just wiring a battery into a passive circuit does nothing.
The guy is an idiot or a charlatan ...
Why not both?
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At first glance, Jules 20/20 circuit looked to be just that, a 9 volt added into the circuit.
http://www.flyguitars.com/gibson/bass/gibson2020wiring.php
But remove the felt, and the preamp circuit is exposed!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gibson-20-20-bass-Steinberger-electric-guitar-pickups-/130518813672?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item1e63870be8
I bought these & added felt to them, to confuse the poor guy that ends up with them after I give them up...............
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Why not both?
If he's an idiot, he's sharing his ignorance with a large portion of the world. A charlatan will likely be able to convince at least one other idiot to do this and ruin another nice bass. I hoping for 'idiot' so the damage will be confined to the bass shown.
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he sounds like Johnny Rotten
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I'd describe his case as "clinical".
(http://www.getintomedschool.org/files/2011/04/funny-medical-students-in-classroom-179x240.jpg)
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It looks to me like he's just running a dead short across the battery terminals. If the + terminal of the battery is connected to the case of a pot (as it appears to me), and the neg. term. is connected to the sleeve of the output jack, that's actually the same point electrically. Throw the switch and the only thing that will happen is the battery will heat up to about 200 degrees probably, maybe even more, maybe enough to char-broil your nice new SG bass. I don't get it. ??? :sad: :-\ :puke:
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I thought he said the negative was tied to the tip of the jack.
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Knowledge is the enemy of faith. The Catholic Church knew that already centuries ago.
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I take it all back, this guy's a genius. I wired a battery across the controls of my toaster this morning, my English muffin was done in half the time and came out already buttered! :mrgreen:
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Knowledge is the enemy of faith. The Catholic Church knew that already centuries ago.
...all the while supporting the bourgeoning discipline of science within their walls. Knowledge for the masses undermined their political power, but the 'apple' was no less attractive to them. And science and faith both grew with and without their sanction.
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(http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af119/Grog_03/789px-Edison.jpg)
DC Current is the way of the future! AC is deadly..... AC Current is what's used in the Electric Chair! :P
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...said the world's most famous and handsomely rewarded con artist and technology thief. Tesla was correct, but there IS actually some logic to Edison's view. Thing is, we've been able to compensate for AC wall current almost from day one. Some people liken this argument to switching supply audio amps versus 'standard' supplies. Edison is still winning with THAT one.
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AC, isn't that kind of like your insistence on the Imperial measurement system? Really, the only evil missing with you guys is left lane driving!
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I want "added electrons" too!!! I'm just the slightest bit doubtbtful that there is no sound demonstration of his ingenious little invention in the clip, shucks ...
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AC, isn't that kind of like your insistence on the Imperial measurement system? Really, the only evil missing with you guys is left lane driving!
Uwe, the world runs on AC. It may be at different voltages and currents in different countries, but nobody uses DC. Funny thing is, excepting lightbulbs, EVERY piece of electronic gear uses DC. That's why there are power transformers and rectifier circuits.
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Ah, what do I know! :-[ :mrgreen: I thought it was another US aberration, you're always good for something strange there.
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I thought he said the negative was tied to the tip of the jack.
Right around the 3:10 mark, he mentions the wire that runs to the output jack is connected to "negative earth". You can also see the connection there.
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Ah, what do I know! :-[ :mrgreen: I thought it was another US aberration, you're always good for something strange there.
What I've never understood about wiring elsewhere in Europe is why nothing needs to be earthed.
(http://electricaloutlet.org/styles/images/electrical-outlets/type_c_large.jpg)
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With those sockets and plugs it is:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Schuco_Stecker_db.jpg/220px-Schuco_Stecker_db.jpg)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Steckdose.jpg)
The silver things in the socket do the earthing. The socket you pictured is probably from Italy and wouldn't even be allowed in Germany! :mrgreen:
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Look at the other uploads on this guy's YT channel. Six ten-minute "Prog at the BBC" videos. That explains a lot about his muddled thinking. :P
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Look at the other uploads on this guy's YT channel. Six ten-minute "Prog at the BBC" videos. That explains a lot about his muddled thinking. :P
haha I noticed that too! :mrgreen:
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Clearly the guy is an idiot. Everybody knows you put the 9v battery on your tongue. You can readily feel the extra electrons! When you hold your bass these electrons flow through the bridge ground and convert your instrument from passive to active, or, if active already, to a 18v system. If you stand in the sun the photons get added too, especially if you have a Lightwave. Too bad I sold mine.
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Everybody knows active is better than passive. That guy just found an easy and cheap way to make it so, right? And he just wants to share it with the world, right? And we are all just a bunch of jerks because we couldn't think of it first, right? RIGHT?!?!
??? ??? ???
I've just finished building a SG Bass. Should I try this little "improvement" before shipping the bass to the guy who ordered it?
What harm could it do... :o
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Look at the other uploads on this guy's YT channel. Six ten-minute "Prog at the BBC" videos. That explains a lot about his muddled thinking. :P
How damning. :-\
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Right around the 3:10 mark, he mentions the wire that runs to the output jack is connected to "negative earth". You can also see the connection there.
I don't think it actually is. Considering his knowledge of electronics, I doubt he wired the output jack properly either. I never saw any connection to the jack other than that one and the tech in me had started tuning out what he was saying almost completely by that point; I was trying to see what he was actually doing, since it was pretty obvious from his description that he is severely uninformed. As you alluded to earlier, wiring that way is a dead short and the battery would heat up immediately to the point that touching it would be painful. No way he could tuck everything in and get the cavity cover on without noticing. It's all immaterial anyway, because the idea is bullshit. As others have noted, it's curious that there are no soundclips. From what I see, the bass wouldn't have an output at all, with or without the battery.
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What about US AC circuitry in the household...? earthing wise...
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What about US AC circuitry in the household...? earthing wise...
USA 3 prong, 110 hot, neutral, earth. Taiwan, 2 prong 110, China 2 prong 220. Lotta Taiwanese stuff gets blown up in China! For my universal voltage cellphone and computer chargers I made a 2 bare wire adapter. Works just about everywhere but it was difficult beating those German outlets last time I was in Cologne. I forget how I got around the ground circuit.
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USA 3 prong, 110 hot, neutral, earth.
Everywhere I've ever lived the neutral and earth are tied together in the service box. The house I'm in now, built in 1942 has mostly 2 prong ungrounded outlets and I don't see the point of replacing them with 3 prongers (and grounded wire) when 2 of the prongs are tied together at the box. There must be a reason for it though.
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Everywhere I've ever lived the neutral and earth are tied together in the service box.
Then they are wired incorrectly and the codes inspectors should never have signed off on them. The ground is supposed to be a literal "earth" and tied to some form of buried conductor. It's supposed to be an electrical 'emergency safety' to conduct shorts away from the power circuit and into the ground, literally, the ground. This will cause a massive rise in current which will trip the breaker or blow the fuse, which is what they are designed to do. If the ground is tied to neutral, what you have is a two prong ungrounded system regardless of how many holes there are in the outlets. This is a safety hazard because it can allow a large voltage potential to develop separate circuits, and if you use two appliances that are on two circuits, you'll wish it was only as bad as microphone shock on badly wired stages. It is potentially fatal. It will also make your wall power much noisier for any audio/video equipment. Even though their power supplies are designed specifically to filter out ALL variations in current, AC, you'd be amazed how much noise actually gets through.
It's not even hard to convert most two prong wiring schemes. However, it's not an absolute necessity. My house was built in 1950 and added on to in 1974. The new part has grounded outlets. The old does not. Older homes with two prong can pass codes inspection upon sale because if there are no problems noted by the inspector or the in the history of the house, the system is presumed to be safe and is grandfathered in, but ALL new houses must have a true fully grounded power system.
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It's to everyone's credit that this thread deviated into wholesome discussion of household wiring and not more stimulating domestic equipment using batteries. Well done.
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Yes, for once we did not dildovate and everything was orefice-safe. That said there was only recently a death in Germany (no joke) when someone felt inclined to penetrate an extension socket, no doubt in search of more vitality and added electrons and after having seen another one of this idiot's vids. An electri-frying experience indeed.
Mental note: What feels interesting (some might think) on the tongue with a 9 volt battery must not be thoughtlessly assumed to work with another organ and a 220 volt (actually, since 1987 it's more 230 volt in Europe as the new standard) electrical socket. At least not for long.
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The ground is supposed to be a literal "earth" and tied to some form of buried conductor. It's supposed to be an electrical 'emergency safety' to conduct shorts away from the power circuit and into the ground, literally, the ground. This will cause a massive rise in current which will trip the breaker or blow the fuse, which is what they are designed to do. If the ground is tied to neutral, what you have is a two prong ungrounded system regardless of how many holes there are in the outlets.
That makes sense. When we bought the house our insurance agent said we couldn't get insurance unless we replaced the plug fuses with a breaker box, which we did, and the city even ran new wires from the pole.
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Fuses aren't inherently any different than breakers; they're just single use only. The new lines from the pole were larger gauge wires to carry the higher current load of modern houses. A typical residential service is 400 amps, IIRC. In the 40's and 50's, it was less than half that. When my aunt died three years ago, her house right across the street from mine and slightly newer, had fuses, but they didn't have to be replaced. However that requirement can vary from city to city.
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100 amp service is standard around here. I had to upgrade from 60 to 100 in the house I bought last year b/c I added central air. That's with an electric range and dryer, and I could change from a gas to electric hot water heater and still be okay under code (NEC). You can still find older houses around here with 30 amp service, these have gas ovens and dryers and no a/c.
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Don't end up like this guy...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mydT7WzQxoM&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fresults%3Fsearch_query%3Delectrocuted%2Bon%2Btrain%2Bindia%26aq%3D1%26oq%3Delectrocuted&has_verified=1
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100 amps seems the bare minimum around here for residential, A/C rated 50 amps, range, dryer,etc.
I put a 60 amp box in my 18 x 20 shop. Very often have 20 amps of lighting, 15 of router, 15 dust collection, 15 A/C and 15 of intermittent compressor all on at the same time on different circuits.
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That does look nasty :-\, was it suicide?
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"Fry crisp and die"... that's an old one... just plain stupidity and not unusual... there are a lot of desperate people out there...
A lot of people consider the Indian train service to be suicidal just to use it... the sanitary systems are pretty archaic too (read pole-and-hole here) and has not changed in generations for most services... I know plenty of people who have first-hand knowledge of this...
There are some hot-climate countries that have to run earthing systems as they cannot rely on the water table for the return path...
UK now has "EURO-VOLTAGE" (God bless the EU) - Europe has almost exclusively ran at 220vac and the UK at 240vac so it was officially settled that they would standardise at 230vac 50hz
Most ships I've worked on have no neutral and run 240vac 60hz three-phase so you strap the equipment across any two phases... no earth...
Our house is on a 60amp fuse and like most UK properties rely on "diversification factors" to avoid overloading the system...
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To quote the late Queen Mum, never one to mince words, a slice of personal benevolent colonialism: "Things haven't been going very well there since we no longer take care of these poor people."