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  • Ultimate ground switch

    We talk of death caps and grounding around here a lot. I am servicing a Fender "59 Bassman" and it reminded me. It has a ground switch on the panel, next to the pilot light and power switches. No wires run to it. Just a switch on the panel. it is on the schematic too, with all three legs marked "n/c."
    Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

  • #2
    Originally posted by Enzo View Post
    We talk of death caps and grounding around here a lot. I am servicing a Fender "59 Bassman" and it reminded me. It has a ground switch on the panel, next to the pilot light and power switches. No wires run to it. Just a switch on the panel. it is on the schematic too, with all three legs marked "n/c."
    LMAO!


    and I bet countless users swore the up (or down) position sounded soooo much better!

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    • #3
      i left the switch on a friend's traynor yba-3 after replacing the 2-prong with a 3. i told him it simulates a tube rectifier now when switched up. it doesn't. it's not connected to anything, but he loves the 'sag' he gets with it on

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      • #4
        humans are so easily manipulated....

        Hey Gaz, ever visit R5D3 Surplus near Milwaukie OR?
        Great tubes and transformer deals to be had.

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        • #5
          No! Thanks for the tip!!

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Gaz View Post
            ...but he loves the 'sag' he gets with it on
            ...the guitar players' "placebo effect"
            ...and the Devil said: "...yes, but it's a DRY heat!"

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            • #7
              Of course, Enzo means a '59 Bassman RI. Yes, the ground switch is strictly cosmetic folks, and like he said, the best type there is. NO ground switch is a GOOD ground switch!
              John R. Frondelli
              dBm Pro Audio Services, New York, NY

              "Mediocre is the new 'Good' "

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              • #8
                Sounds WAY better when switched off.

                Yeah, humans are so dumb. WTF!?

                Just remove that useless switch and use the hole for a master volume or a footswitch or somethin'. I hate drilling holes in a vintage chassis for nuthin' when I'm modding a rare jewel.
                sigpicVintage amps are like cougars. The older they are, the louder they scream.

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                • #9


                  No, no, no...

                  You guy's...

                  You wire the switch to a peripheral circuit that is designed to eventually fail (hopefully make a flash or some smoke too). That way he'll bring the amp back in for service. Replace the bogus circuit and write an invoice for your time

                  Chuck
                  "Take two placebos, works twice as well." Enzo

                  "Now get off my lawn with your silicooties and boom-chucka speakers and computers masquerading as amplifiers" Justin Thomas

                  "If you're not interested in opinions and the experience of others, why even start a thread?
                  You can't just expect consent." Helmholtz

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                  • #10
                    Funny thing is, the switch serves a useful purpose. If the player doesn't know what it really does (i.e., nothing) it really will make him/her play better if he/she believes that one position is better than the other.

                    It makes the player feel better about the amp. And that's real.

                    Amazing!! Who would ever have guessed that someone who villified the evil rich people would begin happily accepting their millions in speaking fees!

                    Oh, wait! That sounds familiar, somehow.

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                    • #11
                      It's like patting him on the back and complimenting him on his rendition of "Iron Man," with a suggestion that he is ready to tackle Stairway to Heaven.
                      Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by tedmich View Post
                        humans are so easily manipulated....

                        Hey Gaz, ever visit R5D3 Surplus near Milwaukie OR?
                        Great tubes and transformer deals to be had.
                        Thats a great place! I have to stay away because I spend too much money there every time I go. A tip if you buy any used tubes there.....bring your own tube tester, preferably a mutual conductance one. The drug store type that he has there is not very accurate and many tubes will show up bad that are good, and vice versa. If you get a bad one, he'll exchange it within 10 days or something like that, but he is sometimes a grouch about it. I figure just avoid all that and test the tubes myself before I buy.

                        Enzo, I wanted to thank you again for your help from my PM. Sorry to hit you like that with something out of the blue.

                        If the amp was wired correctly, you could use that ground switch as a ground lift switch, but of course you would need to make sure the circuit grounds are isolated from the chassis until that point, and make sure you wouldn't be lifting the earth ground too!

                        Greg

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by tedmich View Post
                          LMAO!


                          and I bet countless users swore the up (or down) position sounded soooo much better!

                          Depends on if that switch is an NOS one or not.
                          Jon Wilder
                          Wilder Amplification

                          Originally posted by m-fine
                          I don't know about you, but I find it a LOT easier to change a capacitor than to actually learn how to play well
                          Originally posted by JoeM
                          I doubt if any of my favorite players even own a soldering iron.

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