[Mastodon]

Well as all you new englanders know of course (and people in other areas all over the east too) it's been storming pretty much everyday for what seems to have been a month.

I was wondering what could happen to your gear if there is a power surge while you are playing.

Would the damage to a solid state amp and a tube amp be different?

Could something as extreme as your amp chord catching on fire occur and it traveling up the line to your guitar and melting some of your paint off and ruining your electronics? (damn I need to work on my sentence structuring)

Could you possibly EXPLODE!? (j/k-ing on that one)

If anyone has some cool (or un-cool) stories feel free to share.

[Popsyche]

Remember that depending on your amp and effects configuration, your strings are directly connected to one prong of the electrical outlet, hopefully the neutral. So, if lightning strikes, it can kill you.

A SS amp is much more likely to suffer damage from a voltage surge. Tube amps are pretty hard to hurt as long as they are loaded correctly.

[David]

Actually, this is a great question.

And... if someone knows if a Furman Power Conditioner would stop or slow the surge, that would be great.=)


There is that one story about how Ace Friehly (sp?) got electricuted at a concert... and he was hooked up to his amp with a chord.