Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I've just picked-up a new addition to my bass guitar collection, a mint Burgundyglo 4001 bass (serial number TG 2690). This one's really too much. It is complete - for once the bridge pickup cover is not missing - neck is dead straight, pickups are balanced and have bags of power, it comes with the original HSC and it is gorgeous! Come again? Did I hear someone say that the Burgundyglo finish is quite rare? My, this one baby is a looker, a player and a keeper!

How about a picture?

Sure, as soon as I reassemble the bass. I always follow the same procedure with every 2nd hand bass I purchase: I disassemble, clean and fully shield it, plus I disconnect the string ground to avoid unpleasant surprises - s**t happens, you know?

Care to share your shielding procedure?

You bet. I use aluminum foil to shield the underside of the pickguard, the entire control cavity and both bass and treble pickup cavities. I do not connect the treble pickup mounting ring and its handrest to ground. I even shield the topsides of both pickups with aluminum foil which I try to make as unconspicuous as possible by covering it with thin black paper. The whole thing works nicely - no noise, and shock hazard is eliminated.

Whilst on the subject of my new 4001, I've measured its pickups (disconnected from the circuit) and got 8.2 K for the bridge and 8.6 K for the neck one. I guess that's the standard value for '80s Rick bass pickups. Does anyone know differently?

Sergio- I can understand shielding to reduce noise, but I never heard about a shock hazard, especially if you use passive pickups in which I assume you do. Actually, I've never heard of a shock hazard on active pickups, but I'm sure you're more at risk there.

Hi, Robert. Thanks for reading my post. The following is from Donald Brosnac's 'Guitar Electronics For Musicians' (1983): "Every once in a while you hear about a guitar player being electrocuted while playing a guitar. How does this happen if a guitar can not generate high voltage? Well, the truth is that it isn't the guitar which produces the shock, it only allows it to happen. This is how it works: Imagine you are playing a guitar and singing into a mic. Now, if your sound systems are plugged into two-prong outlets, the plugs can go in either way. If your guitar amp is plugged in so that the ground connects to the left prong and the mic's amp is plugged in so that the ground connects with the right prong of the power cord - watch out! This situation results in a reverse ground condition; and if you hold the guitar's neck and strings in one hand and grab the mic with the other hand, you become part of a current-carrying circuit. You very well may go out in a blaze of glory - forget the encore!
For your own protection, take off the ground wire that goes to the bridge. The guitar could hum very loudly with the bridge ground disconnected. Don't despair, just go through and completely shield and properly ground all electronic components."
I think I've made my point. I've never had a 'shocking' experience with any of my bass guitars because I've applied the 'treatment' to each and every one of them. I always warn fellow players of the danger of electrocution.

I had a shocking experience back in 1968. House PA system not grounded along with a Magnatone bass amp ungrounded.
We had just started the 2nd set playing a upbeat song. The bass parts hadn't started yet.
I made the mistake of touching the mike stand with one hand while holding onto the neck of my bass with the other. The song ground to a hault.
My friends still tell me to this day that they're amazed i'm still alive. I remember being electrocuted and crying out for help. But no one could touch me. One of my band mates (who became a electrician a few yrs later) kicked the mike stand out of my hand with his leather shoe. That move surly saved my life or permanent damage to my body. They said that sparks were flying out of the machine heads on my bass.
Needless to say, that was it for that performance.
I still own that bass, but I never touch mike stands and my bass at the same time since that day.
I wouldn't wish this experience on anyone. Do what ever you need to do to make sure that you never get electrocuted. Believe me, it's not fun!

Hello Jon, you are a very lucky man. Thank goodness that we use AC as our electrical supply. Had it been DC, you wouldn't be here today. Tube amps can sometimes have upwards to 300 volts on a hot chassis. This is the reason we now have polarized plugs and third prong ground! This problem is less of an issue these days due to the safety additions of the above items. I too got hit a few times in my time. Since then, I always make sure that I place the strings against the mike prior to touching it. In theory, something will blow in the event of an accident.

Yeah, I do remember that I once took an amp out of my friend's garbage, and when plugged in, I did feel a current through my strings. I didn't get zapped, but it did feel pretty neat!!! I still have that amp. (Professionally repaired, of course) I would assume that aluminum foil, being a form of metal, would be a conductor of electricity. If so, how would that prevent shock, even with the ground disconnected?

Robert, if I am reading the thread right, the aluminum foil acts only as a shield against RF interference; it can't affect the shock-hazard situation - "ungrounding" the metal of the guitar by disconnecting the bridge ground wire does that (thereby changing a common ground to a floating ground).

Also, AC is used for executions by electric chair, not DC. The story I read somewhere is that when electification of the country was just beginning, Tesla was pushing for AC power (he invented the dynamo, as I recall), while Edison advocated DC power. Edison, having greater resources at his disposal, built a device to demonstrate how dangerous AC was: it was an electrified chair in which a cadaver was placed and AC power supplied. The cadaver's nervous system was duly stimulated and the effect was quite grotesque. Of course, DC is not good for long distance transmission, so as we know AC won out in the long run. Many years later the idea of Edison's electrified chair was reworked into the electric chair.

An interesting side note is that a former European colleague told me that in Europe the AC is at 50 cycles/sec, and that few people are electrocuted there because the victim can immediately let go of the live wire. The US's AC frequency of 60 cycles/sec, matching the human nervous system's frequency, makes the nerves lock up and keeps the victim from letting go of the live wire. The most important criterion is the current: high voltage at very low current will not kill, but lower voltages at high currents will.

Way back in the days of unpolarized two-prong amp power cords when I was in a band, we found out quickly that we needed to have all amps grounded right - we didn't get electrocuted, but would get enough of a shock to make it the wise thing to do.

The theory of AC is that you are able to pull yourself away from the shock alot easier than DC. This is due to the alternating pulse of AC. Once a curuit is active with AC, there is a pulse that alternates at 60 times per second allowing you to diconnect your self between pulses. As far as an electric chair, it will kill you no matter what the form of electricity is being used due to the level of voltage used. DC however, is much more leathal due to the fact that there is no alternating pulses. The difference between 50 or 60 cycles makes little or no difference as far as it being a safer method of electricity. DC is a better system for use with sound equipment as far as induced noise is concerned. When building professional sound systems, the AC must be separated from the rest of the wires in a rack.

I believe that it was Tesla who argued for DC current at 220v, 50 cycles because he thought that 120v 60 cycle AC caused electrical noise, and was hard on motors, and could kill or cause fires.