56telemike
TDPRI Member
maybe she mean't, never turn an amp on without making sure the speaker is connected...?
so, can turning your amp on and THEN plugging your guitar in blow a speaker?
- Thread starter TeleEvangelist
- Start date
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gatego
Tele-Meister
It might blow some electrostatic load into the amp - due to the fact, that the currency is extremely small, the load collapses within milliseconds - but this could damage the preamp circuit. Solid state circuits are quite sensitive and under certain conditions (low moisture...) maybe some tiny IC gives up...
To me this could happen rather than the cone blows out of the speaker
To me this could happen rather than the cone blows out of the speaker
TeleEvangelist
Tele-Afflicted
touché, i suppose i'd prefer it if she dropped the guitar or damaged it, rather than me. i still don't think that this girl was any less likely to do something clumsy than i was though.
teleamp
Poster Extraordinaire
Try to see things from the persons point of view that has all of his money tied up in that stores inventory.
Jack_The_Cat
TDPRI Member
I love the expressions of Brits and Aussies
No kidding! Me too.
stevieboy
Poster Extraordinaire
But she said it could blow the speaker, not put an unnecessary load on the amp.
I'm not trying to dis the lady, just get to the bottom of all this. I have heard that if you unplug from the amp, you should put it on standby or turn volume all the way down. Never had any real explanation, but I tend to do it, especially with other people's amps, if only because they might feel strongly about it. But I thought the reasoning had to do with the amp itself, not the speaker. Again I don't know, I'm hoping for some light.
I appreciate that you could well be correct, but could you elaborate a bit?
Singin' Dave
Friend of Leo's
I would agree that on stage, you need a tuner that mutes, which solves this problem as well as the rookie tuning out loud issue. When your at home etc you may not want to break out the stage tuner though.
Faraldi
Tele-Afflicted
While playing bass for a church I used to attend, (and this was like a 3000 seat church with a SICK audio system) we were rehearsing and between songs I told the sound guy to kill my channel because I had to unplug. He gave me the thumbs up.
Apparently he was ALL thumbs because he killed the wrong channel.
Sounded like a freaking daisy cutter went off in the middle of the auditorium!
The singers looked at me as if I kicked their cat or something.
My buddy behind the drums just laughed.
Good times... not sure if they had to replace anything.
Apparently he was ALL thumbs because he killed the wrong channel.
Sounded like a freaking daisy cutter went off in the middle of the auditorium!
The singers looked at me as if I kicked their cat or something.
My buddy behind the drums just laughed.
Good times... not sure if they had to replace anything.
i think she's just tired of always hearning that "pop" when people plug in after the previous player's been cranked.
i do it all the time, but i also always lower my amp's volume to zero before turning it on. picked that up when i was young, and now i'm a little obsessive about it.
i do it all the time, but i also always lower my amp's volume to zero before turning it on. picked that up when i was young, and now i'm a little obsessive about it.
Guitarmadcat
Banned
"i was at a guitar shop today that i hate going into, for a multitude of reasons, but i was bored, needed to kill time and just wanted to twang for a while. they didn't have any fender products, just G&L's - but they had a tele or two. so i asked the chick working the counter if i could plug it in....blah blah di blah....."
What a bloody cheek you've got. People like you really piss me off, being a retailer. By your own admittance, you used the premises and shopping facilities for your own bored usage and to waste time - then have the damn audacity to diss the assistant cos you don't agree with the rules of the shop!
Get a life, get a job and stop leeching off retailers and getting genuine shoppers a bad name. Few things upset me in life but people like you REALLY MAKE ME SICK.
What a bloody cheek you've got. People like you really piss me off, being a retailer. By your own admittance, you used the premises and shopping facilities for your own bored usage and to waste time - then have the damn audacity to diss the assistant cos you don't agree with the rules of the shop!
Get a life, get a job and stop leeching off retailers and getting genuine shoppers a bad name. Few things upset me in life but people like you REALLY MAKE ME SICK.
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Jahmbie
Tele-Afflicted
Ummmm...not really.
(link removed)
I've never seen a speaker blow from plugging a guitar into an amp, but it sure does get annoying after a while.
laird
Tele-Holic
Technically a large enough potential charge in the guitar could generate a spike big enough to damage the speaker. I've never witnessed that happening in the real world of guitar amps, but I've seen it happen in car audio. To crappy under-wattage speakers on way too big of an amp. Installed by a moron. In the rain.
Personally I think the stress of going in and out of standby is much greater than the potential discharge stress. But if I were plugged into a 2-prong outlet or shuffling around in wool socks I might rethink that.
-Laird
Personally I think the stress of going in and out of standby is much greater than the potential discharge stress. But if I were plugged into a 2-prong outlet or shuffling around in wool socks I might rethink that.
-Laird
TeleEvangelist
Tele-Afflicted
okay, how 'bout some clarity.
i personally don't feel like there's anything wrong with hanging around a guitar shop just because you're bored. I mean, ya i might not have gone in with the intention of buying anything but i've done that many times before and ended up coming out with a purchase in hand.
secondly, i'm allowed to have my opinions of the rules. I didn't verbalize my thoughts to her, even though i feel like its asinine. The off-putting thing to me was when i had asked to play a G&L Strat model, she was standing right next to me while i was deciding which one to play - i reached for one on the rack and she simply said "uh, no!". That's all she said. Politeness goes a long way, frankly i'd feel less inclined to think poorly of her as a sales rep if she didn't treat me like a child. And for the record, i was being completely respectful to her. The reason i "hate going into that store" is because at this point i've pretty much come to expect condescending treatment (not to mention lousy selection) - but i thought "hey, maybe this time will be different..."
And as long as we're talking about bad reputations, you're not exactly painting a pretty picture of retailers with your words. When i go into a shop, i can tell that the retailer is irritated that i'm obviously playing merchandise without the intent of purchase - and you know what? it's off-putting as a customer. How much do you think THAT makes me want to make a purchase?
IMO, Long & McQuade has got it right. They encourage people to test out equipment and enjoy it, whether they're there to make a purchase or not. They also aren't paranoid about their gear either. I mean, i always ask before playing, but they don't insist on having employees handle the guitars off the rack. My thought is like, if they trust customers with their guitars, why don't other shops?
I mean fine, if you want to express your annoyance at customers"using the premises and facilities for their own bored usage" then go ahead, just don't expect their business ever again in the future.
You need to chill out dude, seriously. The situation is contextual, and you really had to be there to actually know what was happening. You can draw your own conclusions, but i was merely vocalizing my distaste for that particular store's customer service. I didn't feel respected, and i think i'm entitled to that when i'm a customer. I doubt that my opinions give genuine shoppers a bad name, however i don't think you're doing anything for the image of a retailer by using phrases like "you make me sick" to potential customers...Guitarmadcat said:
Faraldi
Tele-Afflicted
I sell health insurance (for now at least LOL!) and I get a lot of calls from people who are just tire-kicking without the intention of binding a policy.
Some of those same people came back to me months later when they were ready to buy and they came to me because of their initial experience.
Believe me friend, I totally "get" the frustration, especially in hard economic times. For many of us in sales, that translates into a need to be even MORE helpful and to differentiate ourselves as THE knowledgeable authority on the products/services we provide. However, harsh words, even though they might feel satisfying coming out, are not easily forgotten and none of us need ill feelings these days.
God bless.
JF
well, Long & McQuade is hardly a "little mom and pop shop" anymore.
you see, a Mom and Pop shop makes very little profit on instruments. Something gets banged up, they're almost at the point of taking a loss. They gotta be careful. Some folks just handle it more tactfully than others.
I don't think you deserved the name calling by a long shot, but you gotta understand, from a retailer's perspective, if they can tell you're not gonna buy something then they've got better things to do than watch you and shoot the breeze. Running a small business is constant work, and if that shop is making it's money off of sales (as opposed to lessons or repairs) it's important to have every instrument in as good as shape as possible. Not saying you personally are careless, but if the shop owner doesn't know you, they gotta watch you.
TeleEvangelist
Tele-Afflicted
that's legit i guess. A large corporation can take a hit if one of their instruments gets dinged up a bit, whereas a private business would probably feel the crunch.
But it's like i said, just cuz i go in with the intent to not purchase something doesn't mean that i won't make one. And unless major damage is incurred to the instrument (like dropping it) - my sitting and noodling around for 10 mins isn't going to cause the value (or the quality) to go down.
Expressing visually noticeable annoyance towards a customer at their lack of purchase is definitely not going to encourage them to return in the future should they ever go in WITH the intent to purchase.
that's fair, except this shop in particular i have been to many times. I know the guy who owns and runs the place, but as i may have mentioned before - i don't think he remembers me, haha. if i owned a store with like ONE telecaster (G&L) and a guy always came in and started twanging on it, i think i'd remember him...
I'm surprised how uptight some of these posts are.
Are people not allowed to browse in English shops or somethin'?
I would not be playing guitar if the music store where I lived when I was kid didn't let me hang out and bang on the instruments. I also wouldn't have spent $$$$ there as a teenager either. These stores have insurance. If I get the attitude from any business I walk right out.
As for the plugging in thing, I've never giving it a thought. Most of the time I turn my volume down before I turn the amp off so...
I've actually held the plug against the rim of the jack on my guitar to make ambient noise on purpose before, I don't think I did any damage, maybe I did and don't know it.
Are people not allowed to browse in English shops or somethin'?
I would not be playing guitar if the music store where I lived when I was kid didn't let me hang out and bang on the instruments. I also wouldn't have spent $$$$ there as a teenager either. These stores have insurance. If I get the attitude from any business I walk right out.
As for the plugging in thing, I've never giving it a thought. Most of the time I turn my volume down before I turn the amp off so...
I've actually held the plug against the rim of the jack on my guitar to make ambient noise on purpose before, I don't think I did any damage, maybe I did and don't know it.
