Just a little advice here that could save you a packet my friends.

 

Last Friday our house was struck by lightning. The bolt did a fair bit of damage to the house itself, but luckily no one was hurt, and the house survived..... though we did make front page news and the national press!

 

Heres the thing though - everything in the house got charged with a few thousand volts, EVEN STUFF THAT WASNT SWITCHED ON.

So, as well as all our telephone lines getting fried, the broadband has been down for 5 days, card machines got juiced, the fire alarm exploded, all the tvs and freeview systems got burnt up, even the aerial leads are knackered.

And of course my guitar gear. My zoom pedal is in the bin, plus a couple of older amps. Thankfully I had some of my newer gear unplugged for a move around, so it could have been worse.

 

Moral of the story - dont assume your gear is safe just because you have it switched off at the wall. If you have to, go buy a multi-plug extension which puts the plugs somewhere easier to reach. Unplug after every session. It could save you a packet in the unlikely event of a strike or even just a big power surge.

 

You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!

Join Cigar Box Nation

Email me when people reply –

Replies

  • Marty McFly and Doc Brown's garage, I'm thinkin':

    http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.wikia.com/bttf/im...
  • yeah, and connect it to the wall outle... wait, that's where the discussion started...
  • Rafal,

    Only one way to fix the sound problem, then.

    Rooster's gonna hafta build an amp to go with it.

    >:-E
  • @oily This kind of instrument is called a "lightning conductor" in my neighborhood - it's actually a somehow elongated diddley bow.

    Seems to be very popular in Europe. Shitty sound, tho'

     

    @Rooster - good advice. But - actually - I fried my PCs graphics card just by reconnecting the power cord after my vacation. Shit happens, no matter what you do ;-)

  • Rooster,

    I know it's traumatic to lose gear to an "act of God," but maybe She's trying to tell you Something. Maybe She's concerned that you're not using enough electricity, or perhaps She wants you to be more environmentally aware?

    Sounds to me like She demands a Sacrifice:
    Build Her a neck-through 1-string CBG with a 30-ft long metal neck, 3-ft long metal tailpiece, and a
    14" x 10" x 4" box with a single sound hole cut in one corner.

    Plant it upside down in your back garden.

    Tell your neighbors it is a Purple Martin, Sparrow, or Bat habitat project. Use the string for a clothesline in good weather.

    Say a prayer, and wait for the next thunderstorm. Kinda like Noah.

    She Who Must Be Appeased will accept your Sacrifice.
  • Ouch! That's bad news. Will you get anything back on insurance for something like that? I'd hope so.

    Anyway a salutary tale. My partner seems to imply that I'm some sort of paranoid when I worry about stuff like this but it goes to show you can't be too careful - especially when the precautions are quite simple. I have my computers and IT gear protected with surge protectors but I'd forgotted about my music gear. I'll be unplugging my amp and effects in future.
  • Sorry to hear that Ben, I'm glad you weren't on the land line telephone when it struck!
  • I'm sorry about your gear, but glad you are still around to tell the tale!
  • Alright.

     

    Sorry tae hear what happened. Damn Lucky at the end of the day.

     

    But like you say No one was hurt and that's the main thing. Goods can be replaced, buildings can be rebuilt.

  • Hi Ben,

    Glad to hear no one got hurt, was that Marshal amp I asked about one of the casualties?

    Kev

This reply was deleted.