The GuitarNuts circuit places a capacitor between the jack shell ground connection and the single-point ground of the guitar controls. I find that this reduces the effectiveness of the grounding, resulting in more noise than without the cap. Both times that I tried it, I took the cap out. I don't see how installing a resistor in parallel with the cap would help.

The intent is to protect you from establishing a current path through your body if your amp, or someone else's rig (like the PA) has the 'hot' and 'neutral' lines swapped around.

I use a simple line-checker to verify that the AC mains are proper. You can get one at a hardware store or an electrical supply shop for a few bucks. Something you should always have in your kit.


BTW: That picture of the spray-can being used as a clamping caul reminded me of some of the things in the Darwin Awards website. :eek: I'm gald you're still with us, mate!