Ben was flabbergasted, both by being offered a job, and also because there really was no discussion of audio or any kind of audition. But it hadn’t yet dawned on him that he wouldn’t be doing audio – at least not for a while.

Just as he was about to head out the door, Frank called to him “Ben, just one thing – and please remember this – don’t EVER use a ground lifter on a guitar amp. Unless you want someone to end up dead.”

As Ben drove home, he was thinking about the interview and how it went. Overall, he was pleased although some things puzzled him.

But mainly, he was concerned about what Frank had meant about the guitar amp grounding. “Someone could end up dead,” he muttered to himself. “I guess I need to learn about what’s going on there.”

Ben resolved to get up to speed on that subject because obviously he had missed something in his classes. As he pulled up to his building, he started thinking about how he was going to spend the next few days before Monday.

After entering his apartment and dropping his keys, CD, greenie and sharpie on the table by the door, Ben sat down at his computer, determined to be ready on Monday with new knowledge about grounding. He was up late into the night gathering information from forums, online articles and book excerpts. “Hmm – looks like this Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook is something I need to own.”

He placed an order on Amazon for a used copy, then finally went to bed trying to sleep despite the lingering thoughts from the day invading his mind.

Taylor Jensen is a freelance pro audio writer.

Go to Sound Mountain, Part 3: Starting at the Bottom

 

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