Lightning Strikes My Axe-FX II XL+

Genome said:
I don't confess to know much about this kind of stuff but what would've happened if he was playing guitar? The ground for the pickups is connected to the bridge so presumably the surge out of the Axe can travel down the cable and to the strings?
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Bingo. Don't play electric guitar during an electrical storm. If you saw my post earlier about my folks house getting hit, and taking out the phones, you'll know that landlines can be risky as well. You can google this type of thing to learn more. Here is one related article.

snopes.com: Lightning Telephone Deaths

This is why I like wireless.
 
Genome said:
I don't confess to know much about this kind of stuff but what would've happened if he was playing guitar? The ground for the pickups is connected to the bridge so presumably the surge out of the Axe can travel down the cable and to the strings?
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The power cable to the axe would have caught fire before anything happened to the guitar. There is literally nowhere for that much energy to go, it's so choked down. Think of electrical wires and electricity like pipes and water. You can only force so much water through a pipe at so much pressure before it bursts. Same thing with electricity. Trying to pass that much charge through that pathway and it would get ugly.
 
^ could jump too tho. then OP'd really be f'd in the a.

...still want to see some pics.
 
I've always wondered why surge protector's power switches aren't a 3 pole single throw, so then the hot, neutral and ground all get disconnected? Is it bc they will arc anyways?
 
GotMetalBoy said:
I've always wondered why surge protector's power switches aren't a 3 pole single throw, so then the hot, neutral and ground all get disconnected? Is it bc they will arc anyways?
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comparing the gap to jump.. lol
the gap between the connectors in a switch vs the gap from a cloud to the floor

so even replacing surge protection with clouds a few thousand feet up ain't gonna work...
that said... the thought of a 120,000U rack for protection is kinda appealing
but now I need a bigger truck.. lol..
 
Hi folks ... very interesting comments. I was educated in the Navy in electronics and have spent 25 years in the industry (Video Industry to be specific). Many of you are correct as there is no full proof method of protection from lightning. The best you can hope for is to disconnect all equipment from source for complete isolation. The Axe-FX was part of my studio and not used in a stand alone manner.

Because of the interest and comments assuming the surge came from the power side, I will add a few comments about how I was using the gear at the time of the strike. See below for those interested. Thanks for the comments and conversation! The unit has been shipped back to Fractal so will be curious to find out the true issue in a few days!

I wasn't playing at the time. The unit was fully wired into my studio utilizing most of the inputs/outputs, but no active signal at time of surge. I did have an Axe-Edit session active via a Mac Book Air, USB cable to Axe obviously. The power supply to the Mac Book Air was fried, the Mac Book Air was put into a battery drained state (I'll explain) and this is when; after I turned the breakers back on and powered the studio back up, discovered the Axe-FX with all LED's lit along with the bypass and tempo lights. Via web forums, I was able to fix the Mac Book by disconnecting / reconnecting the battery cable and that restored normal operations to the computer.

I believe the damage came via the USB cable vs. the power input. I've later discovered the XLR ports on my mixer coming from the Axe-FX are now damaged as well. Being that the Axe can be used as an Audio Interface, one might assume these two could be part of the same circuitry. Will be interesting to see the findings. Curious to hear your feedback!
 
Is none of the unit salvageable at all? Can it really not be repaired so as to not have to buy a entire new unit?

I guess it's a good habit to get into of not having anything plugged into the walls unless you are using it, to unplug everything when you are done using it, and never play during a storm.

A whole $2,500 gone in a lightning flash, that's a years savings for a lot of people. A lot of people don't have houses or insurance that would cover such things.

It's disappointing to hear the surge protectors are a joke, I thought that was the whole reason people used them.
 
soon said:
It's disappointing to hear the surge protectors are a joke, I thought that was the whole reason people used them.
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Lightening is a whole different animal. Protecting yourself from a lightening strike is almost in the same category as a fire, tornado or flood. It's a force of nature. Surge protectors do help with what they were designed to do. The place I work at experienced a power surge, which was a direct fault of the power company. It was just that, a good old fashioned power surge. We lost 4 surge protectors. The surge protectors took the hit, and the equipment that was plugged into them survived. A 5th surge protector failed, and we lost an amplifier.

The power company actually paid to replace the surge protectors, since the surge was their fault. The company that we bought the surge protectors from paid for the amplifier, since that surge protector failed.
 
Jury is still out on the fix. I have full confidence in the folks from Fractal and don't anticipate having to buy another unit (God Willing!). In the event that I have to, the Home Owners insurance does kick in and pick up a portion of the cost. The unfortunate piece is that my deductible is $1000 bucks so that's all I will be out at a max I hope. They have a depreciation calculator that I'm sure works differently than my perception of the Axe II. :)
 
tbrooks1060 said:
Hi folks ... very interesting comments. I was educated in the Navy in electronics and have spent 25 years in the industry (Video Industry to be specific). Many of you are correct as there is no full proof method of protection from lightning. The best you can hope for is to disconnect all equipment from source for complete isolation. The Axe-FX was part of my studio and not used in a stand alone manner.

Because of the interest and comments assuming the surge came from the power side, I will add a few comments about how I was using the gear at the time of the strike. See below for those interested. Thanks for the comments and conversation! The unit has been shipped back to Fractal so will be curious to find out the true issue in a few days!

I wasn't playing at the time. The unit was fully wired into my studio utilizing most of the inputs/outputs, but no active signal at time of surge. I did have an Axe-Edit session active via a Mac Book Air, USB cable to Axe obviously. The power supply to the Mac Book Air was fried, the Mac Book Air was put into a battery drained state (I'll explain) and this is when; after I turned the breakers back on and powered the studio back up, discovered the Axe-FX with all LED's lit along with the bypass and tempo lights. Via web forums, I was able to fix the Mac Book by disconnecting / reconnecting the battery cable and that restored normal operations to the computer.

I believe the damage came via the USB cable vs. the power input. I've later discovered the XLR ports on my mixer coming from the Axe-FX are now damaged as well. Being that the Axe can be used as an Audio Interface, one might assume these two could be part of the same circuitry. Will be interesting to see the findings. Curious to hear your feedback!
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when you think about the cabling from the Axe to absolutely everything..
I guess you have a whole matrix of paths available for the lightening strike to hit it..
my guess would be that it'd use all of them
copper vs air.. you'd expect that it'll prefer to ride the copper as it rampages through the house
 
clarky said:
comparing the gap to jump.. lol
the gap between the connectors in a switch vs the gap from a cloud to the floor

so even replacing surge protection with clouds a few thousand feet up ain't gonna work...
that said... the thought of a 120,000U rack for protection is kinda appealing
but now I need a bigger truck.. lol..
Click to expand...

Or a smaller rack with better dielectric than air?
Maybe a SF6 isolated rack?

Anyways, as most ppl has pointed out, its impossible with our current technology to try to save home appliances from a lightning strike.
A thunderbolt is basically the rupture of the world's biggest capacitor... The planet itself. Right on your axe.
 
Raab90 said:
Or a smaller rack with better dielectric than air?
Maybe a SF6 isolated rack?

Anyways, as most ppl has pointed out, its impossible with our current technology to try to save home appliances from a lightning strike.
A thunderbolt is basically the rupture of the world's biggest capacitor... The planet itself. Right on your axe.
Click to expand...

d'ya reckon they'll have earth sized capacitors in the Tandy or Maplin catalogues??
cos I want one
 
soon said:
It's disappointing to hear the surge protectors are a joke, I thought that was the whole reason people used them.
Click to expand...

They are still worth having. Because there are things that they do protect you from. A direct lightning hit is not one of them. However if the lightning hits the power lines a block over from you then the surge protector will most likely work perfectly and protect your gear. Let alone spikes from the power company.
 
fret said:
They are still worth having. Because there are things that they do protect you from. A direct lightning hit is not one of them. However if the lightning hits the power lines a block over from you then the surge protector will most likely work perfectly and protect your gear. Let alone spikes from the power company.
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+1 here. It's like an airbag in your car... good for some moderate impacts, won't save you from a head-on with a train. I'm one who has seen gear go to smoke all around me, while my gear and others using my Furman PL-Pro DMC were fine with a quick reset of the conditioner. They do what they were designed for, which is the things more likely to a gigging musician than a lightning strike. Worth the dollars, in my opinion.
 
I do power protection partly based on area. I run cold start UPS's on most stuff. Which is good for equipment sensitive to sagging power. If i am in an area with bolt lightening I will usually have lightening rods. Plus where the power comes into the building, a whole site surge suppressor coupled with its own grounding rod. So in the case of a huge arcing strike it will hopefully take the grounding rod instead of the rest of the system. I don't worry as much about lightening if the area is only prone to experience sheet lightening.

I have yet to have a large enough surge to take out any of my eaton ups units. But I don't generally have equipment deployed anywhere that experiences bolt lightening without lightening rods, or other power protection. HAM radio guys gave some great techniques as well for lightening suppression and protection.
 
Fro said:
Bingo. Don't play electric guitar during an electrical storm. If you saw my post earlier about my folks house getting hit, and taking out the phones, you'll know that landlines can be risky as well. You can google this type of thing to learn more. Here is one related article.

snopes.com: Lightning Telephone Deaths

This is why I like wireless.
Click to expand...

Not just wired phones and electrical outlets, but also coax from cable TV/satellite/internet, ethernet cable to PC's and smart TV's, etc., and plumbing which also is grounded and full of liquid conductor. There's quite a few paths for lightning to take and pay you an up close and personal visit. It's dangerous stuff. If you are close enough to a storm to hear thunder, you are close enough to get struck. Stay safe.
 
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