Ground Lift Applies Where?

[bishopthomas]

So I'm building a 3-way splitter snake and trying to decide if the ground lift should affect all outputs or just the split outs. It would save a lot of cabling if the ground is lifted everywhere, but maybe there's a need to keep it grounded at one end.

[Remoteness]

There are two schools of thought.

Back in the 70s / early 80s, some folks thought you either needed a ground or you didn't need a ground.
Some engineers don't think you need individual ground switches for each channel let alone individual switches for each iso output too.
They have used one switch for all output channels -- All grounded or all lifted...
I remember when Sid Zimet (RIP) built me two 2X splitters in the late 70s that had one ground lift switch for all iso outs...

I found this mindset a bit out of touch to what was really going on out in the live recording world.

I sold that splitter a few years later for an individually ground lifted splitter set-up that we built ourselves.
Believe it or not one of those splitters is still in use today.

I feel anything is possible, especially when you don't expect it.
There have been times when one isolated snake needed to be grounded and the other iso out did not.
Furthermore,there have also been times when only one or two of the inputs needed a ground when everything else was lifted.

So, if I was you I would design and install a switch for each isolated output on each output split.
You don't want to lift the ground on the direct out since should you will need the ground for your phantom power needs.

Some splitters don't connect the ground on the iso outs, but like I said before sometimes you may need to ground that feed.