Unpluging the guitar

[Den.]

What's the deal with unplugging a guitar cord while the amp is on and the volume is up? I've seen some people panic if the volume isn't turned down first. But I've heard some people state that "it doesn't matter with a SS amp; it's only important with a tube amp."

[Roly]

Mythology.  With any amp it can produce a transient that might damage a loudspeaker, but it's just poor stagecraft to subject your audience to a loud "crack", as it is to subject them to mike feedback.

[J M Fahey]

And which end you unplug makes all the difference.

If you unplug the guitar end the still open , sensitive and high impedance input will catch a lot of hum, much more so if you touch the tip, because you are an excellent Hum antenna.

But if you unplug the amp end, the leaf switch in the input jack shorts it instantly and at most you hear a slight click.