Members E-money Posted August 10, 2011 Members Share Posted August 10, 2011 I recently noticed that I'm getting a slight jolt while playing guitar or bass in my studio.I originally noticed when my guitar was plugged into my Line 6 POD, but I was recording bass guitar the other night with my bass plugged into my Bellari RP220, and I was getting the same thing when touching the bass strings. I also feel it when I touch the sleeve of some headphone jacks that I have wired to my Mackie mixer. Any suggestions for tracking down the issue? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted August 10, 2011 CMS Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 You'd better get that sorted out before you change from being an electrical outlet tester to an electrocution victim. You could be plugging into a miswired electrical outlet, one with the ground and neutral wires switched or one that isn't properly grounded. The best way to check this is with one of those hardware store outlet testers with three LEDs that indicate wiring faults. Are you using a ground lift adapter? If you're plugging into a two-prong outlet, then be sure you have the ground wire or tab on the adapter connected to the screw that secures the outlet cover. And if you're using one because it solved a hum problem, find another solution while you're still alive. It's also possible that you have a piece of equipment that has some leakage, perhaps through a bypass capacitor or line filter, from the hot power lead to ground. Check that by plugging in one piece at a time and checking for a hot chassis. If you find one, get it fixed. Of course it would be best to do this with a voltmeter, measuring between the chassis and ground screw on the outlet or some other ground point. Hope to see you around again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ggm1960 Posted August 10, 2011 Members Share Posted August 10, 2011 The best way to check this is with one of those hardware store outlet testers with three LEDs that indicate wiring faults. I always had one of those in my gig bag, it's amazing how screwed up wiring can be from place to place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted August 10, 2011 Members Share Posted August 10, 2011 You'd better get that sorted out before you change from being an electrical outlet tester to an electrocution victim. Seconded. That is not good. You have a ground problem somewhere. I can't tell you more than that without knowing more specifics, but I will relate to you a "funny in retrospect" story. When I was a teenager, we had crappy equipment, and tended to do things like plugging an entire band's worth of PA and amplifier gear into one circuit, running off an extension cable into some other kid's house, and so on. Well, one day, we were playing a keg party in a garage, and the kids tapping the keg weren't experts in the process. They kept missing the tap, and beer was spilling over the sides and onto the concrete floor where we were standing. I found myself standing in sloshy, foamy liquid as we started our set. I went to go sing my first backing vocal of the day, and as I stepped toward that SM-58 while holding my guitar, the freaking thing arced about 2" and a) fried my lips, b) left six scorch marks on my hand where my strings were touching, and c) knocked me on my ass into the ever-growing puddle of beer. Of course, being the brilliant teenagers we were, my singer had clipped off the grounding prong of the plug so that it fit the old 2-insert electrical outlet. That's a good way to kill yourself and your bandmates in one fell swoop, which is what I accused him of doing after I got up and started screaming at him. Anyway, get that {censored} fixed. Electrocution hurts. Trust me on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Huh? Posted August 10, 2011 Members Share Posted August 10, 2011 I used to carry a circuit tester as well. Before soundcheck I also used to always hold my guitar by the wood only and touch the strings to my vocal mic grille. If it arced I would let the sound guy know he had to fix the problem. The reason I did this is because I have been zapped in the lips enough times as a kid that I now know better. I don't like the feeling of current in the kisser. I never got knocked on my ass though, like Jeff did, by a shock while playing and singing......that is pretty scary. I have had many shocks and been knocked down whilst working with electricity doing other stuff though. Quite a few 220v/50hz hits as well. Yeah, don't mess with this....get it sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members groovezilla Posted August 14, 2011 Members Share Posted August 14, 2011 As noted by all the other posts, this is a extremely hazardous situation. Please take it seriously. A few bucks for a circuit tester will lead you to one of two solutions... - Stop using the faulty outlet - Call an electrician to fix it If you can't afford an electrician, then a powerstrip connected to the good outlet will give you plenty of safe power. Take Care! groovezilla www.groovezoo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JeffLearman Posted August 15, 2011 Members Share Posted August 15, 2011 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Harvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted August 15, 2011 Members Share Posted August 15, 2011 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Relf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted August 15, 2011 Members Share Posted August 15, 2011 You can also have a ground loop if you have your equipment connected to two different outlets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members techristian Posted August 15, 2011 Members Share Posted August 15, 2011 I'm fortunate to still be alive today. When I was in my late teens, I would practice drums along with a record player. I got accustomed to practising drums with stocking feet and there were no outlets. I had extension cords plugged into the light bulb sockets overhead. One time I didn't properly plug in the record player. One of the prongs was exposed and I touched it. I know what a good shock feels like. It went from my arm to my foot. Wearing well insulated boots will help to avoid this type of shock , but nothing can help you if one hand is on ground while the other is touching a live wire. Whenever I get water in the basement , I get nervous. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Goobers Posted August 16, 2011 Members Share Posted August 16, 2011 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bella_Abzug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted August 16, 2011 Members Share Posted August 16, 2011 You electrocuted Bella Abzug? That is sick, man. She was already dead. You disgust me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members philbo Posted August 16, 2011 Members Share Posted August 16, 2011 Last summer I played a neo-hippie fest in Wadena Iowa with a band called Cookie & Blue Jump, and no matter what we did I would get a shock off the mic. Even with the PA and power amps all on the same line, I'd get nailed. (The PA was about 100 feet out from the stage, which, I guess, is enough distance to build up a voltage on the ground line or whatever.) I borrowed a pair of socks from the guy putting on the fest, put both of them over the mic & had the FOH turn up the high EQ to compensate a little. It worked really good; it helped a lot that the socks were clean. It also helped that I'm not one of those drooling/spitting singers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted August 16, 2011 Members Share Posted August 16, 2011 Whenever I get water in the basement , I get nervous. Dan Being nervious increases the hazzard of shock. If you get nervous, you sweat more and sweat makes your skin a better conductor. For your heart to stop the path of current must pass over the heart like from the left hand to the right side of the body. Having electricity pass from say the hand to a grounded elbow, the shock doent get through the heart and mainly causes nerve damagein the arm. I've been zapped a thousand times as an electronic tech and it always happend when I wasnt following proper work habits or was working in an area of a unit where I couldbnt see well and bumped into something I shouldnt have. I got zapped my first time at 3 years old and stuck a key in an electrical outlet. Guess thats what got me into electronics from such an early age cause from then on I always had a respect and reverence for the magical thing called electricity and made it my profession ever since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Goobers Posted August 16, 2011 Members Share Posted August 16, 2011 You electrocuted Bella Abzug? That is sick, man. She was already dead. You disgust me. I had no choice. She was on the verge of launching her own scent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members techristian Posted August 18, 2011 Members Share Posted August 18, 2011 THIS THREAD MAY HAVE SAVED MY LIFE. I was doing some work in the basement yesterday and I had to cut the water drain pipe for the washing machine with a reciprocating saw (sawzaw). I was bare footed and suddenly I remembered this thread !! I put my shoes on. The sawzaw was double insulated , but it could have be disasterous ! Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Goobers Posted August 19, 2011 Members Share Posted August 19, 2011 Quick Question: When I take baths, I like to watch TV, an old Panny CRT I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members philbo Posted August 19, 2011 Members Share Posted August 19, 2011 Quick Question: When I take baths, I like to watch TV, an old Panny CRT I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members techristian Posted August 19, 2011 Members Share Posted August 19, 2011 ........and if you get hungry while in the tub, you can barbQ chicken with the same wires......from the inside out !! It will also help you get that straight up hair style before you apply the mousse. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John Sayers Posted August 20, 2011 Members Share Posted August 20, 2011 could be static electricity created by having synthetic carpet in your room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted August 20, 2011 Members Share Posted August 20, 2011 You could be plugging into a miswired electrical outlet, one with the ground and neutral wires switched or one that isn't properly grounded. The best way to check this is with one of those hardware store outlet testers with three LEDs that indicate wiring faults. This is extremely common. More so than you would think. Even the most recently completed construction can still have issues that don't get caught during the inspection. I've done a good bit of electrical contracting with my buddy and we've come across all kinds of bizarre stuff. In any house, you really have no idea what's going on unless you trace it all out. It's too easy for people (and other contractors) to modify the wiring, so people who don't know what they're doing do it anyway. The first thing I do when I start hooking up some gear is make sure I have ground. Just because you're looking at a 3-prong outlet doesn't mean it's actually got a ground. And just a wire grounded to the box (if an old metal one) isn't a sufficient ground. A good contractor can will probably charge you $50 to come look and whatever parts and labor on top of that. Get the phone book and go straight to the guys who just use a listing. You can also probably ask around and find somebody that won't charge you an arm and a leg. Any large outfit will. Like $90 just to show up and then some outrageous hourly rate on top. The big guys like big jobs, so it cost them too much to do the little jobs. They have a lot larger overhead to maintain, which is of course reflected in their rates. You really don't need all that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted August 20, 2011 Members Share Posted August 20, 2011 When I was a teenager, we had crappy equipment, and tended to do things like plugging an entire band's worth of PA and amplifier gear into one circuit, running off an extension cable into some other kid's house, and so on. Been there, done that. Standing in a wet basement, gear all on pallets, all plugged into one orange extension cord, in an old farmhouse that's gone now and I could imagine that it may been knob and tube. Anyway, get that {censored} fixed. Electrocution hurts. Trust me on this. That's why electricians get good money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the stranger Posted August 20, 2011 Members Share Posted August 20, 2011 You can also have a ground loop if you have your equipment connected to two different outlets. I use a dedicated circuit so I know all the outlets in the room are on the same circuit and even then I still use only one outlet. Less gear these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zurdo1 Posted August 21, 2011 Members Share Posted August 21, 2011 just think of all the guitarists who were electrocuted during the 1960's. I remember Craig Anderton stating that the Ground Wire from the vol. & tone controls to the Tailpiece or Bridge of an alectric guitar should be disconnected. Is this still valid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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