Electric Shock

[skunk]

Can somebody help me? I get an electric shock whenever I touch my guitar and my microphone (or PA mixing board) at the same time? As you can imagine this makes it very difficult to sing & play at the same time... Can anybody explain to me why this happens and what I can do to stop it?

Thanks
Skunk

 

[Blue Calx]

Re: Electric Shock

Something's not grounded right! I'd take your amp and/or your PA mixer (depending on whether you can figure out which is the culprit) to a shop and get your home outlets checked out ASAP before you go and die, or something.

 

[Bludave]

Re: Electric Shock

What kind of Amp is it? In many cases there is a ground switch in the back of the Amp. If your amp has this just flip the switch to the opposite side.

 

[skunk]

Re: Electric Shock

My setup is a marshall JMP-1 preamp into a Mesa 50/50 power amp. We recently just got a new PA in the jam room and the problem still happens. I have a small PA setup at my house also -- but I dont have this problem at my house, even when using the same exact guitar setup. (I own several guitars and the same thing happens with all of them)

So it seems to me like it may have something to do with the electrical wiring in our jam room?

 

[Artie]

Re: Electric Shock

Hey skunk; there's a little plug-looking thing you can buy, thats not too expensive, that you plug into a wall socket, and it tells you immediately if the plug's wired correctly, and has a ground.

Our new house had one outlet in the living room wired backwards. Its always a possibility.

 

[rspst14]

Re: Electric Shock

If you can't duplicate the problem anywhere else, then yes, that's a wiring problem in your jam room, and you need to get that fixed immediately.

Ryan

 

[Tweed]

Re: Electric Shock

Guitarists are killed every year due to improper wiring in their guitars, amps and other gear. Protecting yourself should be priority #1. I'd recommend reading this:
http://www.guitarnuts.com/technical/electrical/safety/index.php

 

[Stevo]

Re: Electric Shock

So it seems to me like it may have something to do with the electrical wiring in our jam room?

Maybe the "hot" and "neutral" (usually black and white) wires are reversed on a receptical or power cord. This is not uncommon.

I have been shocked so many times that I always use a windscreen now, for insulation. You never know what to expect at a gig.

 

[Artie]

Re: Electric Shock

Note, in item #2 of that link, he references the 3-prong device that I mentioned as a must-have device.

 

[mr breaker]

Re: Electric Shock

another reason why I use a wireless...hah!

 

[Pandemonium]

Re: Electric Shock

I'm sure all the other old guys here remember when you had to tiptoe up to the mike and touch it while you're other hand was on your string to see if you were gonna get bit. It used to be hilarious watching some guys do it, they'd crouch down and turn their head away and try to pull their finger away as quickly as possible. Sometimes you'd forget to check and get your teeth rattled. You never touched another band member onstage in those days either. Getting shocked isn't funny though, I've seen it blow fuses and trip breakers many times, it'll literally knock the crap out of you and can be fatal, people have died. Properly functioning 3 prong cords and outlets will cure the problem. If you buy a vintage amp with a two prong cord that's the first thing you should do.

 

[DotNetTim]

Re: Electric Shock

One of the things I do like about EMG pickups is that they DON"T have a ground wire which is used to stop noise of course, but also makes it easy to get shocked.. as you are touching the strings, metal bridge, etc..

Tim

 

[KoreanGuitarMan]

Re: Electric Shock

As suggested in the guitarnuts article, go wireless. Also, get GFCI extension cords.

I've been shocked whilst playing and singing. Luckily, I was using a home stereo with a mic input to amplify my voice, so the shock was very small.