Getting shocked by amp, pedals and guitar need advice.

man-in-moon

New member
I have not had any problems or excess noise until tonight. The only thing I have changed is I borrowed a friends line 6 HD500X and hooked it up using the 4CM. Other than that everything is the same. But for some reason now I am getting a lot of noise and when I reach down to adjust something on the HD500X or my pedals I get a pretty decent tingle. It's not much at first but gets painful pretty quick.
Any suggestions on what I could check or do would greatly be appreciated. I have unhooked the 500x for now. But was thinking about buying it from him so I need to see how it works with my setup. I've used it on his amp and never had it shock me before.
 
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Re: Getting shocked by amp, pedals and guitar need advice.

Is the ground connection good at your place? Are hot and neutral possibly reversed?
 
Re: Getting shocked by amp, pedals and guitar need advice.

Have you removed the new equipment to see if that stops the problem? Have you tried new cables?
 
Re: Getting shocked by amp, pedals and guitar need advice.

So far everything I have checked has been good. I'm going to tear down everything and hook it back up. The wiring in our house is almost 50 years old. And most of our outlets are only 2 prong so we have to use 3 to 2 prong adapters that attach to a screw. But I have never had this issue before.
 
Re: Getting shocked by amp, pedals and guitar need advice.

So far everything I have checked has been good. I'm going to tear down everything and hook it back up. The wiring in our house is almost 50 years old. And most of our outlets are only 2 prong so we have to use 3 to 2 prong adapters that attach to a screw. But I have never had this issue before.

I am guessing this is the problem, not the equipment. If your friend never complained about his gear giving him a shock, it is probably the lack of ground in your house, where you essentially become one of the grounds. This isn't safe from a shock perspective, or either a fire perspective. If you can, make a plan to modernize the wiring in that place.
 
Re: Getting shocked by amp, pedals and guitar need advice.

Yeah we are in the process of redoing the house. We just had to borrow $11,000 to have a new heat and air unit put in. I haven't had the issue with the grounds before but stuff seems to happen from day to day around here.
 
Re: Getting shocked by amp, pedals and guitar need advice.

Also, some pieces of equipment are more prone to these kinds of issues than others. Sometimes the UL allows a surprising amount of leakage current, which can produce enough of a shock to get your attention.
 
Re: Getting shocked by amp, pedals and guitar need advice.

That's a little terrifying!!! Just be careful man, I got bit by a old Silverface a few years back & the fillings in my teeth still hurt...
 
Re: Getting shocked by amp, pedals and guitar need advice.

I have figured out the problem. I just have to figure out why it's doing it. I hooked everything up and it did not start until I hooked up the HD500X. I do not know if it has a loose ground or what is going on.
 
Re: Getting shocked by amp, pedals and guitar need advice.

It's still worth checking your outlets to see if anything is wrong there. I recommend picking up an inexpensive tester like this one. They're widely available for under $10.

View attachment 80580
 
Re: Getting shocked by amp, pedals and guitar need advice.

I have figured out the problem. I just have to figure out why it's doing it. I hooked everything up and it did not start until I hooked up the HD500X. I do not know if it has a loose ground or what is going on.
Friends don't let friends use Line 6.
 
Re: Getting shocked by amp, pedals and guitar need advice.

I have figured out the problem. I just have to figure out why it's doing it. I hooked everything up and it did not start until I hooked up the HD500X. I do not know if it has a loose ground or what is going on.
If the power adapter on it is two pin variety then that unit is not the problem, meaning it gets its ground from the equipment its plugged into. My boss gt10, zoom g1on, yamaha mini mixer, all pedals, basicially anything that I plug my guitar into thats using a two pin DC power adapter behaves the way your hd500x does. Also the three pin adapters that come with ehx pedals dont solve this issue for me if I remember right.

You need to get the house grounding done soon.
 
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