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Topic: Shocking results from my rig...literaly... |
Travis Hillis
From:
Nashville TN, USA
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Posted 14 Aug 2010 8:48 pm |
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Well a while ago I noticed a slight shock I got every now and then from the strings of my peavey powerslide. Stupidly, I thought it was normal. Today it kept shocking me, so after some googling I found out it was a grounding problem. Sure enough the wall plugs in my music room are ungrounded(the house is 70 years old). I plugged the amp(Peavey Vypyr) into a power strip which we plug all major electronics ito and the..er..'shocking results' stoped. My questions is if the powerstrip will 'make it safe'. I assume so but I thought I'd ask here...getting fried by a steel guitar isnt in my plans.  |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 14 Aug 2010 10:01 pm
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Plugging a power strip into an outlet with problems isn't going to fix that problem. Is that power strip plugged into a different outlet that is properly wired? If so, that is safe. But I wouldn't bet on anything if you question any of the wiring.
Get yourself a $5-10 outlet tester at Radio Shack, and if it doesn't light up correctly in any of your outlets, get a qualified electrician to fix them. This isn't worth fooling around with - it is possible to electrocute yourself with electric guitars hooked up to improperly wired outlets. On most electric guitars, the strings are hooked up to the ground leg of the circuit - the idea is to use your body as a shield against electromagnetic radiation that causes noise through your pickup(s). But if somehow that ground leg winds up going live, you are live. If some other part of your body is grounded (let's say you're touching a mic plugged into a properly grounded PA, for example), it gives a discharge path through your body to ground. I just cringe when I see someone playing any type of electric instrument barefoot on a bare floor - good Lord, that's asking for trouble.
Some players put a resistor/capacitor network between their strings and the ground leg of the guitar circuit. It can be done in a way to reduce any voltage from a ground fault but still let the string ground function to a large extent. But it is still imperative to make sure that your electric outlets are correct - period, no BS. My opinion. |
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Travis Hillis
From:
Nashville TN, USA
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Posted 15 Aug 2010 12:51 pm
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Dave, thanks a ton for your input. Well I found a suge protecter that has a light indicating if a plug has a ground and none in my music room did. Fortunatly the plugs in the kitchen are OK and thats where I hooked up(eat and play at once, yay). Hopefully I'll get everything working.
Thanks again!
I think I'll go play the acoustic for a bit... |
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