Shocking Review

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 1:00 am

Phantoms! Where is Scooby-Doo when you need him?

Wish I could help Peter. Maybe some others will chime in.

admin · Post by **admin** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 4:26 am

So as I think about this, electricians and electronic wizards forgive me, but it feels as if I am becoming a capacitor that gets charged up and then discharges as I touch the mike with my lips. Does this make any sense. This has to be a household wiring issue in which instead of bleeding to ground I get the charge. Pete Levett?

steve_hershberger · Post by **steve_hershberger** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 7:59 am

Peter - Are you (and your mic stand) standing on an uncarpeted concrete floor? That can be a factor too.

admin · Post by **admin** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 10:11 am

We are both standing on a carpeted floor Steve.

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 10:23 am

Peter, you're getting shocked because you are a lower resistance path to ground than your microphone or guitar/amp combination is. Frankly, that is shocking!

There has to be something wrong with the wiring either on the guitar/amp side of things, or on the microphone side of things, or in the wall. The problem is how to narrow down the scope of the problem.

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 11:37 am

Any chance that carpet could be wool?

icabod · Post by **icabod** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 12:39 pm

try a meter on ac volts and check your wall outlets between ground and neutral and measure the voltage potential, should read .ooo but I just measured mine at home and it reads .521Volts a.c.,I would make sure you start from one circuit with your mixer and gtr amp and then go from there, and I doubt that the phantom pwr has nothing to do with the shocks....R

icabod · Post by **icabod** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 12:41 pm

pardon me ..anything to do with the shocks...R

headbanger · Post by **headbanger** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 7:27 am

Here's my guess. You have one AC plug on(say your amp) wired correctly ie active wire to active pin and neutral wire to neutral pin. On the powered mixer the wires are swapped around(or vice versa). This doesn't present a problem in everyday use, they both work fine until you touch the strings & the mike. Alas, the problem could be almost anywhere, including in the house wiring & hard to find. Get a wireless transmitter or wireless mike or both.

admin · Post by **admin** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:07 am

Thanks John, the carpet is not woolen and this certainly crossed my mind.

Gerry: I will definitely looking into this further. Actually I ran a very long extension cord to another plug and the problem seems to have been resolved.

I am betting that the AC receptacles that I use for the amplifiers and PA have an open ground. The electricians have been here before but their previous diagnosis seems to have been incorrect.

Not a very good plug for them is it?

jnbass · Post by **jnbass** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:36 am

use a "blast filter" on your mic.

not a good solution, but one that minimizes a shocking situation.

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:38 am

Just read this one - really shocking it happened to a guy like you Peter. Never knew mics are that dangerous...
Hope it all goes well anyway...

admin · Post by **admin** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 11:15 am

Ok, it was indeed an open ground which was repaired and all is well. It is so nice to sing without getting shocked.

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 12:37 pm

Where was the open ground Peter?

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Thu Dec 29, 2005 8:49 am

Peter, If you have the problem again, get a voltmeter and put it on AC and check from your guitar bridge or anything that's grounded on your guitar to the mic, you should read millivolts at the most, if it is any higher you have a problem. Sweaty, salty lips will conduct easier than fingers, etc. I always check with one hand, one finger on the bass and the other on the mic, that way if there is a problem the current will only go through your hand rather than through your whole body (Including your heart), I learned this in the old days with polarity switch, two prong amps, they were either at the same potential or were at 120 VAC, and were always right in the position of least hum. Also 60 cycle hum is almost always something to do with the ground, lighting is usually more of a higher frequency buzz rather than a hum.