I just took a BIG Shock...

[jazzguitar14]

So im playing my Tele through some pedals and Z28... Everything is powered through an ETA conditioner w/ 3 prong outlet... Im in bare feet on the basement carpet and decide to step outside (dry cement patio)... im holding the guitar like a football...

As soon as I touch the screen door (metal) I got hit hard on my arm, held it for about a second before I dropped the guitar. I could feel the current in my feet at the door frame and now I have 3-4 inch welt on my forearm where I was contacting the strings... What the hell just happened? :eeks

Ive been playing this rig for years in my basement and never dealt with anything like this before. Could there be something wrong with my rig I should investigate?

Damn, Im kinda freaked out right now

[LHanson]

Pay attention to your heartrate and breathing for a day or so.

[VicAjax]

Pay attention to your heartrate and breathing for a day or so.

well that comment probably just made both of them go up.

[CowTipton]

Sounds like you've got a grounding problem somewhere along the chain.
My best guess would be that your amp has some floating (for lack of a better term) voltage and when you touched the door frame it found a path of escape.

I don't expect a simple static charge from being on the carpet would be that powerful.

But maybe an E.E. among us could offer some actual expertise though.

[Jarrett]

well that comment probably just made both of them go up.LOL and your bowel movements and your menstrual cycle :D
Seriously, glad you are ok man. That's scary.

[cadduc]

wear shoes with rubber soles

while you are not floating 110 Vac you maybe if the ground is
not correct

all you need is a monolayer of water molecules
and you are death waiting to happen
most of this death stuff happens when it is damp

and by damp i mean you cannot see the dampness
you cannot feel the dampness
cuz if you did you would take appropriate measures
but you dont
and then you are dead

i got nailed by 1,000 Volts ac at 1 Ampere
i was lucky the guy i was working with was able to start my heart and breathing

usually you get hit, fall down, die, and someone finds you after the critical 4 minute mark

[cadduc]

so
you are the lucky man today

[DWB1960]

Dude, wear at least flip flops from now on! I was playing a basement gig once on a carpet and knelt down holding my guitar like you describe. The rug was wet right where my knee came in contact with it and BAM! Had the same welts on my arm too.

[zerocharisma]

Glad you're okay man, but lesson learned...playing guitar barefoot is:

1. Potentially dangerous, and
2. Not very rock 'n' roll :nono

[jazzguitar14]

Thanks Guys...

I kind-of guessed the bare feet had something to do with it (really just kind of stupid on my part, but then again its summer and who's thinking safety on a such a nice day...)

Its a shame, this was the first time in a while that I have the house to myself and was ready to let loose, now Im a little too shaken up to get back at it... I think Im gonna head off to an AA meeting and let my brain settle for a while. And thank you flipping things properly Caduk, I am lucky today...

[jazzguitar14]

Glad you're okay man, but lesson learned...playing guitar barefoot is:

1. Potentially dangerous, and
2. Not very rock 'n' roll :nono

Still better than sandals w/ socks...

[tjmicsak]

Door bell wiring is likely the cause if you have one. Not many other explainations for a door frame to be a ground path. Likely the neutral side of the door bell transformer secondary is shorting to the frame, or it could be the phasing.
I used to have a 9 volt adapter in a rack unit that powered a relay so as to run a remote footswitch out to the pedalboard from an old MXR flanger. Nine volts is all.
But for some reason you had to be very carefull when hooking the connector to the footswitch, because for what ever reason, the ground path of the amp and guitar cables could turn that 9V into 120V and bite you. Not sure how but it sounds like the same thing. Could be as easy as having the common tap of the primary and secondary hooked to the hot instead of neutral. WIth a two prong wall wart or transformer on your doorbell, you 'll never know unless you provide that ground and then "Hello!"

[Rattles]

Glad you are still standing and not laying dead! Be careful and enjoy your weekend!

[LHanson]

Wireless fixes it. Sucks tone, of course.....

[semi-hollowbody]

wear shoes with rubber soles

while you are not floating 110 Vac you maybe if the ground is
not correct

all you need is a monolayer of water molecules
and you are death waiting to happen
most of this death stuff happens when it is damp

and by damp i mean you cannot see the dampness
you cannot feel the dampness
cuz if you did you would take appropriate measures
but you dont
and then you are dead

i got nailed by 1,000 Volts ac at 1 Ampere
i was lucky the guy i was working with was able to start my heart and breathing

usually you get hit, fall down, die, and someone finds you after the critical 4 minute mark
all of a sudden, playing unplugged doesnt sound so bad

[bearbeams]

I never knew not wearing shoes could do this much. Everytime I play its barefoot and this kind of scares me into getting some slippers to put next to my pedalboard.

[SteveGaines]

I was standing on concrete with SHOES on and we were rehearsing. I had been getting beer out of the fridge for everyone but I wasn't touching my guitar neck. Later that night I went to open the fridge with one hand and was holding my guitar neck with the other...Needless to say, if someone hadn't been there to unplug my amp...I shudder to think what would happen...I know it "LIT ME UP"! I feel your pain brother!

[EADGBE]

It sounds like your output jack may have the wrong polarity. In other words your strings are hot when they should be grounded. Either that or the amp perhaps. Or maybe the pedal switched the hot and ground somehow. Or maybe the metal door is hot somehow. I'm not really sure though. But you should have it checked out. I play barefoot all of the time.

[silvertone1481]

A Dr. Z Z28?!?!

[Rod]

DO NOT play in bare feet in a basement...ever..just sayin...

[Phoenix59]

You never get electrocuted by an acoustic guitar. ;)

[whomad1215]

glad you're ok.

I have a friend who has to turn his amp knobs with a pick (or rubber glove) or else he gets a huge shock. 70's kustom amp.

[X - Road 28]

Damm, is the guitar OK, Someone has to ask :dunno























I keed, I keed, Glad your made it.

[AdamRandall]

I didn't know a garage door I was plugging in was ungrounded a while back, and I got knocked on my ass. The whole right side of my body hurt.

[MT Buckaroo]

Yikes! I play barefoot in my home's walkout basement (pad and carpet over concrete) all the time.

So for the TGP electricians out there...

My house is relatively new - about ten years old. I just checked the outlets and power strip where all my amps (even my POD) are plugged in (all modern 3-prong) with one of those 3-prong outlet testers. They all test "Correct" on the device. I don't have any amps without a 3-prong plug. Do I have anything to worry about (assuming for the sake of this discussion that the green ground wire in the amp cords is in fact properly grounded to the chassis)? This would seem to tell me that all my home's outlets are properly grounded, and that I won't become the ground.

Perhaps my assumption about the amp cords being properly grounded is why you take the precaution with tennis shoes even if your house is wired properly?

Would an outlet tester device indicate the OP's problem or have given him warning of a ground issue?

[crosse79]

Hey man - glad that it was not worse for you. Safety first! :)

[jazzguitar14]

Damm, is the guitar OK, Someone has to ask :dunno


Dude, it was a Tele... I was more worried about breaking my basement foundation:rotflmao





Actually though it was fine, Its a player and has its share of battle scars already