so i play for my church every sunday (go back and forth from bass and electric). last week during practice... i had been feeling static on my lips whenever i would walk up to the mic. then finally one of the times i went to sing... BAM!!! i thought i got hit in the head with a baseball bat. i sat down for a minute and quickly realized that i was just electrocuted.:eek: dang that hurt. my mouth was bleeding and everything. everyone in the band blamed it on my lip ring (they just dont like it i think)... but i dont think that was the case personally... i mean it couldnt have helped the situation. i was playing electric at the time and was also wired with an aviom so there was plenty of power wrapped around my body. my question is this... since they insist on me using a wired mic because i dont move around a ton, how do i prevent it from shocking me again? that sunday i touched the mic with my hand and got electrocuted again through both arms. someone told me that either the electric or the mic wasnt grounded properly... could that be? how do i fix it?:help:

Must be Gods way of telling you to get rid of the lip ring. ;) Something is not grounded properly, probably your bass amp if no one else is getting shocked.

.. there was plenty of power wrapped around my body.

With great power, comes great responsibility.

:ninja::ninja:

With great power, comes great responsibility.

:ninja::ninja:

http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/wp-content/2007/04/spiderman.gif

Hi.

If You're all still alive, no joke there BTW, I'd suggest that an electrician should check all the outlets. If the problem isn't there in the church wiring and even if it was, Your amp should be inspected also, if there's any doubt that the grounding is faulty.


Grounding the strings to reduce hum can kill You, that's the reason I leave that as a last resort.

I take from Your experience that You live in an 110V environment. Be thankful for that, a jolt 230V through You wouldn't feel so pleasant.

Regards.
Sam

Lip ring will make it worse, but only if there's a serious problem in the first place.

people die from this stuff! If the church (of all people!) won't take the problem seriously call the local health and safety people - they can close the place down if its a danger to public (ie your!) health.

You can get cheap safety testers that check that the mains plugs are correctly wired. Often they include an RCB which will shut down the power in the even of a problem - definatly a good investment if your not happy with the power.

Ian

get the electrics tested. this can be lethal.

I also play in my church and had this very same problem- altough I've never had it shock me bad enough to hurt...just tingle. I was playing an electric guitar ran through a Line 6 floor pod then into this very old (huge) amp that I got from my school who was going to throw it away. It's from like the 60's (called the "Baldwin Exterminator") and it has no ground. Sure enough that was the problem! I tried using my friend's Fender twin reverb that was grounded and the problem was gone. I've had it happen at more than one venue actually, so now if I ever play through the amp while singing, I'll use a wireless mic.

Body jewelry, unless REALLY cheap, is non-magnetic as well as non-conductive. You have a grounding problem.

Body jewelry, unless REALLY cheap, is non-magnetic as well as non-conductive. You have a grounding problem.

if it's made of metal, it'll conduct...

Yes all metals conduct electricity.

I've experienced electricity in the mic grill as well a couple of times, not a strong current as the OP was experiencing, but still so you could feel it in your lips. I guess it was a grounding problem, but I never cared to solve it...

I've run into this on some gigs where there is funky wiring. Since you can't do much about it on gig night, I keep a foam windscreen for my mike in my gigbag. It keeps me from getting zapped by preventing my lips from touching the mike screen.
Since you're in church you need them to get to remedy the problem for everyone's sake.

If your amp is grounded, lift it

or

if it is lifted, ground it.

or

do likewise with the FOH

Lip ring will definitely make this worse. That will be a potential hazard as long as you have it. Not to mention a risk of infection. The human mouth is a constant portal for potential infection of all kinds. I'm hip to the fashion statement, just not a smart or practical one, especially for musicians (ironically).

JKT

NEVER lift the ground of an amp or a piece of PA gear.

If your amp has no ground, and/or has a ground switch (like the old Fenders), have the ground switch disabled and have the power cord replaced with a grounded one. (The ground switch on current Fenders is there just for the vintage look - it's not connected to anything.)

Plug your amp into different wall outlets until you find one that has its ground at the same potential as the PA (= no more ZAP). To test: grab the strings in one hand, and touch the mic with the back of your other hand. (The back of your hand is more sensitive, and a shock cannot cause you to involuntarily grab the mic.)

And of course it is possible that there is a faulty outlet.

Lip ring will definitely make this worse. That will be a potential hazard as long as you have it.... I'm hip to the fashion statement, just not a smart or practical one, especially for musicians (ironically).
Too bad the lip ring didn't get welded to the mike's windscreen. That would've been hilarious!


OK, maybe not for you... :hiding:

I stopped having this problem once I started making sure the whole band is plugged into the same circuit.

First, you were shocked, not electrocuted. Electrocution is death by electric shock. Second, it wasn't static electricity that shocked you. Third, you have an improperly grounded system. This can happen when the PA is plugged into a different circuit than your amp. It's very common when the power outlet is not properly gounded and you become the path to ground. Don't play in this situation until the circuits are checked out by a professional electrician. You could die. Finally, the lip ring won't make a difference if the grounding is hunky-dory.

ONe other possibility is a problem in a mic that has phantom power sent to it.

48v phantom power will certainly raise your eyebrows a bit.

I only mention it since you aren't dead, lucky for you about the 110v system, over here you'd at the list have a burnt lip....

Question for the responders, esp the electrically inclined:

the consensus seems to be that this situation (shock from the mic) is potentially lethal. My frontman/guitarist has this problem often, due we believe to a multi FX korg pedal that was purchased in japan, and so has Japanese style power cuircuits, which he must run thru an adapter here in the states. It also causes noise issues often.

we all have figured it was an annoyance, but if this is potentially lethal, we better find a safe and sure solution.

What is the safest method of adapting his pedal to USA power circuits?

Is the plugin for your amp a two prong?...flip it over and see what happens. My old Kustom used to shock me from time to time...flipped it over and it's fine.

Gaaa! First off, some good intentions around here, but potentially lethal advice. NEVER DISCONNECT THE AC GROUND ON AMPS OR ON PA GEAR!!!! NO EXCEPTIONS! EVER! That's how people die.

Yeah, I know "everyone does it." It's still wrong, it can still kill you.

Step 1: Get an electrician to check the wiring up there!

Step 2: Get the entire band plugged into the same grounding path as the PA, or at least the same grounding path as the console that your mic connects to. If the church has the electrician come out for step 1, that would be a good time to take care of step 2 if some circuits need to be moved around. In a perfect world, all of the PA should be plugged into the same grounding path...but being in the same path as the nearest console will at least keep you from becoming a living light bulb.

If your gear is plugged into the same ground path as the nearest (in the signal path) console, then there won't be any difference in the ground potential between your gear and your mic...which means you get to live to play another gig.

-Mark

Anything in the bible about piercings? :hiding:


Seriously though not a laughing matter, +1 on getting the place inspected by a qualified electrician. I have been shocked by a mic before, never had a piercing in my life - if that helps.

This happened to my guitarist at rehearsal a few weeks back (no lip ring). I forget exactly but I think he said it was one of his extension cords.

GG for you!

I can remember i did that when i was practicing in my room to some music (metallica i think), and before i put my Ipod down, i felt a massive shock through my fingers!
I didn't even have my Ipod's power plugged in so it must of come off my strings! but my bass was (and is) Passive!?!?

I am much more cautious when i play now :D

GG for you!

I can remember i did that when i was practicing in my room to some music (metallica i think), and before i put my Ipod down, i felt a massive shock through my fingers!
I didn't even have my Ipod's power plugged in so it must of come off my strings! but my bass was (and is) Passive!?!?

I am much more cautious when i play now :D


Active / passive, no difference. If there's a path to ground through your strings, and a path to ground through something else at different potential, and you happen to be touching both when there's electricity present...bzzzpppt.

-Mark

Hi.

If You're all still alive, no joke there BTW, I'd suggest that an electrician should check all the outlets. If the problem isn't there in the church wiring and even if it was, Your amp should be inspected also, if there's any doubt that the grounding is faulty.

Bingo.

This is usually caused by your amp being on one circuit and the PA being on another - and one of the two circuits has the hot and neutral reversed. It's unlikely it's a third wire safety ground problem, but that is also a minor possibility.


The church absolutely needs to get that fixed before it kills someone.

--
Aaron (Senior Electrical Engineer)

NEVER lift the ground of an amp or a piece of PA gear.


Never lift a "safety ground" on the AC power.

Go ahead and lift a signal ground all you want.

Bingo.

This is usually caused by your amp being on one circuit and the PA being on another - and one of the two circuits has the hot and neutral reversed. It's unlikely it's a third wire safety ground problem, but that is also a minor possibility.


The church absolutely needs to get that fixed before it kills someone.

--
Aaron (Senior Electrical Engineer)
+1. This can make you die. Which Sucks.

(Junior Electrical Engineer ;) )

Anything in the bible about piercings? :hiding:

I have piercings and play in church and God has never zapped me with a mic.Maybe it because the soundman keeps turning my mic off :hmm: look I know can't sing but at least humor me by putting me in the monitors :rollno:

+1. This can make you die.

Definitely.

Which Sucks.

I wouldn't know - I've never done it.

Before you do anything , check all outlet your band uses with tester to see if there IS a ground and if the phases are OK.