Weird electric shocks

[Wayavas1337]

Ok so there is something weird going on....I get electric shocks with my bass strings if I touch them with my elbow, but if I touch it with my hands nothing happens....the same goes with the Ashtray I have on the bridge (its a classic fender ashtray) if i touch it with my elbow it gives electric shock but nothing happens if i touch it with my hands.

*** is going on?

[exidor]

I think you need to ground your elbow,that should solve it. what say you.

[Wayavas1337]

well i dont know, the same thing happens with my fridge, if i touch with my elbow it gives electric shocks, but nothing with my hand

[willbassyeah]

Think I experience this too... I thought I was just imagining thing so I don't give a damn bout it.

[john m]

The electrical resistance of the skin on your elbow is less that that of your finger tips.

Though leather is not a perfect insulator, a thick piece of leather is better than a thin piece.


You are likely getting a shock from the stray voltages on the piece of equipment and then giving the current supplied by that voltage a path to ground.

[heavyfunkmachin]

might have something to do with thick skinned hands and sensible nerves near the elbow...

[1958Bassman]

Are you standing on concrete, with bare feet? Those shocks indicate that your amp isn't grounded properly or the hot & neutral are reversed and the chassis isn't grounded.

[exidor]

Originally Posted by 1958Bassman

Are you standing on concrete, with bare feet? Those shocks indicate that your amp isn't grounded properly or the hot & neutral are reversed and the chassis isn't grounded.

+1

[Ian_Flash]

GEt out of the shower BEFORE you start playing.

[ctmullins]

And ground your refrigerator, man, before disaster strikes!

[bassbenj]

Originally Posted by ctmullins

And ground your refrigerator, man, before disaster strikes!

Exactly! This sounds like a grounding problem or a large RF filter giving leakage voltage. Check all your house wiring and amp for grounding problems at once! I used to have some vintage gear that had the big filter caps between power lines and chassis ground. In all modern gear the chassis is supposed to be completely grounded in the old gear if the ground wasn't there (like using a "ground buster") the filters would put voltage right onto everything. It wasn't like full power line voltage but you could feel it especially where your skin was thinner. Like if you sort of lightly ran your hand over the metal you would feel this kind of "buzzy" feeling. Sometimes even a slight shock. Point is this is a sign of a grounding problem.

GET ALL THAT GEAR PROPERLY GROUNDED AT ONCE!

If you happen to get between the gear and a "real" ground like say a water pipe, it can be dangerous!

[Davo-London]

Originally Posted by Ian_Flash

GEt out of the shower BEFORE you start playing.

Made me LOL, nice.

Sounds like you live underneath power transmission cables to me. But then I'm the wrong engineer to make this call!

Davo

[khutch]

I've notice that too. Maybe it is thinner skin, maybe it is more sensitive nerves but when I get that at church it isn't really a shock, it is more like someone is pressing a needle point lightly against me so I don't think it is dangerous. In fact I only get it once in a while. I took a voltmeter to rehearsal one night to check it out more carefully and I have never felt again. Evidently the easiest way to fix it is to carry a DVM in your case or gig bag!

Ken

[Wayavas1337]

thanks for your replies friends!!
you have helped me a lot specially since i didnt knew my refrigerator was a killing machine waiting for someone to make a mistake