Ibanez ATK Grounding Problem?

[thorstiborsti]

My ATK sounds fine when playing i.e. no buzzing when I'm not touching any metal parts on it. However the other day I reached over the bass and the inside of my arm touched the strings and it felt like my skin was getting burned/shocked. Could that be a grounding issue?

 

[B-Mac]

My ATK sounds fine when playing i.e. no buzzing when I'm not touching any metal parts on it. However the other day I reached over the bass and the inside of my arm touched the strings and it felt like my skin was getting burned/shocked. Could that be a grounding issue?

@Riff Ranger is a big fan of the ATK. Hopefully he can help!

 

[Riff Ranger]

@Riff Ranger is a big fan of the ATK. Hopefully he can help!

Huge fan of ATKs since I got my first one back in 1995, but unfortunately my lack of knowledge of electronics issues has remained at least as constant

You might ask in the ATK club, but from what little I do know of electronics, I would hazard a hunch that it’s something in combination with that bass rather than the bass itself. Are you singing into a microphone while playing this bass? Wearing shoes? Hopefully someone with some actual knowledge these things will tune in

I will throw a few things out there that probably have nothing to do with this, but just might:

•I love ATKs, but the ‘90s models (and possibly later ones) have finicky output jacks. This generally amounts to an audible crackle through speakers or headphones, though, not anything resembling a physical shock. Removing the plug and reinserting it once generally clears it up.

•My ATK305—and my decades-newer Yamaha BB735A—both very occasionally develop a loud buzz that comes and goes without warning that I suspect has something to do with the ground wires in their respective control cavities, but it goes and mostly stays away for reasons as unknown to me as why it happens in the first place. When this issue is in effect, keeping a bare toe on a pedal eliminates the buzz until I step off. I still have experienced nothing like a physical shock from either instrument. (And their four-string counterparts never do this.)

•The strings that came stock on a Jackson I bought in 2021 literally ripped the hair from my forearm. Any chance that’s what you felt?

I hope you get more helpful replies. The best I can do: this doesn’t sound like a common issue inherent to ATKs.

 

[thorstiborsti]

Huge fan of ATKs since I got my first one back in 1995, but unfortunately my lack of knowledge of electronics issues has remained at least as constant

You might ask in the ATK club, but from what little I do know of electronics, I would hazard a hunch that it’s something in combination with that bass rather than the bass itself. Are you singing into a microphone while playing this bass? Wearing shoes? Hopefully someone with some actual knowledge these things will tune in

I will throw a few things out there that probably have nothing to do with this, but just might:

•I love ATKs, but the ‘90s models (and possibly later ones) have finicky output jacks. This generally amounts to an audible crackle through speakers or headphones, though, not anything resembling a physical shock. Removing the plug and reinserting it once generally clears it up.

•My ATK305—and my decades-newer Yamaha BB735A—both very occasionally develop a loud buzz that comes and goes without warning that I suspect has something to do with the ground wires in their respective control cavities, but it goes and mostly stays away for reasons as unknown to me as why it happens in the first place. When this issue is in effect, keeping a bare toe on a pedal eliminates the buzz until I step off. I still have experienced nothing like a physical shock from either instrument. (And their four-string counterparts never do this.)

•The strings that came stock on a Jackson I bought in 2021 literally ripped the hair from my forearm. Any chance that’s what you felt?

I hope you get more helpful replies. The best I can do: this doesn’t sound like a common issue inherent to ATKs.

Thank you for your extensive reply! I’ll post this in the ATK Group and see if anybody has any pointers.

 

[thorstiborsti]

Thank you for your extensive reply! I’ll post this in the ATK Group and see if anybody has any pointers.

Oh and I have little to no hair on the inside of my arm but good call

 

[Mechayoshi]

Did it buzz and that's it or where you literally shocked?

If the latter I'd be very cautious until experts drop in. That could be a serious electrical issue with your amp or home. That being said, it sounds like the texture of the string caught you off guard since it did nothing to your fingers presumably. What are the strings anyway?

 

[thorstiborsti]

Did it buzz and that's it or where you literally shocked?

If the latter I'd be very cautious until experts drop in. That could be a serious electrical issue with your amp or home. That being said, it sounds like the texture of the string caught you off guard since it did nothing to your fingers presumably. What are the strings anyway?

It’s not a buzz. I’ll be leaning over the neck and my arm comes in contact with the E string and I feel like mini shocks to a point where it feels like my skin is getting burned. When I play I don’t feel a thing probably because of the calluses on my fingers. Strings are EB rounds

 

[KidAmnesia]

Where you playing barefoot?

I had this happen in places where grounding is not great several times. It happens when you touch the strings or other metal parts of an instrument (I tried it with a couple different ones, but never with an ATK) with a part of your body with thinner skin while standing barefoot on the ground.

AFAIK it has something to do with static and is not dangerous neither for you nor for your gear.

 

[thorstiborsti]

Where you playing barefoot?

I had this happen in places where grounding is not great several times. It happens when you touch the strings or other metal parts of an instrument (I tried it with a couple different ones, but never with an ATK) with a part of your body with thinner skin while standing barefoot on the ground.

AFAIK it has something to do with static and is not dangerous neither for you nor for your gear.

As a matter of fact I was playing barefoot (channeling my inner Scott Reeder lol). I’ll give it a try with socks/shoes. Thanks!

 

[Riff Ranger]

As a matter of fact I was playing barefoot (channeling my inner Scott Reeder lol). I’ll give it a try with socks/shoes. Thanks!

Ha! I actually might have been onto something! Scott Reeder, the bassist, is definitely a great guy (and Scott Reeder, the drummer in the same scene, probably is, too) and played at least one relatively high-profile Kyuss show barefoot with an ATK (which he still has). Ironically, I independently took to playing barefoot with an ATK around the same time but have never gotten a shock from it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I suggested that as a possibility because I learned about the risks after posting this photograph on here within the past year or so.

I hope you can determine the cause with certainty, and I’ll be very amused if I was actually onto anything

 

[thorstiborsti]

Ha! I actually might have been onto something! Scott Reeder, the bassist, is definitely a great guy (and Scott Reeder, the drummer in the same scene, probably is, too) and played at least one relatively high-profile Kyuss show barefoot with an ATK (which he still has). Ironically, I independently took to playing barefoot with an ATK around the same time but have never gotten a shock from it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I suggested that as a possibility because I learned about the risks after posting this photograph on here within the past year or so.
View attachment 4986684

I hope you can determine the cause with certainty, and I’ll be very amused if I was actually onto anything

That's one funky headstock in that pic! Since this is a bass forum I figured I didn't need to specify which one of the Reeder's I was referring to . Both Scott Reeder's actually played together in the band Sun And Sail Club.

 

[Jazz Ad]

Not an issue on then bass side.
You need to check thé earthing of your house

 

[thorstiborsti]

Not an issue on then bass side.
You need to check thé earthing of your house

It’s only an issue with the ATK though (maybe because of anctive electronics?)

 

[Riff Ranger]

That's one funky headstock in that pic! Since this is a bass forum I figured I didn't need to specify which one of the Reeder's I was referring to . Both Scott Reeder's actually played together in the band Sun And Sail Club.

I was Ranger Merman, but it was a musical, so my trident was also my bass