I got a shock at band practice

MtB · December 2016

Not sure whether this is the correct place for this thread, but I need to know what's happened.

Went to band practice today to the usual place, and I play guitar and sing in the band. Plugged my mic lead into the PA, no probs. About 15 minutes before the end of the (4 hour) session and I got an electric shock from the mic to my lips - not a big shock, but it made me jump. Then every time that I went to touch the mic subsequently I got shocked again.

Is it a problem with the PA / the Mic / the cable?

Any ideas what's at fault? The shock seemed to be worse when I was touching the guitar strings.

Help!

richh · December 2016

Use an RCD - residual current detector. The clever guys will give you the technical details, but this could potentially be very dangerous, so a £20 RCD to guard has got to be worth it.

EricTheWeary · December 2016

I've had a static type shock off a rehearsal room mic. Not a big shock but catches you by surprise. Sounds the same as yours. I don't know what caused it either.

octatonic · December 2016

Shock, or ground loop?
Did it feel sharp, or dull?

MtB · December 2016

Sharp - it made me jump.

frictionfraction · December 2016

Seen plenty of this in pubs with crap electrics. Earthing issue with the building I think..

ICBM · December 2016

The PA is not earthed properly - the fault is more likely in the wall wiring than the PA, although it could be the plug on the power cable. If you haven't already, report it to the studio management.

It's unlikely to be actively dangerous - you'd know about it more than a mildly unpleasant tingle if the mic was actually live - but it does mean that it could potentially become so if something else goes wrong.

The reason it's worse if you're touching your guitar strings is because your amp and guitar are earthed, and hence provide the best leakage path to earth, via you. This is what becomes extremely dangerous if the PA does become fully live.

Unfortunately an RCD may not help because it won't remove the earth connections. It depends where the leak is coming from as to whether it does anything or not.

snakemanStoo · December 2016

I had this happen once. Turned out the earth in the amp had got disconnected. 5 mins with a screwdriver and soldering iron, no more shocks.

monquixote · December 2016

I had it happen and it turned out the earth had broken on an extension lead.

57Deluxe · December 2016

thought you were gonner say that the drummer played in time and the singer came in at the right place!

richardhomer · December 2016

57Deluxe said:

thought you were gonner say that the drummer played in time and the singer came in at the right place!

Those are the kind of shocks you don't recover from....

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I got a shock at band practice

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