S
snoogans
New member
Why do I get electrocuted by my microphone? It only happens sometimes. I understand it's an issue with grounding, but i am sick of frying my upper lip. Please Help
S
smpacheco
New member
Does your mixer have a three-prong plug? If not then that's the reason..
If you are playing guitar, you are grounded by touching the strings (which are on the same ground as the amp). Since the mixer doesn't have a groundwire, current goes from the mixer to the mic and to your lips since you are grounded. Electricity flows from one voltage to another.. Fortunately, it shouldn't be enough to do damage.
An engineer I work with suggested cutting the shield on the XLR to reduce the zap, but only if the cable isn't long.
Or just buy a better mixer (with a three prong)
Good Luck, and get a pop filter if you absolutely can't stand it anymore.
If you are playing guitar, you are grounded by touching the strings (which are on the same ground as the amp). Since the mixer doesn't have a groundwire, current goes from the mixer to the mic and to your lips since you are grounded. Electricity flows from one voltage to another.. Fortunately, it shouldn't be enough to do damage.
An engineer I work with suggested cutting the shield on the XLR to reduce the zap, but only if the cable isn't long.
Or just buy a better mixer (with a three prong)
Good Luck, and get a pop filter if you absolutely can't stand it anymore.
G
gorbyrun
Mad Scientist
I recommend always bringing a plug in tester like this to the gig...
http://www.tripplite.com/img/products/large/ct120.jpg
They cost less than 10 bucks (they sell them at Wall-Mart) and can save you AND your gear. Usually shocks are mild(ish) if the outlets are wired correctly (usually can be fixed by plugging your amp into the same circut/outlet as the PA)... but if you have an incorrectly wired outlet (much more common than you would think... I mean it's only three wires... how hard is that?)
It'll can knock you out cold... fry your amp, toast a channel in your board and even kill you. I've seen all of these happen (except death). The worst thing you can do is test for a shock with one hand on your guitar and one on your mic... that sends the shock right through your heart.
Here in PA, I'd say one in six bars we play has at least one dangerious outlet. Do your self a favor and buy a tester.
http://www.tripplite.com/img/products/large/ct120.jpg
They cost less than 10 bucks (they sell them at Wall-Mart) and can save you AND your gear. Usually shocks are mild(ish) if the outlets are wired correctly (usually can be fixed by plugging your amp into the same circut/outlet as the PA)... but if you have an incorrectly wired outlet (much more common than you would think... I mean it's only three wires... how hard is that?)
It'll can knock you out cold... fry your amp, toast a channel in your board and even kill you. I've seen all of these happen (except death). The worst thing you can do is test for a shock with one hand on your guitar and one on your mic... that sends the shock right through your heart.
Here in PA, I'd say one in six bars we play has at least one dangerious outlet. Do your self a favor and buy a tester.
F
free_d20
New member
Hey Gorb, I checked out the pic of the tester and had no idea what each thing meant (only "correct"...duh). So what is safe and what is dangerous?
G
gorbyrun
Mad Scientist
Everything but "correct" is dangerious... don't use that outlet!!! The most common dangerious situation is reverse polarity. If you detect a problem... discretly and politely point it out to the bar owner (It's something they need to fix or someone could get seriously hurt.)
It's possible to have everything check out and still get shocked. This usually means your amp needs serviced(This usually applies most to old tube amps...). Plug you amp into the same powerstrip as your mixer and see if you get shocked. If you don't, your amps okay. If the outlets "check out" and your amp's okay, you're probably plugged into a different circuit (this shouldn't really matter... but it occassionally does). If that happens, plug in to the mixer's power outlet.
By the way, I highly recommend plugging your power amps and mixer into the same outlet. This ensures they are on the same circuit and helps prevent hum in the system.
It's possible to have everything check out and still get shocked. This usually means your amp needs serviced(This usually applies most to old tube amps...). Plug you amp into the same powerstrip as your mixer and see if you get shocked. If you don't, your amps okay. If the outlets "check out" and your amp's okay, you're probably plugged into a different circuit (this shouldn't really matter... but it occassionally does). If that happens, plug in to the mixer's power outlet.
By the way, I highly recommend plugging your power amps and mixer into the same outlet. This ensures they are on the same circuit and helps prevent hum in the system.
Treeline
New member
gorbyrun said:
LISTEN TO HIM.
I have one and it's the first thing that comes out of the toolbox at a gig. Gotta figure out where the power's coming from and whether it'll kill you.
maestro_dmc
Uses Paramedic EQ
Yes, it can seriously injure you and I escaped injury myself because my guitar touched the Mic before my lips did.
Melted and snapped the string instantly with a bright flash, and a loud pop!
If that had been my lips, well no singing that night for sure, at the very least!
Melted and snapped the string instantly with a bright flash, and a loud pop!
If that had been my lips, well no singing that night for sure, at the very least!
D
DigitalDon
New member
Now take this for what it's worth. I don't know if it's true or not. A guitar player once told me this. When he played in dives where it was likely a drunk (with wet hands from his beer bottle) would get up and grab a mic he would leave one string long on his guitar and lift the ground on his amp. When the wet handed drunk grabbed the mic he would swing his guitar around and touch him on the arm with the string. Of course the vocalist knew this would happen and was ready to catch the mic.
Light
New member
The problem is a ground loop. You can die from this, believe it or not, so take it seriously. A missing ground in the system is only one of the reasons this can happen. The problem also occurs when the guitar amp and the PA have different paths to ground, or one has the hot and neutral legs reversed. Remember, electricity follows the shortest path to ground, so if the shortest path is through you and your guitar, that is the path it will follow. You want to make sure this does not happen. Both systems (guitar and PA) need to be on the same power service. Ideally, audio has a dedicated service, and the guitar amps need to be plugged into that service. On large tours they carry their own power distribution, which supplies both the PA and the backline. A well designed music venue will have a similar, dedicated, audio power system.
It is always a good idea to have a plug tester on hand, and I always bring a ground lift in case the wall outlet is two pronged. But this is NOT enough. You also need to get a decent (not great, but decent) multi-meter. I think it is a good idea to get one which is self leveling, as you don't have to search for a problem. Once the show is set up, you set the multi-meter to test for voltage A/C, touch one probe to the mic, and the other to the (plugged in and powered up) guitar. If you see ANY voltage, STOP and find the problem before you do anything else.
I actually knew a blues guitar player once who actually liked it if we could get about 12 V between his mic and his guitar. He said it gave him a little edginess to his vocals. He did not get it most nights, because it is usually 120V or 0V, and nothing in between, but every now and then he got lucky.
Then there was the guy a friend of mine was working for. He was the bass player for a group who was touring clubs in support of their first major label album back in the early 1980's. This guy had just bought himself a brand new live bass rig with some of his advance money, and my friend (who was his tour manager and FOH engineer) said something like, "great, leave it here and we'll set it up for you." This guy said he wanted to learn how to do it himself, just so he would know. My friend led him through the whole thing, and then said, "But we have to make sure there is no voltage running between the rig and your vocal mic." He took out his meter, and showed the guy what it was supposed to read. This guy then said, but what would it look like if it was wrong, so my friend reversed the polarity of the amp, and show the guy. My friend then said, "But if you don't have a meter, just hold your bass without touching the strings, and touch the strings to the mic. This guy gets all excited by this, and grabs his bass and, before anyone can stop him, touches his bass strings to the mic, with the rigs polarity still reversed. There is a very big bang, the mic stand goes flying, and smoke fills the air. This bass player puts down his bass, and says, “You can take care of this from now on." He leaves, and never tries to set up his own gear again.
Buy a multi-meter, and ALWAYS use it.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
It is always a good idea to have a plug tester on hand, and I always bring a ground lift in case the wall outlet is two pronged. But this is NOT enough. You also need to get a decent (not great, but decent) multi-meter. I think it is a good idea to get one which is self leveling, as you don't have to search for a problem. Once the show is set up, you set the multi-meter to test for voltage A/C, touch one probe to the mic, and the other to the (plugged in and powered up) guitar. If you see ANY voltage, STOP and find the problem before you do anything else.
I actually knew a blues guitar player once who actually liked it if we could get about 12 V between his mic and his guitar. He said it gave him a little edginess to his vocals. He did not get it most nights, because it is usually 120V or 0V, and nothing in between, but every now and then he got lucky.
Then there was the guy a friend of mine was working for. He was the bass player for a group who was touring clubs in support of their first major label album back in the early 1980's. This guy had just bought himself a brand new live bass rig with some of his advance money, and my friend (who was his tour manager and FOH engineer) said something like, "great, leave it here and we'll set it up for you." This guy said he wanted to learn how to do it himself, just so he would know. My friend led him through the whole thing, and then said, "But we have to make sure there is no voltage running between the rig and your vocal mic." He took out his meter, and showed the guy what it was supposed to read. This guy then said, but what would it look like if it was wrong, so my friend reversed the polarity of the amp, and show the guy. My friend then said, "But if you don't have a meter, just hold your bass without touching the strings, and touch the strings to the mic. This guy gets all excited by this, and grabs his bass and, before anyone can stop him, touches his bass strings to the mic, with the rigs polarity still reversed. There is a very big bang, the mic stand goes flying, and smoke fills the air. This bass player puts down his bass, and says, “You can take care of this from now on." He leaves, and never tries to set up his own gear again.
Buy a multi-meter, and ALWAYS use it.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
R
Rev E
New member
You didn't get ELECTROCUTED! You may have gotten shocked, but certainly not electrocuted. If you had gotten electrocuted, you would be dead right now. People survive "shocks." Noone survives an "electrocution." Just an FYI.
J
Jeeper
New member
Do you move your mixer with jobs or is it in a fixed studio is a good question to ask yourself. Reason being, if you move it from job to job and it uses an IEC plug on the back you may be swapping IEC cords between equipment. That may explain the sometimes shock sometimes not. If that's the case then have fun finding that one or more bad cords in you cases.
BTW for everyone's benefit, a bad third wire ground in any electrical equipment is easy to have and never know about. In order for almost everything to work all thats needed is a hot and neutral wire. That third bonding safety wire could be broken and allow anythings case to go hot.
I went on a job once where the complaint was everything on a counter was shocking people. Everything was because the third wire was not made in the outlet strip everything was plugged into. One piece of equipment had a hot to case fault and the third wire carried hot case to rest of counter. Next gig or job check that outlet you plug into or all your gear could be like that if some ground is broken or never wired up properly. Also that surge arrestor may not drain the spikes to ground either.
Those three light checkers stay with my gear everywhere and its the very first thing plugged in before even my surge arrestor systems. For regular checks of gear a female three prong plug with one lead of an ohm-meter under green ground screw with equipment plugged into female plug. Next touch other lead to metal case of equipment and you should show an almost zero ohm reading. (This certainly will not work with equipment or tools that are double insulated but that's another story. Double insulated stuff has 2 prong plugs)
BTW most dangerous form of electricity to your body is said to be the US standard 120 v 60hz. 120volts causes muscular constriction that's almost impossible to break free from. And 60 hz is wrong frequency for your heart.
Another good question to ask yourself: How old is that surge arrestor I'm using. Many of the ones in use today have had their guts blown by a transient. Replace them every so often especially if you know something has happened while using them like lights dim or something pops and you hear it etc. You may well be a lot cheaper in the long run by doing so.
Off my soapbox for now. Please the ones that know these things bear with me because I bet a lot here have not heard them. If someone does not let them know they'll be on job gig etc and their bodies smoking not their pipe or whatever.
BTW for everyone's benefit, a bad third wire ground in any electrical equipment is easy to have and never know about. In order for almost everything to work all thats needed is a hot and neutral wire. That third bonding safety wire could be broken and allow anythings case to go hot.
I went on a job once where the complaint was everything on a counter was shocking people. Everything was because the third wire was not made in the outlet strip everything was plugged into. One piece of equipment had a hot to case fault and the third wire carried hot case to rest of counter. Next gig or job check that outlet you plug into or all your gear could be like that if some ground is broken or never wired up properly. Also that surge arrestor may not drain the spikes to ground either.
Those three light checkers stay with my gear everywhere and its the very first thing plugged in before even my surge arrestor systems. For regular checks of gear a female three prong plug with one lead of an ohm-meter under green ground screw with equipment plugged into female plug. Next touch other lead to metal case of equipment and you should show an almost zero ohm reading. (This certainly will not work with equipment or tools that are double insulated but that's another story. Double insulated stuff has 2 prong plugs)
BTW most dangerous form of electricity to your body is said to be the US standard 120 v 60hz. 120volts causes muscular constriction that's almost impossible to break free from. And 60 hz is wrong frequency for your heart.
Another good question to ask yourself: How old is that surge arrestor I'm using. Many of the ones in use today have had their guts blown by a transient. Replace them every so often especially if you know something has happened while using them like lights dim or something pops and you hear it etc. You may well be a lot cheaper in the long run by doing so.
Off my soapbox for now. Please the ones that know these things bear with me because I bet a lot here have not heard them. If someone does not let them know they'll be on job gig etc and their bodies smoking not their pipe or whatever.
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