Is my guitar going to kill me?

vojtasTS29 · Post by **vojtasTS29** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 9:14 pm

Well i basically have that weird problem, where my guitar hums very lightly with lots of distortion, and you can hear it pop very quietly when i touch the strings and the hum goes away... But that is home volume... also when i touch any metal on the guitar plugged into one amp with a plugged in cable from another amp, the other amp pops quite a lot. I am kinda afraid of me being the ground in case of bad microphone polarity on a show... My amp has a 3-prong plug that works fine.

George · Post by **George** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 9:52 pm

yeah dude you're fucked

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 10:32 pm

Something is not properly grounded. Does your amp have a 3-pin mains plug?

Fakir Mustache · Post by **Fakir Mustache** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 8:05 am

^Yup, but it could be a lot of things, from the guitar to a bad AC installation.

71Smallbox · Post by **71Smallbox** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 1:05 pm

Pour beer on it.

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 2:32 pm

Fakir Mustache wrote:^Yup, but it could be a lot of things, from the guitar to a bad AC installation.

True. Get a 2m copper spike, drive 1.8m into the ground and water it to ensure good contact. Run a heavy cable from the spike to the chassis of your amplifier.

This tip brought to you by courtesy of Alistair Cook, my former colleague who toured with Pink Floyd as a lighting desk engineer in the 70s.

vojtasTS29 · Post by **vojtasTS29** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 9:27 pm

Found out that it happens only with the guitar being in a single position, so i think it might be a cold solder joint somewhere on the ground lead inside.

vojtasTS29 · Post by **vojtasTS29** » Tue Jan 19, 2016 9:39 pm

well. I did some research and was thinking. Is there actually a way to make you safe from getting accidentaly zapped to death by the mic when playing for example squats and other places with homemade and shitty wiring? I mean i got a mic shock few times in my life, and i am kind of afraid of that

Maybe putting like a big resistor on the ground wire or something to limit the fucked mic-your body-guitar-ground current?

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 6:02 am

You could wear a full rubber bodysuit and mask, but then the whole band has to do it or else you'll just look stupid.

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 10:25 am

vojtasTS29 wrote:well. I did some research and was thinking. Is there actually a way to make you safe from getting accidentaly zapped to death by the mic when playing for example squats and other places with homemade and shitty wiring? I mean i got a mic shock few times in my life, and i am kind of afraid of that Maybe putting like a big resistor on the ground wire or something to limit the fucked mic-your body-guitar-ground current?

I use a windshield to stop me getting a little buzz. I bought a pack of 5 off eBay and keep one in the car. Kind of like a condom really.

vojtasTS29 · Post by **vojtasTS29** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 7:30 pm

wow. One would not think how trolled can you get just for asking a pretty crucial questions when you play punkmade venues.

serfx · Post by **serfx** » Wed Jan 20, 2016 11:56 pm

vojtasTS29 wrote:wow. One would not think how trolled can you get just for asking a pretty crucial questions when you play punkmade venues.

really?

ANYWAYS.

you'll be fine, just stop eating the mic, get a P screen, it'll look silly, however, you won't get sick form other peoples saliva anymore via mic transfers.
also check the soldier job on the pickups.
maybe run a wire from yr ground to the bridge as well..

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Thu Jan 21, 2016 5:05 pm

vojtasTS29 wrote:punkmade venues

pahahahahahaha

Electrician breaks beer bottle over junction box, "NO FEW-CHAHHH!!!"

Freddy V-C · Post by **Freddy V-C** » Thu Jan 21, 2016 6:32 pm

I think if you use a surge protector you shouldn't have any issues in venues with dodgy wiring. I don't use one because I like to live on the edge.

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Fri Jan 22, 2016 11:17 am

Freddy V-C wrote:I think if you use a surge protector you shouldn't have any issues in venues with dodgy wiring. I don't use one because I like to live on the edge.

Don't rely on a surge arrestor; it doesn't provide isolation, just over-voltage protection. Insulation and isolation are the options. To protect against liveness on the mike use a windshield or pop filter and don't touch the mic (Les Harvey of Stone The Crows died when he grabbed the mic and was earthed through his guitar). The alternative is audio isolating transformers, like >>these<< 600 ohm ones for mics or >>these<< for high impedance e.g. guitar. As they're only 10k I'd use a buffer in front of those and use an isolated pedal PSU.

George · Post by **George** » Fri Jan 22, 2016 11:30 am

vojtasTS29 wrote:Found out that it happens only with the guitar being in a single position, so i think it might be a cold solder joint somewhere on the ground lead inside.

if you're saying its noisy with single coils and quiet in the middle position between two single coils, then that's called "hum cancelling"

hum or buzz or whatever you want to call it is a consequence of single coils and completely normal

you can shield your control or pickup cavity to improve it or just buy a different construction of pickup. as others have said it could also be your bridge or some other element isn't earthed correctly

vojtasTS29 · Post by **vojtasTS29** » Fri Jan 22, 2016 5:04 pm

noo. i meant that it didn't happen with the guitar laying on the bed, but it did happen when the guitar was standing/hanging and stuff.

Well i might get a pop filter than. Even tho i usually eat the microphone a lot.