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Shocking Experience


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Good Afternoon JTV Crew - 

 

My Setup:

JTV-89F -> Variax Cable -> POD HD 500X -> Mixing Board -> PA System

 

I was singing this past weekend and when I touched the mic which is connected to the mixing board -> PA - I got a nice little shock - Kinda like the 9V battery type of shock - It kept happening so I switched to a different MIC with a different cable and plugged into the snake on a different port - 

Again I got shocked - 

I put my JTV-89F on a stand and used the MIC without a shock - 

A little more testing with JTV in Hand and when I was touching the strings of the JTV I would get shocked - 

 

Ideas? 

Unfortunately I only have 1 Variax Cable - Which is actually a replacement direct from JTV Support - 

My 500X is connected to a grounded power strip which is also connected to a properly grounded power outlet.  Tested with ground tester.. The power on the stage was built to spec to make sure the power onstage didn't produce that ungrounded HUM..  

 

Thanks for any and all input.. 

 

Trav... 

 

 

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What type of Variax cable is it? A VDI cable or the one that comes with the JTV? They are different. You should be using a VDI cable (shielded at both ends) when connecting to a device like the POD.

 

Not saying it's necessarily the cable, but using the proper cable will rule out that possibility.

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You don't say what kind of amp you're using. Step 1 is to make sure that your own gear is safe -- no cut-off ground pins or ground-lift adapters, no bad wiring mods, etc.

 

Assuming that your gear is not trying to kill you -- next time you play that venue, take a polarity tester. They're about $5-6 at Home Depot or Lowes, and you should have one in your gig bag anyway.

 

Test the outlets where the mixer your gear were plugged in. You'll probably find that one of the outlets has the hot and neutral wires reversed. I've seen this a lot, even when the work was done by professional electricians. If that's the case, tell the venue so they can get it fixed. In the meantime, take a foam windscreen and put it over your mic so you don't get zapped again.

 

If your gear and both outlets are wired correctly, then it's possible that one or both of the outlets is not properly grounded, or that they are on different grounds. The club should be willing to have this checked out by an electrician; it's a serious safety hazard, and you can't be the first performer who has had this problem.

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I connect directly from my 500X to the Venues (Church) Snake/Mixer/PA System - I was "told" that the previous sound guy did have to rewire the plugs for proper grounding, but maybe I need to check them again.

 

However, I've used the same power outlet, the same 500X, with a couple different guitars a Fender Strat and an Accustic/Electric with no shocks or issues plugged into the 500X using the 1/4 input on the 500X.   This was the first time that I was using my JTV and singing at the same time.  

 

I will be running a test tonight with my home studio. Plugging the JTV/500X into my mixer and a Mic into the mixer and see what happens..  

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Well it would appear that the issue is more complex than I thought and related to the Churches sound system or power.  

I connected to my home studio system and nothing shocking happened

Obviously me being connected the power and touching the mic is completing a circuit, I just have to figure out what the loop is..  I will try a different power outlet and a few other possibilities. 

 

Definitely do appreciate the input guys!!! 

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Different outlet should isolate you from that, if it's about 20ft away or more that might help.

Google search Bill Whitlock, he's expert on isolation, grounding and shielding. Anything he

says on the subject is worth listening to. He and two other guys gave a lecture on this subject

of churches and large venues at the October 2016 AES Convention in Los Angeles. 

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You don't say what kind of amp you're using. Step 1 is to make sure that your own gear is safe -- no cut-off ground pins or ground-lift adapters, no bad wiring mods, etc. Assuming that your gear is not trying to kill you -- next time you play that venue, take a polarity tester. They're about $5-6 at Home Depot or Lowes, and you should have one in your gig bag anyway. Test the outlets where the mixer your gear were plugged in. You'll probably find that one of the outlets has the hot and neutral wires reversed. I've seen this a lot, even when the work was done by professional electricians. If that's the case, tell the venue so they can get it fixed. In the meantime, take a foam windscreen and put it over your mic so you don't get zapped again. If your gear and both outlets are wired correctly, then it's possible that one or both of the outlets is not properly grounded, or that they are on different grounds. The club should be willing to have this checked out by an electrician; it's a serious safety hazard, and you can't be the first performer who has had this problem.

 

+1 This! And it can be deadly if it gets out of hand. The fact you mention someone messing with the wiring before adds up to this as well. Having played in chruches before, despite they way the look, I've often found multiple problems with the setup and wiring.  Done by some church member that really is not qualified to save $$$. As Rob mentioned it can be tested with a simple polarity tester and I seriously doubt any power conditioner would catch or correct it.

Personally I would refuse to play a show their until they fix this. Again usually the amperage is only a mild shock but in the wrong situation it can be very dangerous.

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Agreed.

It can hurt. Got thrown airborne across a 20 x 20 garage once from a jolt, during band practice. 

Still don't know I survived that one. Maybe because it was a quick big one and didn't get a good

grab of me. It smarted for some time after.

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