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Help me before i electrocute myself


fraggle_rock

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I have an ibanez sr 500 bass that seems to have some kind of grounding problem. the bass grounds itself out through my body into the floor. If i jump or don't touch a metal part of the bass it wont play at all, and if i put my tounge on a string it shocks me. It also only grounds through me and no one else i know can get sound out of it unless i touch it. please help me.
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I am not familiar with that bass but in general, look into your controls and check for a broken wire. Wires going to the base of a pot should be soldered good.Good luck. Maybe someone in this forum can be more specific for your bass.
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It may not be a problem in the bass at all-- there's no power supply in the bass, except maybe a 9V battery-- all that voltage is coming from the amp. It may be a problem with the amp, or a problem with the wiring in your house. You should having your house wiring checked-- it maybe that the "neutral" side of the outlet was accidentally wired to the "hot" circuit. It happens all the time, even in new buildings. You can buy a plug-in tester for a few bucks.

 

bruiser

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Carvin.com $3 for a new jack. or less.
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Whoa dude...bad vibes - a similar experience happened to me when I played through my vintage fender bassman then I was just like(duh)and flipped the switch behind the head and the problem was solved. You guys know what I mean? the polarity switch or whatever it is.

I'm so frickin stupid when it comes to tech crap but I play that 4-string mofo.

Rock on

"The world will still be turning when you've gone." - Black Sabbath

 

Band site: www.finespunmusic.com

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Cliff's right, if you're playing through an older amp, switch the polarity. If it's a two-pronged plug (rather than a three-pronged grounded plug), sometimes you can even turn the plug upside down for the same effect.

 

A couple of rules...

 

Always wear shoes when playing...especially on a cement floor.

 

Always (very important with older equipment) make sure the P.A. and your guitar amp are in phase with each other. A simple (only mildly painful) test...touch your guitar strings (while your guitar is plugged in) and VERY LIGHTLY brush your lips against the mic. If nothing happens, you're in business. If you get a zap, you'll know to switch the polarity on your equipment.

 

A lot of young guys have never had to deal with these problems like us old farts have. But, if a young guy buys a vintage amp, he'll learn :D I have a 70s vintage Ampeg amp I use on occasion. I had forgotten a lot of that stuff, until I got a good poke by touching the mic while playing once.

 

And, there was a running joke a while ago, where some of the forum members were teasing me, calling me "Blue Spark". I think that story is buried in the guitar forum lore somewhere...

"Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine"
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Yep, your problem is not the guitar. These things are designed to be grounded through the strings, through the fingers.

 

Your amp is sending juice down the wrong pipe, kinda. Changing polarity, either with a 2 way switch or flipping the power cord around in the wall will help. If you have a solid state system, you may have some problem with the amp.

 

Be careful...in the old days of tube power amps, this problem killed people! Check out this thread for much more information.

 

And I have a story which I posted in Most embarassing moment about this problem.

"Let's raise the level of this conversation" -- Jeremy Cohen, in the Picasso Thread.

 

Still spendin' that political capital far faster than I can earn it...stretched way out on a limb here and looking for a better interest rate.

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thats what i thought for a while but the bass does it even if it isnt in an amp, the cord just has to be in, and ive tried different cords.
It could be the amp. I doubt it. Read this satement again. If it happens when it is not pluged into the amp, how could it be the amp.

 

The short in the battery switch is the first thing to deal with and check.

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Originally posted by Whacked:

Originally posted by fraggle_rock:

and if i put my tounge on a string it shocks me.

OK, I love my Ibanez too, but I draw the line on licking it :D

Well, see, that's the problem. If you were playing in an 80s glam/hair tribute band, you'd be licking your bass all the time :D
"Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine"
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I never fully understood the types of grounding problems like this.. One time I was practicing through a friends vintage ampeg amp (can't recall the model, this was like 8 or 9 years ago).. While I was playing, left hand on the strings, I reaced over to turn on a lamp that was in the room.. as soon as I touched the switch to the lamp, a trembling shock went through me, and the bass flew out of hands and smashed into the wall 3 or 4 feet away from me.. quite shocking, literally!

 

I think though the problem was the lamp, but I couldn't help but be reminded. :)

"You look hopefully for an idea and then you're humble when you find it and you wish your skills were better. To have even a half-baked touch of creativity is an honor."

-- Ernie Stires, composer

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and if i put my tounge on a string it shocks me.
what the hell compelled you to even test this?

"I'm thinkin' we should let bump answer this one...

Prepare to don Nomex!"

-social critic

"When I install my cannons, I'm totally going to blast their asses back to the 16th century; Black Beard style"

-bumpcity

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Originally posted by BigKahuna855:

and if i put my tounge on a string it shocks me.
what the hell compelled you to even test this?
Well, you can lick a 9v battery to test it, right?

And there's a 9v battery in the bass, right?

Makes sense to me...

But then, I really like syllogisms.

 

Peace,

 

wraub

 

I'm a lot more like I am now than I was when I got here.

 

 

 

 

 

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