small shock?

[stoney]

Hi - sorry this is long!

I just rewired a bass my first ever go! and it worked first time and sounds great ;D

but yesterday i was playing some tabs on my laptop(small sony with metal case) , i leant over with the inner top of my arm touching the strings and my hand touching the laptop.
It felt like a got a little electric shock and my arm jumped away.
It may have been static but i cant tell and i am a bit worried about playing it now. and i dont want to try the same test again!

The laptop was plugged in to the charger, which was plugged into the same extension lead as the amp.

I have used a mutlimeter to check voltage at several points on the guitar, to check voltage from the guitar to the case of the laptop and the guitar to a radiator water pipe(earth) and across the lead from the amp. all show nothing,

does this sound like a leaky amp or staic from the laptop?
would a leaky amp have shown uo in my voltage tests?

cheeers




ps - there is a small clicking popping sound whenever i touch the strings this may be something? is this normal?

[StratLover]

Potential for static electricity--is highly probable and a leaky amp should have shown up on your test of the circuit. Are you absolutelty sure your grounding in the guitar is complete, because it sounds to me that there is something amiss, due in part to the popping noise you describe. Check and then recheck again ALL grounding on the guts of your guitar.

Here's a couple of questions------.

Is the floor in the room you are in concrete?------

Is the lap top A/C cord equipped with a third ground wire?------

If yes, you still need to make sure YOU are insulated from the potential of static shock--on the concrete floor. Rubber sole shoes (ie. Tennis shoes, beach combers and the like) should be worn at all times.

Static electricity--is one of the most deadly and volitile things for any type of COMPUTOR.

Most A/C adapter cords are not equipped with a ground wire and I would suggest you use a different outlet to protect not only you, from a static jolt--but also your laptop. A pretty standard thing to use between your laptop and the outlet you are using would be a surge supressor to avoid the possibilities of damaging your laptop.

This outlet could also be replaced with a GROUND FAULT CIRCUIT INTERRUPT if it is the only outlet available to you.

[jdtogo]

listen to the man he is right on track on this for you . alway make sure your ground is good ...it could save you life .

[stoney]

ok -
theres no ground on the laptop just the ac adapter and no third pin, so im not going to use those two at the same time again!

im now using a different plug socket.

the floor is on the 1st floor just been playing on my bed/carpet.

what is the clicking noise a sign of?

[StratLover]

I did the QTB modification on one of my Strats(tm) and had the same thing going on.--I took it apart and found that one of the ground wires was not soldered, just sitting in place, and I did'nt see it, prior to re-assembly. The wire came loose when I put it back togather, and when I tried it after the fact, I got the same effect you are describing.

Check and re-check again before you re-assemble!!!!!

[stoney]

mmm just took it all apart and no wires loose and all the grounds look fine

i wired it like this, some other diagrams show the capacitor wirred to the other leg of the pot. would this make any difference?

[StratLover]

Replace the ground to the output jack to the last lug on your volume pot and I believe you will see a difference.-

[stoney]

you mean attach it to the leg rather than the casing?

ill give it ago

cheers for the advice!!

[JohnH]

Also, is the bridge grounded? - if not, as a test, try a jumper wire from the jack plug barrel to the bridge, to see if it stops that click/pop in your first post. That would catch any static charge buildup.

You can still get a static shock in some circumstances, just by walking around on a carpet in rubber shoes then touching ground (or someone else - give them a shock too!)

John

[stoney]

the strings/bridge are grounded to the back of the volume pot.

is this ok?

[JohnH]

Yes, thats OK. Just checking.

[StratLover]

Sounds like you have it under control now.

If you have any other questions let the "NUTS" know. ;D