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Help! I'm getting shocked! [message #4916] Sat, 02 October 2004 11:04 Go to next message
jsoffron is currently offline  jsoffron
Messages: 2
Registered: October 2004
Junior Member
Hi there. I've got a K200 b5 PA head, and a big problem. I've been using the amp for guitar for several years now (though a 2x15 trace elliot bass cab, incidentally, which makes a really nice combination) but haven't been able to use it for the past 6 months or so because whenever I plug it in it shocks me. It shocks me whenever I touch metal parts on the amp, but it also shocks me even when I'm playing the guitar, straight though the guitar (i.e. if I touch the strings or metal parts on the guitar, I get a shock). It's not like I get a short, isolated shock, either - it's more like current constantly running out of the amp and into my body. It hasn't killed me - yet - but it definitely puts the fear into me.

This is both very frustrating, because I love the sound of the amp, and probably very dangerous. Does anyone know what this could be? It has the original 2 prong power cable...could changing this to a 3 prong be enough to fix it? Could it be something else? When I took it out of the chasis and looked at it, I didn't see any loose wires. I'm not an electrician, though, and those are some pretty big caps, so I didn't really root around at all...I just looked to see if there was anything that was obviously awry.

*Any* tips or suggestions would be very, very appreciated. I'm afraid that the cost of repairing it will overshadow the cost of replacing it, so I want to get any info I can before I decide what to do.

Incidentally - the serial number is 27628, if that helps at all.

Thanks in advance-

-jake.
Re: Help! I'm getting shocked! [message #4922 is a reply to message #4916] Sun, 03 October 2004 15:31 Go to previous messageGo to next message
chicagobill
Messages: 2005
Registered: April 2003
Senior Member
Jake:
If you are getting shocked by your amp, you must be completing a circuit to ground. What are you standing on when this happens? Does it happen under different circumstances or more often in one location or another? Does changing the power switch polarity make any difference?
It may be fixable with a three wire power cable, or it may need serious repairs, like a transformer replacement. Whatever, please have it checked out by a qualified tech, before it gets worse and does serious bodily harm.
Bill
Re: Help! I'm getting shocked! [message #4931 is a reply to message #4916] Thu, 07 October 2004 15:00 Go to previous message
edforgothispassword is currently offline  edforgothispassword
Messages: 202
Registered: July 2004
Senior Member
put yer shoes on....it was my solution when I was all of 9 and first got into electric.. I would go down to the basement on a hot summer day and get ready to practice..hang that guitar on my shoulder plug in and turn it on..all ready to tap my bare feet on the tile floor...and wham...would I get grabbed...sounds silly..but that's the first suggestion I offer..cause many of us like to play with our toes free...

the second watchout is that the kustoms are not grounded in today's sense..with a 3 prong..the old polarity switch allows you to sync up..and that's actually a good way to get away from the 60 cycle hum..sometimes...but yeah..it comes at the cost of a fried lip.. I always touch the strings of my guitar to the mic before grabbing metal myself..just to be sure my amps are all in harmony...

but for you to be catching it just touching the guitar tells me you're physically grounding out..and I can't imagine that happening unless you're plugged into two amps, or a pedal board in line, etc..or have your feet on the floor or an arm resting on a metal chair..hope you find it..and lets us all know what it was....
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