Getting Shocked B/C Strings Not Grounded

[ZackyDog]

Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead recalls being electrocuted on stage at Woodstock (1969).

Woodstock Remembered: Bob Weir on Why the Fest Mattered to the Grateful Dead

“The significance for me was that the new music that was evolving during the previous years had come of age there,” founding member of Grateful Dead says

www.rollingstone.com

 

[Ricochet]

I have a couple guitars in which the electronics are sufficiently isolated with a Faraday’s Cage so effectively I have been able to remove the ground wire without ill side effects.
It’s odd and perhaps demonstrative of a conservative mindset that despite being aware of the obvious benefits for 35 years I wired up the other guitars in traditional manner, with a ground wire.

 

[LesB3]

I've had the "zapped through the strings experience" but it was more of a mild shock vs one that would put you on the floor. We played some bar outside of Baltimore that had their "stage" in their basement. Dirt floor, ungrounded 3-prong outlets, low ceiling. I have an outlet tester in my bag because of that show.

During a break I got to go outside and have a cigarette with the Baltimore PD who were busting the local drug kingpin sitting across the street at a strip club. Yep, I've had a rich life...

 

[beatbyrd]

Do you think that more drummers died from jealous boyfriends than booze, drugs, or electric shocks?

 

[GretschPlayer101]

Here is a good video explaining a lot. I used his tutorial on checking if your amp is grounded to check two of my amps and they are grounded properly -

 

[GretschPlayer101]

Another good video on the subject -

 

[englishman]

Back in the 'day', every gig during sound check I'd put a tuner against the mic and look for sparks.

 

[GretschPlayer101]

The tailpiece on a Gretsch hollowbody IS grounded. There is a ground wire that runs from the jack (or the back of a pot) to a small hole underneath the tailpiece hinge. the end of the wire is stripped so that it makes contact with the hinge. This connects the entire string path to ground.

When I ground my strings I may do this via the tailpiece as well because the bridge I have has nylon saddles similar to the one how ES-335s had in the 70s. No metallic contact with this so I either have to change the saddles to metal, change the whole bridge that comes with metal saddles or connect to the tailpiece.

Question about this. What is better, connect the ground wire from the tailpiece to the pot or to the jack? If I connect it to the jack does it connect to the lug on it where the ground wire from the pot comes from or do I solder it to any metal place on it that is not the lead wire lug? Hope I explained that right.

So in this picture the "Tip" is the hot signal and sleeve is the ground from the ground wire you can connect from the tone pot. Does the ground from the tailpiece connect to the same lug as the ground from the pot or does it connect to another spot on the jack (not the lug with the hot lead of course"?

I do understand that instead of running a ground from the tone pot to the output jack I can just ground a piece of the shielding from the hot lead that I am connecting to the output jack that comes from the pickup selector switch.

Thanks

 

[tartanphantom]

When I ground my strings I may do this via the tailpiece as well because the bridge I have has nylon saddles similar to the one how ES-335s had in the 70s. No metallic contact with this so I either have to change the saddles to metal, change the whole bridge that comes with metal saddles or connect to the tailpiece.

Question about this. What is better, connect the ground wire from the tailpiece to the pot or to the jack? If I connect it to the jack does it connect to the lug on it where the ground wire from the pot comes from or do I solder it to any metal place on it that is not the lead wire lug? Hope I explained that right.

So in this picture the "Tip" is the hot signal and sleeve is the ground from the ground wire you can connect from the tone pot. Does the ground from the tailpiece connect to the same lug as the ground from the pot or does it connect to another spot on the jack (not the lug with the hot lead of course"?

I do understand that instead of running a ground from the tone pot to the output jack I can just ground a piece of the shielding from the hot lead that I am connecting to the output jack that comes from the pickup selector switch.

Thanks

View attachment 208682

It doesn't matter if the tailpiece ground wire is connected to the back of a pot or directly to the output jack as long as the are both connected to the same common ground path. You want to avoid multiple ground paths because it can induce unwanted hum. In other words, you don't want to connect individual grounds from each pot all to the jack individually. Connect them all together and run one common ground to the jack, either from a tone pot or from the pickup switch, depending on the wiring setup. And be sure to ground the unused lug on pots to the pot casing. If this isn't done, hum can be introduced when you turn the pot down.

 

[DougWheeler74]

Be cautious of grounding unused lugs. In the case of the 2622, one of the lugs of the tone pot is left open.

Your best bet is to find the wiring diagram for your guitar and follow it. If it doesn't show the ground wire from the bridge, I would run a wire from the tail piece to the jack and connect it to where the ground is connected.