Hi (help),

Just got a Squire Tele, and a Mustang V amp. Every time I touch the strings I get a light shock. Is this normal? Or could it be the guitar, or too much power pushing through the amp?

Cheers

I had a similar issue with my home recording rig... it ended up being that the house wiring wasn't grounded. Have you tried a different guitar on the same rig plugged into the same outlet? If you still get shocked, it's the AC wiring, most likely, or something in the amp. You could troubleshoot that further by moving the amp to a different circuit, or even a different building. If the problem persists, it's in the amp... if not, it's in the wiring. If it is the wiring, you'll probably want to call an electrician... I just cheated and grounded that one outlet, by sinking a 6' grounding rod right outside the house where that outlet was, then I drilled a hole in the wall and ran a copper wire from the grounding terminal on the outlet right through the wall to the grounding rod. Not to code by any means, but it worked, and it only cost me like 10 bucks.

If the tele is the only one that zaps you, then it's probably a loose or missing ground wire in the guitar. That will be the easiest fix, and the one I would hope for... Good luck troubleshooting it out!

Frist, Welcome to the forum!... wish it were under slightly better circumstances, but, hey, that's life right?

As Mac suggested, sounds like a ground issue.
As for the wall outlet - is it a two prong or 3-prong?
If it's two prong and you're using a ground-lift adapter, you may want to look for the adapter with the wire and hook on it. You attach that hook at the end of the green wire to the center screw on the switch plate and that's the ground you're missing.

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Im just curious seeing this topic how many people "back in the day" when cords and outlets were all 2 prong ungrounded commonly got shocked at gigs etc?

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Mona
"Music is What Feelings Sound like"

Back in the day? All the time! It was almost a joke playing electric guitar and singing into your mic. It was possible to almost get your lips cauterized if you weren't careful. And then add to that playing on a concrete basement floor in the old YMCA! Yikes.

Yeah, it happened all the time. I've still got the scars...

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

On your lips, fingers or soul

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A-man

After reading your post I can still remember how that felt back then... ouch!

All of the above!

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

Talk about a kiss you never forget

Yup you have a grounding issue, My buddy built us a practice room in his warehouse, I'm not sure what happened either in his wiring of the room, or if it was the building, but touch your strings, and a lip to the microphone...I think I understand how a good scream became part of rock n roll...YOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

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"Where would rock and roll be without feedback?"

Thank you guys. My Yamaha does the same thing. And the house wiring could definitely be involved because the level of craftsmanship is notoriously bad around here. Will let you know what worked...

Talk about screwed up electrical, I live in a house that was built in 1882 and there are a lot of outlets that were original from when electric was first put in. We can't run an AC here in the summer time, because the whole system is kind of FUBAR and needs an overhaul. I can run my amp though, without issue, at least.

In the past, I've been zapped by touching a mic, too. That is always a nice thump to wake you up.

Take whole kit to a known recently constructed building and see if you can duplicate the issue there. If so, get the amp checked. If not, it is the wiring where you are getting shocked, most likely a faulty ground. This is more common than you think.
Back in the days before polarized plugs the most common shocks came from touching your lips to a microphone while touching the guitar strings. This voltage can vary, but there is no such thing as a good shock. You need to get this rectified as it is hazardous.

I still refuse to play on bare concrete floors to this day as that always seemed to be one ingredient to getting a really strong shock.