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Re: Guitar wiring.. Is this dangerous???

you can try reversing any ungrounded (not 3 prong) plugs.  I have an old amp that does that (a 1972 Marshall 50 watt head).  If I turn the two prong plug (where ground=neutral) one way I get shocked, the other I don't.  This doesn't, and shouldn't happen on grounded plugs, and I don't use ground lifters any more.  

When it's wrong, current runs through me (via guitar strings) and into the mixer (Digidesign C24) which is NOT good at all - for me or the mixer. 

I suspect with the Marshall somehow the hot and neutral (or neutral and ground) are getting futzed inside the Marshall but don't know enough about amps or AC power to know why.  I need to have the Marshall rewired with a true ground lug.  But in the meantime, reversing the old school two prong plug works like a charm - less noise, less (actually, no) electroshock therapy.   

I have marked the Marshall plug so I know which side is supposed to be hot and which neutral/ground.

Just a thought for a quick, cheap solution.


On Nov 6, 2011, at 8:34 AM, william middlemiss wrote:

With sustainer pickups, all of the grounds need to be together. Still, you shouldnt be feeling any shocks, so double check all of the solder points. To me, it sounds like you have a hot thats leaking to ground somewhere. Its most likely with the sustainer, but I dont know. I cant see from where I sit.