Yardbirds singer died in 1976, electrocuted by his guitar.

idealassets

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Hey Craig, Just to let you know, When I got popped by the microphone I had on Wolverine Rubber soled work boots. I still got nailed but probably far less than if I would have been wearing sandals, Tennis shoes, or been bare footed.:encouragement:
TX, were there steel toe or heel protectors anywhere in the boots? Those were mandatory for me on the job in many refineries, paper mills, and power plants. I survived all these years with only a scratch.

-Sure don't want to have a guitar accident after all that!

Craig
 

idealassets

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You know what you are exactly correct and I should have said in South Florida all tradespeople cut corners. I am truly sorry for my offensive comment 5thumbs.
CA, Everywhere I worked after about 1981 it seemed we were pressured and micro-managed to "increase" our quota, or production. My solution in order to try and not run thru a plant was to come in early, leave late, & work for free. I was in field engineering and somehow made it all work.

I do miss it, although it was quite tough in later years. There was an electrician that got fried at US Steel in Gary, Indiana while I worked in the "sister" BP refinery in Whiting, right next door. Our safety meetings were combined so I had to sit through the electrocution meeting. I tried to forget all about it, since I could see the steel mill just over there while walking into the refinery.

Craig
 

txbumper57

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TX, were there steel toe or heel protectors anywhere in the boots? Those were mandatory for me on the job in many refineries, paper mills, and power plants. I survived all these years with only a scratch.

-Sure don't want to have a guitar accident after all that!

Craig

They were Steel toe Boots Craig but were in Brand New Shape. No exposed area or anything. After years of working in Refineries, Paper Mills, Power plants both Nuclear and Conventional, and Especially Hydroflouric Acid Units I just got comfortable wearing my Work Boots all the time. That was probably what saved my rear end by having the rubber soles on. Normally I would run our own PA system at all the gigs we did but this was a Benefit that we were playing for pretty much free close to home after a 3 week Road Trip through Oklahoma and parts of Texas. My dad was a Shriner as well as my drummer at the time and the Benefit Provided sound which made things easier on us after a long trip. After that incident it didn't matter who was running sound for us, I had the head sound guy walk me through all of the power connections before every gig to double check things. It only takes one time for you to "Check Out" early and I wasn't in a hurry to do so. LOL
 

CA-35

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Scott, I love ya bro but I think you're digging yourself another hole that's identical to the first one...
I suspect maybe what you really mean without the hyperbole is that you've met more than your fair share of tradespeople who should be featured on "To Catch A Contractor"?

LTG 2 Scott 0

Your'e right Al.

My intent was to stress the importance of grounding, not to disrespect electricians. That ship sailed.

I think it's best I just read the posts instead of being the poster.

I will leave you with this: "Wiring is no hobby call an electrician"
 

SFIV1967

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Actually Taylor Guitars acoustic/electric and electric guitars with magnetic pickup systems (ES1, T3, T5, T5z) are nowadays equipped with a fused string ground. See here: https://www.taylorguitars.com/taylorware/es-string-ground-fused
"The fuse keeps the player from being part of the circuit path when their hands are on the strings. In the event of improper ground, the string ground’s fuse fries instead of you."

If you want to see how such happens watch that short video (Warning, not for the faint hearted!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=25&v=-pkWsI-yjJQ
The video is showing the shocking moment when a Korean singer/guitar player was electrocuted by his guitar via the mic during a live music concert. Luckily, he escaped with burns to his hands, but the event can show how frets could become fatal. It is not funny...


Ralf
 
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GAD

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I played in the late 70s in High School bands and we used to get shocked terribly on our lips by the mics. We'd then flip the switch on the back of the Fender amp and play on.

At least in the US, none of the plugs were grounded back then.
 

txbumper57

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Hey Ralf, That video of the Korean singer brings back memories of what my experience was like. Thank god I was still playing the guitar and did not have a free hand to grab the mic stand with. Mine arced from the mic to my lips and immediately knocked me to the ground. That poor guy in the video got knocked to the ground but was still holding the mic which means he was getting drilled that whole time until they knocked the stand out of his hands. I knew when mine happened I was lucky but watching that video chills me to the bone.
 

walrus

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"Yikes" is right! You'd think a "professional" TV stage set up like that would have everything grounded properly...

walrus
 

Nuuska

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This is old thread - but I answer Walrus

Most likely the TV crews equipment was all ship-shape. And the poor guys amplifier had an unknown problem that never had given any signs before this. Could be as simple as one component coming off one end while in transit and then touching chassis - together w faulty ground in the amp itself.
 

Default

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You never know when anyone else repairs your equipment. An I have a highest respect for electricians. I spent $750us for an electrician to replace all my circuit breakers about a month back. One of the original ones was tripping for no reason, even with no load on the circuit, not even a light bulb. Guy came out and replaced all of them. Could I have done that? Absolutely. I've replaced circuit breakers before. If it wasn't the breaker? No, I wasn't about to troubleshoot residential wiring - I have neither the tools or the training and I know my limits. There are a lot of weekend warriors who don't. I lived in an apartment where there were two electrical sockets less than two feet from each other. One had the hot and the neutral reversed. I have a couple of those polarity checkers and I am glad I did.
 

silverfox103

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Electricians are inherently lazy, trust me I've worked with and around them for years.
I know this is an old post, but I can't stand still for this. What an ignorant thing to say, let's make that inherently ignorant as you say. You have no business giving advice for something that you aren't qualified to do, and you aren't, that is obvious. If you were, you'd have a license.

I have been licensed in 8 states both as a journeyman and master, some for almost 50 years (MA, NH, CT, AK, WA, OR, MT and WY). I have worked on large industrial projects all across the US, (Trans Alaskan Pipeline, nuclear power plants, and car plants). I have never found that the case, and I have worked with thousands of electricians, unlike you.

Tom
 

GAD

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Sigh - I had a feeling I shouldn't have linked to an old post.
 

davismanLV

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I know this is an old post, but I can't stand still for this. What an ignorant thing to say, let's make that inherently ignorant as you say. You have no business giving advice for something that you aren't qualified to do, and you aren't, that is obvious. If you were, you'd have a license.

I have been licensed in 8 states both as a journeyman and master, some for almost 50 years (MA, NH, CT, AK, WA, OR, MT and WY). I have worked on large industrial projects all across the US, (Trans Alaskan Pipeline, nuclear power plants, and car plants). I have never found that the case, and I have worked with thousands of electricians, unlike you.

Tom
Tom, it's okay. It's a terribly ignorant statement. Any time you group people and categorize them, you're asking for trouble. So just know that it's incorrect, and KNOWN to be ignorant and maybe if Scott signs in one day, he'll know how you feel. Don't let it bother you. It should bother HIM!! Stay calm. (y)
 

DeArmond Hammer

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So, how about a veer for this zombie? I remember an old Hawaii Five-O episode in which a guitarist, who was known for playing barefoot and nicknamed something like Barefoot Billy, was electrocuted when he stepped in a puddle of water. (An accident? Probably not!) That's my memory and I'm sure some of it is faulty. I just went through IMDB's descriptions of 12 seasons of H5O episodes and couldn't find any about a guitarist. Google gave me some cool Ventures links. Does anyone remember this episode? Was it H5O or a different series?
 

GAD

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This thread is SIX YEARS OLD. Let's just please let it lie. I'm sorry I linked to it in the first place.
 

dreadnut

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When I was in HS I was playing my electric through a friend's big Kustom amp, outside on his lawn. It was early evening and the lawn was damp. Something bled through, and I started dancing around like Jumpin' Jack Flash, yowza!
 
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