Last night I almost died - literally

[woolleydick]

Thought I had better share this.

I know there have been previous threads but when it comes to this sort of thing there is no problem repeating the advice.

In mid song last night (first track of the rehearsal) I went to move the mic' on it's stand in front of my amp as I was not happy with the tone.
I experienced a serious electric shock which caused me to spin round holding the mic' stand and fall over onto it.
At this point I stop remembering anything until I came round surrounded by freaked out band members calling for an ambulance.
They tell me they first thought I was having some sort of fit until they touched me and also received a shock.
They then "pulled the plug" on the stage power.
I was probably live for around 10 seconds max (to them it seemed longer).
Any longer than this and I suspect I would not be telling you about this.
I reportedly stopped breathing for a few seconds after the power was disconnected.
I suffered multiple burns to my hands and chest (from falling on the mic' stand/mic' and still being in the circuit).

We locked the rehearsal facility (which was designed and built by the lead singer), and the full investigation starts today as to where the fault comes from.
I will let you know the results.

NOTE - I did not have my own RCD in the circuit nor did the PA.
I suspect the rehearsal facility does not have a functioning RCD.

Always check you are properly protected before you start.

I was seconds away from death last night - please do not repeat my experience

Thanks.

PS the Status Streamline survived unscathed although I did change the strings and clean off the scorch marks from the neck once I got home.

[waynepunkdude]

Holy f*cking sh*t.


Glad you are OK man, where do I get an RCD from?

When I played guitar I went to a rehearsal studio and a Marshall JCM800 gave me a shock and the guy assured me it was fine but we said no and left, I'm glad we did now.

[Stylon Pilson]

Scary stuff. Glad you're okay.

S.P.

[warwickhunt]

Horrible, glad you are OK though. Circuit breakers are a must!

[wateroftyne]

YOWZA!

It's nice to hear the tale from you directly, if you know what I mean...

[OldGit]

Oh wow, Glad you are Ok.
We have a sparks in my main band and he makes sure the power is always protected but I've been a bit lazy with my RCB when playing Deps ..
I think I'll be more careful now.

[Musky]

Blimey - a cautionary tale for us all.

I've left my RCD in the cupboard for the last few years. I think it's time to stop being so complacent and make it an 'essential' to take along when playing.

Glad you're relatively unscathed anyway.

[Kiwi]

Its amazing how easily it can happen, especially where venues have wiring thats been rigged up on the fly. WD I'm so glad you had a lucky escape, we certainly don't need another member going to the great Bass Shop in the Sky after the last couple of months. I hope your burns heal quickly and there's no lasting or permenant damage.

[leonshelley01]

Good news that you are okay. I shall be investing in an RCD today!

[Ba55me15ter]

You might find this useful:

[url="http://www.soundonsound.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=576976"]http://www.soundonsound.com/forum/showflat...p;Number=576976[/url]

[The Funk]

Glad you're still with us, man! f***ing hell!

Can we have an RCD sticky in EVERY sub-forum please?

[chris_b]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='307582' date='Oct 16 2008, 08:33 AM']....Glad you are OK man, where do I get an RCD from?....[/quote]
B&Q, Homebase, Wicks, Maplins, any electrical shop, Google RCD for online sources.........

RCD's will only work if there is a functioning earth. Spend another £5-10 and get an earth tester as well.

[Merton]

Jesus. Glad you're still with us and generally OK. My RCD is going to come out of the case and be used tomorrow rather than come along and be forgotten.

[johnnylager]

[quote name='Merton' post='307637' date='Oct 16 2008, 09:37 AM']Jesus. Glad you're still with us and generally OK. My RCD is going to come out of the case and be used tomorrow rather than come along and be forgotten.[/quote]
+1. I'm going into the cupboard under the stairs to find it. If I'm not back by Sunday, please call for help.

[woolleydick]

[quote name='chris_b' post='307635' date='Oct 16 2008, 10:35 AM']RCD's will only work if there is a functioning earth.[/quote]

That is not necessarily true - they are called Residual Current Devices because they measure the difference between Live and Neutral - if there is something missing then they trip.
this (I believe) is a true RCD there may be other ELD Earth Leakage detectors which measure the Earth current - these do not protect you from a missing earth.
RCD's will work with just live and neutral (as you may have on your power drill or lawn mower.

If I am wrong I am sure someone will correct me.

[The Funk]

[url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=29769"]Maplin RCD[/url]

[Legion]

Glad to hear you survived that one - very nasty.

I wired an inline RCD into my extention lead that I use all the time so I can't get complacent about it. Always easy to let things like that slip until something like this happens.

Hope your recovery is swift

J

[OldGit]

[quote name='woolleydick' post='307644' date='Oct 16 2008, 09:40 AM']That is not necessarily true - they are called Residual Current Devices because they measure the difference between Live and Neutral - if there is something missing then they trip.
this (I believe) is a true RCD there may be other ELD Earth Leakage detectors which measure the Earth current - these do not protect you from a missing earth.
RCD's will work with just live and neutral (as you may have on your power drill or lawn mower.

If I am wrong I am sure someone will correct me.[/quote]


Ask your guitarist?

[gary mac]

Scarey. Brings it home just how easily it can happen.

I've also not bothered with one recently. Putting one in my gig case today.

wish you well and glad you are here to tell the tale.

All the best.

[lowhand_mike]

jeebus!!
better get some for the band
at least you can tell the tale.
not been a good week what with the amp going as well, maybe thats why it gave up

[OutToPlayJazz]

Glad to hear you're okay after that brush with death. And that lovely Status survived, too. A happy ending?

On a practical note, I always make sure all my gear is PAT tested. Not only for a safety point of view, but also because many venues are asking for evidence (as well as MU public liability insurance) before gigs these days.

Rich.

[Hamster]

Glad to hear you're ok! If you're going to beat the crap out of your lead singer, don't use an expensive bass!

[stingrayfan]

Jesus. Scary - glad you're ok though.

I normally carry an RCD but only use it at dodgy looking/outside gigs but I think following your experience, I'm going to start plugging it in at the rehearsal room!

[Toasted]

Glad you're still with us!! Would you guys use an RCD on each wall outlet your using, or just one for the amp?

[Mr. Foxen]

I'd totally have left the scorch marks on, so when some venue stuff has a moan about you fiddling about with socket testers you can go 'See this?'.