Safety: testing Electrical outlets

[The Dude]

It's funny how things change. Back in my early gigging days, we thought getting shocked by the mic while playing guitar was just an annoyance. Often, you'd just throw a windscreen over the mic and play on. Or, just be sure not to get close enough to touch it. We never realized the actual danger. Getting a zap from a mic was a relatively common occurrence back when buildings had no grounded outlets and amps had two wire mains cables. That's just how things were and nobody thought much of it. Thankfully, we now know better!

[Bill Moore]

Back in the 60's, being the drummer, it was my job to rotate amplifier plugs to match the PA. The drill was to hold your guitar, and brush the back of your hand across the mic, no tingle, good to go!

[Chuck H]

The commonality of getting shocked by typically bad AC terminal stage wiring at clubs, often due to low budget DIY club owners, is the reason I got the nickname "Sizzlin' Chuck". I'd have prefered it was for my playing but insiders knew the real story

[x-pro]

Your network voltage is only 110V. Just tickles and caresses.
What if 220V?

[R.G.]

Your network voltage is only 110V. Just tickles and caresses.
What if 220V?

It's not the volts that kill you, it's the current. Currents at 50-60Hz cause "can't let go" muscle clamping at about 15-20ma or above. Skin resistance varies with how dry the skin is, from 100k ohms or more for very dry skin, down to 1000 ohms for wet, sweaty skin. 15ma into 1000 ohms is only 15Vac. 220 versus 110 is largely immaterial unless you have some specific, critical skin condition - or are just unlucky.
Here is a reference to learn more about the issues: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2763825/

[Helmholtz]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extra-low_voltage