Trying to figure out why I was electrocuted

[JayEm96]

Hi. Hope I'm allowed to post here. Something terrifying just happened and I'm trying to figure out why. I have no clue about anything to do with electrical.

I was playing my electric guitar, pretty loud and couldn't hear that it was thunderstorming outside and I was electrocuted through my guitar. It wasn't super serious but it was enough that the guitar flew out of my hands and landed upside down on my coffee table cause it scared the heck out of me that bad and I definitely got a good jolt. Had I known it was storming, I would have shut my amp off immediately but it was loud and I had no idea that a storm had rolled in.

I have an outlet tester and according to the tester, my outlet is properly grounded. My amp is plugged into a surge protector. I do have quite a few things plugged into it though. I have a lot of things plugged in down in my playing area in general due to a lack of outlets. Is it possible maybe I just have too much plugged into that outlet? Should the surge protector not have tripped when that big of a surge came through? Should it have even came through due to the outlet being properly grounded?

I have a TV plugged into that same surge protector and it was on while it happened as I have a laptop hooked up to it and had music playing that I was playing along with as well as a sound system that is also plugged into the same surge protector. The TV and sound system are fine. I don't know about the amp, it's still storming and I'm scared to turn it on right now. It was a pretty intense jolt that I got. Like I said, I dropped my expensive guitar onto my coffee table and could feel it in my finger pretty good. But I am fine. Just looking for some insight from people who know a lot more about electrical than I do.

Thanks.

 

[pc1966]

The reason for asking about the floor is concrete is often slightly conductive and quite dependent on moisture/humidity levels - not as conductive as a metal obviously - but enough that if you have a few hundred volts in one hand and a foot on it you won't be a happy bunny.

Nearby lightning strikes will produce very large voltage gradients across the Earth's surface and differences between something like the ground/earth conductors of your house and the underlying soil.

 

[static zap]

I going with guitar is properly grounded ,and some current flowed through you from the building that a voltage was induced in .
Any aching / sprained muscles afterwards ?
(Or conact burns on fingers )
(Less people die from landline phones now most have mobiles.-USA)

 

[TJ Anderson]

Must have been playing this!

ATTACH=full]59591[/ATTACH

 

[JayEm96]

The lightning was most definitely close by. Even after I got the shock, the proceeding strikes were followed pretty much instantaneously by thunder. It was quite the storm, there was a lot of lightning going on.

And that is good to know about the concrete floor! I've been meaning to order some more area carpet to finish covering the rest of the concrete so I suppose now is as good a time as any lol.

And yes my guitar is definitely properly grounded. I had no contact burns but my fingers and fretting hand were pretty stiff feeling after. It was my fretting hand that really felt the jolt as I was in contact with the strings when it happened.

That high voltage picture is great. I actually said to a friend of mine the next day that "I was quite literally thunderstruck last night" lol! Thank you again everybody for all the input.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

...if you do then currently there is a growing requirement to have you equipment PAT tested to appear on stage. I suggest you get your equipment PAT tested in any event to rule out faulty equipment.

The OP is in Canada, where, AFAIK and please correct me if wrong, PAT (or ISITEE as we should really be calling it) is not routinely carried out on ordinary appliances other than in the maintenance shop after repair. It seems funny after 31 years of it being part of daily life here, but most of the world doesn't do it at all.

 

[static zap]

most of the world doesn't do it at all.

Stage equipment Music-Guitar-PA-Amp / repair shops are keen to get this right !
(Plenty of very public spectacular fails, in the past )

 

[OnlQQker]

What was you playing on the guitar at the time?

It wasn't 'Thunderstruck' by AC/DC by any chance?