EMF from electric guitar

[Nick]

When not plugged in, I measure 2-4mG from the back of an electric guitar and bass, increasing slightly when the strings are played. When it is plugged into an amp, the level seems to reduce a bit to around 1-2mG, perhaps because the charge generated from the pickups can go to ground. Having played a lot of electric guitar and bass in the past, it is interesting to note that almost all of my dark moles are in the area of the abdomen behind the guitar electronics. I have seen multiple studies linking melanoma to EMF.

Also of interest is this short publication: Prostate cancer in electric guitar players
From the prostate cancer article: "The mechanism by which electric guitars create sound relies upon an EMF produced by the vibrating string in the guitar pickup"

A funny aside from that article: "Visser and colleagues (7) found an increased riskof prostate cancer among residents of an area surrounding the Amsterdam Airport, which may be potentially explained, at least partly, by the hypothesis of sonocarcinogenesis. (6)"
Sorry Visser and colleagues, that's from the radar not the sound of planes...

 

[miquelangeles]

Have you seen my thread about EMF from a few weeks ago?
It causes almost every single health condition you can think of, and there is no shortage of literature on this.
Noise pollution has some overlapping mechanisms, because nerve impulses of corresponding frequencies are sent to the auditory nerve (for example a 200 hz tone will be transduced into 200 nerve impulses a second).

 

[Pete Rey]

While I don't doubt that there could be some truth to that, you also have to consider the many negative lifestyle factors that tend to come with being that kind of musician. Staying up late in bars and clubs with dysregulated circadian rhythm, pasty from lack of sunshine, surrounded by high levels of EMF beyond just the instrument itself, plus most professional musicians are of modest means, often drinking and smoking, lazy dietary choices, with high incidence of anxiety, depression, and drug abuse. Ask me how I know. Musicians dying young from any cause isn't exactly earth shattering news. An interesting study to really isolate the effect of the electric guitar itself would be to compare the incidence of cancer to drummers. Although, I imagine the physicality of playing a drum set would probably influence the statistics as well.

 

[Don]

While I don't doubt that there could be some truth to that, you also have to consider the many negative lifestyle factors that tend to come with being that kind of musician. Staying up late in bars and clubs with dysregulated circadian rhythm, pasty from lack of sunshine, surrounded by high levels of EMF beyond just the instrument itself, plus most professional musicians are of modest means, often drinking and smoking, lazy dietary choices, with high incidence of anxiety, depression, and drug abuse. Ask me how I know. Musicians dying young from any cause isn't exactly earth shattering news. An interesting study to really isolate the effect of the electric guitar itself would be to compare the incidence of cancer to drummers. Although, I imagine the physicality of playing a drum set would probably influence the statistics as well.

Agree, I would think its overall life style more than just emf. Play or practise more with acoustic if your worried ?

 

[Nick]

Have you seen my thread about EMF from a few weeks ago?
It causes almost every single health condition you can think of, and there is no shortage of literature on this.
Noise pollution has some overlapping mechanisms, because nerve impulses of corresponding frequencies are sent to the auditory nerve (for example a 200 hz tone will be transduced into 200 nerve impulses a second).

Yes it's a great thread, I think I posted on it about my strange experience around a tesla car. Perhaps I should have just added this to that thread rather than a new post.

While I don't doubt that there could be some truth to that, you also have to consider the many negative lifestyle factors that tend to come with being that kind of musician. Staying up late in bars and clubs with dysregulated circadian rhythm, pasty from lack of sunshine, surrounded by high levels of EMF beyond just the instrument itself, plus most professional musicians are of modest means, often drinking and smoking, lazy dietary choices, with high incidence of anxiety, depression, and drug abuse. Ask me how I know. Musicians dying young from any cause isn't exactly earth shattering news. An interesting study to really isolate the effect of the electric guitar itself would be to compare the incidence of cancer to drummers. Although, I imagine the physicality of playing a drum set would probably influence the statistics as well.

Agree, I would think its overall life style more than just emf. Play or practise more with acoustic if your worried ?

I agree about the prostate cancer/musician correlation having other causes as well. I'm not so worried about myself, I was never a professional musician, mostly I just find it interesting that the guitar against the skin exposes the direct area to a fair amount of LF electromagnetic radiation, and that it is of greater strength when not plugged in. I suspect the strings/pickups are also amplifying ambient radio frequency signal from FM radio, cell towers etc. If I was concerned, I'd be more worried about the effect on the intestines, liver, gallbladder, fascia and the risk of melanoma than the prostate cancer risk.

I've found that by playing with one foot up on something and the guitar/bass on the elevated leg, one can keep the electronic components an extra 4-6 inches from the abdomen, which makes a big difference in the EMF strength.

 

[Pete Rey]

Yes it's a great thread, I think I posted on it about my strange experience around a tesla car. Perhaps I should have just added this to that thread rather than a new post.


I agree about the prostate cancer/musician correlation having other causes as well. I'm not so worried about myself, I was never a professional musician, mostly I just find it interesting that the guitar against the skin exposes the direct area to a fair amount of LF electromagnetic radiation, and that it is of greater strength when not plugged in. I suspect the strings/pickups are also amplifying ambient radio frequency signal from FM radio, cell towers etc. If I was concerned, I'd be more worried about the effect on the intestines, liver, gallbladder, fascia and the risk of melanoma than the prostate cancer risk.

I've found that by playing with one foot up on something and the guitar/bass on the elevated leg, one can keep the electronic components an extra 4-6 inches from the abdomen, which makes a big difference in the EMF strength.

Another option might be shielding the body cavity with copper foil tape and grounding it if you didn't want to change your playing style. I've seen guys do this to cut down on buzz in single-coil pickups.

 

[HeyThere]

I think I posted on it about my strange experience around a tesla car.

Since day 1 I've been questioning how much cancer will happen from sitting upon a car sized battery under your arse for years on end..

 

[Pete Rey]

Since day 1 I've been questioning how much cancer will happen from sitting upon a car sized battery under your arse for years on end..

Or heated seats which are literally EMF generators.

 

[HeyThere]

Or heated seats which are literally EMF generators.

Unless you live in a cold climate, they are used intermittently. In my case anyways.