bitflipper
The static mat should not be necessary. Where that comes into play is when you're working on a piece of gear that isn't grounded, e.g. you're inside it making a repair and it's not plugged in. As long as you're not defeating the 3-prong plug with an adapter, and that 3-prong plug is actually connected to a properly-grounded source, you should be OK even if you see an arc when you touch the case.
 

 
The man with the beard is correct :). Any properly tested UL/TUV/CSA listed device will have the metal bits on the outside properly isolated or grounded. So you aren't going to cause any grief when you ground yourself to it. Goes double for anything digital, it already has full galvanic isolation between the computer bits and the power inlet. If you were to have a look inside a computer power supply you'd see that the safety ground wire is attached straight to the chassis, it doesn't touch anything else. That then physically makes contact with the metal case and thus ground the whole thing out. It doesn't interface with the power conversion unit at all, and thus the devices further up the chain.
 
I do computer support for a living and first thing I do when I go to work on a computer is touch the metal case to ground myself out and discharge any static. This often results in a static zap and has resulted in a failure of system components in approximately 0.0% (+- 0) of cases :).

Thanks for all the input guys.
 
Since my last post, I purchased a humidifier that keeps the house at a more-comfortable range of humidity.  Instead of 20-22% in the house, it's been 36-38%.  I don't care if I live in the desert and need to embrace the dry air.  I'll leave that to when I'm outside!  Believe me when I say that I do enjoy the dry air, one of the reasons why I moved here, but sleeping in it and acclimating to it is another story!  After all, I'm originally from Indiana, i.e. the Land of Humidity and Misery!
 
Static discharges have been reduced significantly all over the house.
 
Also, when I'm in the studio and behind the desk, I try to always discharge myself against the metal frame of the desk before touching a synth knob, key, button, or screen.  For the synths on the rack, my go-to synth to grab a hold of is the V-Synth XT.  It's those chrome handles!
 
But like I said before, it's not the grounded devices that worry me.  Those are well-protected with a safety, earth ground because of the design and three-pronged 120VAC outlet/cord.  Instead, the devices that could be most affected by a static discharge are the types that are powered by a simple, two-terminal wall-wart transformer/switching power supply.  These devices have no separate, earth ground.  And if said device also happens to contain plenty of RAM/ROM/FLASH memory, e.g. Virus TI2, then that could be a recipe for disaster with a powerful-enough static discharge.  The saving grace is the beefy metal case.

Sycraft

bitflipper
The static mat should not be necessary. Where that comes into play is when you're working on a piece of gear that isn't grounded, e.g. you're inside it making a repair and it's not plugged in. As long as you're not defeating the 3-prong plug with an adapter, and that 3-prong plug is actually connected to a properly-grounded source, you should be OK even if you see an arc when you touch the case.
 

The man with the beard is correct :). Any properly tested UL/TUV/CSA listed device will have the metal bits on the outside properly isolated or grounded. So you aren't going to cause any grief when you ground yourself to it. Goes double for anything digital, it already has full galvanic isolation between the computer bits and the power inlet. If you were to have a look inside a computer power supply you'd see that the safety ground wire is attached straight to the chassis, it doesn't touch anything else. That then physically makes contact with the metal case and thus ground the whole thing out. It doesn't interface with the power conversion unit at all, and thus the devices further up the chain.
 
I do computer support for a living and first thing I do when I go to work on a computer is touch the metal case to ground myself out and discharge any static. This often results in a static zap and has resulted in a failure of system components in approximately 0.0% (+- 0) of cases :).

Couple of points:
 
1) The reference to "3-prong plug." I managed to blow the line output driver of a Gemini CDX-1210 (http://geminisound.com/product/cdx-1210) CD player by discharging to its case (2-prong plug). [Edit: I'm very happy to report that that POS is no longer available. Anywhere. Hooray for the free market!]
 
2) The reference to "actually connected to a properly-grounded source." I'd appreciate your feedback on my situation where I have multiple devices plugged into two different surge-protected outlet strips. I'm concerned about that surge protection either isolating the ground or causing a ground loop between devices plugged into different strips.
 
Thanks in advance.

If something is incorrectly made then ya, there can be a problem. If your device is certified by UL/CSA/ETL/TUV or the like it shouldn't be a problem. If it isn't certified by a safety agency... well then I probably wouldn't want to buy it.
 
Don't worry about your surge protectors, the won't isolate the ground as that would be a major safety no-no. They pass them on through like they should. If they are higher end ones, they'll often have a light to let you know if the ground has proper connection as well. The issue with grounding (from a safety point of view) would be if the neutral or safety ground wires in your house didn't have good connection to the earth. So long as you have a reasonable new (70s or newer) house it probably isn't an issue. If you are worried, there are testers you can buy for cheap.
 
Ground loops are a different matter and ya, having things plugged in to different outlets can introduce different potentials in the grounds and make a ground loop. That's a (potential) sound issue though, not a safety issue.