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The DIY forum is for personal projects (things that are not for sale, not in production), info sharing, peer to peer assistance. No backdoor spamming (DIY posts that are actually advertisements for your business). No clones of in-production pedals. If you have concerns or questions, feel free to PM admin. Thanks so much!Guitar killswitch!
Wed Apr 01, 2009 3:02 pm
So I put a killswitch in my tele and it works. Must be a miracle. Unfortunately, however, I made the mistake of purchasing a Normally Open switch from Mouser as opposed to a Normally Closed switch ( 
dur) and consequently made a trip to Radioshack and purchased a piece of junk N.C. switch. The tone of the guitar is still gorgeous and unchanged, but when I use the switch it makes a quiet pop/static weird sound. I don't imagine that the fault lies in the soldering job I did, but rather that the switch is just a piece of crap.
Can I buy a n.c. switch off of anybody? Being as the hole I drilled is about a centimeter to half-an-inch wide, that would be best. But I don't really mind using a washer or drilling a bigger hole, so long as it's not ridiculously large.
Thanks in advance
dur) and consequently made a trip to Radioshack and purchased a piece of junk N.C. switch. The tone of the guitar is still gorgeous and unchanged, but when I use the switch it makes a quiet pop/static weird sound. I don't imagine that the fault lies in the soldering job I did, but rather that the switch is just a piece of crap. Can I buy a n.c. switch off of anybody? Being as the hole I drilled is about a centimeter to half-an-inch wide, that would be best. But I don't really mind using a washer or drilling a bigger hole, so long as it's not ridiculously large.
Thanks in advance
Re: Guitar killswitch!
Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:12 pm
(Scuse the ignorance...) What is the kill switch supposed to do? Sounds interesting 
Re: Guitar killswitch!
Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:18 pm
it's a little button that you can put on your guitar that basically just momentarily cuts the signal from the guitar going into the amp. but the real cool stuff comes in when you tap the switch in the middle of a lead with some sort of rhythm. tom morello, buckethead, and jonny greenwood use them pretty frequently and when you use them with effects pedals, it can sound pretty cool.
i thought it'd be a fun little project but now i'm starting to regret it. there's really no electronics stores around me so if i were to buy one from a website it'd cost me somewhere around 10 bucks with shipping and all that nonsense. and it'd feel pretty silly ordering one switch from a dealer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTcg9JybEp8
That's what a killswitch sounds like. The dude starts using a wah and a whammy eventually.
i thought it'd be a fun little project but now i'm starting to regret it. there's really no electronics stores around me so if i were to buy one from a website it'd cost me somewhere around 10 bucks with shipping and all that nonsense. and it'd feel pretty silly ordering one switch from a dealer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTcg9JybEp8
That's what a killswitch sounds like. The dude starts using a wah and a whammy eventually.
Re: Guitar killswitch!
Wed Apr 01, 2009 7:28 pm
You were correct in the first place to buy a normally open switch. You want to short the signal to ground with the killswitch, not break the connection. Otherwise, you get a pop.
Killswitches pop anyways, though. Or at least make a clicking sound. Through distortion, it shouldn't be very noticeable, though. I think that's the same as the sound you hear when you flip your pickup switch, though. It just shakes the guitar a bit...
Killswitches pop anyways, though. Or at least make a clicking sound. Through distortion, it shouldn't be very noticeable, though. I think that's the same as the sound you hear when you flip your pickup switch, though. It just shakes the guitar a bit...
Re: Guitar killswitch!
Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:36 pm
Oh! Okay, yeah! That makes so much more sense. Silly me. I knew I should've done some reading instead of jumping right in there with a switch and some scissors and a soldering iron. Thanks so much, man. The static-like sound it was making was really unbearable, though. Normally I can incorporate a weird noise into my playing but this was just intolerable.
I knew I should've done some reading instead of jumping right in there with a switch and some scissors and a soldering iron. Thanks so much, man. The static-like sound it was making was really unbearable, though. Normally I can incorporate a weird noise into my playing but this was just intolerable.
Re: Guitar killswitch!
Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:20 am
Just read your post.
NO was correct.
I am guessing, but you probably wired the NC in series with your pickup, works ok, but the NO parallel will have a better effect.
MM
NO was correct.
I am guessing, but you probably wired the NC in series with your pickup, works ok, but the NO parallel will have a better effect.
MM
Re: Guitar killswitch!
Thu Apr 02, 2009 2:10 am
Well it cut the hot signal to the output jack. Now all I need to do is figure out where to take the hot signal and where to take the ground to hook it to the switch and short it out. Any suggestions? It's a Fender American Deluxe Tele.
Re: Guitar killswitch!
Thu Apr 02, 2009 4:25 am
veteransdaypoppy wrote:Well it cut the hot signal to the output jack. Now all I need to do is figure out where to take the hot signal and where to take the ground to hook it to the switch and short it out. Any suggestions? It's a Fender American Deluxe Tele.
Just slap it between the lugs of the output jack.