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Kill Button


Nitefly SA

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i working on a bucket head tribute guitarand he has a double fat strat type set up in his LP two humbuckers,a volume,two tone, but in the fourth hole he has a kill button similar to this http://cgi.ebay.com/Push-Button-Switch-Nor...1QQcmdZViewItem

now if i did all the wiring standard except instead of the wire going to the output it went to this, then the output, would that work ? thanks

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All you need is a spst button(an on/off button). Have the ouptut going to one pole and the ground going to the other. When it's off, you can play your guitar as normal; when it's on, your output is grounded(killed). Radio shack or any other electronics part supplier should have them. You should be able to find a color that suits you too.

peace,

russ

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But...I think the effect you want is to have the signal shorted when you're NOT pushing the button, i.e. when you hit the button, and only when you hit the button, sound comes out. Am I right?

It's like working the toggle on a Les Paul with the neck pup dialed down to zero; that's why a kill switch is typically a toggle switch wired to the output, instead of a button. If you wanted to go SPST button, I think you'd need a separate toggle just to engage the button (but I may be wrong...), otherwise you'd be making silence (not noise) when you push.

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Yeah, i want a non latching switch that cuts out when pushed, any body have links to where i can find one?

:D Clarity please....you want a switch that OPENS the circuit when pushed, right?

You DON'T want the sound to "cut out" when pushed, right? Push=Sound and noPush=noSound, right?

You need a normally CLOSED momentary switch. Just wire it in line right before the output jack. Most of the Jackson JJ series guitars were like this.

Yes, I think this is what he wants. But...if you just wire it in line with the output jack, then the circuit is closed all the time (i.e. hot shorted to ground, so no sound)...until you push the button. So you can't play normally unless you have a separate toggle switch to take the kill button out of the circuit when you want.

I can't see a way around that....or am I just thick? :D

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:D If you want to kill the sound when the button is pushed, just get a NO (Normally Open) momentary contact switch (yes, just like the Ebay auction you originally linked to, before this got so complicated), and wire it from hot to ground at the output jack. DO NOT attempt to implement a killswitch by opening the circuit - it is a very bad idea, for reasons that a quick forum search for kill switch will reveal!

Here's one (well, actually four) that will work:

Mini SPST Momentary Switch

Or email the guy from Ebay and see if he's got any more.

If you want to kill the sound when the button is released, use an NC switch - although I can't see any practical way to use it. B)

Buckhead... :D isn't that on the north side of Atlanta?

Edited by lovekraft
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Yes, I think this is what he wants.  But...if you just wire it in line with the output jack, then the circuit is closed all the time (i.e. hot shorted to ground, so no sound)...until you push the button.  So you can't play normally unless you have a separate toggle switch to take the kill button out of the circuit when you want.

I can't see a way around that....or am I just thick?  :D

You're misunderstanding what I mean by "wire it inline". Connect one side to the lead coming from the pickup switch and connect the other to the output. The switch is normally closed so when you play it will work right. When you hit the button it breaks the connection.

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OK, thanks BM & LK for clearing that up for me. I've been pondering a similar addition to an axe of mine, which is why I got stuck on this.

But I gotta say, as a player, to me the action on a normal kill switch is totally backwards...but maybe that's just me. Sure it's easy to wire up, but I would never want to get silence from pushing the button, it would be too awkward to get used to. I want the same outcome you get when hitting a piano key, or tapping the fretboard. Push down to get your sound, release to mute.

use an NC switch - although I can't see any practical way to use it

NC is the same as a "push to break" switch. I'll see if I can draw what I'm thinking... :D

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OK, my thoughts on paper. I debated starting a new thread, but this seemed more sensible here. Red is hot, black is ground.

This button is actually the reverse of what Nitefly is after. It should produce sound when you push the button, and mute when you release the button. It is an extra component (switch + button) but this is more intuitive for me for doing staccato stuff, much more like working an LP toggle with the neck pickup volume at zero, but with a button you have better control over rhythm and timing of the effect.

The button is a momentary "normally closed" button, a.k.a. "push to break" button. When released, the hot shorts to ground (mute); when pushed the short is broken and the signal goes to the output jack in the normal way.

The DPDT ON-ON switch is to take the button in and out of the circuit. In the up position, the button is engaged. In the down position, the hot bypasses the button and goes straight to the output jack for regular output.

Let me know if I've goofed it up...it should work for both passive & active. I've not tried this yet, but the Shack is on my way home...

ReverseKillSwitch.jpg

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i dont wanna burn out a switch or anything, besides i wouldnt take the chance of leaving it off when i wanted it on and visa versa get everything screwed up and the world would implode so the buttons for me

You do realize that a "button" is still a switch, it's just one that you push instead of toggle, right? :D

I'm not sure I really understand the attraction of a kill switch, but if all you can find is a push-on pushbutton momentary switch (SPST), connect it from signal to ground and you're done. (EDIT: Uh... yeah. Like lovekraft posted five posts ago. Remove the toggle if you don't want to be able to kill your kill switch.)

I'm also not sure about this... but I bet that Jack White's POS plastic guitar from Sears that only has one working pickup doesn't have a kill switch :D.

Edited by jnewman
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  • 2 months later...

ok i got that switch, a couple of them actually, now i cant get it to work the way i want to it plays when pressed it doesnt cut out while pressed like i wanted am i wiring it wrong or did i get the wrong switch?

this is how i have it wired now.

Ground----------->jack

Hot---->N.O switch------>jack

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