Serious Question!

[~davie]

I seriously want to know why do people have them or consider having them?

Killswitches on guitars that is..

Edited March 13, 2010 by ~davie

[guitarkid4143]

ilike to make cool effects. like a manual reverb. and others.

[~davie]

ilike to make cool effects. like a manual reverb. and others.

oh right. lol

you know what would be good for that?

put in a momentary push button on your guitar as a KILLSWITCH!

that would be sick!

[Postie]

you know what would be good for that?

put in a momentary push button on your guitar as a KILLSWITCH!

that would be sick!

Buckethead might be interested in that.

[Samba Pa Ti]

ilike to make cool effects. like a manual reverb. and others.

since when does a killswitch sound like a reverb ?

all a killswitch does is emulate the tremelo effect in an on/off sense as it has no control.

example >

a reverb is a totally different effect that sounds nothing like it...

[Woodenspoke]

I seriously want to know why do people have them or consider having them?

Killswitches on guitars that is..

They like playing guitar but they don't like hearing themselves play...

[westhemann]

I have a "direct switch" on my Edwards...it is okay..it does provide a slightly hotter tone,but I never use it.

But it could be used as a killswitch.You just turn the volume off and then switching out of direct mode is a kill switch.

[~davie]

damn, i was just watching videos on youtube of the killswitch in use.

seems pretty cool. lol i think i MIGHT make one later.

definitely has to be a momentary push button!

and yeah, to correct guitarkid, its NOT reverb. the best way to describe it would be to call it "signal chopping". or simply "chopping" LOL

the closest guitar effect to it, would be a tremolo effect

Edited March 14, 2010 by ~davie

[psw]

There are various implementations of the kill switch idea. Les Paul users like Townsend have been using the technique for ages, simply turn say the neck pickup volume to zero and switch between that and the neck pickup on to create the effect.

The problem with a lot of push button kill switches like the one on my tele is that they can be counter-intuitive...pushing the button kills the sound...so you tend to feel like you are playing the silences rather than the sound on effect.

Players like Morello prefer the sound on thing and I can see why. I use it for a kind of rhythmic manual tremolo kind of effect on occasion, but really, it is a bit gimmicky to be used that often for anything that much IMHO

[~davie]

There are various implementations of the kill switch idea. Les Paul users like Townsend have been using the technique for ages, simply turn say the neck pickup volume to zero and switch between that and the neck pickup on to create the effect.

The problem with a lot of push button kill switches like the one on my tele is that they can be counter-intuitive...pushing the button kills the sound...so you tend to feel like you are playing the silences rather than the sound on effect.

Players like Morello prefer the sound on thing and I can see why. I use it for a kind of rhythmic manual tremolo kind of effect on occasion, but really, it is a bit gimmicky to be used that often for anything that much IMHO

very true

seems too much of a gimmick, constant use of it may start to seem monotonous. especially if u start using it in EVERY friggin' song.

[Our Souls inc.]

ilike to make cool effects. like a manual reverb. and others.

oh right. lol

you know what would be good for that?

put in a momentary push button on your guitar as a KILLSWITCH!

that would be sick!

See "Spaced Invaders" in this months GOTM ........... momentary interupt button ! fun fun fun.

[Juntunen Guitars]

See "Spaced Invaders" in this months GOTM ........... momentary interupt button ! fun fun fun.

How'd that button turn out I was watching your thread but I haven't checked it in a while

[Paul Marossy]

I would describe a killswitch on a guitar as a "manual extreme tremolo".

Tremolo is where the volume level of something is modulated up and down. Guitars have bridges that are traditionally called "tremolos", but that is an incorrect use of the word. They are in fact a vibrato system, not a tremolo.

Edited March 14, 2010 by Paul Marossy

[Paul Marossy]

I forgot to add that what is traditionally called "vibrato" on many old amps is actually a tremolo. Vibrato is when you vary the pitch of something, as in when a violin or cello player does vibrato on a string. Or when a guitarist bends the string up and down a little bit.

[ansil]

if you want a unique "kill switch" try using something like a gate with a secondary input on it. say from your drummer or another instrument.

or just a random oscillator but then your basically using a source controlled tremolo. personally i would much rather just keep my starburst in my guitar. 555 oscillator running in free oscillation mode push pull pot witih a resistor network on the output and a led on top to see the freq of it and you can use it to disconnect the guitar from the output jack and put in the oscilator if you get your levels right you can use it as a cool effect. and once nice thing for those of us that are sans whammy bars you can set this note up to be the last note in your lick hit your lick and pull this pot up and spin the knob and you have an instant dive bomb push it back in real quick and no one is the wiser. i used to do this live with a bunch of delay like vai has his set up. 1.5 seconds into 3 seconds and we did a real nice sound on sound harmonizing track live.

if you build one there is a on line calculator that you can use to set the freq range. i use a 250k-500k pot and set it from around 40hz to 10khz or so.

hope ya'll like it.

[CainMD]

i currently use a Shadow SH 124 KILL POT, it's not too bad but it's expensive. Why not use a killswitch, it costs 5 dollars and you simply solder 2 wires. throw it in a beater guitar

[elmo7sharp9]

If you find a regular killswitch's releasing to play each note counter-intuitive...

Wire two pushbuttons, one Normally Open and one Normally Closed , in series,

side-by-side in a covenient location.

Push and hold the Normally Open button, with the side of your thumb, to silence your guitar,

then gate notes on using any convenient finger on the Normally Closed button.

Release both buttons to play normally.

Using thumb-and-middle-finger on the buttons,

you can do this without letting go of a plectrum!

Edited March 17, 2010 by elmo7sharp9

[Metalhead28]

See "Spaced Invaders" in this months GOTM ........... momentary interupt button ! fun fun fun.

How'd that button turn out I was watching your thread but I haven't checked it in a while

Works like a charm!

[E Squared]

i dont understand why you people think it was made to be played as a serious effect. cant people just make something that just for fun with out people debating it gosh!

[Paul Marossy]

I just added a killswitch to a guitar that I just installed a Fernandes Sustainer into. I did do it exactly just for fun.

[psw]

My tele has a secret micro-kill-switch...and a sustainer too!

You can't really see it without that bright flash to show it up and I forget it's there. But I use it as a kind of manual tremolo occasionally on held chords and such. Put it on because I could and for fun!

[Our Souls inc.]

My tele has a secret micro-kill-switch...and a sustainer too!

You can't really see it without that bright flash to show it up and I forget it's there. But I use it as a kind of manual tremolo occasionally on held chords and such. Put it on because I could and for fun!

That is sweet looking work .

[~davie]

My tele has a secret micro-kill-switch...and a sustainer too!

You can't really see it without that bright flash to show it up and I forget it's there. But I use it as a kind of manual tremolo occasionally on held chords and such. Put it on because I could and for fun!

hey psw, can u make a video or post a vid of you demoing your tele, it seems interesting

[Paul Marossy]

Yeah, that micro kill switch is pretty cool!

[space_ryerson]

I've got a micro kill switch on two of my guitars as well. I wish they had a shorter 'throw', in that it was a shorter distance to press down before it latches, so I can do the kill-switch thing faster. I've been meaning to take one of the switches apart to see if I can mod it to do that. I've also thought about using old game controller buttons for kill-switches, since they are meant to be pressed very fast.