~davie Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 (edited) 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarkid4143 Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 ilike to make cool effects. like a manual reverb. and others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~davie Posted March 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postie Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samba Pa Ti Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenspoke Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~davie Posted March 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 (edited) 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~davie Posted March 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 (edited) 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansil Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CainMD Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmo7sharp9 Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 (edited) 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metalhead28 Posted March 17, 2010 Report Share Posted March 17, 2010 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E Squared Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 I just added a killswitch to a guitar that I just installed a Fernandes Sustainer into. I did do it exactly just for fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 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 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~davie Posted March 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 Yeah, that micro kill switch is pretty cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
space_ryerson Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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