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People seem to love killswitches, just look at Buckethead and Tom Morello, and a lot of people want to put them into their guitars. I have nothing against this, all the more power to you. The problem I see is with solutions that still produce an audible hum when the killswitch is engaged. This is because a lot of solutions short-circuit the guitar or cable, rather than actually killing the signal-path.
You see, no matter how much you payed for your guitar cables, there will still be some level of hum produced by your rig, especially with an extensive pedal-board, or with distortion effects like fuzz-boxes so long as the circuit that is your rig is closed. In this instructable, I will show you how to add a noise-free killswitch to any guitar with a 1/4 inch output jack.
You see, no matter how much you payed for your guitar cables, there will still be some level of hum produced by your rig, especially with an extensive pedal-board, or with distortion effects like fuzz-boxes so long as the circuit that is your rig is closed. In this instructable, I will show you how to add a noise-free killswitch to any guitar with a 1/4 inch output jack.
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Signing UpStep 1Parts
You will need:
-- A guitar, obviously.
-- A pushbutton normally closed momentary switch. It is very, very, important that the switch be normally closed, check the package carefully before you buy your switch.
-- A soldering iron.
-- Solder.
-- Heat-shrink tubing (or electrical tape in a pinch) to make everything all nice and pretty, and to prevent accidental short-circuits.
-- Screwdrivers that can open up your guitar.
-- Wire cutters and wire strippers.
-- A drill with an appropriately-sized bit. Check the packaging for your switch to see if a mounting-hole diameter is listed, since this will help a lot. If you can't find a listed size, err towards a smaller hole, since you can make holes bigger, but not smaller.
-- You may also need a bit of extra wire if there isn't enough slack, a foot of stranded 20 AWG copper wire should be more than enough.
-- A guitar, obviously.
-- A pushbutton normally closed momentary switch. It is very, very, important that the switch be normally closed, check the package carefully before you buy your switch.
-- A soldering iron.
-- Solder.
-- Heat-shrink tubing (or electrical tape in a pinch) to make everything all nice and pretty, and to prevent accidental short-circuits.
-- Screwdrivers that can open up your guitar.
-- Wire cutters and wire strippers.
-- A drill with an appropriately-sized bit. Check the packaging for your switch to see if a mounting-hole diameter is listed, since this will help a lot. If you can't find a listed size, err towards a smaller hole, since you can make holes bigger, but not smaller.
-- You may also need a bit of extra wire if there isn't enough slack, a foot of stranded 20 AWG copper wire should be more than enough.
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http://www.maplin.co.uk/large-push-to-make-2495
Although they are called "large", they are not much bigger than the one above but they seem to be a lot sturdier and they have a much smoother action, without that sticking that I find the above switches often have. I think they only do them in push to make though so they will only work in the "short to earth" type kill switches..
The first guitar I put a kill switch on was wired this way... never again. Every time you'd push-n-release the button you'd hear "POP" "POP" "POP" "POP", like when you unplug the patch cable with the amp still on.
The best way is a Normally Open switch wired across the jack connections. It works as if you turn your guitar's volume knob instantly to zero.
There are two basic approaches to creating a kill switch: the closed-circuit or bypass method used by pandaman0529, and the open circuit method used by TheMadTinker. There are diagrams here that show the difference, for anyone who still thinks they're the same - http://alexplorer.net/guitar/mods/killswitch.html
Peace.
and my instructable kills the signal...there is no "audible hum" when the switch is pressed, its as if you turned your vol pot. all the way down, or unplugged ur guitar from the amp.
the most confusing part is that you said "a lot of solutions short-circuit the guitar or cable, rather than actually killing the signal-path." when number 1- you basically did what i did and number 2 - you short circuted (or allowed a current to flow along a different path from the one intended.) the signal.
seriously, theres nothing different. congradulations
You also say "Yes you are killing the signal from your pickups, but you're not interrupting the signal-path."
I don't know if you read my instructable, but when the switch is pressed, the signal is rerouted to ground. So technically...I interrupt the signal path...eh?
If you put an on off switch, and literally kill the signal, the buzz you mention is going to occur. This link explains too.