Guitar Killswitch

Step 2 What you need

You need:
1 SPST "Push to make" Momentary switch - I got mine at Radioshack for 3.20
Important: You must get a switch that is normally open (off), and when pushed, closes a circuit.

Wire - This should be about the same guage as the wire in your guitar, it doesn't have to be exact, but don't have a huge thick wire.

Solder & Soldering Iron - This project requires some simple soldering, nothing too complex. I learned to solder with this handy instructable.

Wire strippers

Screwdriver

Electric drill & drill bit (on the back of the momentary switch packet theres dimensions for the hole you should drill) - I'd recommend that the drill be corded, since cordless drills lack the power that corded drills have

Things that would be really helpful to have:
Helping hands: These things make this project 500 times easier, instead of duct taping wires to hold them in place, or asking somebody to help you, the Helping hands can hold them.

Comments

[Super Squatch]

Would an spst toggle switch work? And how can you be sure where to make the connections so that it's on when flipped down and off when flipped up?

[zmeyers]

It will work if you use one which has a 'on-off' or 'on-off-on' configuration.

On-Off (two way) - the sound will cut out when its in the off position.

On-Off-On (three way) - good because when the switch is accidentally turned on it doesnt cause embarrassment :P

Have Funn!!

[steveo_calamia]

you could probably just spin the switch around after you wire it up... or use alligator clips to find out what should be wired to get desired results...?

[kaisan196]

will any wire work? i found a fire in my garage that was once used to connect speakers to eachother but was ripped off it seems to be copper

[itsachen]

Speaker wire of a reasonable size would work

[catfaugh]

shoulod it not be push to break?just wondering

[itsachen]

no, the killswitch is in between the hot signal and ground. push to make, connects the hot and ground and no sound is heard.

[lance153]

dude i have successfully installed a killswitch on my guitar but my problem is whenever i push it, there is this sound that's similar to crumpling a paper i don't know if it's grounded.. is that normal?

[itsachen]

did you watch the video i posted it explains the popping sound check if it is the same sound

[lance153]

uhm no, it's not a popping sound, the noise is like grounded similar to "crumpling a paper" or to be more specific it's like the sound whenever your plugging your cable to the jack with the amp volume on and at max. very irritating noise

[irishjim68]

That "crumpling paper" sound would be correctly called a "ground-loop hum" and could very possibly become dangerous due to the risk of electric shock. Please proceed with caution if you are experiencing this issue until it is corrected.

[varietyshowjoe]

I installed my killswitch and it made nasty noises too. All the connections were good but it turns out the (really old, recycled) wire I was using was shot and had several shorts in it. So after rewiring everything with nice new wire it worked flawlessly. So make sure you're wire is good ;)

[itsachen]

ahh if you make a killswitch improperly (make wrong connections), it can create this infinite impedance thing basically 1) check all of your connections - make sure that the killswitch is between the hot and ground, and its push to make. check for solder joints 2) check if theres any shorts, if any bare wire is touching any part it shouldn't be ive heard that that cumpling paper sound occurs if you build the killswitch wrong- placing a push to break switch between hot and output.

[catfaugh]

thanks man cos i had bought a push to make nd people were saying it should be to break.tnks for all ur help

[h.u.fan1]

did you use the one thats 3 amps at 125vac? thats the only soft touch one i can find

[homsar57]

Would a light switch work lol? Ive got TONS of them lying around.

[Stavroz]

So if i want to have the typical Morello sound, i should hit the kil-switch with the tremolo (whammy)? please answer.

[itsachen]

There are multiple sounds that Morello has. One is hitting the killswitch with a wah pedal Another is using a whammy pedal, and he sometimes uses an octave pedal. Experiment to see what is your favorite.

[Stavroz]

Does he use the whammy pedal (whatever it may be) in the solo from "Like a stone"? i tried to do it, but i couldnt get that high notes out.

[itsachen]

the beginning of the solo is probably a whammy pedal the high notes are a pitch shifter/octave pedal theres delay too

[Stavroz]

I think the whammy pedal can be used as an octave pedal. Dont know it for sure, tho.

[itsachen]

yeah that digitech one can do both i dont own one but i used one once

[ben256]

This is cool. Can a toggle type switch be used instead? Like Tom Morello's?

[itsachen]

Yep, just use a SPDT and don't connect anything to one pole

[lance153]

dude i don't think we have that kind of switch here in manila, would you recommend the buttons on the arcade machine?

[itsachen]

I wouldn't recommend it, as they might be too big, BUT If you can't find any of those switches, then I guess it would work. I'm pretty sure an arcade switch would work off the same principle. If you have a multimeter you can check.

[BadAssMoma]

Hey, i just went to buy a switch from radio shack. It says push on/push-off switch. spst cpntacts rated 3A at 250VAC and it looks exactly like the one above. but when i push it, it makes a loud click( and its still in the bag), did i buy the wrong one?

[itsachen]

wow, that sounds really weird maybe its just that switch, try returning (radioshack has a 30 day thing) for another one make sure it says momentary, or soft touch too (i got my switch maybe a year ago, they may have changed the packaging) i think the soft touch means theres no click, or its easier

[blackdemonicfire]

Just to clear things up... You want a Normally OPEN (off) switch.

[itsachen]

yeah

[chainmail311]

So, I got this EXACT switch. Same SKU and everything: I soldered it in, and when I press the button down, my guitar will go through. When the button springs back up, the signal is killed. I've got an opposite killswitch. I bought the same one pictured above! What did I do wrong? Is it a faulty part?

[xqwerty101]

you have to get one that says "normally on" not "normally off" so that the circut is on when the buttong is in its normal out position

[itsachen]

no. when the circuit is on, the signal is rerouted to the ground. thats why you want normally off.

[garrettmikesmith]

i got did the exact same thing. i suggest reading this:

http://alexplorer.net/guitar/mods/killswitch.html

it's a little bit different, but works the same. keep in mind normally closed means the circuit is connected, and normally open means the circuit is disconnected. there a plenty of ways to wire this, depending on your switch.

[itsachen]

The chances that the part is faulty...is less than the chances that the part you bought was wrong. If youre really sure that you bought the right part (remember you have to buy a switch thats usually open...not closed. Looks like you bought a switch thats usually closed... Try checking if you soldered the switch between the signal output and the ground again. If it really doesn't work then you've probably got the wrong part... Remember, when looking for the switch its gotta be open. Have fun

[chainmail311]

I just soldered it wrong. It works, and when I blast it with a Whammy I sound like Morello. Easily.

[chainmail311]

i didn't mean whammy. meant Wah. One of three crybaby wahs. Hey, someone should do an instructable about fixing the common Crybaby Wah problem.