In Defense Of Kill Switches

[kesslari]

I prefer a producer switch.

 

[MrUsefulAlien]

It could... you could have it cut the signal and the power at the same time. I bet most don't though.

There's some concern about popping when engaging/disengaging the mute switch. If someone has the wiring for a non-popping mute + battery disconnect please share it!

 

[seanm]

Wouldn't a DPDT be good enough? I guess it might depend on the preamp.

 

[MrUsefulAlien]

Wouldn't a DPDT be good enough? I guess it might depend on the preamp.

There's a lot of questions/answers about the topic in other threads; but the simple answer is you'll get a pop unless the bass is switched to passive.
I didn't install the switch for battery saving, but to be able to mute and unmute quickly; especially with jazz basses wired V/V. For passive basses, half of my arsenal, it is not an issue either way. All my actives are active/passive, so a dead battery isn't an enormous threat mid-gig.

 

[jazzyvee]

If you have a kill switch in an active bass and flip it to off position, does it stop battery drain? Just wondering if that can be done instead of unplugging the cord.

On that particular bass the kill switch does not disconnect the battery it just mutes the bass output. Apparently cutting off the power too would most likely give a large click in the output. So when the bass is not on me before a gig, or between sets I tend to unplug the jack to save my batteries and also to prevent damage if someone trips over the cables.

 

[vvvmmm]

Sounds like you could mebbe wire in a second switch? Say, a kill before the mute?

You'd hafta remember the correct order to engage ...

 

[mcnach]

I recently put a Noll active preamp in my Lakland Hollowbody 34, I took out the 3-way switch and used the hole to install an active-passive switch.
This left me with a blank push/pull toggle. I thought, hm...maybe a mute switch could be cool, because, why not?

I have now installed a push/pull kill switch, or dpdt switch in my USA Precision, Aria Precision, Lakland 55-AJ and Lakland DJ4.

Pictured here, alongside the nifty series/parallel switch on a fretless 62RI Jazz
View attachment 3895215

I never knew how great it is to simply kill the bass sound with one flick of the finger.
Intuition, and non-lazy thinking, would say that turning down the volume achieves the same result. Intuition would be wrong.
I can't really describe why it is an upgrade, but having the switch makes it easy to carry out a variety of mundane tasks that would previously have required a left-hand muting or laborious turning of the volume knob.

In retrospect, this is a pretty weak defense, but if you have a push pull knob with no purpose or a DPDT switch hole that you're about to plug, give this simple mod a try, and enjoy the strange bliss of having a kill switch.

I used this diagram with great success:
View attachment 3895212

You lost me at "laborious turning of a volume knob" :-D

 

[MrLenny1]

Fender put a kill switch on basses years ago. Jazz bass Special IIRC.
It was a rotary multi position switch. I thought it was slick.
The bass was not.

 

[MrUsefulAlien]

You lost me at "laborious turning of a volume knob" :-D

You don't want to hear about the other challenges I face...like turning a page on a book, or having to exhale after inhaling