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killswitch?

J

JamSpotHospital

Nov 9, 2010
18
4
canada
#1
Has anyone ever riged up a bass to have a button that completly cuts the power from the bass to the amp.
I'm having a buddi of mine install one in my nikki sixx epiphone bass I think its will be neat becouse the only
knob with the deep sixx pickups is to toggle between the pickups.just wondering if anyone else put a killswitch
in any of there basses and what their experiences were..
 
#4
I haven't personally but a friend of mine did it to his "experiment bass" (he uses it as a test subject for mods and practice) and it worked fine even though there isn't alot of call for it in his style. Also the guy from the beastie boys has one that he uses at the start of gratitude. I'm surprised Justin from Tool doesn't have one, seems like the kind of thing he could make sound good.

here is the beastie boys song
 
#6
ZombieSpacebat said:
I haven't personally but a friend of mine did it to his "experiment bass" (he uses it as a test subject for mods and practice) and it worked fine even though there isn't alot of call for it in his style. Also the guy from the beastie boys has one that he uses at the start of gratitude. I'm surprised Justin from Tool doesn't have one, seems like the kind of thing he could make sound good.

here is the beastie boys song
Click to expand...


I believe he has a Guyatone tremolo pedal, no?

pickle said:
How would you go about fitting one, is it between the pick-ps and the jack and can you do it to a passive. This sounds interesting.
Click to expand...

Is this a question? I really can't tell. If it is, google "killswitch" and you can find a couple hundred different diagrams. It's entirely passive, and where you put it in your circuit is dependent upon your bass and the intended goal.
 
#7
JamSpotHospital said:
Has anyone ever riged up a bass to have a button that completly cuts the power from the bass to the amp.
I'm having a buddi of mine install one in my nikki sixx epiphone bass I think its will be neat becouse the only
knob with the deep sixx pickups is to toggle between the pickups.just wondering if anyone else put a killswitch
in any of there basses and what their experiences were..
Click to expand...

I'm addicted to mine. I have one in my Nordy.

They're common in Foderas. I find them especially useful with 2 volume knobs so I don't have to do a bunch of turns.
 
#8
ZombieSpacebat said:
<snip> the guy from the beastie boys has one that he uses at the start of gratitude. I'm surprised Justin from Tool doesn't have one, seems like the kind of thing he could make sound good.
Click to expand...

I am thoroughly confused. Isn't the OP talking about a switch to cut the signal going to the amp without unplugging the patch cable or turning off the amp?
How does that affect your sound (other than stopping it completely, that is)?
 
#9
mid_life_crisis said:
I am thoroughly confused. Isn't the OP talking about a switch to cut the signal going to the amp without unplugging the patch cable or turning off the amp?
How does that affect your sound (other than stopping it completely, that is)?
Click to expand...

If you wire it up to a normally-on momentary switch, you can use it as a quick tremolo effect like Buckethead frequently does:


It doesn't alter your sound - it just cuts your signal.
 
#11
Killswitches are extremely common, though most people use latching switches to mute the output as opposed to momentary pushbuttons for stuttering effects.

FunkMetalBass said:
If you wire it up to a normally-on momentary switch, you can use it as a quick tremolo effect like Buckethead frequently does:


It doesn't alter your sound - it just cuts your signal.
Click to expand...


You mean normally-open.
"Normally-on" would imply a normally-closed switch.
 
#13
line6man said:
Killswitches are extremely common, though most people use latching switches to mute the output as opposed to momentary pushbuttons for stuttering effects.



You mean normally-open.
"Normally-on" would imply a normally-closed switch.
Click to expand...

Sorry, yes, typo. Normally-open.

These super-late-night math/soldering sessions need to stop.
 
#14
line6man said:
Killswitches are extremely common, though most people use latching switches to mute the output as opposed to momentary pushbuttons for stuttering effects.

You mean normally-open.
"Normally-on" would imply a normally-closed switch.
Click to expand...

Which is what he wants, I think. He's describing a way to break the connection to the amp. Normally closed would leave the connection complete until you pushed it, breaking the connection. I don't think it would be set up so you sink the signal to ground by pressing a normally open switch and closing the connection to ground, although electrically speaking there are good reasons for going that way.
 
#17
mid_life_crisis said:
Which is what he wants, I think. He's describing a way to break the connection to the amp. Normally closed would leave the connection complete until you pushed it, breaking the connection. I don't think it would be set up so you sink the signal to ground by pressing a normally open switch and closing the connection to ground, although electrically speaking there are good reasons for going that way.
Click to expand...

When you do a killswitch, it is important that you short the output, because simply breaking the connection from the pickups/pots to the jack leaves an infinite output impedance, which can give you the "open guitar cable buzz." This short across the output would be achieved by "closing" a switch. If you are going to have a pushbutton switch, you want it to only "close" when you press it down, otherwise you would only have output when you hold down the button. This is why it would be necessary to use a normally-open switch.
 
#19
mid_life_crisis said:
So now I'm puzzled again. How are these things set up again?
You posted while I was typing my last entry.
Click to expand...

If you're using a normal toggle switch, the switch either sends the signal through into the rest of the circuit, or it directs it to ground (killing the signal).

If you're using a normally-open momentary switch, the signal is constantly going through into the rest of the circuit until your press it down. When you press it down, depending on the switch setup, is directed to ground, or just cuts the signal path (leaving that loop line6man was talking about). However, they are spring-loaded, and the switch will pop back up after pressing it, restoring the original signal path.
 
#20
it's good practice to put a small capacitor between the switch and the ground to avoid the 'pop' sound when you hit the switch.

when i did this in '04, i used a resistor instead of the capacitor, which seemed to work the same.

that way when you're switched 'off', then the amp still sees a resistance rather than a short. i don't think it will cause any issues with the short, but you're more likely to get the 'pop'.

here's my thread:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=113555&highlight=kill+switch
 

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