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Guitar Modification - Installing a Killswitch

If you have heard songs by Buckethead such as "Jordan", or maybe are a fan of Tom Morello's guitar , then I guess you already know what a killswitch is...

A "Killswitch" is just a switch responsible for muting or in a way 'killing' the guitar'sound temporarily.

Why would you wanna do that you ask???
Well, I guess you will have to listen to Buckethead or Tom Morello's guitar to find that out.

Buckethead's song called Jordan using a killswitch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTcg9JybEp8

Tom Morello demostrating the killswitch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxeBzXVm67o

So how does a killswitch work you ask??
It works in one of two ways. The first way uses a guitar with two pickups having a different volume knob for each. Turn one knob to zero and the other to 10 and start toggling the pickup selector switch quickly. Behold!! You have a killswitch!!!....
Though, this method has a few problems. Firstly, pickup selector switches are expensive and using them like a killswitch will wear the contacts out really fast. Secondly, not every guitar has a dedicated knob for each pickup (atleast the cheaper ones don't).
I personally had the same problem so I went with the second method, i.e. installing a dedicated killswitch!!
The circuit for the killswitch is really simple , it's something a bad electrician is really good at... Shorting the signal ...
That's it!! Take the two wires, signal and ground, from the guitar's output jack and solder them to each contact of the switch.

Let me show you how I did it.....
Step #1: Choosing the switch.......
these were the three switches I had available with me. I went with the big yellow arcade button because its got a really nice feedback and is easy to press. you can choose what ever you want to but make sure it firstly, is a momentary switch i.e. it is ON only while you continue to press it and secondly it is a panel mount switch.
Positioning it on the guitar is also crucial since you don't want the switch to interfere with your normal playing.
Step #2: Remove the strings, unscrew the face plate or "pick guard". I've done this before (just out of curiosity) so wasn't a big challenge.. Though, you gotta be careful about the fragile plate and make sure you don't pull out any solder joints.
Step #3: drill a freaking hole in your guitar!!!
For me this was the scariest part. Since, I chose a rather large arcade button I had to drill a big ass hole too. I used the larges spade bit I had i.e. 20mm, later realised that too was small for the switch so had to drill smaller holes around the borders and then use a chisel to chip the excess wood.
It was a total mess, I recommend you to not do that.
Also, remember that the face plate hole has to be smaller than the hole in the wood.
Notice, in the image, some tape wrapped around the drill bit??
Yeah that is just to keep track of how deep the drill bit has to go.

Step #4: Solder two wires to the output jack and route them through the insides of your guitar. Solder the remaining ends of the two wires to the contacts of the switch.
Make sure you have some slack in the wire, else it's going to be a nightmare!!!

Step #5: Call a priest!! Have him pray for you while you try and screw the face plate onto the guitar with your new killswitch in place. Restring your guitar, connect it to your amplifier and hope for the best!!
If you've done everything correctly you should have no sound when you press the switch.
If you have no sound even when the switch isn't pressed, well you have probably killed your sound permanently. LOL....

But on a serious note, you need to look at what you did wrong. I'm sure you will be able to resolve the issue.

This is how my guitar came out. while I still feel I could have positioned the button a bit better but, hey! It works!..
So, I guess that rounds up the project!!! Stay tuned for more!!!
Got any queries??? 
E-Mail me at: shashwath.sundar@gmail.com

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